Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 06-20-2012, 10:12 PM
 
10 posts, read 25,789 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

I apologize in advance for the long winded post - but think more info may help identify my specific needs.

I am interviewing at Shands in Gainesville next week. I currently live in upstate NY. Single mom, 4 yo son and 18 yo daughter (staying behind for college). My family lives in The Villages.

I am looking for suggestions for family friendly neighborhoods to consider. I don't know what the traffic is going to be like during "peak" hours....so that is a consideration. Daycare availability is a HUGE consideration - if not the biggest one - as I am looking at a 3 twelve hour days.

If I was closer to The Villages, I could have my family help, but would need to suck up the drive. If I was closer to Shands, I would need to have reliable daycare for those hours, and not need to drive.

Eventually - I would like to work in The Villages hospital - so that my son may attend the magnet school there and I can be close to family. But for the next year or two, I need to find housing that would be a reasonable commute to Shands. So, school quality is less of a priority, in that he will only be in preK this year and kindergarten next year.

I realize "reasonable" is different to everyone - after living in CT and NY - up to an hour is acceptable, as that's a norm for us up here.

Being single, with a little boy, I also would like an area that has family friendly activities. I would like to make friends, and have afterschool/weekend activities like the YMCA, soccer, T-ball, etc. Having a clean lake or pool nearby is also important.

I think my price range would be up to about $800, and I would need a two bedroom. No pets...altho it would be nice (cat). I also hear horror stories about the cost of electricity in Gainesville, so that would also be another consideration - I couldn't afford an $800 rent on top of a $400 electric bill. I think apartment living would be better, as it would give us the opportunity to have neighbors to become friends with. But in the right neighborhood, a small house wouldn't be bad either? Even a nice, updated double wide is fine by me. Being from New England (and probably considered to be a new england snob by some!), I am used to a more rural, wooded landscape....I honestly admit, the only reason I am considering a move to Florida is I desperately need a job and I want to be near my family again (they retired there in 2006). I realize Gainesville is going to be alot different than what I am used to, but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. I am tired of being unemployed and after three years of busting my butt to get my RN license, I am ready to work.

Staying near family is not critical, but would not really consider anything north of Gainesville because it would be too far I think.

I look forward to all suggestions. And please, no bickering about how horrible Gainesville is or isn't (as I have seen in other threads). All areas have pros and cons. My most pressing need is adequate daycare, accessibility to family activities, and a "reasonable" commute....and I am open to anything in between both areas.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 06-22-2012, 06:39 AM
 
26,994 posts, read 43,578,504 times
Reputation: 31844
Given you're working in Gainesville it would probably be best to live closer to Gainesville in my opinion. Check out Ocala where daycare options will be plentiful and there will be many others like yourself in the area to befriend and make connections with for babysitting, playdates and whatnot. The Villages is primarily a retirement community and while close to family don't think you'll find much else in common with it.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-12-2012, 07:10 PM
 
3 posts, read 5,689 times
Reputation: 10
Definitely second the idea to check out Ocala. It's just under an hour and a half drive between The Villages and Gainesville. But Ocala is right in between and has cheaper apartments than Gainesville. Well, you CAN get the same priced places in Gainesville but you will not get as much for your money. And the closer you are to Shands, the pricier living gets. I considered The Retreat at Magnolia Parke, which ranges from $850 to $950 for a one bedroom and is about 20-30 minutes from Shands in traffic. It was one of the few quieter places I found in Gainesville, away from the parties at all hours. However, that would also entail a full drive to The Villages...Depending on traffic, anywhere between 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Anyway...The YMCA in Ocala is great and the whole town is quite nice. Far more affordable, especially when it comes to gas and even groceries. Gainesville is great and I really do love many aspects of it. But for your situation, I would absolutely recommend Ocala. I lived there my whole life up until last year. The commute to Gainesville is maybe 35-45 minutes, and you can travel on I-75 or US 441 and get to Shands right when you exit either road. The Villages is the other way and is about the same driving time.

Good luck!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2012, 01:08 AM
 
4 posts, read 18,694 times
Reputation: 11
I like my area.http://www.xaode.info/jpg1
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 07-13-2012, 12:57 PM
 
345 posts, read 974,153 times
Reputation: 340
Quote:
Originally Posted by ali9771 View Post
I apologize in advance for the long winded post - but think more info may help identify my specific needs.

I am interviewing at Shands in Gainesville next week. I currently live in upstate NY. Single mom, 4 yo son and 18 yo daughter (staying behind for college). My family lives in The Villages.

I am looking for suggestions for family friendly neighborhoods to consider. I don't know what the traffic is going to be like during "peak" hours....so that is a consideration. Daycare availability is a HUGE consideration - if not the biggest one - as I am looking at a 3 twelve hour days.

If I was closer to The Villages, I could have my family help, but would need to suck up the drive. If I was closer to Shands, I would need to have reliable daycare for those hours, and not need to drive.

Eventually - I would like to work in The Villages hospital - so that my son may attend the magnet school there and I can be close to family. But for the next year or two, I need to find housing that would be a reasonable commute to Shands. So, school quality is less of a priority, in that he will only be in preK this year and kindergarten next year.

I realize "reasonable" is different to everyone - after living in CT and NY - up to an hour is acceptable, as that's a norm for us up here.

Being single, with a little boy, I also would like an area that has family friendly activities. I would like to make friends, and have afterschool/weekend activities like the YMCA, soccer, T-ball, etc. Having a clean lake or pool nearby is also important.

I think my price range would be up to about $800, and I would need a two bedroom. No pets...altho it would be nice (cat). I also hear horror stories about the cost of electricity in Gainesville, so that would also be another consideration - I couldn't afford an $800 rent on top of a $400 electric bill. I think apartment living would be better, as it would give us the opportunity to have neighbors to become friends with. But in the right neighborhood, a small house wouldn't be bad either? Even a nice, updated double wide is fine by me. Being from New England (and probably considered to be a new england snob by some!), I am used to a more rural, wooded landscape....I honestly admit, the only reason I am considering a move to Florida is I desperately need a job and I want to be near my family again (they retired there in 2006). I realize Gainesville is going to be alot different than what I am used to, but sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. I am tired of being unemployed and after three years of busting my butt to get my RN license, I am ready to work.

Staying near family is not critical, but would not really consider anything north of Gainesville because it would be too far I think.

I look forward to all suggestions. And please, no bickering about how horrible Gainesville is or isn't (as I have seen in other threads). All areas have pros and cons. My most pressing need is adequate daycare, accessibility to family activities, and a "reasonable" commute....and I am open to anything in between both areas.
I would still consider Gainesville proper. Both my parents and my sister live in Gainesville, and from what I've heard from them the cost of living in Gainesville is not that outrageous.

There are a lot of family friendly areas in Gainesville, particularly on the north and west sides of town.

From having visited there many a time, it's a great place to live and play. Consider yourself lucky!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Florida

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top