Input on Interlachen area (Jacksonville, Miami: for sale, mortgages, mobile home)

[infoplease]

Pros?
Cons?
Anyone have first-hand experience living here?

Thank you.

[SouthFloridaNative]

You may want to look at the Palatka threads since Interlachen is in the same county.

[bucktooth]

[quote=infoplease;299402]Pros?
Cons?
Anyone have first-hand experience living here?

Thank you.[Having lived in Interlachen for 5 years after living in Miami for many years, Interlachen is a "culture shock" if you are not used to country living. A town of about 1500 that is growing rapidly due in large part to the multimillion dollar government road widening project of Highway 20 that should be completed within a year (the main east-west road that is being 4 laned), Interlachen appears headed for an influx of new businesses and more residents.

Property values have steadily risen (our property has doubled in value in 5 years) and although there are alot of for sale signs, I believe that is due to people trying to capitalize on the suddenly high values combined with some who speculated with sub-prime mortgages...

There are mostly service jobs available, working in local retail, there are 3 schools, numerous churches, a McDonalds, a CVS Pharmacy, dollar store, Ace Hardware, grocery store and plans for building a small shopping plaza to coincide with the road expansion project.

If you are moving down to retire from the northeast, you will find that your money will go along way. If you had a nice 3 bedroom house in NY that sat on a 1/4 acre and you sold it for say $400,000, you could get that same house on a wooded 1 acre lot, perhaps with a small pond, for under $200,000.

If you want a nice quiet place to live, away from major traffic and you don't need a "good job", you should consider Interlachen. We love our 3 acre, wooded lot with small bass pond and know that it would be nearly impossible to find such value anywhere else.

[sharon117]

I have lived here for 7 years. I medical needs are greatly lacking. you have to drive a hour or more to Gainsville or Ocala to get proper care.The taxes are very high. I pay a lot more taxes here on a much smaller home than I did on a larger more expensive home in Jacksonville. The local stores are higher in price than the Palatka stores which is a 20 to 25 min drive. Unless you like bingo there is nothing to do here. The wild life is nice , we feed the deer and turkeys that come in our back yard. the star at night are beautiful.Depends on what your looking for.

[kamierica]

Interlachen,Florida has NOT changed since 1999 other then the 4 way road....the drugstore move across the street it was by the grocery store.
The post office moved futher down the road and the gas moved down the road and upgraded due to the fact that the old was nearly 40 years old.
Gullet tile moved built a bigger building only to see that property is no longer wanted in Interlachen,Fla.
When the 4way first started building contractors thought this was the next "Goldmine", so sad .........the contractors went crazy on the Low land price's.(Now they can't even give them away).
Land and home property has been at a near dead stand still for the pass 3 years.
The only thing that changed is the inceased property tax DUE to the land buyout from the building contractors.....
Ooh! yes and lets not forget that Putnam County Commissioners Decided (without giving the public a right to vote on it) building Impact fee.........
Isn't that a kick in the ass a town of less then 1400 to pay impact fee to build a house whose income avg. after tax is around 18,000.00 to 20,000.00
It makes you wonder just what were they thinking other then enriching their own back pocket.......
Well the joke is on them there's so few new homes built I can count them on one hand and thats in the pass 8 years people.
Yes!!!! Interlachen,Florida Just a BYPASS 2 GAINESVILLE,Florida .

[kamierica]

you so wrong Interlachen is as DEAD as gets!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KayteeesFL]

Having grown up in Interlachen for 17 years, having gone to high school in Gainesville, and having gone to a university in Atlanta, I've had my fair share of experiences of varying levels of country/city life.

From the perspective of someone who grew up with her grandmother, a church, and a hay field for neighbors, Interlachen is VERY boring. If you live on a road (most likely dirt), you might have the opportunity to find another family with kids that your kids can play with. However, depending on your opinion of the drivers on the highways, you may be a little less lenient letting your kids walk down the road a ways to find people their age. Historically, one of the most exciting places for me to go to in the town was to the grocery store (you can find a relatively large number of people there at any one time, and you'll probably know at least one person) and the library. However, as I've been gone and things have grown up, there may be other, newer hot spots. Yet, with the construction of the 4-lane high way to the beach, the best fried chicken place in a 30 mile radius has been torn down again and will not be rebuilt.

Interlachen has a lot of poverty, which can be seen in the back roads where trailers and mobile homes sometimes slowly deteriorate. It also is somewhat diverse. Outside of the white population, there's a significant hispanic and a smaller black population, to my memory, that I grew up with. However, outside of these demographics, there is little. For instance, it wasn't until I went to high school in Gainesville that I met a Jew.

A lot of people consider Florida to be "the exception of the south," where it is more like a northern city/attitude or latin america, given the high amounts of elderly people and latinos living there. In Interlachen, this is not hte case. Yes, many, many elderly people and latinos live in the community, but there are very, very strong southern traditions alive and kicking in this area. Many people are hunters, speak with southern drawls, go mud bogging on the weekends, and sport rebel flags on their trucks.

Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Interlachen, though I've tried to keep some of my bias out of this post. However, it is a beautiful area. Now that I live in Atlanta, I truly miss seeing stars, smelling the fresh air, and being able to hear absolutely no one else when falling asleep. The water oaks, st. augustine grass, and the constantly low but tranquil lakes and ponds fill my memory as to the land I grew up near. And in 17 years, only 2 days of class were ever cancelled due to hurricanes.

In hindsight, I hated growing up there as an only child. There's not exactly a lot to do, and not many people leave once they're there. However, Interlachen Elementary School is a great elementary school that has won two nationally acclaimed Blue Ribbons. The more I reflect on my experience, the more I realize that when I start a family I will want to live in a similar area. Practically everyone has a front and a back yard for kids to run around in, and for the most part you don't have to deal pollution, though the occasional forest fire can stink pretty badly. I lived in a relatively safe area with a lot of policemen living nearby, so the only thing we've ever had stolen was a tractor. It's far enough from the city (Gainesville or Palatka if you consider it a city) that you don't have to deal with a ton of traffic or high taxes, and most people goign to the beach don't usually stop by. For the most part, you *do* have to travel for medical treatment, restaurants that aren't standard "country" fare, higher education, and jobs requiring more than a high school education, but it's not so far that it's not reasonable.

[ladysimon1]

Thank you KayteeesFL.
Your honest perspective and 1st hand experience (having grown-up in the area) on the Interlachen area was both helpful and informative. My family and I are considering moving to Interlachen in a month or so and I'm not familiar with the area but I know Palatka. I've googled the distances from the important places and people that we will need to get to(work, church,family, friends,doctor offices,restaurants, malls, Walmart, etc.), and like you stated it's not an unreasonable amount of travel time.(less than 20-35mins.)
Like someone else stated "it definately is country living" so it will take some getting used to despite some of the negatives posted.
We are moving from Dover, DE and if we can survive living in this town Interlachen should be a breeze.
I'm thrilled about the good reviews of the elementary school as I will have 2 children who will attend. Again thanx!

[rabbitrackroad]

I would like to know where the bingo hall is located in Interlachen,Fl.