OCALA anyone? (Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando: sales, for rent, insurance)

[Arizona Bound]

Hi...
Picture threads.. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! They have really peeked our interest in the Ocala area. Is there anyone living in this area who would like to tell us all about your Beautiful area? My wife is a bit afraid of relocating to Florida because of the one main issue, hurricanes-storms-floods. Please give any info/input you may have.. Thanks! We understand that many threads have had been hurricane issues. But I thought "if" I could get direct feedback from ones who actually live right in the Ocala area, it may enlighten my wife.. lol!
What kind of influx .. if any, have you folks in the Ocala area have had to deal with over last few years concerning weather? Home insurance? Home prices? People-businesses moving in or out? I am not really worried about the stormy weather.. like many have mentioned, you usually have plenty of time to leave the area. Having the time to leave, does it still pose a problem able to leave with traffic backing up to a slow crawl? Saying if you had 4 days to leave before it hit? Do many of you leave, or do you ride it out? Is Ocala an area that where many of you "feel" safer because of being inland? Or just because of the fact that Ocala has not been vastly impacted by a hurricane?
The pictures that some of you from Ocala have posted are just so beautiful!

[LAWOcala]

Hello Arizona: I have lived in Ocala for two years, moved from Berlin, MD (just outside Ocean City). I LOVE that we have actual seasons...it even gets cold enough to almost frost (although last week we had a "severe, 3-day WINTER" where was in the high 20's at night, followed by the next day being in the 80's!).
The economy has pretty well tanked though...the housing market and all the greedy house-flippers have flooded our area with lots of empty properties, resulting in major layoffs everywhere from Construction personnel, Building Supply Companies and Subcontractors to the most recent Building Department layoffs, clearing out Inspectors and Permit Personnel like dust bunnies! (Check out our local paper "Ocala Star Banner" for more updates)
I just bought the Sunday paper and the Jobs Classifieds are about a page and a half long, compared to several pages only two years ago!
On the positive side however, Ocala has some really beautiful, rural areas covered in rolling, green horse farms. We have trees with leaves, not as many Palms as South Florida and, on a whole, though severe weather will effect us, we are quite protected from the regular hurricane activity found in Coastal areas (though you'd have to be a little crazy to live in a mobile home, if you could afford otherwise!).
If you are semi-financially-stable and can afford to retire here, it is quite affordable (especially now with the flood of empty homes!), there is no State Tax and most people are warm and friendly, despite the lousy economy! Don't be intimidated by storms, they happen all over the world!
Look forward to hearing your plans!

[Floridamom]

We tried moving to Alabama and didn't like it so we moved back to Florida. There is a large industry base here and that's why we chose it over moving back to Citrus County. Citrus County doesn't encourage industry but Marion County does. Marion Oaks is right off I75 and has lots of new houses for rent and sale. There is a new strip mall being built on SR200 around a huge Walmart which is close by. If you are in a position to retire and buy I think now is the time. True there are not as many jobs in the paper but you can't only go by the paper. Indeed.com and Monster.com as well as Workforceflorida are links that you use to find jobs, especially professional fields. We love brighthouse network for cable, phone & internet. Alabama was a rip off with Charter and AT & T. The sales tax is 6% compared to Alabama which is 8% (4% plus local) and Florida doesn't tax food(Alabama does). If you spend $100.00 per week on food that could add up to $416.00 annually. The utilities we experience in Sylacauga Alabama were high compared to Florida.
I've lived in Michigan too, I don't think I will ever move away from Florida again.
I've been through a hurricane in Citrus County, it knocked down some trees and caused flooding but really wasn't bad as long as your prepared to be without power and water for a few days, but that was only once in 5 years. Be prepared and get a generator for emergencies but buy it outside of hurricane season.
Ocala and Gainesville have a lot to offer in the way of shopping and things to do.

[Lindsey_Mcfarren]

I visited Ocala and really liked it.
I had a friend who lived there, she had a nice bit of land with horses on it and nice house with a pool.

[Bonbonblond1]

Hello,

I noticed your post and wanted to give you some kind of assurance about Ocala. I moved here over 13 years ago.
At that time there was not much going on and although I kept my property here, I traveled to work in Jacksonville then Orlando and even Tampa living in those places during the week and coming back on weekends.
I have been here full time since 2002 and even though my first few years here, I wanted to move, you would have to drag me out of here now.
I have grown to love this county. I am extremely comfortable with everything about it, including the people, business, and the climate. I do love it here. It has grown a lot over the years and probably will continue to do so but that makes it all the more enjoyable being here. We are fast reaching the point where there is nothing that we lack for.
The only facet missing to our life in Ocala is a lack of cultural amenities.
Then again maybe that is something that can be developed and improved upon so I still have hope.
I am not worried about hurricanes here. I have gone through my share over the past years and did not experience anything worth mentioning.
Tornados do occur during the spring but they hit more south of us in the Lady Lake, Leesburg, Eustis and Apopka areas. I have been through the tornado, hurricane and even the out of control fires down here and nothing ever happened in Ocala so I do not worry about anything. I have come to accept that there is no place in the world that is totally safe from Mother Nature. We do not have the beauty of the ocean or the gulf here either but they are close enough to visit and we have the Orlando attractions nearby and we also do not have to worry about getting hurricane insurance here.
All in all, Ocala is a great place to settle down no matter what your age.
Good luck!

[Ocalareviews]

Ocala definitely has great seasons.... also like it was mentioned... the properties are really in the right price for buyers if the situation is right such as you are moving into Ocala after selling your home elsewhere...

[Floridamom1970]

I have lived here in Florida my whole life (almost). The only seasons I have ever experienced are summer, summer, summer and a little bit of winter. I have lived in Marion County most of my life and grew up in Slo-cala. I can hardly wait until my son graduates in a few years and we can get out and move to a place where we can experience four seasons.

Ocala is not all that bad. It has its good and bad points. It is a tad too slow for us and definitley not our cup of tea. When I drive through it there are a lot of run down and unattractive areas, which I believe is where most of the high amount of crime takes place. There are nicer areas of town that are safer.

[heydade]

All I can tell you about Ocala is many retired firefighters and cops have flocked to this area. If you ever want to know what is a good area and what is not a good area....always keep an eye on where retired firemen and cops move to.

[faithfulFrank]

Originally Posted by heydade

All I can tell you about Ocala is many retired firefighters and cops have flocked to this area. If you ever want to know what is a good area and what is not a good area....always keep an eye on where retired firemen and cops move to.

Interesting observation......it made me smile. As some of you know, I'm currently a professional firefighter who plans on retiring in about 3 years. I recently bought a home in Leesburg for that purpose. My former Captain moved two miles from my house down in Leesburg years ago, and my buddy I currently work with bought a home across the street from my home about 3 years ago. There is a former Buffalo Fire Captain living across the street from me, and another former Illinois Fire Captain living to the right of me.

Thanks for the smile.

Frank D.

[firemed]

Originally Posted by heydade

All I can tell you about Ocala is many retired firefighters and cops have flocked to this area. If you ever want to know what is a good area and what is not a good area....always keep an eye on where retired firemen and cops move to.

The Florida State Fire College is in Ocala.

Florida State Fire College Web Site (http://www.fldfs.com/sfm/bfst/index.shtml - broken link)