On Top of The World community, Ocala (Jacksonville, Tampa: home, college)

[mutoscope]

Hi, I am having a home built here & closing is May 2nd. Can anyone who lives there give me input as to how they like it, what the positives & negatives are??? Thanks.

[OcalaTom]

I dont live at "On Top of the World" but I do Live in Ocala. I love Ocala..Not too Big.. Not too Small... No Snow.. Lots of Restaurants... Within 100 miles of Jacksonville, Gainesville, Gulf Coast, Daytona Beach, Orlando/Kissimmee, Tampa. Laid back atmosphere most of the time but the Excitement is not far away whenever you want it... I dont know if you consider it a positive or a Negative but the Area where "On top of the World" is at is Growing Fast... New Stores and Restaurants springing up all the time on State Road 200 "College Road" which is the Main Street past "On Top of the World" New Mall Opening Very Close to there in Oct '07. Most of Ocala though (excluding the 5 or 6 Main Business Streets) is mostly Very Large Horse Farms. ..We are about 10 Miles from Silver Springs Nature Theme Park that has around 20 -30 Concerts every year (mostly Performers for the Retirement aged Crowd). We already have a fairly decent Mall (Paddock Mall),3 Large hospitals... lots of Churches of all denominations... a nice Library, Small Airport, Jai-a-lai Fronton ... lots of Small town Festivals.... No I Dont work for the Chamber of Commerce ..but I cant Imagine anyplace else I'd rather Live and I have lived in 7 different States. Ive lived in Ocala about 8 Years. Although no State on the East Coast is totally Hurricane Proof, Ocala has been very Lucky with not having to Deal Much with Hurricanes ..a Couple years ago we did have a Couple pass over Ocala but with minimal Damage..(Mostly just some uprooted trees and power outages).

[megeorge]

Hi there!

I also bought a home at OTOW and am scheduled to close in November 2006. I will be interested in hearing from anyone who lives there.

[ohlab]

Just wonder how Ocala faired in the latest Hurricane threat. We live in New Mexico, and are considering a move to Ocala, or possibly Missouri, haven't quite decided, but want to go someplace where there are green & trees -- tired of the dry desert. Thanks...

[mcr10]

Originally Posted by megeorge

Hi there!

I also bought a home at OTOW and am scheduled to close in November 2006. I will be interested in hearing from anyone who lives there.

I agree with OcalaTom. We choose Ocala for some of the reasons he mentions.

Been living here in OTOW since Nov. 04 and really like it. Many nice friendly people here and of course plenty of activities and ammenities.

Only thing I don't like about it is the high price of water(from OTOW) which mostly goes for keeping the lawn watered. Our lawn, as are most new lawns here in OTOW is St. Augustine grass which requires watering twice weekly.
I have often wondered why Bahia grass is not used since it requires nothing but rain water and looks just as nice.

Other than that, I have no complaints and highly recommend OTOW for an over 55 community. I think you will like it here.
Best wishes on your move.

[lulu]

St.Augustine grass rules here...and I just hate it & then the chinch bug issue. Like you said it needs lots of water plus one big rainfall and it grows like the bean stalk in the mighty green giant story - plus, it needs sunshine. If there's an area where trees provide shade, it won't grow.
I've been experimenting with grasses for the past two years - most are not suited for our soils as they require acidic soils/other climates and don't fare well here. The Argentinian grass (not expensive) fares very well here & require less water, but I don't like it's look (not carpet like) nor it's long unattractive seed heads. At the beginning of the year, I bought 'caterpillar grass seeds' (they're more expensive) that are not suited for here and my whole back yard is full of this grass, now. It needs acidic soil, so I devised a way to get around that as it was becoming yellowish. I'm saving/recycling my coffee grounds & I've been sprinkling it on the grass & they are greener...so far, so good. It has slimmer blades than St. Augustine. One thing I love about it, it requires much less mowing. Instead of every week or every 2 weeks like now depending on the rain- we mow that area once a month. What's funny is that there's an area right next to St. Augustine and one can see the huge difference in it's growing pattern. Let's see how it goes..

[nerome]

I don't live in OTotW, (or Ocala) personally, but I've had family living there since about '97, I think. She seems to like it well enough. The people are friendly, and plenty of privacy. The bugs are big, and there's an occasional fox, but otherwise no complaints (and the foxes aren't even considered a complaint for the most part, they're well-fed ). There are some areas of the community that have little to no tree growth, but others that are perfectly shaded. We've experienced both -- moving within the community.

As for the hurricanes, they don't seem to reach Ocala very often, and if they do, they've died down quite a bit, since then. Still, hurricane shutters are recommended, if they aren't already installed. Just in case.

As OcalaTom mentioned, there are plenty of activities. A lot of churches. Also, If any of you moving up there get the opportunity, I suggest Little Joey's Pizza, on 200.

To be honest, I wasn't sure that it was still called "On Top of the World," I could have sworn the name was changed a few years back. Was the name renewed? I haven't been back in a while.

[florigidge]

"Just wonder how Ocala faired in the latest Hurricane threat. We live in New Mexico, and are considering a move to Ocala, or possibly Missouri, haven't quite decided, but want to go someplace where there are green & trees -- tired of the dry desert. Thanks..."

florida is the tropics. please keep that in mind. if hurricanes bother you, then living more inland, such as ocala, can be helpful, but you are still not immune from them.

i would think you'd prefer florida to missouri since you've lived in a climate that can be hot, such as new mexico. BUT again - florida is the tropics and the humidity in summer is always high. it can be oppressive. if you think that the humidity was high wherever you have lived before, i guarantee you, it will take your breath away in florida.

that said, since we moved to florida when i was three and i am now 58, i always much more preferred dealing with hot weather and humidity than anything i have experienced living either in north carolina or in oregon (two places i've lived for extended periods). the heat in the west with low humidity or none at all is a piece 'o cake - temps can be 103 in the summer where i live now and i breeze thru the day without a problem while the locals can't stand it and run from shade to shade or car to house. HOWEVER i cannot abide the winters, rain, snow, hale, sleet that i truly hate.