When your family founds a town, there's a natural urge to give that family name to the town: but the Mackles, the family of real estate developers who founded Citrus Springs, didn't go for the obvious. Instead, one of the most prominent streets in the place is named after the family. Even less obvious, the street is called Elkcam Boulevard, which is Mackle spelled backwards.
Citrus Springs is a community with a population of 8,622 as of the 2010 census, but while the population is fairly low, this Citrus County, Florida location is quite large in terms of geographical area
When your family founds a town, there's a natural urge to give that family name to the town: but the Mackles, the family of real estate developers who founded Citrus Springs, didn't go for the obvious. Instead, one of the most prominent streets in the place is named after the family. Even less obvious, the street is called Elkcam Boulevard, which is Mackle spelled backwards.
Citrus Springs is a community with a population of 8,622 as of the 2010 census, but while the population is fairly low, this Citrus County, Florida location is quite large in terms of geographical area. It's 21.3 square miles in size, providing plenty of room for all those people to spread out. Unsurprisingly, Citrus County is earned its name in 1887 when the region was characterized by citrus farming.
Moving to Citrus Springs
Many homes in Citrus Springs are fairly new, having been built after the year 2000, while around half of the nearly 4,000 total housing units were built between 1970 and 1999. There were also a few early arrivals in the 1950s and 1960s, presumably people who built here before it was cool. In terms of available rental properties Citrus Springs is relatively light, as compared to some other areas in the county, with approximately 16% of the properties here being rentals.
What does this mean for you, if you're looking to move to Citrus Springs? About what you'd expect -- with relatively few rentals in the area, it may take some time before you find a place that suits you. Also, you're more likely to meet with success if you're looking for a house, rather than an apartment or condo, as there are very few of the latter in the area, and the actual availability is even lower.
Neighborhoods in Citrus Springs
Rather than being divided into neighborhoods, Citrus Springs is pretty much an area unto itself. While the Mackle real estate development family originally planned that the area would eventually include upwards of 30,000 home sites, Citrus Springs is still very much an undeveloped area. There are some built-up areas where you might have plenty of neighbors to get acquainted with, but there are also a lot of spots that are much more sparsely populated. So, while there are no designated neighborhoods in the area, you could think of Citrus Springs as being unofficially divided into suburban and rural areas.
Citrus Springs Apartment Communities
You won't find a whole lot of apartment communities in Citrus Springs. In fact, there are exactly none, and almost all the rentals here are detached houses. You may find occasional 1 bedroom apartments, or perhaps a studio for rent in a nearby community, but it's possible that this may be a difficult search and lengthy search. So if you're looking for city apartments or premier apartments, you may have to modify your expectations. You'll have a much easier time finding a rental if you are able to expand your search to include houses. On the plus side, the price range on rentals is fairly broad, with less expensive properties available as well as the pricier ones.
Living in Citrus Springs
As a relatively rural area, there's a lot available in terms of outdoor recreation in Citrus Springs. The Tsala Apopka Lake Chain is close by to the east, and to the west, there's a somewhat larger body of water, in the form of the Gulf of Mexico. If you're an outdoorsy sort of person you may end up spending a lot of time on the Withlacoochee trail, a 46-mile-long cycling trail that actually began life around one hundred years ago as a railroad line. No trains to worry about now, though, so you can ride the trail without having to listen for approaching choo-choos.
On the other hand, since it's spread out over 20 miles or so, Citrus Springs does have a fairly low walkability rating -- if you want to enjoy life in an rural area, the trade off is that you may find you have to travel a few miles for basic necessities.
Citrus Springs is not all nature and flowers: it's only a short distance from several small towns, and around twenty minutes from the city of Ocala, one of the fastest growing cities in the country at the end of last century. It makes a great destination for a day or evening trip, with plenty of restaurants and caf̩s, shopping and entertainment venues.
