Reviews & Comments
DeBary, FL
Central Florida Jewel -
1/21/2021Climate, cost of living, congestion, safety, recreation, convenience, and health care are the important factors if you retire here.
Climate - Oct, Nov, March, April are fantastic. Jan & Feb are the colder months with lows in the 40's and highs in the 60's, no snow. 100% more sunny days that being up north. July, Aug, Sept are warm and humid. These are pool months. Overall the climate is far superior than northern states and on par with San Diego.
Cost of Living - While not the lowest in the country, it is not the highest either. Housing is affordable compared to California and Arizona. Food and gasoline are not bad, well below national average. Home maintenance services are plentiful and reasonable. Unless you want to live in a poverty stricken area, DeBary is a great deal, money wise.
Congestion - Try living in South Florida or Tampa. A trip to the corner store, a mile away, could take an hour in bumper to bumper traffic. Not DeBary. 90% of the time, traffic is light. Only at 5-6 pm do we see any significant traffic. You can drive through downtown DeBary at any time, no congestion.
Safety - Yes, there is crime in DeBary, but not much. It's not like Chicago or New York, San Francisco, or Baltimore. The Volusia County sheriff does the law enforcement. DeBary has it's own fire department, and is supported by other neighboring communities. Very few homeless people in DeBary, but there are some. You don't need to carry a handgun, and you can walk the streets any time of night or day without fear. Relatively speaking, DeBary is quite safe.
Recreation - Disney World and Universal City are 45 minutes away. Locally there are 2 golf courses in DeBary; Glen Abbey and DeBary Golf & Country Club. Both open to the public. The DeBary CC is in a little better condition than Glen Abbey. Both are surrounded by homes, and fun to play. There are a dozen other golf courses within a 30 minute radius. Class A baseball and football are played at the near by Stetson University. The beach is 40 minutes away, for surfing and sun bathing on the Atlantic Ocean. Fishing is plentiful on Lake Monroe and the St. John's river which is the western border for DeBary. Informative nature cruises are available on the river that are fun and worthwhile. Of course the Daytona Speedway is just a half hour to the north, and Orlando sports and culture a half hour to the south. There are plenty of things to do in DeBary.
Convenience - DeBary is not out