Winter Spring, Altamonte Springs, Oviedo, or Longwood? (Orlando, Winter Springs: rentals, homes)

[decisions101]

[SIZE=3]I started this question in an older post but thought maybe better to start a fresh one. Help would be really appreciated. My husband is going to be in the Orlando area in just under a week and we are having a really hard time deciding on what areas it would be best for him to look at since he will be there for work and won’t have a lot of spare personal time. Anyway, we moved to CA from Orlando about 6 years ago but that hasn’t helped much now that we are moving back because we were not parents then and now we have two who will be 4 and under when we arrive back. We also weren’t homeowners 6-7 yrs ago so the criteria then compared to now is like comparing apples to oranges. Truly then I don’t think we even ever thought about it. I work remote so I do not have to worry about a commute. My husband will be working in Winter Park (around Aloma and 436)so commute is a consideration. Winter Park is nice but too pricey. From doing current research Lake Mary also seems nice but again it seems like we can buy more for our money in the above mentioned areas and that is important to us. We will be renting at first for 1-2 years so rental cost is a consideration but more so housing costs since we are hoping to rent then buy all in the same area so we don’t have to move the kids again to a new area, especially the older one. So then, of course, schools are also important criteria. They all seem to have good schools but I only see that the highs schools in Oviedo are A rated, at least by OrlandoSchools.com. It also seems like Altamonte schools are just OK (greatschools.com). I don’t know though if this is all just based on test scores because I am not sure that is all it takes to define a good school. We REALLY want a family oriented community which Oviedo seems to fit but reading a lot of posts many seem to mention that it is a bit out there (?) When looking at Winter Springs it seems that it has nice and bad areas with the good being primarily off Tuskawilla? And lastly, it seems when it comes to Longwood and Altamonte that we need to concentrate on being on the west side of I-4 which then also makes for a longer commute. Thank you for taking the time to read this long post. This Orlando forum has been really helpful; above is what I have I tried to gather piece together as a whole which has been difficult and I am looking for clarification on the above and/or info on anything that may be dead wrong. I am hoping to pick a place (or 2) within one to two days because my husband is also going to visit a few preschools while there and we cant narrow that search down until we get set on an area. Any extra advice would be awesome and appreciated. This experience so far has been overwhelming with the kids in the mix this go around. Thanks much again in advance. [/SIZE]

[Crane's Rooster]

Oviedo is the only area listed that would be a difficult commute. Altamonte and Longwood west of I4 would still be a reasonable commute as there are many local roads and options to avoiding I4. All the areas are good family oriented areas with fine schools.

My experience is in Altamonte where I grew up. Its a great community with great schools. Regardless of what any website says Lake Brantley High is far from just OK. Its a great academic and athletic school. I know its still far off for your children but the quality of the schools usually permeates all levels from the top down. Its a great family oriented community as well. A place where neighbors know and talk to each other. Kids play in sports leagues, music, dance, etc. Great parks, trails, pools, libraries, community centers. Look into lake brantley, jennifer estates, wekiva, hunt club, sabal point and sweetwater. For more affordable options look into san sebastian and spring oaks.

I really dont think you can go wrong with any of your choices but I wanted to give you insight into my area of most knowledge.

[sean1the1]

Out of the three Oviedo would be the best for your criteria. It may not be that bad of a commute since there is quick and easy access to aloma. Winter springs would not be bad either as they are right next to each other , but it seems to me as if there are more old retired people in winter springs though there are some family communities.

[decisions101]

Originally Posted by Crane's Rooster

Oviedo is the only area listed that would be a difficult commute. Altamonte and Longwood west of I4 would still be a reasonable commute as there are many local roads and options to avoiding I4. All the areas are good family oriented areas with fine schools.

My experience is in Altamonte where I grew up. Its a great community with great schools. Regardless of what any website says Lake Brantley High is far from just OK. Its a great academic and athletic school. I know its still far off for your children but the quality of the schools usually permeates all levels from the top down. Its a great family oriented community as well. A place where neighbors know and talk to each other. Kids play in sports leagues, music, dance, etc. Great parks, trails, pools, libraries, community centers. Look into lake brantley, jennifer estates, wekiva, hunt club, sabal point and sweetwater. For more affordable options look into san sebastian and spring oaks.

I really dont think you can go wrong with any of your choices but I wanted to give you insight into my area of most knowledge.

Thank you for all the information. I would really love to live in the Altamonte area because it seems more central with more to do. I think the problem will be, however, is commute time. The last two days I have looked at live traffic on google.maps and it seems that with no traffic to many areas mentioned (Sweetwater, Hunt Club, Jennifer Estates, etc) it takes approx. 30 mins and during traffic 40 mins. Oviedo seems to be quicker (about 20 mins) via 417 and/or 426. However, if you venture out to Live Oaks, Sanctuary, and so on then you have the same problem with drive time. Depending on traffic that is only about 15 mins difference but we have realized since living here in CA with traffic and long commutes and young kids that can mean daddy making it to swim lessons or not…later on - on time to baseball games or not, more play time before diner and bedtime, and so on… Same goes for the morning. I tried doing a little bit more research closer to I-4. Would you tell me your opinion of Country Creek and Westmonte Park, for example? Are there any other areas nice for families in Altamonte but closer to I-4?

[FuquayForNow]

I live in Country Creek and LOVE the area!!! We have four boys that attend Bear Lake Elementary and we absolutely LOVE the school also! I can't think of a better spot to be in! Country Creek is mostly tree covered (with REAL trees not those palm trees that don't give much shade) which is great for our ac bills! If you have any questions about the area message me. We moved here a 3 years ago, and did so much research. I LOVE where we are! (and there are plenty of rentals out here)

[FuquayForNow]

The area to the west of 434 is nice, almost anything surrounding Country Creek is clean and family friendly, Forest Edge (sister community to CC), and anything to the North and west of us is nice. Make sure to stay north of 414, you want to stay in Seminole County for school purposes. Wekiva and Sweetwater are awesome areas but they were mostly out of our budget. CC is awesome because we have a gated entrance off of Eden Park that takes us right onto Maitland Blvd/414 which is a straight shot to I-4, Toll Road, or OBT.

CC is a great family community, people are always our exercising or walking their dogs. We have 2 community pools, tennis courts, playgrounds, and walking trails to a pier overlooking Lake Lotus. CC has a community Easter Egg Hunt as well as a Santa "Drive Through" Great place to raise a family

[Crane's Rooster]

Originally Posted by decisions101

Thank you for all the information. I would really love to live in the Altamonte area because it seems more central with more to do. I think the problem will be, however, is commute time. The last two days I have looked at live traffic on google.maps and it seems that with no traffic to many areas mentioned (Sweetwater, Hunt Club, Jennifer Estates, etc) it takes approx. 30 mins and during traffic 40 mins. Oviedo seems to be quicker (about 20 mins) via 417 and/or 426. However, if you venture out to Live Oaks, Sanctuary, and so on then you have the same problem with drive time. Depending on traffic that is only about 15 mins difference but we have realized since living here in CA with traffic and long commutes and young kids that can mean daddy making it to swim lessons or not…later on - on time to baseball games or not, more play time before diner and bedtime, and so on… Same goes for the morning. I tried doing a little bit more research closer to I-4. Would you tell me your opinion of Country Creek and Westmonte Park, for example? Are there any other areas nice for families in Altamonte but closer to I-4?

The neighborhood surrounding Westmonte Park is Springs Oaks, it's a great subdivision. It's in a very good school district. It's a very middle class/working class community, very diverse as far as race, ethnicity and age to a certain degree. Well built mid 70-80's homes that are fairly good size also. It's a fairly large neighborhood for Central Florida, probably over 1000 single family homes. It's somewhat unique in that there are alot of hills in throughout the neighborhood and west Seminole trail also cuts through the neighborhood. Westmonte Park is actually in the neighborhood. There's a pool, tennis courts, baseball fields, community center, playground, pavillions and basketball courts at the pool. I know they also have summer/winter camps there for kids of all ages. I basically spent my evenings and weekends at Westmonte as a teenager. Location is good because you can easily access 436, 434 and I4. You can also walk to Crane's Roost Park during special events instead of getting stuck in traffic. Some families have been in Spring Oaks for decades so the neighbors do tend to know each other and associate. I remember there were so many kids there I didn't know everyone in the neighborhood. I would think it's still the same today.