I have found out that my parents will be moving to Ocala, Fl. I have to move with them and live with them as I’m fresh out of college, supporting my horse’s board and need to pay off some student debt.
What is this town like in regards to everyday life and any entertainment, the downtown area? Where would the younger people hang around? It would be nice to find some other 20-somethings to be around.
(edited to get my true intention across.)
…I mean, Gainesville is only 40 minutes north. It’s home to UF and tens of thousands of college kids. How you’re describing Ocala is also 98% of Florida - old, conservative people with storms, heat, and bugs. Please try to reframe your thinking - you’re coming off as immature and ungrateful. Be thankful that you can keep your horse in an area that many, many, many working adult amateurs would kill to live in, rent free. If you want a young, hip, metropolitan area, sell the horse and move to NYC. Adult life (especially when you’re balancing a horse) is about compromise and give and take.
To go along with what gallop_jump said - it seems like you will be doing the adulting thing of working full time, right? So between working and riding how much time are you going to have to be worried about the social scene there?
Sounds like the world is giving you a great opportunity during a very difficult time. I say smile and look for all the positives!
I did not mean to sound ungrateful…I am very thankful for my parents and horse. I was genuinely concerned because I found multiple sources making the town sound unfavorable and didn’t know if it was true and thus wanted insight.
It has been a very lonely year with COVID… I only ask about entertainment and such because I was hoping maybe I’d find some friends my age. But I see how I may have sounded ungrateful. I know I will have to compromise and admittedly made the post in a bad mood so I apologize and edited it.
@anon85381834 great job on your edit! Hopefully some of the people from around there will be able to help you learn about your new area.
I am guessing once you get to work there, you will meet some new people and hopefully some of them will also be able to help you!
Ocala is one of the centers of eventing, defiantly in the winter months. I am sure there are quite a few 20 something working students around if thats the kind of people you would hang out with. There is pretty much an eventing show every weekend in ocala, and the new ocala WEC and HITS, you could probably walk the show grounds and maybe find a group. Also I am sure you can find volunteer opportunities at the shows and can probably end up with some people that way. If your a horse person and enjoy horse people.
I’m not sure what you would consider a horsey town if you think Ocala isn’t? I loved Ocala as a 20 something. Find a barn with people your age to board at and you’ll have a good in with the social goings on. As someone else said, Gainesville is not far away at all for nightlife. Also, the Beach is the hot spot during season. Which is in NW Ocala. There are several good restaurants downtown and more are scheduled to open in town soon.
Seasons are overrated, but it was 35 degrees this morning. That will kill some of the bugs and give you some variety. You will only be lonely if you make no effort to make friends. Much like anywhere else.
I am definitely looking forward to the horse aspect. (Well, my wallet isn’t… lol) I’ve never been down there before but I know I will be living near the southwest side. Thanks everyone for your answers, I appreciate it.
I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Many of the larger cities have been shut down because of COVID. I have friends in NYC and they are leaving because everything is closing, nowhere to eat out, nothing to do or see anymore. You know it’s bad when people are picking Cheyenne, WY in December over NYC. At least places are OPEN in Ocala.
Where are you boarding your horse? At a larger barn or a smaller barn? Lots of people are making their way into town for the season. The restaurants and bars used to be packed with people in breeches and boots this time of year. There will be plenty of 20-somethings in town, though most of them will be grooms/riders/pros who are working long hours…but they still like to blow off steam, too. Most go to The Beach. This might be harder to do with COVID, but see if you can hang out at HITS or WEC with some barn-mates, you can wander and meet some people - just start complimenting someone’s horse and ask about the breeding… instant ice-breaker.
I don’t know what discipline you ride, but there’s everything here from dressage to cattle sorting. I’ve met some cool people by going to informal sorting events hosted by my farrier. I suck at it, but it’s fun. I’ve also met some good people volunteering at shows and auditing clinics.
Having limited seasons means we can show all year and not freeze our bums off - though, these past two mornings have been chilly.
Gainesville is close, and has a more urban feeling, but it is a college town. Half the kids are going to class remotely, though, so it’s a bit empty. COVID restrictions vary county by county, and Marion is a little more laissez-faire than Alachua.
ETA: You said you will be working, right? Your coworkers can be a good source of friendships, at least in the beginning. And they will know good spots to hang, places to go, things to see.
Um, restaurants are open in NYC. Not sure where your friends live, but I’ve had great weekends with nice weather dining in my Brooklyn neighborhood or enjoying the Museum of Modern Art free from tourists and crowds. We’re in a pandemic. The places that aren’t shut down, at least in some form, should be. But good luck to your friends in Cheyenne! LOL
(Just seems weird to make a jab at one of America’s best cities in a totally unrelated post, as though millions of people don’t still live here and love it. It’s not a ghost town, no matter what your “friends” tell you.)
Volunteer at WEC or HITS. You will meet a lot of people that way. Maybe not someone to go out drinking with until 3am, but you may be pleasantly surprised by the town and it’s people.
I have lived here in Ocala for more than 20 years and have watched it develop into a nice small town. Lots to do. Lots of energetic 20-30 somethings downtown doing amazing things - art, restaurants, events, etc. The horse world is varied and HUGE. Lots of eventing - a few new venues have everyone excited here. The Florida Horse Park is installing lots of new obstacles for Driving. There is a dressage show within two hours of Ocala ever weekend in the winter, and most weekends in the summer. As for H/J, well, HITS and the new WEC have that world all abuzz. Great schooling level shows for eventing and dressage at the Horse Park through various groups. Trails galore, since the Cross Florida Greenway comes right through town. There are some Ocala specific facebook pages, both for horses and for general events - join them and get to know folks.
The Beach is where everyone hangs out in the winter. Harry’s on the square, O’Malley’s, Pie has live music on the roof, there are a few newer places downtown that have trivia nights and other events.
As others have mentioned, you could volunteer at the various shows to meet people. Your job will be an opportunity to meet people. Find a fun barn, if you aren’t keeping your horse at home. If you run, there is a club that meets once a week and has drinks after (not sure if they are doing it with COVID, but they are easy to find on Facebook).
You are choosing to move to Ocala with your parents so you are able to keep your horse. I understand as well as anyone on here that horses are a huge responsibility and sometimes it makes it seem like you have no choice, but you do. You always do. It doesn’t sound like you’re excited about Ocala. The place you move after college can often be a place where you stay pretty long term. You start to move up in a job, meet a SO, find a great barn and suddenly it’s harder to move than you anticipated.
It’s not that I think moving to Ocala with your parents is an awful choice. But I do I think you owe it to yourself to at least put some thought into what your other options are and go from there.
Cool for you. I lived there for 10 years, visited twice in the past 6 months - it’s definitely NOT what it used to be. Just making a comparison.
Mersidoats, she’s never been there, so whatever your post means to you, it won’t mean a thing to the OP 
Probably, but since someone made a comment about selling the horse and moving to NYC if you wanted to live a young, hip, urban life, I thought I’d make a point about how a lot of what made NYC appealing to the young and the hip is a bit squashed at the moment. I lived a vibrant horse-less life in my 20s in NYC - it was wonderful. Back then, there was a nightlife, which is kind of the lynchpin in the social life of a young New Yorker.
At the moment, the bars in NYC and Ocala close at the same time, but Ocala’s not a bad place to ride out this pandemic: OP can save some money, ride some horses, and then move to a larger city in the future.
Is it? I guess I’m a bad New Yorker because I’ve lived here 10+ years now, with minimal nightlife and plenty of horses. For those who only flock to NYC to eat at restaurants or shop at stores staffed by minimum-wage paid service employees, I can see how the appeal of NYC might be “squashed.” I hope those people stay away for good, TBH.
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