[sassyfur98]

Hi,
We are thinking of moving to Crystal River, FL. from Southern Alabama.
We are looking for small town, quiet living. We want an area that isn't going to boom with construction and development.
Rents average $1,000/month here for 3-4 bedroom houses. How are the rents there? How are the schools? We will have kids in Elementary school and high school. Is it a safe town? Can my son ride his bike to a friends house without me having to worry about kidnapping or someone trying to sell him drugs? Are there "BAD" areas to stay away from? And if so, What/Where are these areas? How are the police? Are they fair and willing to serve? Or jerks that are on the take?
We appreciate all the information you can give us. We have looked up city data and profile, but we always like to get "A Local's" perception.

Thanks everyone,
Saundra

[luv_N_florida]

Hi I don't have an answer sorry but, I too will be moveing to Crystal River, Florida from Homestead, Florida in August. So can anyone tell me about any Colleges that are in Crystal River?

[mainship]

Originally Posted by sassyfur98

...isn't going to boom with construction and development.
... How are the rents there? How are the schools? We will have kids in Elementary school and high school.
Is it a safe town?
Can my son ride his bike to a friends house without me having to worry about kidnapping or someone trying to sell him drugs? Are there "BAD" areas to stay away from? And if so, What/Where are these areas? How are the police?
Saundra

Not booming at present, but will when economy returns to normal, it will.
Rents can be checked online Citrus County Chronicle or craigslist use ocala.
Safe, used to be absolutely safe but not any more, but still better than most cities.
Riding bikes across town might have problem finding sidewalks in all areas.
Drugs are in all towns, but CR seems to have a high number of arrests for a very small town.
Police protection changed this year, no city police, county sheriff took over all duties, and are showing a higher presence than city cops did.
A lot of fully furnished rental for the snowbirds, best bet would be to rent a temporary place for a couple of weeks of summer vacation and check the area out yourself.

[daniellefort]

Crystal river is okay. It's already done booming and Hwy 19 is a VERY busy and dangerous highway which is the main road through that area. I live in Inverness about 20 minutes away and it's a smaller quieter less hectic area. Crystal River is hectic because that's where the tourists and boaters go since it's right on the ocean. I guess it's a safe town. not sure of where the bad areas are if there are any. There have been some drug busts out there but you'll find that anywhere. Nothing unusual. The schools in the entire county are pretty good. There no longer is a city police station. it is all run by the county and for the most part, they do very well at keeping crime down all over the place. There is a college in Lecanto called Lake Sumter Community College. It's just a satallite school. the main school is in Ocala. Inverness has the Withlacoochee Technical school which is it's own school and they offer quite a range of courses. I guess since i live in Inverness, i prefer Inverness over Crystal River for a family. The Elementary and high school in Inverness are right next door to each other across the street from a hospital and the middle school is just 1/2 mile from there so if you have kids in multiple grade levels, it works out great. Inverness also has the 7 chain lake in the middle of town which is great for boating, fishing, etc and the city has made some really nice parks and boardwalks all around the lake. Inverness and Crystal River both have reached their growth i think. any other questions i can answer?

[luckysnap]

Aint no colleges in Crystal River, however the U of F is close

[Floridamom1970]

I spend a lot of time in Crystal River and frankly, I kind of wish I lived there instead of in Marion County. I am in Dunnellon. One of the things that I think is nice about both Crystal River and Inverness is that you do not have to drive 30 miles for everything. Both small towns have hospitals, Crystal River has a small indoor mall. Both towns have movie theatres.

Central Florida Community College (CFCC) has a campus in Lecanto, which is about 7-10 miles from Crystal River. I think that is the college that Daniellefort mentioned. The big main college is in Ocala, the one in Lecanto is very nice, small and pleasant (from my standpoint). A student can actually go there for all of their general education requirements. There are classrooms, labs , library and a bookstore. There is also less traffic than at the school in Ocala.

I recently discovered two flea markets that are open durring the week. Wonderfull!! One is right off of Highway 44 in Crystal River and is called Stokes Flea market. The other one is straight down the same highway and is called Cowboy Junction. Stokes is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Cowboy is open on Tuesdays. I was thrilled to recently find these because I work every weekend and cannot go to the one in Ocala (not that I really like Ocala, but their flea market is pretty decent by my standards).There are some exellent thrift stores in Crystal River as well.

As far as safety is concerned, I think that Citrus County as a whole is safer than Marion County, where I am. I am right near Dunnellon, which is also a small town. Here I have to drive at least 25 miles to shop at a store that is not called Walmart. If we want to go to the movies I have to go about 25 miles to either Crystal River or Inverness. I will not even go to the ones in Ocala anymore.There are a lot of run down areas in Ocala, where I think most of the crime occurs.