moving to fl need help with finding schools for my kids (Tampa: sales, neighborhood)

[jkfloridabound]

Hi. I would really appreciate any help you could provide me. I have 2 job opportunities, 1 in Orlando area and 1 in the Sarasota area. I need to make a decision in a few weeks and I will be moving there probably the beginning of August. I'm very concerned that I am running out of time. Any advice on areas I should be looking at around Orlando that offers a nice family friendly area, excellent schools (preschool-HS) with access to the hwy's. I'd like to stay under $450k but can go a bit higher if I need to. I've been told to look at Lake Mary and Windermere. Any other suggestions would be great. Both of my children are in the accelerated program. I was looking at St. Phillips charter because one of my daughters is an artist and I thought that may a good place. Not sure how the charters work or if it's too late to get her in for the fall. Her current GPA is 5.2 on a 4.0 scale because of her honors classes. Also, someone had mentioned Seminole HS. If anyone could make suggestions of Orlando over Sarasota or the other way around that would be helpful. I'm in sales so I'll be doing a lot of driving a lot of which will not be in rush hour traffic. Thanks for any suggestions.

[brinkofsunshine]

Where is the job in Orlando located? Windermere and Dr. Phillips are quite far from Lake Mary, so it's really best to choose a neighborhood that won't be a painful commute.

[kyle19125]

I would take Sarasota in a heartbeat over Orlando. It's a largely safe, family-friendly area with beautiful beaches and much less congested than the Orlando area in terms of traffic. It also has one of the top school districts in the state.

[jkfloridabound]

Thanks for your input. My territory will be large so I can live anywhere in the Orlando area or the other territory I could live south of Tampa. I am considering Sarasota area for this territory. Would you say the schools in Sarasota County are much better than the areas surrounding Orlando? Lakewood Ranch also looks like a really nice area. I know I'm all over the board but this is a crazy decision to have to make in a short period of time. Thank you for your assistance.

[kyle19125]

Seminole County which is NE of Orlando is one of the top few school districts in the state. Otherwise Orlando area schools are average (or well below) with the exception of a few pockets. Lakewood Ranch is a very nice area and has very good schools as well. If for some reason you're drawn to non-coastal areas in Florida, the town of Parrish has very good schools and would be a good option for you if you're covering the Tampa Bay-Sarasota area.

[jkfloridabound]

We would rather be in the coastal areas but it looks like the Orlando job is a better opportunity so I'm torn. Parrish looks very nice but the Palmetto High School doesn't look very good. Is there another HS you had in mind for that area-possibly private? We'd rather be in public schools but will consider private as well. Pine View HS looks amazing but I'm not sure if we decided on that area if it is too late to test in. We also like Lake Mary but I'm not sure about the schools there.