[Stargazing Lisa]

Originally Posted by backtofla

lulu, i have heard that ocala is beautiful... horse capital of the world with rolling hills... cool!!!

Okay..now you guys are talking to me - you must be mindreaders. I was just up in the Ocala area last weekend.
Why? Cause I want to relocate away from the Atlantic Ocean and the hurricanes but stay within Flroida. I'm only 5 miles from the beach...made it through the 2004 hurricanes - but Wilma in 2005 scared the hell out of me.

I'm between Boynton and Boca and let me tell you in SE Fla, you walk out the door this time of year and the sweat rolls off you. It was pleasant to be standing in 90 degrees in Ocala when I suddenly realized I wasn't sweating. The humidity is 1/2 or less than it is here. Every restarurant you can imagine - even have my favorite discount store Bell's Outlet - and dept stores..and you can still get 5 acres with a double wide, a horse paddock and gates for $200,000 (not saying what condition they're in.) If I was a bit younger I would do it...build on the 5 acres, rent out the double wide, and board horses.

I agree with you all. Here's the problem. Taxes. I've been searching the internet for areas , lots of new houses going up and I found a builder I really like...but Port St Lucie taxes 5500 for a 250 ,000 new house and they'll go up with all the schools and roads they'll have to build ...Wintergarden/Deltona/Orlando areas: new house closer to $300 thou with 4400 taxes(and too close to the ocean for my confort anymore)....

Ocala area they told me $230,000 house is $1500 taxes. Because I bought 6 years ago I pay $800 taxes now. Can't beat that...but I'm in a homeowners assoc - condo commandoes, and besides the hurricanes, the associations are unbearable...also because without a garage for storage - just a carport- I'm bursting out of the house....not enough room...One thing that is happening I found out today, is that the speculators who bought in those areas for $160,000 are now trying to sell the houses for $230,000 so if you can find someone who has to get out of their speculation I think there's a lot of wiggle room for the buyer there. Dont you think

But Ocala seems so far away and it is - a good 3/ 1/2 to four hours from Palm Beach. So I'm still looking for something a bit closer, lower taxes, countryish but with all the city amenities. Some builders will build on your land.
Port St Lucie besies the taxes is so overbuilt , it's out of the question...nope needs to be further up, away from the coasts and the hurricanes, reasonably priced new house, LOW taxes.

By the way, better think of a fireplace in the Ocala area cause I hear it gets really cold in the winter ---after 6 years in South Florida - when it's 50 degrees I really feel it...and also of putting in a pool - cause you'll be 70 miles from either coast...which has its benefits but detractions too. And yes, normal looking Northern type trees and even curvy roads and hills.

Anybody got any suggestions for a place more south than
Ocala and more NOrth than Port St Lucie?

[backtofla]

is the acreage or loxahatchee out of the question??? i know it's so expensive in s fla.

i know you dont want to be too far away, but have you ever considered northeastern fla? if you want cold winters with acreage and more room to roam, it may be right for you... less expensive homes, close to the beach but not too close since the last hurricane season scared the hell out of ya...

[Stargazing Lisa]

By the way, for those who were looking for houses lower than $200,000 the Ocala area does have them....they're not new- older houses but still, where else can you find a 3 bedroom house with land for less than 200,000 in Florida?


Back to Florida - the other place I'd like to look at to get away from hurricane season is western North Carolina.

Any suggestions about towns, low cost, ?

[backtofla]

i live here in western nc... what would you like to know? i'll try and help you out... but i do have to warn you first = i think the area is pretty, but i dont really like living here. aside from that, i will try to answer your questions if you have any for me...

[Stargazing Lisa]

Back to Florida -

the other place I'd like to look at to get away from hurricane season is western North Carolina, maybe just for hurricane season. Nothing fancy.

Any suggestions about towns, low cost, ?

And thanks for looking up the info for Greenacres. I had already done that for her but I found more than 50. Seems almost like there's one street they dump them on.

[backtofla]

50 in greenacres? we have 136 sex offenders in our zip code... so if that scares you, i wouldnt suggest asheville.

to get away from the hurricane season, i would suggest (in wnc) brevard or hendersonville... small towns. h'ville is getting expensive and very transient, but brevard is still pretty inexpensive compared to fla. other towns i would suggest is maybe waynesville.

if you tell me what your needs are (up here in wnc while waiting for the hurricane season to finish) i can try to give you more specific details.

[Jewels36]

Originally Posted by Stargazing Lisa

By the way, for those who were looking for houses lower than $200,000 the Ocala area does have them....they're not new- older houses but still, where else can you find a 3 bedroom house with land for less than 200,000 in Florida?


Back to Florida - the other place I'd like to look at to get away from hurricane season is western North Carolina.

Any suggestions about towns, low cost, ?

I used to live in Western NC. I have lived in Rosman and Hendersonville. I really loved the area it is absolutely beautiful. There are lots of small communities in between Rosman and Hendersonville, as well as between Hendersonville and Asheville. Brevard is a very nice area.

Going in a little different direction, there is Sapphire and Canton. You can also look out towards the Lake Lure area.

Call the local Chamber of Commerce for any areas that interest you.

[Stargazing Lisa]

What area are you in?

Western North Carolina (the east side of the mountains)is listed by the weathermen as the safest area (from weather) in the country.

I was thinking the area toward the mountains from Asheville, Hendersonville, down towards the S. Carolina border.

I heard they had floods there last year or so? true? what area was affected by the floods, do you know?

I'm undecided about trying to rent for hurricane season or buying something very inexpensive to run away to when hurricanes are coming.

I'm originally from a mountainous country area - so I dont mind that, but I was not happy to hear the people are unfriendly

Do you find Asheville unfriendly?

That was one thing about Ocala. We ate at Cracker Barrell for dinner and just started talking to the people at tables next to us on either side and others . Seemed like a friendly place to me.

I used to ride, but being a passenger in an auto accident and a few ruptured discs in the back and neck, it's doubtful that I'll ever get up on a horse again - ,too bad it is.

[Stargazing Lisa]

[quote=backtofla]
is the acreage or loxahatchee out of the question??? i know it's so expensive in s fla.QUOTE]


Wow. BTF. The acreage is out of site financially. It has become very very expensive. I dont know anything about
Loxahatchee. But is that the one that has the dikes against the lake? They're talking about the dikes won't hold and all the homes would be flooded if that's the same one where 2000 people died in the broken dikes in the 1930"s.

[Jewels36]

Originally Posted by Stargazing Lisa

By the way, for those who were looking for houses lower than $200,000 the Ocala area does have them....they're not new- older houses but still, where else can you find a 3 bedroom house with land for less than 200,000 in Florida?

Hernando and Citrus county also offer similar properties from below $200k to mid $200k. They also offer alot of new homes from the low $200's with decent lot sizes. Of course this area is still a little to close to the water. From what I have been told, sinkholes are also an issue so it may not be your first choice if you are chosing to relocate.

However, if you are relocating because you have to due to your employment, this area makes the living in the Tampa area affordable - at least for now. Who knows how long it will last before this area starts really going up in value. My guess is not long.