There are pockets of Old Florida style living that can be found by the lucky or the diligent in search of the feeling of simpler times along the waterfront in Pinellas County, FL. Among these quaint Florida towns, Ozona is one the locals like to keep secret.

Just south of the Greek Sponge Docks of Tarpon Springs, and west of Palm Harbor, Ozona is surrounded by three waterways: St. Joseph Sound, Smith Bayou and Sutherland Bayou. The access to the gulf appeals to serious boaters and fisherman, but there is a much fuller lifestyle than just what is offered by the water.

Mature trees line streets of wooden bungalows and older historic homes. A walk around the downtown leads to eclectic shops and beachy eateries. The Pinellas Trail runs through town connecting Tarpon to St. Pete and offers unhindered walking and biking.

Without the hindrance of glaring streetlights, the night sky in Ozona is still dark enough to enjoy a brilliant moonrise on the water, to see the stars and the fireflies. It is a place of sharing pie on the porch, of civic involvement and the annual Christmas Golf Cart Parade.

Homes in the community of approximately 1,100 range from the low $200’s for a cute cottage up to the $2 million dollar plus range. Schools nearby in Palm Harbor get rave reviews from parents. The local high school, Palm Harbor University High, was ranked by Newsweek in 2008 at 208th of the top 1400 public high schools in the nation.

The Ladies Village Improvement Society became the first community association in Ozona around 1893. By 1900, the ladies had raised the funds and accomplished the construction of what is now called the Ozona Village Hall. This historic, community hall has been the setting for dances, plays, parties, weddings, has served as a polling place, library, place of worship and always as a club house. It is the seat of civic pride in Ozona.

A 1993 survey done to inventory the historically significant structures in unincorporated North Pinellas County found 62 historically significant structures in Ozona. It was recommended that Ozona be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The diversity along these streets provides a link to the past and imparts a sense of the present that is distinctly quaint yet flush with the big city amenities and benefits offered by nearby Tampa and St. Petersburg.

When imagining a happy, easy life in sunny Pinellas County, it is Ozona, one of the truly quaint Florida towns, that comes to mind. If you would like to find out more about Pinellas County and Ozona Relocation, give us a call today at 727-366-0324 or request our free Tampa Bay Relocation Guide.

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Some of our favorite Ozona Florida things…

• Ozona is eclectic waterfront community with an ‘Old Florida’ feel.  There’s nothing pretentious about it though homes can get quite pricey.
• It is a rare golf-cart friendly community.  Parents drive their kids to school in golf carts!
• The fact that Ozona is not really a city – a somewhat secret part of unincorporated Palm Harbor. This is great for our home buyers who want to avoid living in a covenant controlled subdivision.
• The annual Ozona Christmas golf cart parade – funkadelic!
• Ozona Blue Restaurant – the only restaurant we know of in north Pinellas with a pool, the gulf, great food, drinks AND live music!
• ‘Downtown Ozona’ is only a block long and we love the long-time staple Chocolate Studios now expanded into Ozona Pizza.
• Molly Goodheads – fab grouper sandwiches and cold beers and a really fun ‘yesteryear’ setting.  A favorite biker (the Harley kind) hangout.
• Ozona Elementary School – home of the ‘Ozona Ospreys – the best loved school by parents all around Pinellas. It has a reputation that people out of state looking to move here even seem to find out about.
• The Osprey nests on top of light poles around town. Seeing Osprey flying over head all the time coming in from the gulf with fish in mouths headed back to the light poles.
• The abundance of funky, cute marinas – our personal favorite just for the sheer cuteness of it is The Spreckled Trout

Click the link if you would like to learn even more about the Waterfront community of Ozona FL!

Steve’s Proudce at 515 Alt. 19  in Ozona Florida can’t be beat.  Steve’s has the best prices in Palm Harbor on fresh local produce and offers a funky and fun roadside shopping experience.  Enjoy fresh gulf shrimp daily, homemade breads, cakes and cookies, fresh feta and salsas and just about every delictable gourmet Greek and Florida fun food you can think of.

Steve’s Proudce is just one more reason why investing in Ozona Fl real estate is a great decision!

Ozona Pizza and Chocolate Studios

Yesterday, Ozona Pizza was at the Palm Harbor Little League closing ceremonies serving up free snow cones for the kids.    It reminded me that we should give up two thumbs ups for this long-loved establishment that’s not only been an Ozona Florida favorite for years – yet has also given back so much to our Ozona community.

Go find them at 404 Orange Street, Ozona 34683 !

Ozona Florida Looking at Honeymoon and Caladessi Islands

There’s only ONE single family waterfront house available under $300,000 and another four between $300K and $400K.   Of those that sold, only two were under $300,000 and one was under $400,000.  The absorption rate calculations show us that there’s only a one month’s supply of inventory whereas most homes have a 5 - 1/2 month supply overall.  

The Pinellas Waterfront Homes ”How Low Will They Go” PARTY is OVER.   

Why aren’t you hearing about it elsewhere?  Well, we specialize in Pinellas County waterfront homes and neighborhoods and we take the time to crunch the numbers that aren’t published elsewhere.   

In case you’re from out of the area, this is a picture of the waterfront between Ozona Fl and the Dunedin Causeway to Honeymoon Island.  Our aerial photographer, Jerry, couldn’t seem to zoom in on the ‘for sale’ signs left standing!

Ozona FL offers “Old Florida” small-town living with the added benefit of being part of a larger, surrounding community with fabulous amenities.  Sometimes it seems that this eclectic waterfront community likes to keep itself a secret from the mainstreamers of Palm Harbor.  One thing’s for sure, having an Ozona address unofficially puts you into the insiders club.  

Part of unincorporated Palm Harbor, Ozona is not quite a city, yet there’s certainly more to love here than your average neighborhood.  

Hugging the Gulf of Mexico, Ozona sits just south of Tarpon Springs and Crystal Beach and north of Dunedin -and stops to the East at Alternate 19 (aka Palm Harbor Blvd.).   Boaters relish in it’s surrounding waters leading to St. Joseph Sound and the open Gulf of Mexico.  There’s Sutherland Bayou to the north and Smith Bayou to the south, and that’s Lungreen Cove just north of the dash after Ozona in the picture above.   While Ozona is a small community of about 1100 people, it supports 5 marinas for those that don’t have the luxury of a dock in the backyard. 

Ozona is a golf-cart friendly community where you’ll find parents cruising their kids to school in style.  There’s also the annual Christmas golf-cart parade, with the carts fully decorated to the nines.  If actually playing golf is what you’re after, Innisbrook’s four championship courses are laid out on over 600 acres about a mile up the road in Palm Harbor.

If you were to search for Ozona homes, you’d find them from the low $200′s for a funky cottage up to the $2M+ range.  The cute and somewhat dusty downtown “main” street (Orange Street) brings you back to yesteryear, and here you’ll find casual restaurants including Molly Goodhead’s and The Ozona Pig.  There’s also the Ozona Blue Grilling Company just down the road, where you can have lunch and a cocktail while taking a dip in the waterside pool!  For your sweet tooth, there’s Chocolate Studios, featuring exotic homemade chocolate creations.   If you prefer to prepare your own fine dining experience, then a trip to the Ozona Seafood Company is a must – they have incredible fresh fish, meat and all sorts of gourmet goodies.

If you’ve got young ones, they’re eligible to go to Ozona Elementary- the school in Palm Harbor that elicits tons of rave reviews from parents year after year, and is brilliantly managed by it’s Principal, Kerry Apuzzo.  Better yet, the local high school is Palm Harbor University High, ranked in 2008 by Newsweek at #208 of the top 1400 public high schools in the nation (of which there are over 27,000!)  

Even if you’re not a big fan of the water, yet you enjoy an “Old Florida” town feel, you’ll fall in love with the charm and sense of community that Ozona offers.  It is unsurpassed in North Pinellas County – except perhaps by the other seaside community to the north which is Crystal Beach. 

Then again, it depends who you ask.