What is the current Environment in Ocala (Orlando, Silver Springs Shores: real estate market, to rent)

[winegal23]

I have searched through several threads on Ocala however most I saw were older, I would like to know any current info such as population, current crime stats, development and development issues, which parts of town are best for young families etc, thanks for any updated info!!

[deckardc]

Try posting in the Orlando forum. A lot of people on there live in the suburbs between Orlando and Ocala. They may have more specific info for you.

[Floridamom1970]

Well according to city data the crime is 6.75 which, in my humble opinion is VERY high for a city of its size. Population is around 40,000. I live in Dunnellon which is in Marion county SW. of Ocala.

As far as the best parts to live for families here goes. I would stay away from any address that has "West"anything. Certain areas of southwest Ocala are okay like the area surrounding the community college (I spent the majority of my teenage years in a house right behind the college)and a few others. From what I can see the best area for families are in the south east and the northeast. Most of West Ocala seems to be very run down. Habitat for Humanity is attempting to "revitalize" the area. I was going to apply for a house with them but decided against it when I saw that the area they are going to be building in is in the most run down crime ridden part of town.

There are a few posters here who live in Ocala, so maybe they will help you with the rest of your questions.

[jenrein]

I just moved to the Ocala area in July and got a lot of advice from Myhomeisinocala. You could PM me if you have questions....I might have an answer, lol

[MyHomeIsInOcala]

There are some beautiful, older neighborhoods on the SE side of downtown Ocala (off of Fort King Rd).

We do not go to the NW or NE sides of Ocala, so I can tell you little of those areas...

A newer cluster home community is 4Ranch, west of I75 off of St Rt 200, they have Town homes and Single Family Dwellings. Nice looking, but tightly compacted.

You can find cheaper rent in Marion Oaks and Silver Spring Shores. I would stay away from the shores, the schools are not that good, unless you move to the Belleview side of the street. Marion Oaks has a Great Elementary School and the New Middle School will open in Jan. 08, but the kids still have to go to Dunnellon High (that is biggest reason why we moved from there!!). Marion Oaks and Silver Spring Shores are both places that boast being "Close" to shopping and services, but they are not. We did not shop at the local Win Dixie in Marion Oaks (dirty and small), so shopping was at least a 15 minute drive to WalMart or Publix over on 200. To be honest, we hated living in Marion Oaks, for the amount of Taxes paid on those properties, there are NO amenities and bad roads in most of that sub-division.

I too, think crime is on the high side for a town (city) the size of Ocala. We just had another "attempted" bank robbery right on West 200 at a bank in front of "On Top Of The World". I guess it just seems exaggerated here to us and the would be robbers are from the shores. Maybe they just felt like they had to have some help to pay their taxes? I will give them the benefit of the doubt. hahahaha

Ocala is going to see some Water Rates Changes too. Marion Oaks has been paying Higher Water bills than pretty much any one else in Marion County, many of the retirement communities have been paying up to 60% less! That is going to change and even out. I think I read that in MO the average decrease in the water bill would be 16%.

Here are a few links of local interest:
Marion County Sheriff's Office - Welcome
MCBCC Home Page
Frontpage | Ocala.com | Star-Banner | Ocala, Fla.
Ocala Florida Classifieds -- OCALA4SALE.COM
Marion County Public Schools, Ocala, Florida
Marion County Health Department Home Page
Ocala, Marion County Chamber of Commerce

I hope you can find some current stats within the Sherriff's Office, School site and the local news paper.


Good Luck!

[winegal23]

Thank you to everyone who responded. I am looking forward to moving there however some posts have been so negative. We are wanting to rent the first year and my husband has gotten a great job with a great company so we are blessed in that area. We are selling in TN and the real estate market is horrible like many other places....never know when we can sell and prices have plummeted to what they were over 5 years ago, they are sitting for up to a year if not more!!!! Hence purchasing real estate does not seam to be very smart in an area we do not even know. Thanks again

[daniellefort]

The place is growing at a tremendous rate. They are putting in a new mall just on the side of I-75 only 1 mile down from the other mall. The whole west side of HWY 200 going towards Citrus County has exploded with developments, business, restaurants and so forth. I live in Citrus County and travel through Ocala quite often and i just can't believe how quickly development took over. HWY 200 is getting quite busy.

[seahunter98]

If you HAVE to move here, you could do a lot worse. I have been here 8 years, after living in Indiana, SC, NC and VA.

I have read the crime stats on city-data, but they don't translate very well to me. I think overall, I have always felt quite safe. Yes, there are parts of town you don't want to be driving in alone at 2am in case you break down, but that's pretty much every town in my experience. I got my purse stolen at a bar once. In a moment of youthful, alcohol-induced foolishness, I left it unattended. Some jerk spent $100 on my credit card at Wal-Mart before I could cancel, which I felt was pretty uncreative \.

I think city-data is your best resource for statistics, also the marion county homepage, chamber of commerce, etc.. I think one person gave you most of the important links.

I do not see how a typical young couple can afford a house here nowadays, but if your husband (and/or you) has a well-paying job, you will be OK. I personally prefer the NW area, but I am a horse person, so I'm biased by necessity of passing 6 tack and feed stores on my 6 mile drive to work. My particular neighborhood is sort of middle of the road in class and price - strangely dumpy in some portions, yet my street is wonderful in terms of 2-3 bed/1-2 bath, $140,000-$200,000-ish neighborhoods, and I am lucky enough to back up to horse farms instead of other neighbors. I live in Ocala Park Estates. I'm not sure about the price range, but I also like the historic district (Ft. King area) and surrounding neighborhood best.... Older houses (and probably better-built), lots more charm and variety in housing and landscape there. Be prepared everywhere else, for Block-and-Stucco Ranch-style house heaven. The "new" side of town is worth checking out too. I don't get over there much. It's sort of that area west of I-75 that was previously a long empty stretch of nothing interrupted by the odd retirement village...now it's exploding like popcorn...new shopping, new restaurants, new slightly more upscale neighborhoods, etc.

I can't speak from experience, but I have friends who live in Silver Springs Shores and like it very much. I think that's NE (could be SE) side of town. I have been to Marion Oaks a couple times and it seems a bit sketchy to me. Like it started out as a good concept, but didn't really turn out right. Basically, I think you could find something acceptable in any "sector" of town you wanted to live in.

If you want any acreage, go somewhere else completely, or resign yourself to a healthy commute. Anything with acreage here is ridiculous, esp. if you don't want a mobile home.

If you prefer quieter or more rural...there are plenty of little satellite areas you could check out...Dunnellon, Citra, Belleview, Summerfield, Anthony to name a few.

Overall, I think it's a nice place to live. The horse farms are beautiful, though they continue to move outward due to sprawl and mini-farm community developments. It is definitely growing like nuts here. Lots of people call it Slocala...say there is nothing to do. I don't think that's true, but I'm more of a home/farmbody. If you want nightlife, forget it. There are plenty of restaurants, about a million churches, the mall is adequate, though not spectacular. Culturally...a bit dry, but again, I've seen worse. If we have an identity, it's as a horse community, but not in an overly pretentious way because there are so many different types of horses and horse people here. Very much a melting pot in terms of people's backgrounds. To me, it seems as if the "middle class" is growing here, which is a good thing. Used to be all top and bottom, with not so much in between. Obviously, quite a few retirees here as well. The only place I've ever lived where the movie theater parking lot is full on a Tuesday afternoon.

Traffic is not really much of a problem in general, in my opinion.

I have no kids, so I"ll let someone else speak for schools.

Anyway, I hope that helps. Email me if you have any specific questions. I'll tell you anything I feel I can answer accurately.