[fperkins]

I am looking for a nice town in northern to central Florida that is great for raising a young family.
Obviously we want low drug/crime.
Better options for schools.
We are looking for a neighborhood but one that each house has a little bit of land......not houses on top of each other.

Does that exist??

We also hope for plenty to get out and do, without a far drive.
I am a real estate appraiser and my husband is a carpenter.

[DailyJournalist]

Oviedo would be a good choice and has top rated schools.

[xlabel]

I like Inverness, Dunnellon and even better yet Bronson, Williston. I really like those small towns up through US 41, really beautiful and relatively unspoiled FL. Work can be a little hard to find up that way. Alot of folks commute to Ocala and Gainesville for jobs and enterainment but it's not a bad drive.

[dcraigpa]

I live in Sorrento, a small town just north of Orlando and 10 minutes from Mount Dora. I live in a subdivision surrounded by beautiful countryside and horse farms. The subdivision is a gated, golf course community and I live in a townhouse on the 8th green...the yard is large and it is an end unit with a good distance to the next building down the hill and only common area across the street. Beautiful view. 30 minute drive to Orlando. Moderator cut: edit: no advertising of your home for sale allowed

[Strel]

Tallahassee

[Nikki9947]

I second Tallahassee...Very friendly city, cost of living is decent, very family oriented, new developing areas, cute things to do on the weekends

[TD*]

Tallahassee

[janbass]

O'Brien, Branford, Lake City are beautiful areas. Schools are better than the big cities. Beautiful country. We are approximately 10 miles from Itchectucknee Springs and approximately 8 miles from Suwannee River. Gainesville is a 45 minute drive from the O'Brien/Lake City area. There are new homes available in the area for sale.

[yamahastar]

Keystone Heights and Melrose are bedroom communities for Gainesville, Orange Park and even Jacksonville. These are small communities that are VERY family oriented and have good schools. They have the advantages of being very small and friendly, yet close enough to small cities for good resources. Since part of Melrose is in Bradford county, the cost of living is much lower than neighboring Alachua or Clay. The area is surrounded by lakes and very nice. Crime is very low.

[GatorBite]

Ocala, Orange Springs, Gainesville and all of the surrounding areas are wonderful. I have a 2nd home in Orange Springs and love the area. Rural communities where you can have horses, or other animals, or ride atv's in the Ocala National Forest, go boating in the many freshwater lakes that are spring fed, go hiking. So many things you can do with your family. My kids love it up there!

Good luck with your research and eventual move