We may move to Florida.

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
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I had an aged aunt who had moved to the gulf coast of Florida 20 years ago, and I had visited her in her home in Seminole. My better half and I loved the area, just by Clearwater, and now in our senior citizen years, are thinking of moving. I can remember my Uncle Charlie and Aunt Esther saying that it was the happiest 20 years of their lives. That must say something.

But...

Do any of you live on this particular part of the gulf coast, and what are the downside of it. We loved the beaches at Clearwater, nice homes at very reasonable prices, no winter, and for me, a large VA center where I get medical care. But I wonder if things have changed much in recent years? Both my better half and I are retired, we'll be paying cash for a home so there will be no mortage, and we both have decent retirements. We both love boating and fishing, and Tampa Bay looks inviting. Last time we were there, we went to Myaka river state park for canoeing and fishing. It was kind of neat seeing an alligator from the canoe.

Comments?

Carl.
 
Hey Carl,

I've never lived there, but my sister did for about ten years. She loved it except for the hurricane warning's. They never went through a bad one, but she had to board up the windows several times.
I think you would like the warm weather, but it may be a good idea to go down for a couple of weeks in the middle of summer to make sure it's not to much heat for you.
 
I've travelled a few times to FL myself, on holidays, but the only part of the western coast (gulf coast) of FL that I visited was way south of Seminole.
Seems like a nice place to live though, but I have to agree with Ken, since the ranges of temperature at which people feel fine tend to vary alot.
Summer can be pretty hot there, but maybe you would like it. It's a very personal thing.
As for real estate, I checked about it too. I know you are wondering why on Earth I asked for that, since I never had any intention of moving there, but I'm a weird traveller (or a real one, perhaps) and I like to discover as much as I can of any place I visit :) and FL didn't seem to be expensive at all (for my standards).
As for the hurricane thing, some of the houses that I saw have a kind of "hurricane shelter" or safe place. You might never need it, but maybe having it could feel safer.
And, by the way, good luck for your choice (either you decide to move to FL, or stay where you are).

Fausto
:cool:
 
Since you haven't had a lot of responses, I'll add mine. I don't have a great deal of experience with FLA but my in-laws live in Fort Myers which is a couple hours from Tampa. They love it. There is everything you need, very good health care facilities, etc. The housing market has tanked, which wasn't good for them, but it is if you are looking to buy.

They do come up North for the worst of the summer. However, they point out that for them, as retirees, the heat isn't really an issue because everything is air conditioned. They don't come to Vermont so much to escape the heat, as they are willing to come up here in the summer because its warm and they can see the family. My father in law has said that it is absolutely brutal to be trying to work outside. When they were doing his roof, they'd start as soon as it was light and knock off for the day early afternoon.
 
Carl, watch out for the heat and the hurricanes. Get some visits up to the old Chesapeake every once in a while.

I suppose we'll see the slogan in Florida soon, "A peanut in every household." ;)
 
I was stationed on the Pan Handle for a while and I loved it there. The Fishing is great and the Winters very mild. Summers were hot, so make sure the heat and humidity agree with you. If I could earn a good living down there I would move there tomorrow..
 
Yeah, we know about the heat, as we made sure to visit my aunt in summer. But now we' re both ( Karen and I) at the point that we can deal with heat better than cold winters. I'm developing a growing hatred in my senior years of things like snow shovels and ice scrapers. As for heat, we spent the month of July here hiding in air conditioning with those 100 degree temps we had. If we have to put up with hiding in the AC for July and August, it will make up for it by having nice canoeing, fishing, and scootering weather in November, December, January, February, and March. And not having to own a snow shovel!:thumbup::D

Not to mention the gun friendly atmosphere in Florida, vs what we have here in what's become the Peoples Republik Of Maryland. This is no the same state I grew up in. Now in our senior citizen years, both Karen and I are growing more resentful of a state that will not let us exersize our second amendment right.

There's lots to consider, so we're looking into it with caution.

Carl.
 
I live 45 minutes south of Tampa in the Sarasota/Bradenton area. I've been here for about 7 years (I'm 31). Honestly it's not my cup of tea and I'm ready to move on, but if I was around retiring age I can't imagine a place that's better suited for it. The weather is gorgeous (except for a few months during the summer), there is a ton to do, and the average age of the population down here hovers somewhere around 65. It's an area you may want to take a look at as well Carl.
 
Yeah, I've got a friend who retired to Sarasota years ago. When we visited him, I found that his property on the back bordered on Myaka state park. We canoed and fished it, hiked some of the trails, and it was great.

I've been retired for some years now, and I'm not worried about the job market or earning money. For what we sell our house here, we can buy a nice one level home with cash left over. With the average age of 65 like you say, we'd fit right in.

I was only wondering if there are nay down sides we may not know about.

Carl.
 
Sometimes a little change is just what the soul needs.It sounds like a grand adventure!If you do move I hope you'll keep in touch and tell us how it is.
 
jackknife said:
I was only wondering if there are nay down sides we may not know about.

Carl.
Click to expand...

It gets a little crowded when y'all snowbirds flock down for the winter, the love bugs will make a mess on your car once or twice a year...that's about it IMHO :D

Nathan
 
Im on the exact opposite coast from Tampa, in Melbourne. My girlfriend was born in Tampa and her family still lives there. My only complaint about FL is the summer heat, but otherwise I love it and never thought about moving out of state.
 
Also, I've been told that Peanuts are widely welcome in western Florida... :)
As others said, I also noticed that Florida (except maybe for Miami and a few other big cities) is widely populated by retired people who spend there 6 to 12 months every year. Apparently, they all seem to be living pretty fine there. Of course, there's air conditioning in every place, and as you pointed out, you can easily spend 2 or 3 months without roaming too much at noon, while the winter (if you can call that winter) is warm and pleasant.
Just make sure you have internet there...you can't make us miss your stories on this forum Carl.

Fausto
:cool:
 
Carl, I wish I could move out of the People's Republic too man. As a fat guy with bad knees, I can sympathize. I hate to be able to forecast the weather.
 
My wife and I both have family and friends in the Sarasota area, and we try to travel down a couple of times a year if possible, we love the area. My Grandparents used to winter down there for 8-10 years, then when they got too old to keep making the trek back and forth to northern Indiana a couple of times a year, moved down permanently for another 8-10 years before passing away within a year of eachother. I have an aunt and uncle that are down there year round, another couple of aunts who have houses in Sarasota and winter down there, and a bunch of cousins who live there all year.

We are in our early 40's now, but hope to buy a place down there by the time we hit 50, and retire down there by age 60, if not before. The biggest downside we've seen is the heat in the summers can be pretty brutal, I've been down in June and August, but I'm sure it wouldn't be as bad if one were down there year round, as it seems like a person can get acclimated to it over time.
 
silenthunterstudios said:
Carl, I wish I could move out of the People's Republic too man. As a fat guy with bad knees, I can sympathize. I hate to be able to forecast the weather.
Click to expand...

Dan, I wish I could give you some good news, but that fact is, after age 60, everything I ever broke, tore, had operated on, lets me know the weather is going to change.

Getting old ain't for the faint of heart!

Carl.
 
I think the worst drivers are from Florida. I haven't lived there, I'm just making a freeway observation.:D
 
Too crowded in that area, for me. The panhandle has prettier, less crowded beaches and great boating/fishing. You can get acreage in the rural areas in northwest Florida for what you'd pay for a lot in that area. Are you wanting somewhere on/close to the beach?
 
slapper said:
I think the worst drivers are from Florida. I haven't lived there, I'm just making a freeway observation.:D
Click to expand...

It's not that they're from here. It's that all the crappy drivers from every other state move down here...when they get old (no offense Carl!). 1+1 = lots of bad drivers on the roads. Although I will say the traffic on the Sun Coast is not near as bad as many other metro areas I've visited or lived in.
 
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