Beverly Hills, Inverness, or Homosassa Springs area to live (Tampa: for sale, crime)

[Grandma of 4]

Hi, I daughter is a nurse practitioner who was hired by a doctor's practice. They have offices in Beverly Hills, Inverness and Homosassa Springs. She will come with her two year old daughter. Which of these areas might be the best to raise a family? Are there many activities or places of interest in any of these areas that will set it apart? How is housing? Are alligators a problem? any other advice is greatly appreciated! thanks to all.

[rjm1cc]

????
The state ranks schools so I would start there.
Zillow may help get an idea of housing costs
Google Earth can give you street views of areas you are interested in.
Check local police for crime info.
She should ask the employees in the practice where to look for a home.

[fajitajamboree]

Originally Posted by Grandma of 4

Hi, I daughter is a nurse practitioner who was hired by a doctor's practice. They have offices in Beverly Hills, Inverness and Homosassa Springs. She will come with her two year old daughter. Which of these areas might be the best to raise a family? Are there many activities or places of interest in any of these areas that will set it apart? How is housing? Are alligators a problem? any other advice is greatly appreciated! thanks to all.

Welcome!

We are a young family as well with children. Out of those areas, I would choose Inverness. It is a nice smallish city with all the typical chain places along with some local gems. Homosassa isn't a particularly desirable area to be in, though it is very close to some great places to visit like the springs in Crystal River , several state parks, and Cedar Key, which is a historic town well worth visiting. There really aren't any beaches to speak of in the area, but it isn't too far from the north Pinellas beaches at Tarpon Springs.

Housing varies from older 1950 style homes to new builds, lots of choices. Alligators are a "problem" only if you are swimming in stagnant water, usually at night; the springs and clear rivers are safe, and of course the beach. We see them but they don't bother people frequently at all, they are actually pretty timid when not looking for small mammal prey like raccoons.

The area is still pretty affordable, by Florida standards, but is in a place that is seeing lots of growth due to the proximity to Tampa, Orlando and The Villages, not to mention Ocala.

[Tsitsipas]

Inverness is my favorite part of Citrus County, especially the little downtown square area. Nice parks, the Valerie Theater, a few restaurants and shops, exhibits at the courthouse museum.

Housing is still relatively affordable in Citrus County, although like everywhere else prices have increased. You can find everything from trailers to mansions in Citrus (but there are more trailers than mansions.) Like other parts of FL, lots of ranch / single story homes and many have pools.

I never saw a single alligator in the 5 years I lived in Citrus County. I know they are in the lakes obviously but I never did see one. I did not have water on my property so it was not a concern at home.

Beverly Hills has a notorious "bad section" of town and Homosassa for some reason people associate with drug production and selling, but I do like some parts of Homossasa a lot. Keep in mind though, much of Homosassa is low lying and tends to flood when there's a storm. More inland parts of Citrus County are high and dry with lovely rolling hills.

If your daughter likes a little more of a rural setting Floral City is pretty nice, just south of Inverness. Floral City Heritage Days is a fantastic multi-day event in December including tours of old homes and a night when Avenue of the Oaks is closed to vehicle traffic and you can walk or take a horse-drawn carriage to view the Christmas lights and listen to various groups of carolers and musical performances on the porches! Dunnellon is another town to consider - far north part of the county, has some fun shops and an amazing State Park where you can swim in the stunningly beautiful water of Rainbow Springs.

Best thing about Citrus County is the gorgeous live oak trees and pretty lakes. Worst part is the typical poor FL county stuff - if you need me to be more specific let me know.

The community will be thankful to have your daughter there - good medical care is desperately needed.

[robscar]

We recently moved down here and had a house built in the Pine Ridge equestrian community in Beverly Hills. We love it as it is not as crowded as the other areas. The new parkway extension opens today with an exit planned that will drop people of on Norvell Bryant which may impact some parts of Pine Ridge.
We are close enough to the other small towns/cities that we can go there and then come back home.
Here in Pine Ridge there are 27 miles of horse trails that anyone can walk. There is also the community center with the community horse barn, tennis courts, playground, remote control flying field, and dog park.
There is not really much in the way of shopping. The big go to is Ocala, while simple to get to, you also get the traffic. So, we go and then come home to our quiet little community.

[airics]

Originally Posted by fajitajamboree

Welcome!

We are a young family as well with children. Out of those areas, I would choose Inverness. It is a nice smallish city with all the typical chain places along with some local gems. Homosassa isn't a particularly desirable area to be in, though it is very close to some great places to visit like the springs in Crystal River , several state parks, and Cedar Key, which is a historic town well worth visiting. There really aren't any beaches to speak of in the area, but it isn't too far from the north Pinellas beaches at Tarpon Springs.

Housing varies from older 1950 style homes to new builds, lots of choices. Alligators are a "problem" only if you are swimming in stagnant water, usually at night; the springs and clear rivers are safe, and of course the beach. We see them but they don't bother people frequently at all, they are actually pretty timid when not looking for small mammal prey like raccoons.

The area is still pretty affordable, by Florida standards, but is in a place that is seeing lots of growth due to the proximity to Tampa, Orlando and The Villages, not to mention Ocala.

no beaches close? ft island beach, ozello, and Hernando beach are not far at all... im at the crystal river/homosassa line, I can be at a beach in less than 15 minutes..

[dontaskwhy]

Alligators are everywhere in FL. Most people rarely or never encounter one near their home. Generally, alligators are shy creatures and if you leave them alone, they won't bother you or your family. There are not rampant groups of gators eating small pets or children. Don't be concerned about them, there are always far greater things to worry about.

Most horror stories about alligators are from folklore, myth, horror movies and rarely reality.

[fajitajamboree]

Originally Posted by airics

no beaches close? ft island beach, ozello, and Hernando beach are not far at all... im at the crystal river/homosassa line, I can be at a beach in less than 15 minutes..

While those technically are beaches.... they definitely are not what most people think of when they consider Florida beaches. Don't get me wrong, I like the Crystal Rive area and you are correct that those three exist, but they are so small and nothing like the beaches further south or in the Panhandle. But, for close spots to enjoy a sunset, they are great.

[azrairc]

Go to swampy's in Dunnellon if you're down there

also check the property's address on floodfactor.com. I saw a house built in 2021 for sale already needs to gutted after being flooded. Better yet demolished, for some reason it rains an insane amount in citrus county, like 30 more inches than marion and houses are built on overflow bowls.. so to speak. One flood expert the county hired basically said nothing can be done, these areas are the natural areas overflowing water ends up in