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Old 09-01-2014, 02:57 PM
 
Location: palm beach gardens
2 posts, read 3,936 times
Reputation: 13

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Hi, were a young family of 4, looking to move out of over run palm beach county and back to the woods. We want to live in the woods but still have good schools,shopping, ect. Any suggestions on an area?. I have been approved for 180k home loan.also willing to rent. Please help!
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Old 09-01-2014, 04:27 PM
 
3,337 posts, read 2,140,399 times
Reputation: 5168
Quote:
Originally Posted by abrinkley View Post
Hi, were a young family of 4, looking to move out of over run palm beach county and back to the woods. We want to live in the woods but still have good schools,shopping, ect. Any suggestions on an area?. I have been approved for 180k home loan.also willing to rent. Please help!
You should be able to find a property that suits your needs with relative ease, however, quality education is fleeting in this part of the state. The public districts here, with perhaps one loose exception, range from abysmal to barely mediocre. Getting your kids into a magnet program early or enrolling them in a carefully chosen private school (so long as you don't mind the religious indoctrination) are your best bet. Another alternative of course is that either yourself or your spouse are available, competent, and committed to a regiment of homeschooling, educational enrichment, and necessary socialization.

It may be advisable to rent for a year or two so that you're able to get a real feel for the area before committing by way of acquiring a mortgage. Depending upon your rental budget, you may enjoy yourself far more while renting a single-family home than you would a close-quarters style unit. Most of the close-quarters living in Ocala is atrocious, though there are some exceptions.

Otherwise, if you're determined to own, if you could provide some more specific details about the type of property you're looking for I may be able to recommend some areas. We already know your approximate price limit, so:
  • Desired lot size (min/max)?
  • Desired number of bedrooms, bathrooms?
  • Desired sqft range (min/max).
  • etc.
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Old 09-01-2014, 05:22 PM
 
Location: palm beach gardens
2 posts, read 3,936 times
Reputation: 13
We're probably going to rent for a year to feel out the area like you said but I make 60k-70k a year and we would like at least a 3/2 1500 sqft + house with a wooded feel(big oak trees etc.)We would like to be able to ride our atvs from the house or near by. Were coming to visit this Sunday 9/7. Thank you so much for you input! The crime, schools, neighborhoods, cost of living are getting ridiculous down here. I've lived down here my entire life I just don't want my two young girls growing up in this way of life. Thank you again
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Old 09-01-2014, 10:17 PM
 
1,905 posts, read 2,791,155 times
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I'm pretty sure their is some pretty decent public schools in the area you could try greatschools.org
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Old 12-14-2014, 03:48 PM
 
9 posts, read 14,294 times
Reputation: 32
Quote:
Originally Posted by abrinkley View Post
We're probably going to rent for a year to feel out the area like you said but I make 60k-70k a year and we would like at least a 3/2 1500 sqft + house with a wooded feel(big oak trees etc.)We would like to be able to ride our atvs from the house or near by. Were coming to visit this Sunday 9/7. Thank you so much for you input! The crime, schools, neighborhoods, cost of living are getting ridiculous down here. I've lived down here my entire life I just don't want my two young girls growing up in this way of life. Thank you again

60-70k is good money for the area you should have no problems finding a great house. There are parts of Ocala have a lot of crime. The wife, myself and kids moved to Lady lake from NH. We love FL, the kids are in The Vilage Charter school.(great school) We did take a huge pay cut moving but I think it was worth it.
Good luck
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Old 12-14-2014, 10:27 PM
 
Location: Ocala, FL
6,484 posts, read 10,353,739 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jmpowie View Post
We did take a huge pay cut moving but I think it was worth it.
And. of course your cost of living here also was dramatically decreased.
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Old 12-14-2014, 11:54 PM
 
3,337 posts, read 2,140,399 times
Reputation: 5168
Quote:
Originally Posted by dontaskwhy View Post
And. of course your cost of living here also was dramatically decreased.
The latter doesn't always offset the former, of course. This is why more people considering moving to Florida need to identify areas that are in alignment with their skill sets, obtain average salaries for those skill sets, and determine prevailing CoL expenses before relocating to perpetual sunshine.
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Old 12-28-2014, 05:59 PM
 
9 posts, read 14,294 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dontaskwhy View Post
And. of course your cost of living here also was dramatically decreased.
The cost of living is no cheaper than living in most parts of NH. Food is the same, gas costs more, car and home insurance is 2x more in FL. NH you heat all winter/ FL you cool all summer. I took almost a 10 dollar hour pay cut the wife took a bigger one. (she is a nurse)

Fl is a great place to retire but its a hard place to work. I am very happy with our move but I did fall for the cost of living is cheaper in FL lie.
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Old 01-10-2015, 09:57 PM
 
Location: Near Nashville TN
7,201 posts, read 14,995,469 times
Reputation: 5450
Quote:
Originally Posted by dontaskwhy View Post
And. of course your cost of living here also was dramatically decreased.
I can't speak for NH but FL is about twice as expensive to live as it is in TN. Taxes, electric, gas, Ins are all much higher in FL. Food and clothing and household items in FL are about the same as in TN and NY. This is one of the reasons we hesitated to move to FL. Money goes so much further in other states. In the past 8 years we've seen so many retired people here in the RV parks going what's called "full time" in their RVs. They sell their home up north and move into an RV and head south. Decent RV parks can be found in FL for under $300 a month and you have no headaches/expenses as a landowner. If you have a bad neighbor, you simply move, drive to another RV Park.

A lot of folks are retiring to the Carolina's because it's much cheaper than FL. And some are even retiring to east TN in the Knoxville area. The weather may not match FLs in the winter but it so much more affordable.
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Old 01-10-2015, 10:34 PM
 
Location: Near Nashville TN
7,201 posts, read 14,995,469 times
Reputation: 5450
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmpowie View Post
The cost of living is no cheaper than living in most parts of NH. Food is the same, gas costs more, car and home insurance is 2x more in FL. NH you heat all winter/ FL you cool all summer. I took almost a 10 dollar hour pay cut the wife took a bigger one. (she is a nurse)
These are all the things we found out about a few years ago when my husband retired. We too thought it was cheaper to live in FL then where we were living in TN. We came down in our RV and spent a month in different areas. From Ocala to Sarasota. We asked people questions, we asked everyone we met about the positives and negatives of moving to FL. We asked everyone questions, from the Dr I had to see in Ocala to the people at the registers in WalMart. We talked to other RVers and RV full-timers and those who owned homes in and outside of the Gated Communities. We spoke to people in laundromats while doing our wash. We questioned my husband's relatives to death who live in and near The Villages. What a learning experience that was. We decided for the time being to stay in TN and snow-bird for the winter months.

I just have to rant about this 1/2 acre lot we looked at recently just off SR 4O about 6 miles east of Silver Springs, not far from where we're spending the winter. It's in a rundown section of all double wides and old single wides on various sized lots. Most of the streets, if you call them that where there are no sidewalks, are packed sand roads. Back to the lot for sale. There's an ugly old ratty looking shop building of some kind and 2 old broken down mobile homes on the lot. Neither is in livable condition and neither is worth putting money into. They're probably from the 1950s and have been abused and neglected for years. We figured rental units. Anyone buying the place would have to pay to have these MH junkers and the large shop thing removed from the property. The fence was ancient and falling down, needing removal. I shudder to think what that would cost. Can you guess the asking price for this strip of land, this 1/2 acre? Can you believe $65,000? One has to wonder what a 1/2 acre lot would cost in a better neighborhood with paved roads and sidewalks and small but attractive well kept homes or manufactured homes.

Quote:
Fl is a great place to retire but its a hard place to work. I am very happy with our move but I did fall for the cost of living is cheaper in FL lie.
A lot of people admitted they did that. You're not the only one. I had the same misinformation until that month we spent asking questions.....
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