Hi Cristine, and welcome to my world! I was born here, and of course biased ;-) but I think it is a wonderful place to live!

I don't handle rentals, but after working here for 30 yrs, know the good agents who do, and I'd be happy to recommend some to you, offlist if you'd like to email or call me.

Curious as to why did you pick Winter Garden? Is it going to be close to work? Family? Why not buy instead of rent? It's a great buyers market. Also, As a SWF you need to think about safety issues as well. This is big for me since my husband and brother are both law enforcement agents. There are some great places to live - but as in all places, there are those I'd advise staying away from. You can find out more info on crime rates online.

Another question - why a condo? There are very limited condo's available in Winter Garden, so that will really narrow down your options. Most often when I hear people want condo's it is because they don't want to take care of yards, pools, etc... but you can rent a house and get the same thing.

If you'd like some recommendations on companies to call for rentals, let me know offlist and I'd be happy to send you a list of the ones I know of. I'll need to know when you will be here though. Most rentals give notice at the end of a month, so if you are looking for a December move in, you need to act fast.

Good luck and welcome to Winter Garden, Florida!!

It depends on where you are in winter garden, but it is about 30 miles from downtown. Its a nice area, just not in the center of anything. It is real close to the disney area

Hi Cristine, I live in Winter Garden and I absolutely love the area. The location is convenient to 429 toll road, 408 toll road and the turnpike which will get you to down town Orlando in about 20 minutes. A new, upscale shopping center just opened on 535. What kind of monthy payment, how many bedrooms do you need, etc. A great company to work with is Apartment Hunters to help you search and they have a website http://www.apartmenthunters.com. They can narrow your search based on your criteria and let you know if there are any discounts offered. It's a free service to you. Good luck and let me know if you need any help.

I would also try the local craigslist at http://craigslist.com. Good luck.

Cristine,
Welcome to Florida! Winter Garden's proximity to Orlando make it a great spot with something for everyone--small town flavor, big city amenities (expect lots of house guests!)... Using trulia, you can go up to the "Real Estate Guides" tab, type in your zip and find a wealth of information about the area (scroll down and look toward the left). To give you a head start on property searching, use the hyperlink I've provided below. It get feeds from every MLS system in Florida. It's not very pretty, but it is very accurate. Lastly, be sure to use a buyers agent to represent your interests solely; buyers agents are almost always provided at no cost to the buyer. Get referrals from friends, family or colleagues in the Winter Park area to find a good local REALTOR. Best of luck and happy hunting!