[Saname81]

Hello to all, me and the wife are in our late 20's with three young children. We live in Miami-Dade county and are looking to move north due to high crime, bad schools and over priced homes. We are looking for a family friendly area near the city, cheap homes, good schools with plenty of things to do. I have heard the Ocala area is nice, can anyone give us any ideas, thanks. Oh employment will not be a factor for me.

Home price range: No more than $200K 4/2 2.5
My income: Mid 40's with out OT

[EscAlaMike]

"near the city". what does that mean? which city? how near is near?

You should consider DeLand. It's about 30 minutes from Orlando, but still maintains its own character.

[kahncss]

Have you looked into the Panhandle? Panama City/Panama City Beach is a nice place for young families w/ A+ schools. The real estate is a buyer's market right now.

[TD*]

Sename, Come to Tallahassee.

Its always the top Family City.

Come visit and you will see why.


No one I have given this advice to has ever refuted my claim.

[MovedfromFL]

You could try Clermont, just west of Orlando. There are many large and very affordable homes there if you can wait for a short sale to come through. Schools are large but generally good. (I used to live and teach there and we are considering moving back this summer) You could shoot up the turnpike and check it out.

I would not recommend Ocala. We thought about it for our move back to FL, but wrote it off. Schools are not very good from the info that I found, and the area has been hit hard by the recession. Homes are cheap though, but I heard that gangs might be in the area of Marion Oaks.

There are still some deals to be had in Seminole County these days if you're willing to take a 3/2 that might look like 1983. It could be worth it to get into that school district. Check out Oviedo, Lake Mary, & Winter Springs. Those areas are close to Orlando via a short ride on the 408 (nice highway, but with tolls). Also, there are paved trails for walking, biking, roller blading, etc. I'm sure there are plenty of soccer teams and such for the kids too.

[parks71]

All those things you listed are not restricted to south florida. Here in jacksonville, we have led the state in crime for the past 10 years straight. The schools are one of the worst in the state, worse than where you are and yahoo just had the top worst cities with overpriced homes in the USA. Number 1, Miami, number 2, orland, number 3, Jacksonville, in other words, the whole state still has overpriced housing. More people left florida last year than moved here for the first time in a LONG time. My point is, if your running from those problems, I'm not sure you can get away from them while staying in state at this time.