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.)