Nice areas on the St Johns?

[ChrisHill]

Alright, I'm 55 years old. I live in Missouri. I'm starting to think about retirement. I'm 3-5 years away, depending on how things go. I am an avid outdoorsman and love to fish and hunt. I will keep a downsized home in MO to always call home, but my wife and I have been discussing our plans. We have fantastic deer hunting, but I have to drive to get to good lakes in MO.
She hates the cold. She loves the beach. We travel quite a bit and have places that we like. But I can't handle beach life for longer than a few days. We are considering a compromise of having a home in FL, but I want it on the St Johns river with my own boat dock. I can keep entertained chasing crappie (specks) and largemouth. I need some advise from locals on what areas are the best areas to consider. Safe neighborhoods, friendly people, walking/golf cart communities would be great.
I am from a fairly rural area, so I want to avoid Jacksonville, Orlando type of places to live.
In my minor research I'm fond of Palatka area, Satsuma area, Astor area. But I know nothing about them.

I'm asking for some opinions from FL locals of where to start my search.

[Greenedog]

I'm also 55 and from a rural area in Indiana. My parents have wintered in Astor for 20+ years and I've fell in love with the area. It reminds me of the small towns where I'm from with 2 gas stations, a grocery store, and a Dollar General. 5 Years ago the neighbor across the road from the place my parents rent put his place up for sale and I picked it up super cheap. It's landlocked but I can see the river on one side of the property and a canal on the other and the boat ramp is just down the road. There's a voluntary HOA for $40 a year that gives you access to a private ramp on Blue Creek that isn't as busy as the public ramp on the river. I'm still a few years away from retirement but we have been having a blast just going down every chance we get (cheap Allegiant flights help with that.)
Astor is located in a great spot on the river because you have Lake George just to the north and then lakes Dexter and Woodruff to the south. The springs are another cool thing, you can get to Silver Glen and Salt Springs by boat and then Juniper, DeLeon, and Alexander are just a short drive. It's a straight shot on S.R.40 over to Ormond Beach and takes about 35-40 minutes to get there. I like the coast but not all the people, I'm usually relieved to get home to laid back Astor lol.
Lots of public land around there too with the Ocala National Forest and Lake George State Forest. Some pretty good restaurants and it is a golf cart community. The real estate prices are still a little crazy right now but should be settling down I would think. Friendly people for the most part and we leave a vehicle, 2 boats, and a 4 place kayak trailer down there and nothing has ever been bothered(knock on wood.)

[ChrisHill]

Thanks for the response! I'm excited to check out Astor and the area. Sounds like my kind of place.
I'll have to reach out to you soon. Thanks again.

[Micanopy]

There are crabs, shrimp, and redfish in the river at Palatka as well. Big shrimp and fat crabs. 30 minute drive to Crescent Beach, or my favorite, Matanzas. Staying in land, a half hour away from the beach, is about optimum for hurricanes as well. Scout out Dunns Creek area. Rodman Reservoir is nearby and is famous for it’s fishing. There are many lakes that sport great fishing. Summers are just as hot as back home, but Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar and April can be fabulous. It would be best if you could rent for a year, and search about for a treasure of a home. Depending on how many trips she makes to the beach, you will be able to choose the right location. You guys will fit right in with the locals. Good luck.

[Greenedog]

There are crabs, shrimp, and redfish in the river at Palatka as well. Big shrimp and fat crabs. 30 minute drive to Crescent Beach, or my favorite, Matanzas.

That's the reason we've considered moving farther north. Would love having more salty critters in the river to play with. We do get them down in Astor occasionally, I lost a nice flounder last summer and my dad caught a tarpon out of the river down between Astor and Deland last month. We catch plenty of crab from George but the shrimp don't come that far south. We've also started venturing north for our beach fun and saltwater fishing. It's a nice country drive for the most part to the Flagler area.