Is a move a big mistake? (Gainesville, Ocala: real estate, apartment complexes, rentals)

[kate29]

Guys, I need your help and advice. I have applied and might be offered a teaching position at a small college in ocala. Right now both my husband and I live in New Orleans. We both have jobs that allow us to save 40% of our income monthly. I am 26, my husband is 27. But we want want to leave the area and our jobs. My husband wants to get a second Masters so that he could position himself better on the job market in a couple of years, when we'll want to start a family and I'll be home for a while.
So he might go back to school in Gainesville.

Here is the problem and my question. Should we make the move, provided that I will get the job? Should I consider this. We do not have horses, we do not want 5 acres of land, we just want a peaceful life, a decent place to live, we want to be safe. I know that our combined income will go down but we can afford it for now.

I want to be able to go to work, come home, not be stuck in traffic, not worry about the crime rate, have a couple of store for shopping, we need high speed internet and cable and verizon wireless coverage. We are not looking to buy a house or land, just to rent. Are there any fairly new apartment complexes in the area?

I know nothing about central Florida...how are the people, what is the general feel of the area? We are not looking for big clubs and bars, but if we want to have a drink or go out to dinner on a Friday night, is there anything there? We don't go out much, we are just two responsible educated young people that work hard and are afraid of making a mistake.

There are so many questions I want to ask but hopefully you got the general idea? Any advice for us?

Also, is there a future for higher education (comm college) in Ocala? Are the students polite and respectfull? Thank you!!!

[kshe95girl]

Well, the college has been here since the late '60's, so I guess the future of higher education question here has pretty much been anwered.
Seriously though, you dont want to live near the college, its highly commercial, and kind of sketchy on the residential areas surrounding it. There is a LOT of traffic right in the area.
If I knew a bit more about how much you wish to pay, how big an apartment, how far you are willing to drive to CFCC, I could help a bit more.

[wacahootaman]

If you dont want to be stuck in traffic, stay off hy 200 whenever possible.

Either that, or get a apt close to your work. Best research the town on the net. Just google apartments for rent Ocala for starters.

Later, if your man needs to commute to Gainesville a halfway point off the interstate would be possible. A place in the country near Micanopy or McIntosh would be nice. But rentals are hard to find.

Ocala has crime problems like everywhere else, but probably not as bad as NOLA. It is basically a small town with no world class tourist attractions like NOLA either.

Most of the restaurants, stores, are national chains stores. If you dont need the unique charms of NOLA, it should work for you.

Just be sure the job offer is secure before you make the move.

[kate29]

kshe95girl, wacahootaman, first of all thank you for your responses.

What type of roof do I want over my head and how much am I willing to spend?

I need 2 large bedrooms or a big one, a small guest room and space for an office (small bedroom or loft). I would also like a medium size kitchen. It has to be energy efficient, in a safe area (i know there is no such thing as safe safe) and I would like some peace and quiet (don't want to be by the interstate). Normally I would want a house, but from what I've read, there are some bug problems over there and I don't know what to say. An apartment would be fine for a while, I am not sure. The price I'm willing to pay is proportional with what I am getting. If it is worth it, I would be willing to pay it. We don't eat out much, drink, smoke, we have no kids, not debt; I want to come to a decent home and am willing to spend the money, but I would overspend. I have seen that there are 2 bedroom apts that look decent for 800 and 3/2 houses for 1000-1200/month. Both are options. I would just need to figure out the other costs that come with a home in Ocala. Here in New Orleans, believe it or not, we have a 2 story 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house, we kept the temperature the entire summer set at 72 and our electricity + water + garbage bill never excedeed 150. What should I expect there? Like I said before, I need cable, internet and cell coverage, and from what I've seen Comcast is available in the area.

How much am I willing to drive to work? 30 minutes is not a problem. How bad is the traffic over there? How are the roads/speed limits? If my husband goes back to grad school at the U of F we will have to find a way to make it fair on both of us! I have seen that the distance between downtown Ocala to the U of F campus s 41 miles. How long a drive would that be in the morning or at 4pm?

Restaurants / shops ... well, we don't shop much / often for unnecessary things, just the things we need. I just need to buy food, office supplies, something for the house if things break...stuff like that. Restaurants...we only go out to eat if we had a bad week or if we are celebrating something. I am sure there are a couple of places for such ocasions. No need for $200/steak restaurants.

Weather / insects...is it that bad? I've looked at the average temperatures and I can deal with it? What about the insects...there was a user that said it was really bad...is it true...this might be the only think I would have a tough time adjusting to. Again, we do not want to live on a farm type place, or not just yet...who knows, maybe we'll be drawn to this type of life, we've never tried it yet.

Also, I've seen that there is another community college in Ocala, Rasmunsen College. Does anyone know anything about it?

How are the people in Ocala? We are tired of racial problems or angry faces everywhere you look around here? We just want to make a change and go somewhere for a while to relax and forget...


Please, any advice is truly appreciated, we just don't know what to do...Thank you!

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by kate29

kshe95girl, wacahootaman, first of all thank you for your responses.

What type of roof do I want over my head and how much am I willing to spend?

I need 2 large bedrooms or a big one, a small guest room and space for an office (small bedroom or loft). I would also like a medium size kitchen. It has to be energy efficient, in a safe area (i know there is no such thing as safe safe) and I would like some peace and quiet (don't want to be by the interstate). Normally I would want a house, but from what I've read, there are some bug problems over there and I don't know what to say. An apartment would be fine for a while, I am not sure. The price I'm willing to pay is proportional with what I am getting. If it is worth it, I would be willing to pay it. We don't eat out much, drink, smoke, we have no kids, not debt; I want to come to a decent home and am willing to spend the money, but I would overspend. I have seen that there are 2 bedroom apts that look decent for 800 and 3/2 houses for 1000-1200/month. Both are options. I would just need to figure out the other costs that come with a home in Ocala. Here in New Orleans, believe it or not, we have a 2 story 3 bedroom 2.5 bathroom house, we kept the temperature the entire summer set at 72 and our electricity + water + garbage bill never excedeed 150. What should I expect there? Like I said before, I need cable, internet and cell coverage, and from what I've seen Comcast is available in the area.

How much am I willing to drive to work? 30 minutes is not a problem. How bad is the traffic over there? How are the roads/speed limits? If my husband goes back to grad school at the U of F we will have to find a way to make it fair on both of us! I have seen that the distance between downtown Ocala to the U of F campus s 41 miles. How long a drive would that be in the morning or at 4pm?

Restaurants / shops ... well, we don't shop much / often for unnecessary things, just the things we need. I just need to buy food, office supplies, something for the house if things break...stuff like that. Restaurants...we only go out to eat if we had a bad week or if we are celebrating something. I am sure there are a couple of places for such ocasions. No need for $200/steak restaurants.

Weather / insects...is it that bad? I've looked at the average temperatures and I can deal with it? What about the insects...there was a user that said it was really bad...is it true...this might be the only think I would have a tough time adjusting to. Again, we do not want to live on a farm type place, or not just yet...who knows, maybe we'll be drawn to this type of life, we've never tried it yet.

Also, I've seen that there is another community college in Ocala, Rasmunsen College. Does anyone know anything about it?

How are the people in Ocala? We are tired of racial problems or angry faces everywhere you look around here? We just want to make a change and go somewhere for a while to relax and forget...


Please, any advice is truly appreciated, we just don't know what to do...Thank you!

Having spent a LOT of time in NOLA, I can say the weather is really not any worse, it just stays warmer a bit longer. NOLA was one of my fave places, have not been back since Katrina, but I digress......the bugs arent any worse, we actually seem to have less termite problems here, perhaps due to the fact that there are less old wooden structures?
There are a lot of restaurants, not many the caliber of NOLA, but adaquete, we have a couple of office supply stores, no book stores of any great note, but that is what Amazon is for.........
I am having a hard time deciding where to recommend looking for a place to suggest for you, am going to speak to a couple of real estate agents I know that do rentals....... will post back.

[Ocalagala]

I have read some posts on this forum that are rather negative about Ocala. I moved here from South Florida three years ago and I love it. I know "traffic" may be very relative ... but to me, there's no traffic in Ocala (compared to big city traffic). I think for the most part, people are very genuine, friendly and nice. I do not feel that I am in an unsafe city. I work at the community college and think it's the best job I've ever had. Good luck with your decision.

[yamahastar]

I don't believe our bugs or weather would be anything you can't handle - you've been living in the south, so you know about hurricanes, humidity and palmetto bugs. Most of the posts about bugs and weather are warnings to people from the north who think moving to Florida will be paradise. Your expectations sound very reasonable. I would imagine you would find the laid back life style of central Florida to be a breeze after living in NOLA. One word of caution regarding your husband's acceptance at UF - its VERY difficult to get admitted. Maybe he could find out about his program of study before you make a decision to come here. Good luck!

[charjp]

With the economy being where it is and very few to no jobs available, you want to make sure your job is secure. The town seems to be seperated between the southeast side and the southwest side.

There are quite a few houses, apartments, and condos for rent so finding one that you like shouldn't be a problem.

As for bugs, we have a yearly contract with an exterminator and have had no problems.

For restaurants, it seems like more of the chains are located on the southwest side, more family restaurants on the southside side. There are a lot of places to shop here, just about every chain store that I can think of. I would think your cost of utilities would run you more than where you are now. We keep our electricity set at 73 during the day/ 70 at night during the summer (1000 sq ft. home) and it runs about the low $200's/month. We are an all electric house. Our cable/internet/phone bill runs about $140/month.

Good luck.

[KathyA11]

Originally Posted by Ocalagala

I have read some posts on this forum that are rather negative about Ocala. I moved here from South Florida three years ago and I love it. I know "traffic" may be very relative ... but to me, there's no traffic in Ocala (compared to big city traffic). I think for the most part, people are very genuine, friendly and nice. I do not feel that I am in an unsafe city. I work at the community college and think it's the best job I've ever had. Good luck with your decision.

I'm from New Jersey. The traffic I saw in June and August, even in rush hour, is nothing compared to what I'm used to.

The people I met -- in the hotel, Publix, Lowe's restaurants -- all were friendly, open, and pleasant. In fact, in August, the waitstaff in Bob Evans (the one closer to Rt 75) remembered me form my visit in June.