[Michigan Girl]

My husband and I are wanting to move back (we spent a year in Naples, to busy, to expensive) to Florida. We are looking for a small town, population between 12 to 20 thousand. Quaint, friendly, affordable, safe. We are in our 50's, active and will be looking for employment. Is there any such place or are we dreaming?

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Michigan Girl

My husband and I are wanting to move back (we spent a year in Naples, to busy, to expensive) to Florida. We are looking for a small town, population between 12 to 20 thousand. Quaint, friendly, affordable, safe. We are in our 50's, active and will be looking for employment. Is there any such place or are we dreaming?

I like keystone heights.

[RAINBOWWAVES]

I do not think there's much left in all of Fl that is inexpensive...I came here 4 yrs ago...bought a lot, built a beautiful house for under $100,000. Now lots alone are $100,000! I love where i live, Port Saint Lucie...we are right smack in the middle of a gorgeous savanna...a beautiful river is just 2 mins away for fishing, swimming and boating...we are just 10 mins from the beach and just 5 mins to the highway where there is everything you want and need!!! It is perfect here and virtually no violent crimes! But let me warn you...unless you get into a hurricane safe house or condo or apt complex, forget Fl...weather ppl say we are now in a hurricane cycle which will last at least 10 yrs...In one yr, we have had 3 major canes and the west side had a few...5 major canes hit us last season....I personally would not want to be on the gulf side of Fl where the water is always warmer.

[Michigan Girl]

We lived in Naples in 2004 and experienced hurricane Charley. We were glad that we returned to Michigan for 2005. Yet we miss the sunshine.

[wwwwestpalmcondocom]

I grew up in Northern NY and wouldnt go back if you paid me. I have a newer home and have had 3 hurricanes fly right over and sustained little damage. Ocala is an extremely quaint little town with lots to do and jobs too. Its in the middle of the state but well worth the sunshine and prices are reasonable.

[piper62j]

We're planning our move in 2007 to a nice town just southwest of Ocala.. Spring Hill.. Property prices are good (and rising) and we want to build. People are friendly and the area is building up with communities, shopping malls, a new hospital and a good sized local airport.

Good luck...

[Greer519]

Originally Posted by wwwwestpalmcondocom

I grew up in Northern NY and wouldnt go back if you paid me. I have a newer home and have had 3 hurricanes fly right over and sustained little damage. Ocala is an extremely quaint little town with lots to do and jobs too. Its in the middle of the state but well worth the sunshine and prices are reasonable.

Ocala is where we are looking into for moving. We have family not far from there. How is cost of living there?

[Larimik]

Hi, you might check into Sebring, Fl. We are inland and recently Sebring has been considered the hidden secret. It's a small town, which is now experiencing some growth. Property prices are rising, but you get a lot more for your money at this point, then anywhere along either coast. Sebring is approximately 2 hrs to either coast.

This is not to say that we have not had the misfortune of a blast from all the hurricanes in the last two years, but we have not recieved near the amount of property damages as the other areas.

If you are interested in getting into a over 55 park, there is a really nice community called Tanglewood, they have ammenties galore. They have their own website which tells all about them. It's been my understanding that off season the population is somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000. In season, is probably double.

Hope this helps...
Good luck....

[Jill & Sean]

We are looking in the Port Charlotte area, Deep Creek. It appears to be a nice area-gulf side. I have gone to Florida four times this past year and would like to be near the coast. Have only been on the East, so next month will be our first trip to the west coast. Any comments on this area or surrounding I would appreciate it.

[Prymaat]

Hardly. We have a cute-ish downtown, not the cute redo that so many places have. It is, I hate to tell you all, a great place to live, however. The countryside is BEAUTIFUL, rolling hills, ancient oaks w/Spanish moss, horse farms, misty mornings.... The place is burgeoning with growth, unfortunately. (The weather is great) New restaurants coming in all the time...we have 3 ! Thai restaurants, a terrific community theater, the sets of which rival those of some big cities. Gainesville is 40 min. away, with lots of performing arts and some indie movies that we don't get here. (Nice weather, though) And U of Florida which is well regarded in the college ratings crowd. A new mall is coming, too, a little more upscale than what we have now.

The schools are, as in most of Florida, second rate. We moved here the first year of middle school for our son. (The weather is great.) Where we came from on Long Island, he had a choice of Spanish, French, or Latin. Here there was no consistent language at all....other than the Ebonics spoken by some of the teachers which seems to be acceptable....what college was that they attended? How you want to speak on your own time is fine with me, but not in a classroom where you are a role model and TEACHER to my children. I've run across a little racism here, not too much that I can detect. Then again, I am white. And Rosewood is just down the street from here... (Did I mention the weather is great?) I think people who live in Florida treasure their leisure time, i.e., Gator games, fishing, golf, etc., and really don't want their kids to be spending too much time on schoolwork on weekends. If your kids are motivated and you can supplement a little at home, they'll do okay, but if you expect the schools here to keep up w/northern or midwestern schools, sorry. Some kids do get accepted to Ivy League colleges, but they really have to work at it and it's not really what people think about. Actually, Florida makes it very inexpensive for good students to go to college here with liberal scholarships (in-state only).(Incidentally, the weather is great.)

Yeah, yeah, we did have a couple of hurricanes come through....new houses should hold up better and better to enjoy enjoy those big oaks and pines out in a field somewhere, not right on top of your home where they drop big limbs though the roof into your kids' bedroom. (Otherwise, the weather is great).

Other bonus in Florida is that newcomers can actually make friends, unlike Midwest or Nothern states where everyone has lived there all their lives and has their family and friends from kindergarten there. They don't usually need new friends. Here there are lots of "People who need People"....

So,yes, basically I love it here. I've lived in lots of places, too. Good luck with your decision and move.