For this entry in our ‘Getting to Know’ series on the places you can look at moving to in Florida, we have information on Winter Park from Beatrice Feeney.  We are very happy to have Bea’s information on this area of Central Florida.

We live in Winter Park. I believe it is the PERFECT neighborhood for us, but not for everyone. For us, we needed a nice neighborhood close to work. My hubby & I have had good experiences finding jobs in the Altamonte Springs area, north Orlando area – and that has been very convenient to home. Our area on the Lynx Bus System that services the Orlando area – I don’t know the schedules or how things are done, but for someone who needs transportation, that could be very useful.

I must warn people who move here to be closer to Disney that if you live on the north side of Orlando, you either have to deal with TRAFFIC on I-4 or Toll Roads. We have tried both. I can get from home to EPCOT (22 miles) in 45 minutes or sometimes it takes an hour and a half to get into the parks because you go 16 mph on the highway for 15 miles.

If you want to move to a great community with a lot of FUN activities around your HOME then Winter Park truly is a GREAT place! There are always activities for holidays in Central Park – free music, free outdoor movie to relax in the park with neighbors and friends. We’ve been to free events for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, 4th of July, Christmas Parade…it truly is a wonderful town to call home.

I also want to share that we don’t have kids, but have heard that around our area in Winter Park and Maitland there are good schools – I’m sorry that I can’t help too much more in that area. (Mark’s note: School info has been added below.)

Our Realtor has been amazing with questions as we were new to the area and he was one of the FIRST non-Disney Florida friends. He continues to keep in touch and helps us anytime we ask, as he has lived here all his life. That sort of trust in a Realtor is something that I have never found with anyone else. He helped us find both the house & neighborhood that was perfect for us.  Just remember, if you want to be able to go to Disney every day after work, this may be a bit too far but it’s not too far to go weekly.

I hope some of this information is helpful to you – but if I can give you other information or help in any way, just let me know & I will be happy to help!

You can reach out to Bea via Facebook: www.facebook.com/beatrice.feeney.  Bea also authors a great blog you should all check out at adisneygirlinorlando.blogspot.com.

Some Places of Interest in Winter Park

Full Sail University

Rollins College

Crealde School of Art

Amtrak Station

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, which houses the largest collection of Tiffany glass.

For more information on Winter Park, please visit the links below.

http://cityofwinterpark.org/Pages/Government.aspx (City of Winter Park)

http://www.wppl.org/ (Winter Park Library)

http://www.communityexplore.com/winterparkfl/ (Explore Winter Park)

http://www.wphistory.org/ (Winter Park Historical Association)

http://www.winterpark.org/ (Chamber of Commerce)

Winter Park Area School Info

2012 Public School Grades
School Types: 1 = elementary; 2 = middle; 3 = high; 4 = combination

School Name	2012 Points	Scale	Grade – 2012	School Type
LAKEMONT ELEMENTARY	593	800	A	01
GLENRIDGE MIDDLE	641	900	A	02
BROOKSHIRE ELEMENTARY	641	800	A	01
ALOMA ELEMENTARY	559	800	A	01
WINTER PARK HIGH	1244	1600	A	03
LAKE HOWELL HIGH SCHOOL	1120	1600	A	03

https://www.ocps.net (Orange County Schools)

https://www.ocps.net/Students/Pages/SchoolDirectory.aspx (Orange County School Directory)

https://www.ocps.net/Parents/Pages/FindaSchool.aspx (Orange County Schools – Find a School)

Winter Park Private Schools:

St. Margaret Mary Catholic School

The Geneva School

The Parke House Academy

Trinity Preparatory School