Beachbound

Ladies, we sold our house & are coming down to Fl to live! This is crazy scary cause we have no clue where we are going. Our son lives in Orlando so that is the general direction we're headed toward. We like it slow, want to get away from Atlanta traffic so we're thinking of the Mt Dora area. Any feed back would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!!!

alwayslearning

We live south of Orlando, but have friends in Lake Mary and love Mt. Dora. Usually make it there a couple of times a year. They have a great local theater group, charming downtown shopping/eating area. Traffic does get very bad when they have their big art show in early February. On the outskirts, there is also a large flea market/antiques market. There are a few other drawbacks, but lots of pluses to be in that general area. Look up the Quilt Shop of Deland for a real lure for that area. I think you will be very happy there. As I said, we are just south of Orlando, near to Disney so more traffic, but warmer weather - both summer and winter.

QuiltnNan

Definitely, Mt Dora is a quaint, quiet town. I love to visit there. You might also want to consider The Villages on route 19... easy access to everything by car and, inside the village, you can get everything you need by golf cart. The Villages has been featured on the national news shows a few times. Quilt shops near there are http://clermontsewing.com/ and http://www.quiltingbynancy.com/ [no affiliation]. I used to live in crowded south Florida and my folks lived just up the road from The Villages in a manufactured home community called Hawthorne Village. You can read about The Villages here http://thevillages.com/aboutus/contactus.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Villages,_Florida

Beachbound

That's great info, Nan thanks so much! We looked at Clemont as well but saw a lot of short term rental & wondered about the area.

Scraps

Check out The Villages before you buy/rent anywhere!

QuiltnNan

glad i could help. i do have to mention that they only thing that my folks did not like about central florida is that the ocean breezes do not reach that far. the summer can get quite hot if you are an outdoorsy person. but since your son lives in orlando, i guess he can tell you if that's a problem.

MissSandra

I have to laugh at the villages because when I lived in FL, they were known for there adult community with STD's. SAD I guess they don't know about protection.

marylu

I hope you are happy in the central Florida area. I just escaped from all that traffic last year and moved to the country in northwest Alabama between Birmingham and Huntsville. I was a lifelong central Florida native I was closer to Orlando. I hope you enjoy...... the Mt Dora area is very nice.

Beachbound

whoa!!!! Not the kinda town I want to live in! Plus it is really pricey there

I hope to get more feedback & info to help me make up my mind. Stressful times ahead!

Cybrarian

Are you acquianted with small town life? Just asking because many who live in urban areas think it would be great to live in a small town but the differences are often too drastic. Deland is an awesome college town Ocala is great not that far from U of Florida or Orlando but far enough. Us? We live in Pinellas County. Clearwater - St Petersburg area many different types of housing, great beaches pro baseball, hockey & football, theater, shopping, quilt shops, guilds, every type of church etc etc. up the beach a little is Dunedin another gorgeous historic area and the largest quilt shop in Florida. Fabulous restaurants everywhere and very friendly people all up and down our Gulf Coast. Come on down!!