Slow living in rural Florida’s Williston Highlands
Williston Highlands, a community of mostly newly built homes on lime rock roads, is true rural Florida – it gets dark at night, the Internet can be spotty, and the closest activities are hunting, fishing and wildlife viewing. “It’s very agricultural with lots of peanut farms and cattle,” says Linda Jane Cramer, a local Realtor with Harriett Downs Real Estate LLC. “It’s not heavily populated – people are looking to have a little elbow room. You’re not going to get a lot of things done as quickly as you would in the city, but people here would rather it be slow.”
New builds on lime rock roads
Plots of land and single-family homes are available here, with most being new builds. Ranch-style and New Traditional architecture are common. Land sales start around $5,000 and can get as high as $385,000, while single-family homes typically sell for between $140,000 and $380,000. Lime rock roads are common, but Cramer says they are typically well maintained. “They do come and grade them,” Cramer says.
Cramer says she’s received one consistent piece of feedback from buyers after they move in. “If I run into them at the grocery store or something, they say ‘It gets really dark out here at night,’” she says. “There are no streetlights. If you’re coming from the city, you have an adjustment to make. It’s dark, but the blessing there is you get to see the stars if they’re shining at night.”
Williston Highlands has a 1 out of 10 CAP Index Crime Score, below the national average of 4.
Open enrollment and career prep in Levy County Public Schools
Levy County Public Schools gets an overall C-plus grade from Niche. The district has an open enrollment policy, meaning students can apply to attend any school in the district, but the area’s assigned schools are Joyce Bullock Elementary and Chiefland Middle-High School, both of which earn Bs. Chiefland Middle-High School offers Career and Technical Education programs in areas such as agri-technology, animal sciences and services and digital design.
An elephant ranch, botanical gardens and the beach
Six miles west, Goethe Wildlife Management Area offers hunting, fishing and camping opportunities and a trail system for hiking, biking, horseback riding and wildlife viewing. Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens is a 20-acre botanical garden created from an abandoned limestone quarry. Two Tails Ranch: All About Elephants offers visitors the opportunity to learn about and interact with elephants. The closest beach is Bird Creek Beach, 33 miles away.
Limited dining and food delivery options
The only dining option within Williston Highlands is Blue Pear Farms, a take-and-bake meal prep service that uses locally grown ingredients. A Family Dollar provides access to some groceries and household items. Other nearby dining options include Black Prong Bar & Grill, a cozy upscale restaurant with live music, and The Galloping Gourmet at Black Prong, which serves breakfast and lunch to-go at Black Prong Resort, 5 miles west. The town of Williston has fast-food options like McDonald’s, Pizza Hut and Hardee’s and a Winn-Dixie for groceries.
For additional shopping and dining options, residents drive about 30 miles to Gainesville or Ocala. “We’ve just recently gotten where we have pizza delivery, but that’s the only food delivery we have," Cramer says. "That’s going to be a change for somebody coming from the city – you’re not going to be able to have just any kind of food delivered to your door.”
Centrally located between Florida airports
Williston Highlands is located in Levy County, Florida, 30 miles southwest of Gainesville and 33 miles northwest of Ocala. Its closest medical center is UF Health Ocala Neighborhood Hospital, 29 miles away. “We’re only two hours from the major airports,” Cramer says. “It’s very centrally located if they need to fly out of Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Orlando or Tampa.”
Internet access continues to increase
Cramer warns buyers that Internet access can be spotty in the area. “In some of the areas, you’re kind of limited on the high-speed Wi-Fi," she says. "We’ve got an electricity company that’s doing fiber, and they’re growing and adding space.”
