Is Winter Springs, Florida a Good Place to Live?

Today we are going to be talking specifically about Winter Springs FL. I’m not going to cover the general living in Florida pros and cons so if you’re looking for information on the weather or love bugs or low taxes or bad storms, this won’t be the right place for info.

Winter Springs is a town of 36,000 people located just a little north of Orlando. To give you some idea of the location, it'll take you about 25 minutes to drive to Orlando, about 45 minutes to get to Disney, and about a 25-minute drive to the University of Central Florida. I think your closest beach is New Smyrna Beach, and that will take you about an hour. Cocoa Beach is just a little further at an hour and 15 minutes.

Pro Number 1. When people who live in Winter Springs tell you what they love about living there, natural spaces are high on the list.  There are abundant public parks throughout the city,

including some with walking trails alongside lakes, creeks and rivers. Two of the parks have splash pads for young children, and ball fields of all types. The cross-seminole trail passes through Winter

Springs, giving you access to 23 miles of walking and biking, most of it through natural settings. They also have neighborhoods in Winter Springs that still offer a country setting, many with multiple

acre lots, some hosting active equestrian properties. Many of these are not in HOAs, which I know is important to many of you. Wildlife abounds in the city and just about anywhere you are, you are likely to see hawks,owls, herons, cranes, tortoises and rabbits, with bobcats, coyotes and even bears making an occasional appearance.

Pro Number 2. Amenities - Although Winter Springs is a small town, they have grown in a smart and planned way, giving the residents easy access to nearly any service they might want. From several dozen restaurants to health care for both people and pets, multiple grocery stores, multiple banks, and hundreds of professional services. Additionally, the sister city to Winter Springs, their immediate neighbor, is the booming city of Oviedo, which hosts the Oviedo Mall, and two emergency rooms. Regarding schools, some parts of Winter Springs are zoned for Winter Springs High School, while others go to Oviedo High School. In any case, you are in Seminole County and zoned for those schools, so you would be able to take advantage also of any of the great charter or magnet programs that your student may be interested in. I’ll drop a link to how you can determine what school a home is zoned for and don’t forget to check that as the information provided to you in the MLS is only as good as the realtor who put it in, and not all of them check! https://www.scps.k12.fl.us/schools/find/

Pro Number 3. City services - When I asked some friends what they love most about living in Winter Springs, they mentioned the city services. The city of Winter Springs is well funded and hosts

events throughout the year, from fireworks in July, an Easter egg hunt, movie nights in the park, and a holiday extravaganza in December. Just this next month, Trotwood park is hosting a food truck artisan fair with live entertainment. The police are very active and if you are traveling, just let the police know and they will drive by your home daily, and even walk your property. If you have questions about your yard or trees, the city arborist will come out and help you. 

Now let’s move on to a Neutral topic -- both pro and con.

Since this is a real estate channel, let’s talk about houses. There are just 32 single-family homes for sale in Winter springs right now, so it does not have the widest choice available and probably explains why I don’t have too many people contacting me to say they are really interested in living in Winter Springs. Mostly my Seminole County clients are debating between Lake Mary and Oviedo, but Winter Springs really should not be overlooked. Prices range from $150,000 to $1.8 million. I mentioned earlier you can find a home not in an HOA and if that’s something you’re looking for, Oak Forest is a great place to look, with homes in the $300s.

Cons 

Con Number 1. As mentioned, the police force is active. The one thing you don't want to do in this quaint, quiet, city is speed. I may or may not be speaking from direct experience here. I am. I am actually speaking from experience here. I was 100% sure the road I was on was a 35 mph limit and it turned out to be 25. I was doing 37 and I got a ticket. I was so sure that it was 35 that I was actually confused why I was pulled over. There are police all over the place, and now I notice them more. You have been warned.

 Con Number 2. Booming development - While the city has been very careful in its

planning and has preserved natural spaces, they always knew the demand would come and it surely has. The roads are a little busier,and there are fewer cows and horses. If that rural country feel is what you’re looking for you, you might have to head toward Geneva or Chuluota in Seminole county nowadays.

Con Number 3. Less well known - Part of the appeal of Winter Springs is it's hidden

gem status, but when the time comes to sell your home, it can take little longer to sell. As I said earlier most people contact me about moving to Oviedo, not to Winter Springs. In fact, there are three “winters” in the area and most people get them mixed up at first. You have the well-known Winter Park, you have Winter Haven, Winter Garden to the west and you have Winter Springs.  Lots of Winters...but Winter Springs is the one in Seminole County.

I hope that this introduction to the pros and cons of Winter Springs has given you something to think about and as always I’m here for you if you want to discuss real estate. Thanks for watching.