NikonShooter

I hear banjo music...I'm outta here!

ccmail321

HIYA, I am a native Floridian, just moved from Orlando to Surrey, UK. I have lived all over the USA so I can speak about Florida without being too biased.

Ocala- well, yes there isdefinitely lots of land and horses and such but Florida in general is swampy, rains all the time, hurricanes and Ocala will get a little cold in the winter. Don't laugh, when the temp reaches 32 degrees F for about 5 minutes - we call it a cold snap - and everything that is green dies in that moment! Definitely serious snakes,lizards,spiders,scorpions, bears, raccoons. Serious mosquitos, bugs.

I am not really sure there will be a market for dog grooming. We had a Hollywood Houndz in Lake Mary where we lived ;-) It is very low income as a whole.

It is hard to compare Central Florida outdoor type of places to say England. Because of the general lack of public or commuter transportation in Florida, basically you will be out in the sticks with not the greatest type of people around - Ok, I'll just say it, ignorant. Your likely to have neighbors that have never left a 20 mile radius of Ocala for say 3 generations. There wont be business type people that say commute to Orlando. It's not like here in the UK where you can take a train for 30 minutes from London and be in the middle of nowhere in Horley or West Sussex yet still be by the airport and bustling areas. Same with say Cambridge.

We pass through Ocala to get to Tallahassee where my little brother is in Uni and there is just one main highway, etc. Seriously it sounds mean but there will be loads of trailer parks. I don't want to be rude but everything you see on TV is true!

I am in the middle of another move myself and I have come to this message board seeking advice so please don't take my post as "taking the mick" or anything, I am being honest.

I agree with some of the other posters, I would look for an area that has a larger history or heritage in outdoorsy type of living not a small throw back town that never got off it's feet. Florida is not the best state for that southern outdoor stuff because it is too diverse and throws most of its efforts into being a beach going/resort industry state. Try further north like Georgia, Tennessee, North/South Carolina, I absolutely love the Midwest like Colorado. If your stuck on Florida, try Deltona or Mount Dora - both a could of hours from Ocala.

if I had to give you my honest opinion, Ocala would be the last place I would ever want to live.

ccmail321

Hiya

You obviously haven't gone for a walk in 6 inches of grass before in Florida. I am a native Floridian and I HATE Snakes. They are everywhere that is wooded area or swampy area- which is just about everywhere especially in Ocala. Lizards and other little thingy jump out everywhere from trees, etc and don't even get me started on alligators. People think you can just call animal control to come and get them but they don't come out unless they are of a extraordinary size. I can't even do gardening because I am afraid to stick my hands in the bushes and find a snake. I am so traumatised from it that i have to consciously remind myself that here in the UK we don't have snakes and when I am on the trails with my dog not to worry!

ExBritFL

Some good points. I live in Florida and am looking to move back to the UK asap partly due to the above!

ian-mstm

With respect, this is an ignorant comment - and something you suggest you know a bit about! It sounds as though you are now emulating those you would otherwise denigrate! Fortunately, ignorance can be cured.

Ian

NikonShooter

Are you saying the comment is ignorant or that the poster does know something about it? I may be a product of the American education system, but even I can see that you are contradicting yourself.

Unfortunately, being a sanctimonious prick can't be cured.

ian-mstm

Yes - the comment was ignorant.


Also yes - the poster claims to know something about ignorance, since he wrote about it in his post.


I suggest you take a remedial reading course. Further, I suggest you sue the school board that allowed you to graduate from high school... apparently, you lack the basic ability to understand what you read.


You say that as though it's a bad thing!

Ian

NikonShooter

Great idea! My law degree will come in handy for that!

ccmail321

I have a BS and a MA but do not claim to know everything. I certainly did not mean to offend anyone...I tried to stay factual. I do believe that having lived about 2 hours from Ocala for the past 7 years allows me to offer my first hand knowledge of the area that I felt could help the person asking some advice (I think that covers the ignorant part). "Emulating those you would otherwise denigrate" Sorry, I had to look up denigrate...I didn't mean to "attack" anyone and I do apologise if you were genuinely offended.

ccmail321

I did not mean this to aggressive, please don't post back moaning at me. ;-)

NikonShooter

Anyone who would have been offended by anything you posted is too immature to be using the internet anyway. I have lived about two hours from Ocala for most of my life and I can tell you that nothing you posted was the least bit ignorant--or inaccurate. Don't be bullied by people who get their knickers in a twist over someone posting their honest opinions.

ccmail321

Ahhhhh, I should have known, a teacher! The some of the most self righteous group of people out there!

A few years ago when I completed my Masters in Educational Technology I transitioned from business to teaching. It was my dream job. What a miserable bunch of people some of them are!!!!

I stayed til 5pm every day - well past the other teachers who ran for the door as soon as the bell rang, only too listen to them complain each day at the lunch table about how late they stayed up grading papers - not exactly rocket science grading the same material you been teaching for 20 years. I taught ICT/Technology and because it is not seen as a real subject I was given no materials and had to create thing from scratch for the whole course. I loved and couldn't believe that anyone could possibly complain about this profession.

I am not in any way insulting teachers, most teachers are wonderful people that you just want to hug every time you see them...I am just a firm believer that everyone that teaches that complains about it should have to work in industry for a year or two before they head to teaching so they can see how good they have it!

Thydney

I lived within the withlacoochee state forest you wont get more rural you make it sound like the place is knee deep in man eating animals its all about common sense. As for Ocala I must have missed it being one street and a trailer park. There are stupid people in the commuter belt of London


Oh I DID own a hound dog

Sue

Just a reminder, we each have our own experiences, and opinions, about places we have lived in or near too. Doesn't mean one experience is right and the other is wrong. As with many things, our mileage varies.

Thank you kindly and happy monday!

Sue

ian-mstm

While I freely admit that I have spent my entire adult life in academia (except for the 2.5 years I spent at a federal prison), I left teaching in 1996 - for many of the same reasons you mention. I'm currently working on a PhD in Computer Technology in Education and spend my working time supervising a Computer Forensics lab attached to a university-based Forensics Science Center.


I agree - teachers can be pretty stubborn... and most resist change like the plague!

Ian