Looking For Quiet Town in Florida (Jacksonville, Orlando: relocate, gated, employment)

[barondusty]

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Florida from Massachusetts. Were looking for a small town but with close by amenities. We would like the Northeast region or central Florida but are willing to go South if nothing looks good in those areas. We are in our mid 40's so we can't go to a retirement community yet. If anyone has any ideas please let us know. We have already been down there once and looked at New Smyrna, Davenport, Clermont, Mount Dora and the towns in between those. Looking for something a little smaller and less congested.
Thanks

[J.R.]

Check out the small towns west of Gainesville and Ocala. They are still very rural, but close enough to good shopping.

[scamutz]

Originally Posted by barondusty

My husband and I are looking to relocate to Florida from Massachusetts. Were looking for a small town but with close by amenities. We would like the Northeast region or central Florida but are willing to go South if nothing looks good in those areas. We are in our mid 40's so we can't go to a retirement community yet. If anyone has any ideas please let us know. We have already been down there once and looked at New Smyrna, Davenport, Clermont, Mount Dora and the towns in between those. Looking for something a little smaller and less congested.
Thanks

What kind of amenities are you looking for? Will a Wal-Mart and a Lowe's do the trick nearby, or do you need a major shopping mall nearby? Will your employment be dependent on the area as well?

Just curious, where are you coming from in MA?

[MsMuir]

Hi....We live in Mims on the central coast not far from Cape Canaveral. It's semi rural, but we have some shopping. We have a Publix and Winn Dixie within minutes from our house. Plus, it's about 40 miles to Orlando if you need big city for anything. Also, there's a great Mall in Sanford which is about 1/2 hr away.

We do not live on the coast, but rather a mile off of I-95.
We live in a gated community which is upscale, but not expensive...dues per year are $125.00.

You might want to look into this area!

[MsMuir]

Oops...forgot to mention we also have a Lowes and Walmart! As well as a Walgreens, and several Dollar stores.

[Prichard]

Florida has many rural areas, and it's a fairly large state. You might want to check out the Crystal River area, and north of there on the west coast. Also, Inverness and Brooksville.

[tertree]

check out pace florida...its about 20 minutes from pensacola and we just got a house there that was very reasonable on rent. schools are supposed to be some of the best in that area and your not far from gulf shores al. its a small quite sleepy little town.
we are moving from tn to pace.

[barondusty]

Thanks everyone thats a good start but if anyone else has anything else to add please do so.
More info, We live between Boston and Cape Cod at this time, we are both semi retired so we will be looking for work but probably new careers, and as far as amenities we are looking for yes a walmart, lowes, supermarket would be nice if they are somewhat close by.
Thanks again

[logybogy]

I would look into the small towns around Gainesville and Ocala for what you want to do.

You can be in the country and yet less than half hour from a very large regional mall, and all the big box shopping you want (Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Best Buy, Circuit City, etc.).

Do some research in this forum on Gainesville and Ocala. The Ocala area has probably the cheapest housing in all of Florida so you might want to check it out.

[FSUMOM]

The area west of Jacksonville might be what you're looking for: low crime, no conjestion--within 25 minutes of Jacksonville and Lake City are Macclenny and Glen St. Mary. Still in the country, but convenient to the stores. Prices of homes and land still very reasonable, especially compared to other areas of Fla. We've lived in Glen since '88 and love it. Glen St. Mary was given the award for being the best small town in 2004.