Winter Garden...

[lovetotravel15]

Originally Posted by dfab86

So I drove through the area again a few days ago since I was in the state and went through some of the Winter Garden areas. Winter Garden village was a lot bigger than I though so that's a nice place to do all of your shopping. I drove around Winter Garden Vineland rd/Daniels but most of the neighborhoods there seem to be gated so I didn't get to drive through those. I also drove through areas in between Stoneybrook W Pkwy and Lake Butler Blvd/Park Ave. All of these areas seemed nice. Things seemed to change a little bit while driving on WGV rd north crossing over the turnpike. It didn't seem as nice, though I didn't really go much further north than the turnpike crossover, I believe I turned around in a church parking lot. Is that an area that I should stay south of?

The area over near Bridgewater Middle School seems nice. I actually really liked the "Independence" neighborhood off of Ficquette rd. From what I gather from the zipcode map, it's split between Windermere and Winter Garden. This is the 3rd time I'm driving around the Windermere/Winter Garden area so I'm actually getting pretty familiar with the roads. Also found out the back road to Disney is A LOT easier to get into lol.

We drove through that area as well on our October trip. In my conversation with realtors, those "north" areas are not as desirable. We will be renting for a year or two to see if we like the area, in either Winter Garden or Windermere for our semi retirement move. SO looking forward to it; "the next chapter". Many have warned us about traffic. We are used to traffic in NJ, so we will see. If the area is not for us, we will look in the Tampa area next. We are downsizing from a larger home. No rush to buy a home without living in an area for awhile.

[CourtneyBass]

Windermere and Winter Garden lines feel blurred- Bridgewater MS is in W Garden (so is Independence and Signature Lakes) but it's only a few blocks on Bridgewater Crossing just behind Summerport that divide. I like the neighborhoods just the other side of Summerport (Orchard Hills, Signature Lakes, etc). If you drive around Hamlin area you'll be amazed at all the new construction (still).

You should check out Winter Garden downtown (GOOD farmer's market on Sat), Crooked Can brewing co and tons more...

You have the right idea- drive around and get familiar with the larger area in case you're missing something. If you like Independence, there's not much that compares besides Summerport. They're both huge.

Good luck!

Disclosure: I'm a real estate agent, but I am addressing your question as a resident from personal perspective and experience (I live in Windermere).

[doom1001]

Originally Posted by Traderboynh

Concur with movetoorlando1. The area along Marsh Rd. (which becomes Hartwood/Marsh Rd. in Lake County) is undergoing explosive growth. We live in Clermont off Hartwood/Marsh and the communities going in there in both Lake and Orange County will at least rival or possibly exceed those found in the areas in which the OP expressed interest. It’s worth a drive through there.

Clermont is also an interesting location to consider.

The entire area,Windermere,Winter Garden,Horizon West is growing so fast that traffic literally feels like its doubled in the three years I've been here,like seriously,doubled and increasing daily!!The same goes for the areas you mentioned like Hartwood/Marsh that connect Winter Garden to Clermont and Avalon rd,when I moved just a measly three years ago it was like an old country road and today theres few areas along the road that aren't being developed with housing,I'm scared to see what traffic will be like in ten years.

[aax]

We live in Winter Garden and we love it!

[lovetotravel15]

Looking forward to our August trip for another look see. Thanks to all for all of your insight; so helpful!