u/dolphingirl3

Moving to the area by the end of the year for a job near the Lake Mary Hospital! Just in the beginning stages of narrowing down neighborhoods in which we might want to formally consider relocating to.

On paper, areas like Heathrow and Alaqua Lakes seem great for us given the reported family friendliness and location very close to work. Lake Mary area in general seems like a natural choice but I’m specifically wondering about places like Heathrow and Alaqua Lakes that appear to be gated and closed off? Have always lived in the Midwest and gated communities are a bit of a foreign concept here…honestly don’t think I’ve ever even been in one- even the richest of the rich neighborhoods/suburbs around here that’s just not a thing…

So, bear with me while I ask what may be a dumb question to you central Floridians…

We would love to come down in the next few weeks just to meander around to get a feel for the different neighborhoods, no formal house tours or anything yet just a bit of a look-see. Is that possible with these gated areas- just to drive or around if you’re not a resident or visiting a resident…or am I going to have to schedule a house tour or something to get access?

I was building a large bookshelf this afternoon. I guess there was pounding and stuff putting it together because the person who lives below me come up and knocked on my door and said “I live directly below you and it’s really loud.” “Oh, sorry about that!” “Yeah, I’m just DIRECTLY below you and I can hear how loud it is. Next time could you just let me know ahead of time if it’s going to be loud?”

Did I break apartment etiquette by building this bookshelf? Obviously if I was doing this at midnight that’d be one thing, but i was surprised at the complaint on a weekend afternoon. Or maybe I’m just clueless of building norms lol

Growing up in Green Bay, I swear I spent every weekend in the summer as a kid/teenager going “up north” to friends’ cottages/cabins. Lots of good memories tubing, water skiing, boat rides, canoeing etc. A lot in the Keshena/Mountain/Townsend area, Crandon, Crivitz, some up by Eagle River, Tomahawk…a few in Door County…but mostly the little lakes that dot the landscape north of Hwy 29 in WI. Now, maybe a lot of these places were inherited or were actually grandparents’/relatives’ cottages, but I often felt like EVERYONE had a cottage except me growing up, lol.

But now as an adult who is around the same age (late 30s) that my friends’ parents’ would’ve been when we were kids living the cottage life, I feel like the number of people I know who own cottages “up north”, talk about “going to the cottage for the weekend”, etc. is very small. Nor do I know hardly anyone my age with a boat. And my oldest kid is 9, getting to the age where I remember starting to be invited to spend the weekend away, but that hasn’t been a thing for her.

Is it just a sign of how times have changed? That 20-30 years ago, normal middle class families could afford a house to live in AND a property up north? Is the northern Wisconsin cottage market still doing well and lots of people still have their own places and I just happen to be out of the loop? Lol.

money is no object