@tabula rashah Central Florida / Ocala has plenty of nice rolling hills all over. My back 13 contains a great conditioning hill with varying degrees of steepness across the ~650’ width.
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LOL maybe I should say there’s nothing in FL that I would consider a hill, aka you have no mountains. A good hill climb to my guys is at least a mile up. And there’s still the no snow thing 
I hate summer, I could soooo not do summer all year long. I used to hate spending time at our barn in West Palm
Good for you! That was my size through my 20s, too! I know from experience that you need to keep fit for the heat, especially with horses. Gatorade is healthier than Starbucks, too!
While not Ocala, I live on the East Coast of FL, about two hours from Marion County. I don’t LOVE Florida and wouldn’t live here if I had the choice (moved here from Fort Worth, TX, which I loved), I came for the job and it successfully pays for this horse obsession.
when I moved, everyone terrified me with scary stories and one woman even told me, “once your horse arrives, his skin will practically fall off!” It’s all been nonsense. I’m not saying that others don’t have issues, because I certainly see my equestrian neighbors dealing with bugs and funk, but my horse has been healthy and happy as a clam. He’s an Arabian and LOVES the heat! When he first stepped off the trailer from Texas, he threw himself on the sand and scratched like crazy. He’s been in love with sand ever since. Our barns feeds a monthly Sand Clear dose and I’ve never seen sand colic in our barn in the 2+ years I’ve been here. You sound like you are going to be patient with your move, so do the same when purchasing your horses…I’m partial to Arabians of course, but even seeking out horses who have been bred and raised in Florida will help tremendously with how they experience their environment.
It gets hot…you know that. I highly recommend a pool 
They are probably more affordable in Florida than anywhere else, so DONT skip that. Our current house doesn’t have a pool and now we’re moving to one that does!
One thing I didn’t think about when moving to Florida: the hurricanes! I moved here about 6 months before Hurricane Matthew barreled towards us, and I had zero evacuation plan for my horse. Come Hurricane Irma, I had an extensive network built and back-up plans for my back-up plan. Staying or evacuating is a situational decision, of course, but I would say to get a thorough plan in place. Trailer? Escape routes? Adequate hay/water/feed supply? ID tags? Health certs and coggins? It all needs to be considered.
Hope this helps, and enjoy your move to wherever you decide!
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Drive around a bit after one of the frequent torrential downpours and see how many properties have a significant amount of standing water. Some of them end up with lakes you could water ski on. Good luck, and the bat part is pretty cool !!
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Gotta wonder why there are so many farms in all price ranges for sale.
Marion County at 1663 square miles is slightly bigger than the whole state of Rhode Island and has a population of around 350,000 people. With that much land, there are always farms for sale… In addition, a lot of the “lost” value from the 2006-2008 crash has returned and the people who bought during that time are reaping the profits. We bought in 2010 and our value has gone up about $100,000 since then.
We live in Meadow Wood Farms which started out as an equestrian community and still has a lot of horses, but there are a lot of people in here sans equines. Some of the lots are only an acre up to about 8-10 acres. HOA fee is $55 a year and doesn’t get much other than the use of the community center and a monthly newsletter. We do have two horse/pet sitters in the community who take great care of the animals, though. Actually got to take a vacation recently! They have line dancing classes and such at the community center. Properties in here range from $200K on up to $450K, but mostly in the high $200s/low $300s with land enough for horses and a barn. We’re restricted as to number of dogs, no goats or pigs, but cows and chickens are welcome. No limitations on number of horses and you can operate a dude ranch in here!
As far as the roads, even though MWF has county roads, the county imposes an assessment to pay for repaving when it’s necessary and the need is based on both the request of the property owners and the determination of the county. We were assessed about $6000 a couple years ago to have the roads repaved in here. Just something to keep in mind. It applies no matter where in the county you live as long as you’re in a subdivision.
I moved 3 horses (all older) from TN to FL and they had no problems adapting, but the day we moved it was hotter in TN than it was in FL. I have only one left (29 years old) and he gets coastal hay @ $7 a bale with no problems. I do feed hay year around even though I have 5 acres.
I will tell you that traffic here is horrendous year around, but worse in the winter when the snowbirds are here. Marion County’s over-65 population is about 20% and they’re all out there falling around the roads. If you catch one red light, you will hit all of them red. Speed limits are basically just a suggestion as is stopping for said red lights and the police department is horribly understaffed as they are horribly underpaid ($31K starting salary for Dunnellon). Never just take off when your light turns green, you may become that day’s fatality. There are areas in Marion County you do not want to even think about buying in due to drugs and associated crime.
SECO electric has the best rates. I pay $160 a month year around and the house stays at 78 year around. I’m running a pool and hot tub as well as an 1850 sf house.
AFA heat, I’m the one in the winter griping it’s still too cold in Ocala (got down to 21 last winter) and I’m happiest at 85-90 or better, so I love the heat. You’ll freeze in every restaurant as they seem to keep them about 70 degrees and I carry a jacket year around. I don’t notice humidity, guess I’m strange. I have lived where it was so dry you got nosebleeds and I hated that. Bugs are a fact of life. Even in TN/SC/NC there were bugs.
Lots of shopping, lots of restaurants of every ilk, great health care for both humans and animals. I love it here except when I’m cussing traffic, but when the last horse passes we’re headed further south where it doesn’t freeze ever.
I’ll be glad to answer any other questions if I can!
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We just bought in November 2016 and our home value has supposedly gone up about $70k since then! I’m thrilled things are on the up-and-up. I’m hoping there’s big improvements coming to the Ocala area, what with the new World Equestrian Center being built.
