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Old 11-13-2018, 11:33 PM
 
88 posts, read 109,984 times
Reputation: 34

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Well I have spent the last two months reading every post I could to gain as much knowledge before I posted. I guess I should say opinions with some facts rather than knowledge. We are looking at these three areas and there surrounding areas for relocation from the north. We just spent four months in Charleston SC and are wanting to do a couple short two or three month trips to Florida before we move permanently. We have tried North Carolina, South Carolina, and now want to try Florida . Florida was out first choice but it was cheaper and easier to start further north and work out way down. Early 30s , two daughters 3yr and 1yr. I work from home in the medical field and my wife is a registered nurse. We do not like full blown city life, but enjoy relaxed , laid back towns with good food and shopping within reason. Girls are young but love the outdoors. Our priorities are low crime, great schools, large lot sizes or land options, minimal HOAs, and we want to be as safe from hurricanes as we can. We have been though two hurricanes and we would really love to buy or build a strong IcF or traditional concrete home, well away from flood zones, and install a generator, safe room, and backup water supply. I know this is likely overkill for some areas but we have been through evacuations and in my opinion, it’s awful. Our home budget is $550k or less. We stayed in Jacksonville and the panhandle and visited Ocala. We love Jacksonville , St Augustine , and really loved Ocala and wish to visit and stay in than jaskonville area for a couple months and the Orlando area for a couple months . We want to explore, see, and really get a feel if Florida is for sure where we want to be forever. I have two asks, which areas are low key and have our priority matches, for low crime , great schools, and are less hurricane prone. And where is a good place to find short term rentals for maybe two months at a time? We plan to probably hit Jacksonville it st Augustine at the beginning of the year and then go down towards Orlando. We thought we could see gainsville, middleburg, and Ocala during our trip and then see areas like Windermere, Dr Phillips, winter springs, winter haven, maybe minneola, or even some of the more rural areas outside of Orlando. Thank you in advance for any help you can provide. I found those folks in the other states to be so helpful in helping make our trips to other states much more successful. Jobs and commutes are not concerns as I am the primary worker but when my wife returns to work, she can pretty much work at any healthcare facility in the area. I should also state that we know that it’s hot, there are bugs, gators, there’s tornados, crime everywhere, diversity everywhere, it’s humid, and the areas i have disclosed are very different in nature but that’s why I’m posting. We have been through a summer in the south and we don’t mind the heat, we love the beach but as long as we can get to a non crowded beach in an hour or so, we are good, we don’t have to live there. Thank you
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Old 11-14-2018, 11:43 AM
 
Location: Florida
6,593 posts, read 7,237,864 times
Reputation: 8102
As far as hurricanes go I think the farther north you are in Fl and toward the center of the state the better off you will be.

You can check each city and county for crime stats. Local sheriffs and police departments tend to post these.

Fl state web site can help you with schools. Do a lot of research in this area.

Ocala can be misleading. The area around Ocala is consider Ocala for discussion purposes. So when you look at Ocala also look at the rest of Marion County which is about the size of a small state.

Remember snow birds and tourist can lead to bigger crowds.

I would avoid Orlando for a number of reasons but I have no actual experience in the city.

Zillow web site can help you with house prices. You should not have a problem.
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Old 11-25-2018, 12:11 PM
 
Location: LadyLake, FL
252 posts, read 707,071 times
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Avoid Orlando. Between the bad traffic and the crime, it is not anywhere I would want to raise a family.
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Old 11-25-2018, 12:13 PM
 
24,322 posts, read 26,692,720 times
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I could never live in Gainesville unless I went to UF. Way too small and isolated for me. Orlando has a lot of types of districts to choose from. Easy choice in my opinion.
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Old 12-11-2018, 10:31 AM
 
Location: Winter Garden
22 posts, read 26,570 times
Reputation: 41
My family recently moved back to Orlando after a few years away. My husband and I both work from home so we could live anywhere. After several long trips to the greater Orlando area we settled on Winter Garden. We chose the Horizon West area, which is still developing. The schools are great, as a matter of fact the school bus picks up in our front yard which is awesome! The kids leave at 8 and show back up at four which is amazing. Our neighbors all recently built their homes here too so we are all new, in our 30s and have kids. There is a herd of kids that run from yard to yard every night, it's awesome. It feels like we are in our own little world out here, with little crime and little traffic except rush hours. You will have to drive 15 minutes to get to bigger stores, but we don't mind the trade off for the peace and quiet.
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Old 12-11-2018, 07:34 PM
 
5,687 posts, read 7,111,561 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by centralfloridagal View Post
My family recently moved back to Orlando after a few years away. My husband and I both work from home so we could live anywhere. After several long trips to the greater Orlando area we settled on Winter Garden. We chose the Horizon West area, which is still developing. The schools are great, as a matter of fact the school bus picks up in our front yard which is awesome! The kids leave at 8 and show back up at four which is amazing. Our neighbors all recently built their homes here too so we are all new, in our 30s and have kids. There is a herd of kids that run from yard to yard every night, it's awesome. It feels like we are in our own little world out here, with little crime and little traffic except rush hours. You will have to drive 15 minutes to get to bigger stores, but we don't mind the trade off for the peace and quiet.
A lovely town, really.
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Old 12-12-2018, 06:15 PM
 
529 posts, read 1,161,042 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kmarc View Post
A lovely town, really.
I like Winter Garden as well. The political leadership made the necessary investments to ensure the success of the town. It is quite remarkable to realize what has been accomplished in the span of 10 years or so. Whether we go down for the Saturday Market, or midweek, we always enjoy spending the day there. Ocala could use a little of their foresight. I have struggled for years to find a reason to visit downtown Ocala, and have been disappointed every time.

Dax
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Old 12-12-2018, 06:26 PM
 
5,687 posts, read 7,111,561 times
Reputation: 4326
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dax13 View Post
I like Winter Garden as well. The political leadership made the necessary investments to ensure the success of the town. It is quite remarkable to realize what has been accomplished in the span of 10 years or so. Whether we go down for the Saturday Market, or midweek, we always enjoy spending the day there. Ocala could use a little of their foresight. I have struggled for years to find a reason to visit downtown Ocala, and have been disappointed every time.

Dax
Downtown Ocala is one of those places that has a lot of potential, and always will.
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Old 12-12-2018, 08:47 PM
 
3 posts, read 11,798 times
Reputation: 17
Default Best options

St. Augustine sounds the most likely Candidate for you.. Amazing medical system, not a big city or small town, wealthiest county in the state per capita with good schools, affordable compared to the next best choice you listed which is Windermere, easy to find work in the medical field, not known to have major hurricane issues as its higher elevation then the average in FL and further north, but its close to the coast which keeps it warmer then central FL... I mean it literally should fit all your wants and needs.
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Old 01-01-2019, 02:29 PM
 
Location: Clearwater, Florida
11 posts, read 25,024 times
Reputation: 31
I grew up in Ocala and I still have family there.

My brother lives in Gainesville, so I make frequent visits to both places still.

There's nothing I particularly care about in Jacksonville.

Considering your occupations, your family aspects, and what you're looking for... I would go with Orlando despite what some people are saying on this thread. I've lived in Orlando on and off for several years and although it has its crime and traffic like every other city in the nation (people seem to get hung up on traffic and whatever they see on the news)... there are plenty of smaller towns and communities within and on the outskirts (some you have already mentioned; Dr. Phillips, Windermere, etc.) They are still considered Orlando, but with much more amenities, proximity to entertainment, great schools (public k-12 & colleges), and better people who have better jobs and quality of life.

I highly recommend venturing out and exploring Orlando in these parts, in order from highly suggested to less: Doctor Phillips, Windermere, Winter Garden, Celebration, Lake Mary, Oviedo and Winter Springs. All of these areas offer more rural areas as well. The beach is only 30 minutes to an hour depending on where you end up moving to in the Orlando area. Cocoa Beach would probably be the closest (and one of my personal favorite because you can legally BYOB on the beach). These areas I mentioned also have some of the best restaurants you cannot find anywhere else in the state. I'm a foodie. And Orlando has the biggest hospitality industry in the state... maybe even in the country.

If I weren't moving out of the state soon within the next few months, I would personally be moving BACK to Orlando right now.
Not anywhere else in Florida.

Last edited by FloridaNative93; 01-01-2019 at 02:33 PM.. Reason: added info
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