Anyone live there? I have spent a lot of time there as a visitor but whatis living in the area like? Looks like housing prices are reasonable How is the quality of life. Any good car stuff usually hit Garlits Mopar Show in November and Turkey Rod in Daytona how is cost of living there
You may be a bit young but The Villages is supposed to be "Party Central" with an extremely high rate of VD.
Make sure your windshield wipers work and any water leaks are under control...lots of car stuff going on in central/southern Fla., not so much up in the panhandle. No state income tax is a good thing...
honeyman has it right. The Pan Handle has a week long rod run the first week in November not to much else. The good new is the great beaches, fishing and sea food.
Welcome to Florida. Not that Detroit is paradise ....but when I was possibly relocating for work the Wife and I were shocked by the crime rates in that state...I still do my 2 weeks a year there though...much nicer weather Hana...Ocala is horse ranch country, lots of big farms there...
I've lived in the Daytona area since 1985. I love it here. No vehicle inspection what so ever in the state. Low taxes. Good weather all year, if you can the take the summer heat. It does get very, very hot and humid over there in the summer. Living near the ocean you get a little break from the heat of central part of the state. That area is horse country, with lots of horse farms outside the city. Yes, as with any larger city, there are areas that are pretty unsavory, but there are lots of nice areas also. Nice downtown areas, and plenty of shopping centers, restauraunts, and a good deal of car shows. Garlits museum always fun. Closest drag strips will be Gainesville, and Bradenton south of Tampa I think.
I've only been to Ocala several times to Billetproof events at Garlits place and to go to his museum, so I only saw the area immediately near the museum. It seems fairly rural to me, compared to some of the major towns like Tampa, Ft Myers, Orlando, etc........much more country-ish, at least that was the feel I got. We did drive up to the next exit north of Don's place for dinner and that was much more congested and full of activity, so maybe is it just country down at Don's exit and more citified at other places in Ocala. If that sounds like your kind of lifestyle, go for it. Cost of living should be pretty reasonable, weather will be somewhat cooler than the areas further south, and the people there seem pretty nice and friendly. Florida isn't for everyone, but I love living here and could never go back north again. It isn't perfect, but nowhere is. Don
I am with you Don, I would leave New Orleans for Florida in flash, circumstances permitting! " Rents are low and Palm trees grow, I keep thinking about making my way back" wait, that was LA. but it applies.
I do, or rather the town southwest of Ocala, it has way more to offer in amenities than i have, but would move away from this area in a heartbeat. Not a whole lot of non street rod type car activity, just your basic cruise in type of deal. Housings cheap cause most of them are prob in foreclosure. Lots of money to be had in horses but short of that its primarly a service industry based community thats an hour and a half away from anything. Been in the area since 83 and still cant figure out why.
If you don't have a place picked out yet, check out Lake Weir Living (Google it). It's billed as a "toy-friendly community" with good-sized lots, and almost all the homes have three-car garages and parking pads for cars, bikes and boats! Certainly not city, by any means, but its 8 miles from The Villages, who have every kind of store and restaurant you could want. The town is Ocklawaha, SE of Ocala. Almost got a place there, but the timing was wrong.
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