Post by imojoebunny on May 5, 2020 22:48:21 GMT -5
My father in law lives in Clermont, FL. It is about 45 minutes to the villages. We have rented nice places there short term, with pools, for less than your average side of the highway motel, so I think she could probably find something there for a longer, short term rental that would be quite inexpensive for her time frame. My FIL lives in a gated 55 and up place that doesn't allow rentals of that duration, but there is a lot around there that are nice, that do, though it is quite suburban. We visit at least once a year, and it is about 35 minutes to Disney, so we usually do that one day, and visit other areas or lakes the other days. It is a newish town, so lots of chains off big, multi-lane roads. Not exactly "character". MT. Dora is about the same distance from the Villages, but has more character, though I don't know about their rental rates. My cousin has an apartment in Myrtle beach for his work and it isn't far from my parents place, but I agree, it isn't nearly as warm as Florida in the winter.
The only reason I mentioned Ocala is bc she said she just wanted to hang out in the rental and “stuff to do” wasn’t on her list of importance. Since it’s not really a destination for travelers, her $1,000 might go further and give her nicer digs to drink coffee on her lanai.
(I sound combative I think, but I’m not. Lol <—-see?)
I was totally agreeing with you. If her friends are in the villages it’s pretty close and probably way cheaper. I do think of ocala as a “city” lol. I was just thinking I’m terms of availability of seasonal furnished rentals since I don’t think of it as a destination. Or is it an equestrian destination?
I do think it’s an equestrian destination, I used to do a lot of horse show surveillance back in the day. People would travel from all over to compete But that’s a good point that it may not have a huge short term rental market, though with air bnb and all that, everyone is trying to make a buck with rentals. That could play into OPs moms favor.
I’ve seen a lot of short term rentals pretty far from Disney marketed as affordable options still within acceptable driving distance of attractions. Like, Palm Bay . Not all that close to Disney but they still like to advertise to tourists.
Last Edit: May 5, 2020 23:30:22 GMT -5 by Leeham Rimes
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My in-laws rent out their condo on Hutchinson Island. Which is just south of Vero Beach. They charge more than 1K, but I'm sure there are A LOT of other options for her. Their "season" is pretty much Nov/Dec - March/April.
I really like that area. My ILs are in Staurt. When we visit I go to Hutchison to the beaches.
Look into Inverness. It's a quiet, smaller town about 30 min away from The Villages.
This is the best advice in the thread. Inverness is near the Villages and her money will go further for what she is looking for. If she had a bigger budget, Mt. Dora, St. Augustine, some beach towns would be great.
So I think I saw one person mention trailer/mobile home parks, but for her budget, that may be a workable option that would give her a larger number of options than a seasonal rental of a house or apartment. My grandparents used to spend every year, first in their RV then in a mobile home that they rented and eventually bought, at a KOA in Okeechobee. It was a mobile home, so it was small but that was fine. The KOA was nicely maintained, had an active social calendar of things to do on-site, and the same people tended to come back year after year, so it was its own little community. I think there are mobile home park options for 55+ that could work very well for what she's looking for. I'm sure you have to be picky, given that it would be sight-unseen, but I would keep an open mind rather than writing that option off as "trailer park, ugh".
I have family in Gulf SHores AL and she MIGHT be able to get a 1 bedroom condo or studio for $1k a month during that time since its their low season. Not very walkable tho.