How is Ocala Fl?? (Jacksonville, Miami: homeowners insurance, public schools, university)

[jenrein]

Originally Posted by hocmama

Hello! My name is Jen and my husband and I are considering moving to Ocala from VA. I am originally from Orlando and we are looking to get closer to family that live in Orlando and Gainesville. Ocala is right in the middle!! The job market is not of extreme importance to us because my husband already has a great opportunity there in his field. I will be working with him and staying home with my girls. We have a daughter who will begin kindergarten in the fall and a toddler. I would like any info anyone has to share on the schools and family friendly, safe neighborhoods. We would like to be in a neighborhood that has a "community" feel, with sidewalks, and parks. We are considering renting for 6mo to 1yr until we find what we really want but if we find it now that would be great too! Are there rentals available in good neighborhoods? I was thinking there may be since the housing market has slowed so much. Does anyone know if there are mom groups that meet with toddlers? Are there good places for extracurricular activities like little tykes soccer/t-ball and dance classes?

Thanks so much for the information and advice!!
Jen

I would like to find this out also! My poor Hockey Player son is wondering if there is any of that here also?? He's played from being in diapers until now at 8!

[Nirvana-Guy]

Originally Posted by Nirvana-Guy

Ocala is nice, but it has a BIG tornado and severe weather problem.

The Villages are even worse!!

To whomever gave me a negative... that area in north Central Florida DOES have a tornado problem.

Did you forget the 3 tornadoes from Dec 2006 - February in that area?? You know the Christmas Day tornado? The Feb Tornadoes that razed The Villages to the ground? Geeeezzz....

Let me also clarify that Ocala is a nice town, specially for retired folks. But there IS a tornado problem in north Central FL, like it or not!

[OcalaFam]

Originally Posted by jenrein

I would like to find this out also! My poor Hockey Player son is wondering if there is any of that here also?? He's played from being in diapers until now at 8!

I moved to Ocala almost 2 years now and we absolutely love it. It is a truly wonderful place to raise our family. For those with families I would suggest joining the OcalaMoms Group at OcalaMoms : Ocala Moms or go to Yahoo Groups and search for Ocalamoms for playgroups, moms night outs, advice, friendship, finding out the best schools, sports, dance schools, neighborhoods, etc. It's for mom's and kids of all ages, religions, races, socioeconomic status, stay at home, work at home or work outside of the home moms.

[bobjlv]

I live in Arizona right now, but my goal is to eventually move back to Ocala. If you move there with money and retirement, it's a great community. The metro population which includes all of Marion County is around 450,000. Ocala does have a rural feel to it. I lived north of it in a community called Fort McCoy. A lot of people from larger communities would find that area too rural, but it is one of the last areas of Florida that still has a "southern" feel to it. I moved there from Las Vegas and at first felt isolated. After spending 3 years there, I loved it and plan on moving back. I never had to worry about crime, traffic, air pollution or noisy neighbors. I was 20 minutes from WalMart or 30 minutes from the Mall. I was there for Jeanne, Francis, Charley, and the remnants of Katrina and Wilma. Francis was the worst, and as rural as I was I was without electricity for about 5 days. I was told by the locals that it was the first hurricane that had a direct hit in almost a 100 years. Heck, even Tucson, AZ where I live now has tornados. Just my two cents, but I can't think of another area in the world where I'd live again. My plan is to be back there this time next year. The winters are very mild with a few occasional cold days. I saw temperatures in the mid-20s a few nights, but also on New Years Day I saw high temps in the lower 80s. The humidity is extremely low in the winter, beleive it or not as low as the high teens.
Fort McCoy and Citra are rural, but growing, and Salt Springs is booming. I absolutely loved northern Marion County.
If you have kids in school, don't move there. The nearest high school is North Marion High, it's about a 45 minute bus ride.

[Ocala-JIM]

Absolutely right - bobjlv says it all. I've been living here for 15 years and Ocala is a great place to live. The hurricanes are typically too weak to cause serious problems and tornados are rare and usuallly very weak compared to those I experienced in Ohio, PA, Iowa, and Illinois. Ocala is the place nursing homes around the state use as an evacuation place if a hurricane is coming, because it is the safest place in the state. The recent growth spurt in the city has only made it better. I love it here.

[Morales]

Originally Posted by rkjcs

During the summer months we have alot of afternoon thunderstorms here in the Ocala area but they usually only last an hour or so and move on. Some information on schools for you here in marion county:

Florida’s Department of Education ranked Marion County Public Schools as an “A” district for the recently-completed 2005-2006 school year.

As well, Marion County is tied for second in the entire state when it comes to “leading the state in raising student performance,” earning 35 more points than last year. (Hendry County tied with Marion County, just behind first-place Jefferson County.) The district’s vision statement is, “leading the state in raising student performance.”

Marion County Public Schools is one of 24 districts in Florida earning an “A” this year, and one of 23 raising its grade over last year.
Supporting the district’s high grade are strong individual school grades - 84% of Marion County schools earned an “A” or “B” grade this year. These grades, coupled with student performance on the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) and strong learning gains across the board as well as learning gains of the lowest 25 percent of students, factor heavily in the DOE’s calculation of district grades.

I live in Dunnellon which is about 20 minutes west of Ocala and is much smaller. If you come to the area you should come check this area out. Rainbow Springs state park is at the headwaters of the Rainbow River here in Dunnellon and they have a few man made waterfalls and the river is crystal clear and the water stays 72 degrees year round.

If anyone needs any more information about the area just let me know.

Hope this helps.

RK, I would like to know more about your town or surronding areas of Ocala. I have 3 boys 1 going to college another in high school 11th and 1 in 2nd grade. The high school one is upset about relocating very into sports and is training to be a boxer. I cant seem to find any trainer out there is there a # you might have of recreations. I would also like to know if I need to drive 15 min to get to the supermarket. How are the jobs, what companies are located towards that area. Thank You

[overlook]

I've lived in Ocala now for 5 years. Of all the things we have done in our lives moving here is one of the best. We really were not sure that we would even like living this far south. We heard horror stories about BUGS, and humidity etc. So, we bought a very nice older double wide in an over 55 park - even though we were a little young. Since we are going to stay in Ocala sometime in the near future we will sell the DW and get a block house. The only real bug pest is "The Love Bugs" that get stuck on car paint. There is also cochroaches but, not if you spray regularly. The lizards are cute. They also are afraid of people. They look like the ones on that comercial. I live almost a rock throw from Silver Springs. Ocala is in the north middle of the state. It is of higher elevation than a lot of the state. We had 3 hurricanes a couple years ago that did some damage here and 1 or 2 tornadoes too. We didn't get hit nearly as hard as most of the state. We have been told by older folks that this was the first time they had seen that and that is what we read in the newspaper. We are known for our lightening. We are more known for the lovely horse farms. John Travola lives about 3 miles from my house. People see him occasionally. He is trying to do a remake of Dallas which will feature the Ocala horse farms.

I love where I live. Being a military wife for 20 years I have lived many places - every one of the I have liked in some way. But, Mike husband and I couldn't be happier to live anywhere else.

The Marion Theater just reopened. It's very old but remodeled. They put on plays and have improv as well as music. They attracted a percussion troup and I thought it would be awful but, it was quite moving.

Silver Springs is not very close to Silver Springs Shores. It is very close to Ocala. I live just a couple miles away. Silver Springs Park has weekly and sometimes 2ce weekly concerts that you can go to through the year for I think is about $60.00. There are several prices depending what age group you are. Just google silver springs and you can see what they do. It's a great place just to stroll. We've been to a lot of their concerts. There is a park and drive for it within walking distance from my house.

Weather. The weather is terrific. It is a rare day if you do not see the sun. Even in days where it's supposed to rain all day - there are pockets of sunshine. It has never gotten over 100 since we moved here. It's come VERY VERY close but never got higher. Right now it's upper 80's. We are getting some rain every day however you just wait for a while and the sun comes out everything is dry and beautiful. We won a couple awards lately for being the best place to live in America. We are always on one list or another. My husbands job is IT. There are technicle jobs here but, YOU really have to hunt for them.

There are some bad areas in Ocala but, they get smaller every day.

I'm glad I live here.

[Impetusangelic]

I was born and raised in Ocala, I just moved away a little over a year ago due to the housing prices and I would love nothing more than to return back home. Within this last year the housing prices have finally went back down in Ocala. If you have children, there ARE places you can go and enjoy a community atmosphere and still have a good school. Such as Silver Spring shores, you just have to know the area you're in. If you move to Silver Sprg Shores with children make sure you're in the area for GreenWay Elementary. It's one of the newer schools in the area. Everyone in Marion county considers themselves as living in Ocala. It's in the middle of the county, with easy access to north Marion county (Reddick, Ft McCoy etc) , as well as South Marion county (Dunnellon, Silver Spg Shores, Ocklawaha, Summerfield, Belleview.) There are movie theaters, one located on SR 40 (silver springs Boulevard..locals just call it the boulevard) and a newer one on what locals call "Easy Street"...off of SR 200 (College Rd) and across from WalMart and the Paddock Mall. There are several smaller clubs and pool halls for younger crowds (Note: Ocala does have a law that anyone under 21 is not admitted into a place that serves alcohol) There are also several parks and trails (Santos Trail, Lake Lillian park in Belleview, Greenway Trail - which is off of SE 52nd Ave which locals call Baseline, it is the newer of those trails) Most of the Elementary schools provide holiday activities for Halloween (so that your children arent in risk of danger, as well as Christmas activities.) Old Downtown Ocala (as locals call it, it is located off of SR 40 aka the Boulevard and on the corner of 441- aka Pine street) it is beautiful during the holidays as it is lit up with Christmas decorations and every year there is a Ice Skating Rink under a tend for children to truly have that Christmas feel. If you are considering moving to Ocala and want more information you are more than welcome to email me at Impetusangelic@aol.com.

[dataman]

ocala nice place wont be disapponted

[rbinski]

My sister and husband live in Ocala most of the year. They enjoy the area. We have visited them and surrounding area with hopes of moving within 5 years (whenever we can afford to retire!). We currently live in West Palm Beach area, and it has become too crowded and crime ridden. Every store we've visited in the Ocala area has employees who are pleasant. As far as theatre, Ocala Civic is one of the best community theatres in the entire country. Their production of 42ND STREET was professional calibre. The theatre is on the east side of the city, quite close to Silver Springs.

We love the entire area--Mt. Dora, Eustis, and Leesburg also have community theatres on a smaller scale than Ocala. There is good dining all around. Check out the Villages on Route 27 south of Ocala. A little too regimented for my tastes (and not inexpensive), but you don't have to live there to go to the restaurants in the village squares and the country clubs. Our favorites are Nancy Lopez and Arnold Palmer Country Clubs. The area around Ocala is reminiscent of Southeastern Pennsylvania, without the threat of snow. Hurricanes can come through there, but Ocala is on higher ground than the coastal areas, and less likely to suffer the extremes. There have been a couple tornadoes in the Lady Lake and Eustis area in recent years. They're working on an early warning system for that. There are seasons in Ocala, unlike south Florida, although winter isn't rigorous.

We like downtown Ocala. Several nice places around the square. Small-town city, if you get my drift.