[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Rumann Koch

What are the Pros and Cons of living in this area?

Unlike much of the state this part of Lake County is not seeing relentless development and high population growth. It's primarily thought of as an area for retirees as the public school quality is mostly not there which has limited growth from transplants and even with more favorable housing costs, typically seen as too far from varying job centers in Central Florida. Of the group Leesburg is probably least favorable due to crime issues and lack of desirable areas. Eustis suffers a bit as well but does have areas that are desirable and well-priced due to the city's overall perception. Tavares has been on the rise for some time with high marks for its revitalized commercial areas near downtown, it's water recreational offerings and relative safety. Mount Dora is seen as the best overall with a world-class downtown area and some nice housing options. It's also the most convenient to the Orlando metro area.

[movingvanmorrison]

Eustis / Mt. Dora are practically one town, though Eustis is not so hoity-toity and touristy. I have a friend in Eustis and so I know it well. It's probably the most expensive around that area, except for Mt. Dora.
I am retired so know nothing about the schools.
Eustis/Mt Dora has a lot of shopping on 441, the main drag in the area. Target, Walmart, Dollar Tree, Lowes, Goodwill, Hobby Lobby, Aldi, Ollies, etc. all in a very short stretch of about 1-2 miles.

Tavares is just down the street from Eustis, then, going along that 441, you arrive at Leesburg.
Tavares, then next down the 441 is Leesburg.
To me Leesburg sucks for shopping except for one stretch along 441. It's very spread-out and the only big stores there are Lowes and Home Depot, then Goodwill.

I do most of my shopping in Eustis/Mt. Dora.

I live 20 minutes north of these towns. It seems that Leesburg is the least upscale of the area, and Mt Dora is the most upscale though Eustis has some upscale areas.

My friend in Eustis leaves his door unlocked all the time and there have been no breakins around his neighborhood. He's 5 minutes from the 441 and all the shopping mentioned above.

People are mostly friendly around this area.

My only problem in this region (and most of FL) is the extremely high humidity. It's horrible. July thru Sept are just awful! Stepping outside is like stepping into a wet sauna - literally!

In the summer you run the a.c. and it takes out the humidity from inside your home.
But in the winter the heater does not take it out well and so it gets up around 67-77% humidity INSIDE.
Guess I'll have to get a dehumidifer for the winter months (mostly just Dec and Jan).

Having lived in S California where it's a very dry, it's hard to live in such a humid state like FL. But I can't afford CA any more now that I'm retired.

The pluses around here are generally friendly people, low crime, and very good roads and good shopping options, at least where I live. And cheaper to buy a home than CA. Rent is quite high around here, though of course CA is higher.

The part I really don't like aside from the high humidity is the threat of hurricanes (though they generally don't do a lot of damage around this part of FL) , and the property taxes and insurance rates going up on home ownership. Kinda scary that DeSantis is in the pocket of Big Insurance. If someone doesn't defeat him in the next Governor race who will get in and work on helping us with lower insurance and taxes then it may become as expensive as CA to live here.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by movingvanmorrison

Eustis / Mt. Dora are practically one town, though Eustis is not so hoity-toity and touristy. I have a friend in Eustis and so I know it well. It's probably the most expensive around that area, except for Mt. Dora.
I am retired so know nothing about the schools.
Eustis/Mt Dora has a lot of shopping on 441, the main drag in the area. Target, Walmart, Dollar Tree, Lowes, Goodwill, Hobby Lobby, Aldi, Ollies, etc. all in a very short stretch of about 1-2 miles.

Tavares is just down the street from Eustis, then, going along that 441, you arrive at Leesburg.
Tavares, then next down the 441 is Leesburg.
To me Leesburg sucks for shopping except for one stretch along 441. It's very spread-out and the only big stores there are Lowes and Home Depot, then Goodwill.

I do most of my shopping in Eustis/Mt. Dora.

I live 20 minutes north of these towns. It seems that Leesburg is the least upscale of the area, and Mt Dora is the most upscale though Eustis has some upscale areas.

My friend in Eustis leaves his door unlocked all the time and there have been no breakins around his neighborhood. He's 5 minutes from the 441 and all the shopping mentioned above.

People are mostly friendly around this area.

My only problem in this region (and most of FL) is the extremely high humidity. It's horrible. July thru Sept are just awful! Stepping outside is like stepping into a wet sauna - literally!

In the summer you run the a.c. and it takes out the humidity from inside your home.
But in the winter the heater does not take it out well and so it gets up around 67-77% humidity INSIDE.
Guess I'll have to get a dehumidifer for the winter months (mostly just Dec and Jan).

Having lived in S California where it's a very dry, it's hard to live in such a humid state like FL. But I can't afford CA any more now that I'm retired.

The pluses around here are generally friendly people, low crime, and very good roads and good shopping options, at least where I live. And cheaper to buy a home than CA. Rent is quite high around here, though of course CA is higher.

The part I really don't like aside from the high humidity is the threat of hurricanes (though they generally don't do a lot of damage around this part of FL) , and the property taxes and insurance rates going up on home ownership. Kinda scary that DeSantis is in the pocket of Big Insurance. If someone doesn't defeat him in the next Governor race who will get in and work on helping us with lower insurance and taxes then it may become as expensive as CA to live here.

Try living on the gulf where i do if you want hell like weather and no rain all summer and when in a west flow my lows are 84f and dews over 82f.