Respectfully Mary, I had to google where lake county was located. Ill just say it’s probably very different from broward. If that’s your thing, great.
Homestead is nice, but it really only makes a difference if you buy and stay in that place forever. Oh, it also gets abused by everyone and their mother. Florida worked hard to earn its reputation as the fraud capital of the US.
Typically, if you find yourself in a good public school, you are in a higher income area and your property taxes are equally higher so either way you pay. Nothing is free.
I don’t get all hot and bothered by the florida school rating system…Its only use is a marketing tool for realtors. If you like your local school, great. But most are weak. Again, I won’t get into it.