[Jammie]

Oh my to what Moises said.

[lulu]

I'm saying there is a differences in mentality, big time. My family would have prefered to die - honest truth..they wanted & felt honorable to be part of the tax paying process...made them feel like contributors to this society and American.

It hurts me to hear these things cause then everyone thinks all newbies come here for the same reasons. Not so...
Please...I beg everyone to not lump all spanish speakers in one group - it's only a language.

[Rayman421]

I loved Ocala when i moved here. Small town charm, yet convenient to about anything you wanted to do. Beaches east 90 mins. Gulf Coast west 90mins.
Shopping galore in Orlando 90 mins south, Cultural and educational opportunities 35 mins North (gainesville)

Ocala has lovely trees, but no there is no real change of seasons. We have summer and winter. Summer it is green as long as there is plenty of rain - rainy season June-Sept. Winter everything is brown and we get little rain.

The winter weather is GORGEOUS - 70's in the day with no humidity, a light breeze. Usually starts about now - end of Sept and lasts thru April. Summer is humid, but I found Virginia to be MORE humid by far. The sun seems hotter here. But in Va we had 99 degree heat waves with 70% humidity that would last for 2-3 weeks with no breaks at night or anything. Florida has 3 weeks of 90 degree weather but at least the NIGHTS cool off! Most days are bearable until 10 or 11 am.


Jobs in Ocala suck. Being a SWF it seems the area is geared to married folk and they "assume" you live off your spouse's high paying job and insurance.
I finally managed to find a good job, but still can't get benefits.

As with everyone else on this board, I'm looking to move, so i won't have much positive to say about Florida. It was great 10 yrs ago. I bought my first house, made enough money to live, had horses, etc.

Now I'm facing foreclosure, have had to sell all the horses and everything that isn't tacked down, can't afford the weekly commute to work due to gas prices AND EVERYTHING ELSE rising - believe it or not 2004 hurricanes, though they did no damage to my place, am still feeling the effects thru higher insurance costs, higher utility bills, higher taxes etcs, but wages have NOT gone up in the 10 yrs I've been here. I will be gone by end of November.

Would love to live here as a snowbird, but that's the only way from now on, and then I then I think I'll head to the beaches!

[dinwiddie6]

I live in Palatka area...I moved here 11 years ago. The summers are hot and muggy. The spring is very buggy. The fall and winter can't be beat! The leaves change and drop, the temp is sometimes below freezing. Don't move to Palatka...It's eaten up with "BACKWARD"!! Gainsville is a beautiful college town..Ocala receives a lot of Miami overflow! Good luck!

[madameirene]

Originally Posted by floridadragon

What do people think about Ocala or Gainesville? We were thinking of moving to one of those cities. Can you tell me about it and how is the weather in different seasons? We are looking for more of country life, and dont like the typicial Fl looking home. Please help, anyone.. Thank you..

We live in a small town about 25 mi from Ocala and 30mi from Gainesville.We live in a rural area.It you want country living this is the place.Ocala is insane with the traffic and constant building of new homes....Taxes have escalated .
We came here from Maryland in 2000. We thought Ocala was a sweet little town. Not any more.We live on 5ac and have dogs and a horse.This community is all about country life.Check out the area on your map.Morriston,Williston Dunnellon etc. Weather is hot hot hot.It has just dipped below the 90 degree mark a few days ago.Lots of bugs.I haven't found too much southern hospitality .Wages are way low.And so it goes.........
Good luck

[floridadragon]

No Offence..sorry..but Im Trying To Find Out More About These Cities. Thank You.

[floridadragon]

Wow, Lots Of Help, Thanks Guys. Not Sure What To Think. Im Thinking Maybe Gainesville Might Be Better, But I Will Check Out The Smaller Towns Also. Keep Up With Talking About This. This Helps So Much.:d

[MrsEPSr]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

Ocala is laid back and houses are about $110 a square foot.

Is the $110 a square foot for the house only, or does that number include the lot as well? In other words, if I wanted to build a 1,000 sf house, EXCLUDING the land, what would my cost be? Thank you!

[Joy8722]

Florida Draggon,

I fell in love with Gainesville when I was 16 years old and my sister and brother in law lived there while he was at UF. It does have fall the leaves to change, and fall off the trees. During Winter there are days when it is really cold. It is a beautiful town. It is sophisticated enough with a mall, theaters, resturants but yet has a small town feel to it. It is my dream in the next five years or so to move out of S. FL. and up to Gainesville. My brother's ex wife lives in Gainesville now and it is still as wonderful of a town as it was 25 years ago.

[aka]

I agree with everything that BUP said earlier about Gainesville. He or she could not have been more accurate. The housing prices are astronomical here and it's very hard to find a decent place to live without almost spending 250-300 thousand dollars. For example, I bought my house 4 years ago for 153,000 and the selling price today is 275,000 and that is based on my neighbor down the street selling my exact same model a couple of months ago. Now granted the market has slowed down a bit, but not that much. I would definitely try Ocala. The housing market is better, gas is cheaper, and you wont be flooded in traffic every Saturday when the Gators play at home. Now don't get me wrong. I graduated from UF and love the Gators, but we have about 40,000 plus fans flooding in and out of here every home game. If that is not your cup of tea, this is not the place to be. Also the town is a very nice town, but everything is centered around UF. So if you are looking for a college adventure this is the place to be. If not, you should place your bets on Ocala. I hope this info was helpful.