Anyone live in Lake Mary? (Orlando, Sanford: HOA, houses, neighborhoods)

[jenndotcom]

My husband has a new job in the Heathrow area, and we are trying to decide where to live. Is Heathrow worth the money? What do you think of Timucuan? Any other nice developments in LM? (our budget is around 450K for a house)

If not Lake Mary, what would you recommend? Thoughts on Sanford (worried about crime/schools?) or Oviedo?

Any info you have would be appreciated. We are in our mid-30's with a 2-year old, so looking for family-friendly area.

[cuse]

I live in Lake Mary. Heathrow is over rated and too expensive for housing. Timucuan is a very nice subdivision. Has a golf course behind. Homes are modestly priced. The Hills of Lake Mary is also nice, but I've heard that most homes are on septic. I'm not 100% sure on that, but that's what I've heard.
Oviedo area is very nice as well. The commute is about 20 mins. on the 417. Oviedo has A+ schools and high school.

$450 should get you a nice home w/ a screened in pool, 4 bed 2 bath 2 car garage and a decent lot.

[BuddyDog]

I agree Heathrow is overrated. Since you have a 2 yo, it is not too early to position yourself in a good school district. Any school (Elem, middle) that rolls up to Seminole HS in Sanford is not as desirable as the Lake Mary HS district. I believe the general dividing line is north of Lk Mary BLvd is Seminole and south is Lake Mary HS. Check out some areas south of Lake Mary Blvd off Lk Emma rd, they are very nice and more reasonable than Heathrow. Also check to the east of Lk Emma rd as well. Hope this helps.

[rholborn]

hi there! i've lived in lake mary for over 10 years, and it is a fantastic place to live as a young executive with a family, and it is a great community. (I sent you a pm by the way!) Heathrow is great, but you are buying into a certain lifestyle there (not that it is bad!) but the HOA for some are steep, and some are seeking more privacy. Timacuan is nice too (another golf community), and there is also Lake Forest, Alaqua, Alaqua Lakes, Berington Club, & The Cove to name a few gated communities. There are lots of fantastic neighborhoods in Lake Mary and Sanford. Driving around with someone that knows the area is a great way to learn about what it has to offer. Plus, Lake Mary is half way to the beach and half way to the attractions like disney, universal, and sea world. the schools are great, most are A+ ratings, and it is close to the seminole towne center for the mall and other great stores, even a sams club. hope this helps!

[jenndotcom]

Thank you to everyone who replied, this is very helpful!

So are some of the Sanford community in the good school district (i.e. Lake Forest, Berrington, etc?)

If you had to choose b/w Oviedo and Lake Mary area, which would you choose and why?

[new guy in town]

Thats somewhat of the dilemma I'm having now. I can definately afford Saford, but Oviedo and Lake Mary would be stretching it. I really want Oviedo for the school system, which is awesome and we have family there. But, with our baby being born in Sept, then that gives us about 3-5 yrs until we worry about the schools. We just discussed finding a place in Sanford, observing the next few years to see if the schools (NE Cluster) there improve and then make the decision to move to Oviedo or stay. We don't want to have to move but you do what you can. If we moved down 4 years ago, the market would have been $100k less. Timing is everything. Good luck.

[Prichard]

I dissagree, Heathrow is not overrated. It is a very nice place to live; nice homes, close to high-tech businesses, shops stores etc. Lake Mary is runner up to Heathrow. Oviedo / Winter Springs is also a nice area. Be mindful of the school districts - Lake Mary and Heathrow have had some problems with redistricting and bussing to Sanford.

[jenndotcom]

Originally Posted by new guy in town

Thats somewhat of the dilemma I'm having now. I can definately afford Saford, but Oviedo and Lake Mary would be stretching it. I really want Oviedo for the school system, which is awesome and we have family there. But, with our baby being born in Sept, then that gives us about 3-5 yrs until we worry about the schools. We just discussed finding a place in Sanford, observing the next few years to see if the schools (NE Cluster) there improve and then make the decision to move to Oviedo or stay. We don't want to have to move but you do what you can. If we moved down 4 years ago, the market would have been $100k less. Timing is everything. Good luck.

Good luck to you as well! One thing to think about (as a person who has bought and sold several houses), is that the school system thing is important even if your child is not of age yet. It is much easier to sell a house in a good school district. That is what I keep trying to tell myself, even though Sanford prices are tempting.

[hb703]

I've done more research than you care to imagine since we began tossing around the idea of moving to Orlando back in August.

We are actually looking at neighborhoods along Markham Woods road. Some neighborhoods are in Longwood, but the majority are in Lake Mary. Schools are important to me so the bulk of my research has centered around that topic. I've gone so far as to read school board minutes, and have been following an elementary school re-zoning closely. I've visited the schools' websites and scrutinized their curriculums and course offerings.

My conclusion is that the entire Seminole school district is hands down better than the surrounding counties - so keep that in mind when you're looking for the "best" when people are offering opinions. It's all relative. Just looks at the surrounding counties' test scores to get perspective. Some schools are more diverse than others - yes...but, is that such a bad thing? We are moving from one the best public school systems in the U.S. and it's very diverse. We think diversity is good when raising children.

Good luck in your house search - maybe we'll be neighbors!

[new guy in town]

Originally Posted by hb703

I've done more research than you care to imagine since we began tossing around the idea of moving to Orlando back in August.

We are actually looking at neighborhoods along Markham Woods road. Some neighborhoods are in Longwood, but the majority are in Lake Mary. Schools are important to me so the bulk of my research has centered around that topic. I've gone so far as to read school board minutes, and have been following an elementary school re-zoning closely. I've visited the schools' websites and scrutinized their curriculums and course offerings.

My conclusion is that the entire Seminole school district is hands down better than the surrounding counties - so keep that in mind when you're looking for the "best" when people are offering opinions. It's all relative. Just looks at the surrounding counties' test scores to get perspective. Some schools are more diverse than others - yes...but, is that such a bad thing? We are moving from one the best public school systems in the U.S. and it's very diverse. We think diversity is good when raising children.

Good luck in your house search - maybe we'll be neighbors!

Are there any new subdivisions in the Markham Road area that are building up now? Or, along that Markham Rd, what are some good subdivisions in that area that I should look at?
Thanks.