Moving to Orange County FL Orlando from McLean to Windemere, schools are bad? Oviedo is better? Help

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider commute. Traffic is awful. Winter park proper (32789 zip code) has great schools (public or private).

Windermere has two parts (town and unincorporated Orange County). Windermere (town) has a great elementary school (Windermere elementary). The high school for the town of Windermere is Olympia. Olympia high school has an APEX program that is amazing. Windermere high school serves the unincorporated area and I don’t know how it does. Windermere prep is the main non-denominational private school. Plenty of parents use Lake Highland from Windermere also but it’s a bit of a drive.

From looking at us news and greatschools I have concerns on the public schools in winter park and windemere. Maybe schools aren't tied to properties like the DC area? Is that why there are so many gated communities? Also I don't care about golf and we are in our early 40s and can work remotely.

If you want to live in an area that is uniformly wealthy, you should stay in McLean. Central Florida isn’t it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why Orlando area? Is this a job related move?

Job-related and we want to move to a more affordable area. The DC area is getting too expensive.

You live in a 3.5M house and DC is too expensive??!!!

Have you lived in Central Florida before? It’s going to be a culture shock. Even private schools are going to be not really that academic, Florida is basically a state of hedonists. Just plan on going private, and still understand it won’t be anything like the education you would get at a DC private or McLean school

Lol, you people are ridiculous. I grew up in Central Florida, went to Winter Springs High School, took the same AP classes kids at McLean take (probably more!), went to an Ivy, moved to DC and had absolutely no culture shock. Winter Springs is a pretty wealthy area and I spent my childhood playing tennis, going to ballet lessons, going to the (fantastic) Orlando Science Center, the Orlando Art Museum, going to performances at the Bob Carr Theatre, taking part in the Orlando Repertory Theatre, and traveling to Europe on vacation. You think you are so above everyone else but sound sheltered, dumb, and unsophisticated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider commute. Traffic is awful. Winter park proper (32789 zip code) has great schools (public or private).

Windermere has two parts (town and unincorporated Orange County). Windermere (town) has a great elementary school (Windermere elementary). The high school for the town of Windermere is Olympia. Olympia high school has an APEX program that is amazing. Windermere high school serves the unincorporated area and I don’t know how it does. Windermere prep is the main non-denominational private school. Plenty of parents use Lake Highland from Windermere also but it’s a bit of a drive.

From looking at us news and greatschools I have concerns on the public schools in winter park and windemere. Maybe schools aren't tied to properties like the DC area? Is that why there are so many gated communities? Also I don't care about golf and we are in our early 40s and can work remotely.

If you want to live in an area that is uniformly wealthy, you should stay in McLean. Central Florida isn’t it.

To be honest we are wealthy but the neighborhood is a mishmash of ramblers and large new builds so it's not visually uniformly wealthy. I am mostly concerned about schools and poverty and whether I need to budget for private schools which will change my housing budget.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider commute. Traffic is awful. Winter park proper (32789 zip code) has great schools (public or private).

Windermere has two parts (town and unincorporated Orange County). Windermere (town) has a great elementary school (Windermere elementary). The high school for the town of Windermere is Olympia. Olympia high school has an APEX program that is amazing. Windermere high school serves the unincorporated area and I don’t know how it does. Windermere prep is the main non-denominational private school. Plenty of parents use Lake Highland from Windermere also but it’s a bit of a drive.

From looking at us news and greatschools I have concerns on the public schools in winter park and windemere. Maybe schools aren't tied to properties like the DC area? Is that why there are so many gated communities? Also I don't care about golf and we are in our early 40s and can work remotely.

If you want to live in an area that is uniformly wealthy, you should stay in McLean. Central Florida isn’t it.

To be honest we are wealthy but the neighborhood is a mishmash of ramblers and large new builds so it's not visually uniformly wealthy. I am mostly concerned about schools and poverty and whether I need to budget for private schools which will change my housing budget.

Yes, you should. $25k/yr per kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider commute. Traffic is awful. Winter park proper (32789 zip code) has great schools (public or private).

Windermere has two parts (town and unincorporated Orange County). Windermere (town) has a great elementary school (Windermere elementary). The high school for the town of Windermere is Olympia. Olympia high school has an APEX program that is amazing. Windermere high school serves the unincorporated area and I don’t know how it does. Windermere prep is the main non-denominational private school. Plenty of parents use Lake Highland from Windermere also but it’s a bit of a drive.

From looking at us news and greatschools I have concerns on the public schools in winter park and windemere. Maybe schools aren't tied to properties like the DC area? Is that why there are so many gated communities? Also I don't care about golf and we are in our early 40s and can work remotely.

If you want to live in an area that is uniformly wealthy, you should stay in McLean. Central Florida isn’t it.

To be honest we are wealthy but the neighborhood is a mishmash of ramblers and large new builds so it's not visually uniformly wealthy. I am mostly concerned about schools and poverty and whether I need to budget for private schools which will change my housing budget.

Yes, you should. $25k/yr per kid.

ok so whats the point of paying more for the house in winter park and Windemere? Does anyone have input on Ovideo and Hagerty High?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Consider commute. Traffic is awful. Winter park proper (32789 zip code) has great schools (public or private).

Windermere has two parts (town and unincorporated Orange County). Windermere (town) has a great elementary school (Windermere elementary). The high school for the town of Windermere is Olympia. Olympia high school has an APEX program that is amazing. Windermere high school serves the unincorporated area and I don’t know how it does. Windermere prep is the main non-denominational private school. Plenty of parents use Lake Highland from Windermere also but it’s a bit of a drive.

From looking at us news and greatschools I have concerns on the public schools in winter park and windemere. Maybe schools aren't tied to properties like the DC area? Is that why there are so many gated communities? Also I don't care about golf and we are in our early 40s and can work remotely.

If you want to live in an area that is uniformly wealthy, you should stay in McLean. Central Florida isn’t it.

To be honest we are wealthy but the neighborhood is a mishmash of ramblers and large new builds so it's not visually uniformly wealthy. I am mostly concerned about schools and poverty and whether I need to budget for private schools which will change my housing budget.

Yes, you should. $25k/yr per kid.

ok so whats the point of paying more for the house in winter park and Windemere? Does anyone have input on Ovideo and Hagerty High?

Because those are the nicest places to live in the area? If you’re really considering this, you need to go down there and explore the different areas you’re looking at in person. I’ve never heard of someone spending $2M+ in Oveido, but maybe things have changed. People in that bracket in Florida generally don’t send their kids to public school. They do private everything ($$$$) and I guess save some money by not paying state income tax every year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why Orlando area? Is this a job related move?

Job-related and we want to move to a more affordable area. The DC area is getting too expensive.

You live in a 3.5M house and DC is too expensive??!!!

Have you lived in Central Florida before? It’s going to be a culture shock. Even private schools are going to be not really that academic, Florida is basically a state of hedonists. Just plan on going private, and still understand it won’t be anything like the education you would get at a DC private or McLean school

Lol, you people are ridiculous. I grew up in Central Florida, went to Winter Springs High School, took the same AP classes kids at McLean take (probably more!), went to an Ivy, moved to DC and had absolutely no culture shock. Winter Springs is a pretty wealthy area and I spent my childhood playing tennis, going to ballet lessons, going to the (fantastic) Orlando Science Center, the Orlando Art Museum, going to performances at the Bob Carr Theatre, taking part in the Orlando Repertory Theatre, and traveling to Europe on vacation. You think you are so above everyone else but sound sheltered, dumb, and unsophisticated.

+ 1 PP, well done.

[Anonymous]

My parents have lived in Winter Springs for almost 40 years now (they moved when I graduated high school, so I have only lived shorter periods with them). But my mother has been a realtor in the Orlando area for nearly 40 years.

Seminole County schools are good because it is like Howard County in MD. It is less dense and more spread out and there is a higher average wealth in each school. Each school is good to very good, but there are limited exceptional schools (for public). Additionally, not as many students (about 66K) Orange County is more like Montgomery County. It has some very wealthy enclaves and it also has some much poorer areas. So you'll have a handful of exceptional schools (again, on the public scale), but you'll also have some mediocre and some poor schools.

As one PP mentioned, Winter Park is like the W schools in MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My parents have lived in Winter Springs for almost 40 years now (they moved when I graduated high school, so I have only lived shorter periods with them). But my mother has been a realtor in the Orlando area for nearly 40 years.

Seminole County schools are good because it is like Howard County in MD. It is less dense and more spread out and there is a higher average wealth in each school. Each school is good to very good, but there are limited exceptional schools (for public). Additionally, not as many students (about 66K) Orange County is more like Montgomery County. It has some very wealthy enclaves and it also has some much poorer areas. So you'll have a handful of exceptional schools (again, on the public scale), but you'll also have some mediocre and some poor schools.

As one PP mentioned, Winter Park is like the W schools in MCPS.

Is the DC area spoiled with good schools? Maybe thats the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents have lived in Winter Springs for almost 40 years now (they moved when I graduated high school, so I have only lived shorter periods with them). But my mother has been a realtor in the Orlando area for nearly 40 years.

Seminole County schools are good because it is like Howard County in MD. It is less dense and more spread out and there is a higher average wealth in each school. Each school is good to very good, but there are limited exceptional schools (for public). Additionally, not as many students (about 66K) Orange County is more like Montgomery County. It has some very wealthy enclaves and it also has some much poorer areas. So you'll have a handful of exceptional schools (again, on the public scale), but you'll also have some mediocre and some poor schools.

As one PP mentioned, Winter Park is like the W schools in MCPS.

Is the DC area spoiled with good schools? Maybe thats the problem.

And more segregated

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents have lived in Winter Springs for almost 40 years now (they moved when I graduated high school, so I have only lived shorter periods with them). But my mother has been a realtor in the Orlando area for nearly 40 years.

Seminole County schools are good because it is like Howard County in MD. It is less dense and more spread out and there is a higher average wealth in each school. Each school is good to very good, but there are limited exceptional schools (for public). Additionally, not as many students (about 66K) Orange County is more like Montgomery County. It has some very wealthy enclaves and it also has some much poorer areas. So you'll have a handful of exceptional schools (again, on the public scale), but you'll also have some mediocre and some poor schools.

As one PP mentioned, Winter Park is like the W schools in MCPS.

Is the DC area spoiled with good schools? Maybe thats the problem.

Every public school in Florida is going to be worse than the public schools in McLean. Every. Single. One.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents have lived in Winter Springs for almost 40 years now (they moved when I graduated high school, so I have only lived shorter periods with them). But my mother has been a realtor in the Orlando area for nearly 40 years.

Seminole County schools are good because it is like Howard County in MD. It is less dense and more spread out and there is a higher average wealth in each school. Each school is good to very good, but there are limited exceptional schools (for public). Additionally, not as many students (about 66K) Orange County is more like Montgomery County. It has some very wealthy enclaves and it also has some much poorer areas. So you'll have a handful of exceptional schools (again, on the public scale), but you'll also have some mediocre and some poor schools.

As one PP mentioned, Winter Park is like the W schools in MCPS.

Is the DC area spoiled with good schools? Maybe thats the problem.

And more segregated

It’s full of high income people whose kids do well in school, which is why the schools are better.

[Anonymous]

High schools in DC,VA,MD,FL sorted by average % of seniors accepted in ivy league schools.
name city state public acceptances_count num_senior accepted_pct 0 THOMAS JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL ALEXANDRIA VA True 136 423.00 5.36 1 SIDWELL FRIENDS SCHOOL WASHINGTON DC False 27 121.00 3.72 2 RANSOM EVERGLADES SCHOOL COCONUT GROVE FL False 32 153.00 3.49 3 GEORGETOWN DAY SCHOOL WASHINGTON DC False 26 125.00 3.47 4 PINE CREST SCHOOL FORT LAUDERDALE FL False 39 197.00 3.30 5 MCDONOGH SCHOOL OWINGS MILLS MD False 22 143.00 2.56 6 GILMAN SCHOOL BALTIMORE MD False 17 114.00 2.49 7 COLLEGIATE SCHOOL RICHMOND VA False 10 121.00 1.38 8 RICHARD MONTGOMERY HIGH SCHOOL ROCKVILLE MD True 38 482.00 1.31 9 THE BENJAMIN SCHOOL NORTH PALM BEACH FL False 8 102.00 1.31 10 PINE VIEW SCHOOL OSPREY FL True 18 233.00 1.29 11 CHARLES E SMITH JEWISH DAY SCHOOL ROCKVILLE MD False 8 107.00 1.25 12 MONTGOMERY BLAIR HIGH SCHOOL SILVER SPRING MD True 46 619.00 1.24 13 NORFOLK ACADEMY NORFOLK VA False 9 130.00 1.15 14 GEORGETOWN PREPARATORY SCHOOL NORTH BETHESDA MD False 8 122.00 1.09 15 THE BOLLES SCHOOL JACKSONVILLE FL False 12 195.00 1.03 16 WALT WHITMAN HIGH SCHOOL BETHESDA MD True 26 441.00 0.98 17 SUNCOAST COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL RIVIERA BEACH FL True 20 358.00 0.93 18 FLINT HILL SCHOOL OAKTON VA False 7 134.00 0.87 19 GONZAGA COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL WASHINGTON DC False 12 234.00 0.85 20 WINSTON CHURCHILL HIGH SCHOOL POTOMAC MD True 23 454.00 0.84 21 EPISCOPAL HIGH SCHOOL ALEXANDRIA VA False 6 119.00 0.84 22 MAST ACADEMY KEY BISCAYNE FL True 6 121.00 0.83 23 EASTSIDE HIGH SCHOOL GAINESVILLE FL True 13 279.00 0.78 24 CHARLOTTESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL CHARLOTTESVILLE VA True 13 284.00 0.76 25 NORTH BROWARD PREPARATORY SCHOOL COCONUT CREEK FL False 9 198.00 0.76 26 EPISCOPAL SCHOOL OF JACKSONVILLE JACKSONVILLE FL False 6 143.00 0.70 27 BELEN JESUIT PREP SCHOOL MIAMI FL False 9 220.00 0.68 28 TRINITY PREPARATORY SCHOOL WINTER PARK FL False 5 129.00 0.65 29 PALMER TRINITY SCHOOL PALMETTO BAY FL False 4 108.00 0.62 30 SCHOOL WITHOUT WALLS HIGH SCHOOL WASHINGTON DC True 5 137.00 0.61 31 THOMAS S. WOOTTON HIGH SCHOOL ROCKVILLE MD True 19 554.00 0.57 32 PENSACOLA HIGH SCHOOL PENSACOLA FL True 10 295.00 0.56 33 ST STEPHENS ST AGNES DAYSCHOOL ALEXANDRIA VA False 4 119.00 0.56 34 SCHOOL FOR ADVANCED STUDIES - SOUTH MIAMI FL True 4 120.00 0.56 35 ALEXANDER W DREYFOOS JUNIOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS WEST PALM BEACH FL True 10 331.00 0.50 36 WESTMINSTER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL PALMETTO BAY FL False 3 103.00 0.49 37 WESTSHORE JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL MELBOURNE FL True 4 143.00 0.47 38 NEW WORLD SCHOOL OF THE ARTS MIAMI FL True 3 108.00 0.46 39 WALTER JOHNSON HIGH SCHOOL BETHESDA MD True 15 543.00 0.46 40 FRIENDS SCHOOL OF BALTIMORE BALTIMORE MD False 3 111.00 0.45 41 POOLESVILLE HIGH SCHOOL POOLESVILLE MD True 8 299.00 0.45 42 RIVER HILL HIGH SCHOOL CLARKSVILLE MD True 9 340.00 0.44 43 ST THOMAS AQUINAS HIGH SCHOOL FORT LAUDERDALE FL False 14 535.00 0.44 44 WILSON HIGH SCHOOL WASHINGTON DC True 10 383.00 0.44 45 OUR LADY OF GOOD COUNSEL HIGH SCHOOL OLNEY MD False 8 309.00 0.43 46 CENTENNIAL HIGH SCHOOL ELLICOTT CITY MD True 8 335.00 0.40 47 ATHOLTON HIGH SCHOOL COLUMBIA MD True 9 381.00 0.39 48 F. W. BUCHHOLZ HIGH SCHOOL GAINESVILLE FL True 12 509.00 0.39 49 JAMESTOWN HIGH SCHOOL WILLIAMSBURG VA True 7 299.00 0.39 50 BETHESDA-CHEVY CHASE HIGH SCHOOL BETHESDA MD True 11 477.00 0.38 51 BLACKSBURG HIGH SCHOOL BLACKSBURG VA True 6 262.00 0.38 52 MCLEAN HIGH SCHOOL MCLEAN VA True 11 486.00 0.38 53 LOYOLA BLAKEFIELD BALTIMORE MD False 4 182.00 0.37 54 JAMES RICKARDS HIGH SCHOOL TALLAHASSEE FL True 5 231.00 0.36 55 OAKLAND MILLS HIGH SCHOOL COLUMBIA MD True 5 249.00 0.33 56 POPE JOHN PAUL THE GREAT CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL DUMFRIES VA False 3 152.00 0.33 57 GULLIVER PREPARATORY SCHOOL PINECREST FL False 5 262.00 0.32 58 MADISON HIGH SCHOOL VIENNA VA True 9 478.00 0.31 59 MONTVERDE ACADEMY MONTVERDE FL False 3 166.00 0.30 60 LANGLEY HIGH SCHOOL MCLEAN VA True 9 509.00 0.29 61 CYPRESS BAY HIGH SCHOOL WESTON FL True 19 1,079.00 0.29 62 HAMMOND HIGH SCHOOL COLUMBIA MD True 5 288.00 0.29 63 URBANA HIGH SCHOOL IJAMSVILLE MD True 6 361.00 0.28 64 BOCA RATON COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL BOCA RATON FL True 12 731.00 0.27 65 MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH HIGH SCHOOL BALTIMORE MD False 4 246.00 0.27 66 THE IMG PENDLETON SCHOOL BRADENTON FL False 3 192.00 0.26 67 PLANT HIGH SCHOOL TAMPA FL True 9 579.00 0.26 68 BALTIMORE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE BALTIMORE MD True 5 328.00 0.25 69 MIAMI PALMETTO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL MIAMI FL True 10 659.00 0.25 70 CORAL REEF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL MIAMI FL True 11 748.00 0.25 71 WEST SPRINGFIELD HIGH SCHOOL SPRINGFIELD VA True 9 620.00 0.24 72 PONTE VEDRA HIGH SCHOOL PONTE VEDRA FL True 5 347.00 0.24 73 WASHINGTON LEE HIGH SCHOOL ARLINGTON VA True 7 496.00 0.24 74 DEMATHA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL HYATTSVILLE MD False 3 215.00 0.23 75 HOWARD HIGH SCHOOL ELLICOTT CITY MD True 6 435.00 0.23 76 ELEANOR ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL GREENBELT MD True 8 584.00 0.23 77 PRINCESS ANNE HIGH SCHOOL VIRGINIA BEACH VA True 6 443.00 0.23 78 MIAMI LAKES EDUCATIONAL CENTER MIAMI LAKES FL True 4 296.00 0.23 79 NAPLES HIGH SCHOOL NAPLES FL True 5 373.00 0.22 80 WESTERN SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY & ENV. SCIENCE BALTIMORE MD True 3 227.00 0.22 81 DULANEY HIGH SCHOOL TIMONIUM MD True 6 454.00 0.22 82 BARTOW SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL BARTOW FL True 5 385.00 0.22 83 SEVERNA PARK HIGH SCHOOL SEVERNA PARK MD True 6 465.00 0.22 84 SOUTHERN HIGH SCHOOL HARWOOD MD True 3 235.00 0.21 85 STANTON COLLEGE PREPARATORY JACKSONVILLE FL True 4 314.00 0.21 86 MONTICELLO HIGH SCHOOL CHARLOTTESVILLE VA True 3 237.00 0.21 87 RUTHERFORD HIGH SCHOOL PANAMA CITY FL True 3 238.00 0.21 88 ABERDEEN HIGH SCHOOL ABERDEEN MD True 4 328.00 0.20 89 CHRISTIANSBURG HIGH SCHOOL CHRISTIANSBURG VA True 3 247.00 0.20 90 SOUTH HAGERSTOWN HIGH SCHOOL HAGERSTOWN MD True 3 250.00 0.20 91 NOVA HIGH SCHOOL DAVIE FL True 6 503.00 0.20 92 WINTER PARK HIGH SCHOOL WINTER PARK FL True 9 763.00 0.20 93 LONG REACH HIGH SCHOOL COLUMBIA MD True 4 344.00 0.19 94 PAXON SCHOOL/ADVANCED STUDIES JACKSONVILLE FL True 4 353.00 0.19 95 PARKSIDE HIGH SCHOOL SALISBURY MD True 3 267.00 0.19 96 COOPER CITY HIGH SCHOOL COOPER CITY FL True 6 538.00 0.19 97 RONALD W. REAGAN/DORAL SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL DORAL FL True 6 540.00 0.19 98 NICEVILLE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL NICEVILLE FL True 5 453.00 0.18 99 NORTHWEST HIGH SCHOOL GERMANTOWN MD True 5 455.00 0.18

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents have lived in Winter Springs for almost 40 years now (they moved when I graduated high school, so I have only lived shorter periods with them). But my mother has been a realtor in the Orlando area for nearly 40 years.

Seminole County schools are good because it is like Howard County in MD. It is less dense and more spread out and there is a higher average wealth in each school. Each school is good to very good, but there are limited exceptional schools (for public). Additionally, not as many students (about 66K) Orange County is more like Montgomery County. It has some very wealthy enclaves and it also has some much poorer areas. So you'll have a handful of exceptional schools (again, on the public scale), but you'll also have some mediocre and some poor schools.

As one PP mentioned, Winter Park is like the W schools in MCPS.

Is the DC area spoiled with good schools? Maybe thats the problem.

And more segregated

It’s full of high income people whose kids do well in school, which is why the schools are better.

Looking at the farms rate in windemere and winter park high school they are in the 35%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are considering moving from McLean to the Orlando area.

From my research, the orange county areas of Windemere, Dr. Phillips, and Lake Onano are the best places, but the schools look bad with a lot of poverty.

However, Seminole County Ovideo has ok schools, but the houses are half the price.

What do people in Orlando do with schools? Do the affluent areas go private? How come Seminole County has much better schools than Orange County?

We're currently in a 3.5M house in the McLean area using the excellent public schools

We can afford 2.5M, but it doesn't seem that Oviedo has homes at that price. Only the areas mentioned in Orange County seem to have houses in our higher price range.

Orlando native here. You should live in Winter Park with that budget. People in your shoes send their kids to Lake Highland Prep or Trinity Prep. Both are expensive but less than DC area top privates. I think Winter Park public schools are good and would send my kids there though. They are more economically diverse than public schools in McLean, but I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

I echo this. Look in winter park, zoned to winter park high school. Even if you send kids to private school. WPHS is a very good school.