Posted on 07/10/2016 2:46:43 AM PDT by freepertoo
Mods, this is such a vanity! Please move or remove as you see fit, if necessary. Could use some moving to Florida advice. Retiring in a few years from the DC, Maryland area. Have looked at Ocala because of the cool 55+ communities there, but the crime rate is scary. Also looking at Lake Mary and surrounding area. Costs are a lot less than in Maryland, and I admit to being a pathetic Disney junky. Advice, Floridians?
I hear nice things about the Villages.
I’ve heard pro and con about The Villages...On Top of The World has better reviews, but the HOA fees are outrageous. Ocala’s crime rate is also really high for an otherwise lovely town.
My parents moved to The Villages in the late 1990s. They were happy there, and Mom still lives there. There are many advantages, and house prices are down right now.
Traffic is outrageous in the busy season, October to April.
Thanks! I still have five years to retirement (groan), but I am getting my house ready for sale in a few years and want to start taking visits to my intended area over the next few years. I am a fitness trainer and an avid jogger, too, so I don’t want to live in a community where the seniors are just living to get older, but would enjoy being with folks who still enjoy an active life. A good Bible believing church is also very important to me. Thanks to everyone who is responding. I’ve done a lot of research, but am still confused. There seem to be a lot of nice Florida towns that also have a very high crime rate. Lake Mary seems nice, but much more expensive than other areas.
I liked Flemming Island, just a ways outside Jax.
Consider how close you would be to a good hospital if you need it. Fifty miles can be a long way when you’re sick.
The traditional retirement places in Florida aren’t that close to the best hospitals.
There are many active people in The Villages, and the recreation complexes are very nice. My mother used to walk 3 miles every morning with a Battle of the Bulge survivor, but he had a fall last winter and hasn’t gotten back to regular exercise.
Maybe if you look at the crime stats in more detail, you can figure out how much they would affect you. For example, the Walmart in our county seat has a pretty steady record of events involving law enforcement ... but almost never in the daytime!
There s NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING to do in Ocala outside of one of those big communities.
You could get lost in the Ocala forest, stumble upon a meth lab and get your face eaten off...
I prefer the east coast. I also recommend more south than you are talking.
I own a place in the Jupiter area and love it. The weather is more consistent and recreation and resturants are terrific.
ROFL!!!
Yeah, I know Ocala is sleepy, but Orlando is, what? An hour and a half away, am I correct? That is my one way commute to work right now.
I’ll look into Jupiter!
I’ll look into Flemming Island, thanks. What do you like about it?
Check out Ormond Beach (just north of Daytona Beach). About a 45 minute drive from Orlando. Real estate is still a bargain in the area. Beastly hot and humid in the summer, but with the ocean breezes it’s usually not as bad as the inland areas around Orlando. You can drive right onto the beach which is very convenient compared to the beaches further South.
Central Florida is great....if you like lots of bugs and poisonous snakes, and oppressive heat and humidity for most of the year :)
Thanks for advice about the hospitals. I’ve always been blessed with good health, but I am accident prone, so that’s a good thing to think about!
Yeah, I have heard that! I live in a different kind of swamp right now with snakes and humidity...Washington, DC!!
Thanks! I’ve heard that danger from hurricanes is greater near the ocean, that somehow being in the center of the state breaks up the threat a bit. Any truth to that?
Also wondering if the heat and humidity are any worse than DC in the summer which can be brutal.
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