My husband, myself and our 9 year old are in the beginning stages of looking to relocate to Ocala Florida. We are currently living in Long Island NY,my husband is retiring from NYCDOC, we are looking for a simpler life and have lots of questions.
1. which are the best public and private schools
2. Which areas are the best to raise children.
3. I am in healthcare management and will be looking for a job- where are the best places.

we are comming down to Ocala at the end of May (for a visit) and would appriciate information on a great realtor, schools, places of interest for a family looking to relocate.
We are a family whose social life revolves around, church, my daughters education and her activities ( she is a cheerleader). Any informatin would be greatly appriciated. Just another bit of information I did this relocation thing 20+ years ago when I left London and moved to NY this time though it is much more daunting.......

OcalaBound:
Ocala is a lovely place to live. Once you get settled, you'll really enjoy the quality of life here.
I've been here three years, and my family loves it here. There are lots of great places to live, so I'd be hesitant to say which areas are best. We live in the SE area of town (Ocala is divided into four quadrants) but other areas have nice neighborhoods, too. My best advice is to find a Realtor you can trust. We used Melissa Campbell at Roberts Real Estate, and we loved her. Several friends of mine have used her as well, so I know she's good -- but there are lots of great agents in town. You can look at the Real Estate section on Ocala.com to get more info on Realtors, homes available and neighborhoods. They can give you lots of information about schools.
We have two large hospitals (right next to each other), a few smaller hospitals on the outskirts of town and plenty of medical offices to look at for jobs.
AND, feel free to keep coming back here and asking questions. OcalaMom is a great place to connect with moms who can give you advice as you make your decisions.
Best!
Robyn

Welcome, Ocalabound.
London to NY?! Were you born in London?

So many schools and so many medical facilities -- you'll have a bunch to choose from.

We are in the NE and like it (though I know SE is really popular.) Our only drawback is there aren't a ton of things here, but we're getting restaurants (even a Starbucks soon, lol) and growing out this way.

We used Tom Bartlett's office (actually, his buyer's agent Kathy Johnson) through Coldwell Banker/Ellison Realty and really, really liked them a lot. They were/are very helpful and good to us.
I think there are a ton of fab Realtors in the area, though, so you also have a good selection there, too.
Welcome!

Hi! We live in the SE area and LOVE IT!!! We live in the downtown historic area which is a great place to live with all the old trees and great proximity to everything!

I live in the SW section, and my sons attend Hammett Bowen Elementary and West Port High. There is a new Middle School going up also (Liberty Middle). It will be ready this Fall. I'm actually trying to sell my home too, and I live in a great neighborhood right off of HWY 200 and SW 60th Ave. It's very quiet, and has a mixture of young and old. Great neighbors, and a great location. Ocala itself is a great place to raise the little ones.

shardy1567 may I ask why are you moving?

Yes ma'am. We were originally wanting something a little bigger, but now that my husband is making less, we probably have to rent for a while. I love the neighborhood, and if I could find a bigger home we could rent, I would stay.

BTW OcalaBound, my hubby works for the DOC now. Congrats on your hubby retiring!!

We cant wait....He hated his job towards the end and his frustrations put strains on the whole family....the key is for them NOT to bring the job home. We are talking about weeks now so we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Good luck to you and your husband in the start of his new job, I am not sure if the benifits down there are as good as the ones my husband got but that is the only reason he stuck it out for 25 years

Yeah, mine is going throught the same thing. It's not a new job. He only has two years, and we can't WAIT! Sounds every similar to what you're describing. I'm sure you'll all be happy when he retires. The benefits are good, but they're probably better in NY. Good luck to you all! Ocala is a nice place to live.