[mbbnsb]

What do people say about the Ocala area for retirement. I'm not looking to hang out with the 85/95 year olds but don't want the little kids in the pool either. Saw a nice place on line at south side of jacksonville but I think the 3bd/2bth/2gar, may be alittle more than I want to spend. Would love to just spend around $200,000 to $ 225,000. Would anyone recommend the Ocala area and also how long a drive to get to the beach and also what beach do the people from Ocala go to when they want to walk on the sand...??

[watsont3]

Originally Posted by mbbnsb

What do people say about the Ocala area for retirement. I'm not looking to hang out with the 85/95 year olds but don't want the little kids in the pool either. Saw a nice place on line at south side of jacksonville but I think the 3bd/2bth/2gar, may be alittle more than I want to spend. Would love to just spend around $200,000 to $ 225,000. Would anyone recommend the Ocala area and also how long a drive to get to the beach and also what beach do the people from Ocala go to when they want to walk on the sand...??

My wife and I just visited Ocala to check out if it was a place we wanted to retire to. From our perspective, there is just too much traffic in the area. I-75 was horrible and rtes 200 and 40 weren't much better. Just more people than we would have liked.
We are now looking at some quieter areas.

[C Risley-OcalaHouses.com]

Ocala is a great place to retire. If you only get off at the I-75/Hwy 200 area you will be scared off if you like it quiet! Our county is the 5th largest in Florida and you can still find a nice 3/2/2 for between $150-$225,000. We have regular retirement developments that are 55+, but we have a lot of nice neighborhoods that have a nice mixture of family, professionals, and retirees!

[MyHomeIsInOcala]

We have many young Families in the Ocala and surrounding areas... Also, there are so many housing developments that are eating up the beauty and open land in the area. I wish that these developers would not strip every single tree from a lot (hey, that is just me, I kind of like a tree here and there).

You will find sand to stroll barefoot through in your back yard!

There are many Retirement developments. "On Top Of The World", "Palm Cay", "Oak Run", "Spruce Creek", "Summer Glenn" and yes, "The Villages" to name just a few. I have seen some nice homes in these 55+ communities for under $120K and I am sure willing to negotiate! Many of them have their own websites with info and sales listings. If you are willing to build yourself, you could possibly save even more!!!

We have more medical offices than you can shake a stick at, yet getting an appointment is hard (It is no fun when you are a cancer patient like me), very discouraging! I actually drive to the Villages for decent care.

There are some NICE small towns that are very Retirement Friendly, like Summerville, Umatilla and Dade City (farther south on Rt 75) and they are pretty quite areas! Well worth a look.

Another thing, always check the tax records for prior sales! I hate to see buyer get taken for a ride!!! Ocala.com also has a list of public sales on homes and land that are going up for foreclosure and or tax sale (if that interests you at all)

If looking at other states, Helen GA is a wonderful place as well (very out of the main stream). Just a side note on this one.


What ever you do, Good Luck & Happy Holidays!

Here is a link for Retirement Communities in Central Fl: retire2fla.com/north_central_florida.asp