Moving to Lake Mary

[rluey29]

I too want to move to the area but the teaching market is terrible, everyone is laying teachers off instead of hiring new ones. Every county in the area is making cuts. I guess it just isn't the right time.

[greg_ny]

My wife and I want to move to Lake Mary in 2009.
How hard it is to get a job? She has masters in econimics & will get her MBA in finance in May'09.
Which parts of town are good to rent an appartment?
What else should newcomers know about the town?

[wjg1974]

Hello Figaro2008
I live in Lake Mary and I love it. It is a quite town and I live across the street of 2 schools that are both A rated schools.

[patypepper]

I live in Windermere at the moment. Love the area , the neighborhood. It's very quiet and peaceful here, no tourist but 15 minutes away from all the fun.
I have children in school here and they are very good, I really can't complain. Beware of some areas around orlando, a lot of mix, a lot of tourist...Windermere, Dr phillips, Winter Park and metrowest(off hiawasse) are all good, quiet , safe areas and good schools.
Good luck!

[aneftp]

Originally Posted by Figaro2008

We still want to move, but are seriously concerned with the job market. We aren't going to move unless one of us has a firm job offer, which will have to be me since I'm an elementary teacher and he works in marketing/business. I have to start applying to counties now in hopes there are positions and not a hiring freeze. Worse case scenario, we might end up moving to northern Virginia and hold off on Florida to the economy gets better years down the line.

We live in Lake Mary and are closing on a home in the Heathrow neighborhood this weekend.

I'm be blunt with you. The economy in Central FL is horrible. I'm in a recession proof profession (Medicine) so I'm not that concern about the economic crisis (Yet). But my wife left a good paying transportation job in Northern Virginia when we got married and she hasn't been able to find a job down here for the past 7 months.

Unless you have a guaranteed job lined up, I'd suggest you go to Northern Virginia. I grew up in the Northern VA and still have my other home on the Maryland side of the DC suburbs. I fly back and forth often. Northern Virginia/DC area has a much higher educated workforce than the Orlando area. The DC area does not rely on government jobs (that's a big misconception for outsiders, although government/contractors do make up a significant amount of the workforce). It's got technology/healthcare/education jobs to support its economy. Northern Virginia is not cheap. The housing crisis you hear in the DC area has to do with its super suburbs that are at least 30 miles outside the city (like Loudon/Prince William County). Cost of living will be very similiar to Long Island. You will not find "many steals" in housing if you are looking for homes inside the Capital Beltway.

The big difference is the economy. In the DC area the unemployment rate is 4.4% compared to Central Florida almost 8% unemployment rate. When I was back in the DC area a few weeks ago, it was business as usual. Lots of people out, shopping spending money (even in this recession).

In Central Florida, just look at the strip malls. There are so many empty slots up for lease. Lots of closed down businesses.

I hope I haven't scared you about Central Florida in general. I like Lake Mary a lot and so does my wife. It's a great place to live. It's safe, has good schools, and convenient to most places (40 minutes to beach, 20 minutes to downtown (without traffic), 35 minutes to Disney, although I avoid Disney/Universal at all costs unless my relatives/friends are visiting. They just need to fix the unemployment issues down here. You will here people complain about traffic but it's nothing compared to Long Island or DC.