MAYBE PACKING IT UP .............

Pack a kite, batteries and a poncho.

 

Cons - Just one - hurricanes galore

Pros - No taxes, sunshine

 

cons: blue hair.
pros: great beaches.

 

ive got a house down there, but on the east coast.

pros: sunny warm. to hot in july and august (worse on the west coast). Good number of very beautiful women. Baseball before anyone else
cons: hurricanes and old people

 

pros:...... I'll have to get back to you on that
cons: It's florida

 

we purchased our condo for $450,000. Worth over 2.5 mil now, and its been through 5 hurricanes. 2 that hit it dead on.

 

Honestly, around all the baseball stadiums is where the property value is going up. Port St. Lucie, where my condo is and where the Mets spring training is, has gone from cow pastures to an up and coming city that is ranked high on best places to live.

but wtf do i know

 

I don't know about you Jersey guys... you and Gus say you want out but don't make any moves to be ready to go.

Just do it! FORGET SNOW!

I can sympathize somewhat though, my mother lives across the border from BUFFALO, NY and she is a nurse... she accepted a job offer outside of Sacramento, as she wants to move to the SW US. But, my teenage brothers and sister stopped her from moving because they refused to move to California with my mom, because they want to live with their ornery, degrading, packrat, squalor-living, verbally abusive father who treats them like crap and harasses their opinions and desires into submission (as he did me before them).

 

Split the difference and try out NC or SC--beautiful area down there.

 

Go ahead, let go of your inner child!
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John,

Right idea, wrong state. Swimming pools and movie stars out here!

BTW, don't be influenced by Auggy for he is the "Charter Tree" of the New Jersey memorial forest!

 

Fixed it

 

Very nice!

 

The roads are flat and straight. It's boring to drive there. On the plus side the resturants are good except for Italian.

 

How about NE Florida? We vacationed near Jacksonville last year (Amelia Island), and it seemed pretty nice. Not so hot in the summer if you're near the ocean.

 

Martin told me that the real estate market in Florida (esp. south Fl) is at a peak right now, as it has been for 2 years. Maybe let it cool down for a year or so when many of the knuckleheads with the "interest only" loans revert to conventional mortgages, thus many not being able to afford their homes any longer. Higher supply=lower prices. Also, if you have kids Florida schools are ****. Also consider traffic on I-95 has been getting horrible as more and more people are traveling on an artery that was built to handle about 1/2 of what it has now. It is very frustrating. Don't get me wrong I love Florida too, I'm just giving you the information that I was given by some Florida natives.

 

John,

I lived there for almost four years still visiting for extended periods to this day. I used to have a place in a high rise in Naples and my folks still have their house. To be honest it is a beautiful place but mixed. You probably heard the term "snow birds," and that best describes SW FLA. Come winter time everyone comes out of the wood work. The two major roads from Marco/Ft. Myers to Naples/Everglade City are 41 and 75 and they can rvial LA, Chicago, NYC during the vacation period. Every month that goes by seems to spawn a entire shopping mall or even condo neighborhood.

For successful young people, the Bonita Beach area is the best. If you are old, Vanderbilt type money, Naples which I read in Forbes a few years ago had more millionaires for its population that any place in the world. Anything really north and slightly more east (inland) is for people who just want to retire peacefully or do not have as much. There are certain parts of Fort Myers that definitely looks like a slum. Best bet is to definitely plan a visit, figure out what area you like best, your price range, and make certain you check out how you like those who dwell in the neighborhood. I'd say about 1/3 of home owners actually live there full time and out of that 1/3, 70% are
retired and the other 30% are people between the ages of 28-40 and almost always work in some high end construction field. There are tons of old people, but they are snow birds who come down in spring till fall and having the rest of fam visit and cause complete conjestion during late spring, end of summer.

Hurricanes? Umm no. Historically the west coast has always been ravaged, but in the 10 years I have been visiting/living the state the only one to hit landfall was Ivan in Punta Gorda two years ago?

Real estate being a high? Not for just the last two years but I'd say past 5! I purchased my condo and sold it before it was even completed for a decent profit. Keep in mind I kept waiting because it was for personal reasons, not investment, and it wound up being sold less than 30 days on the market. At the time of my parents purchase around 1998, home ownership equalled initiation fee at the golf club. Today, the initial dues are somewhere around $150,000 last time I read. But I think the economy/value of the dollar has caught now and some places will sit unsold for months.

Go down there and check it out before an impulse move. Location is key so as a fan of the Texas Hardtails view too, keep a heads up on what is an always shifting environment.

If you want any further info, feel free to PM.

RocketBoy

 

I think a lot of people think where they live is bad. IMO wherever you go somethings will not be good, otherwise it would be perfect, and then EVERYONE would move there....and then THAT would be the problem!

Just don't forget to count your blessings where you live, but conversely, some people just don't suit where they live. You may be one.

Good luck!
Wes

 

This optimistic and positive attitude explains the tolerance of the abusive, mosquito ridden climate of Manitoba! (I have a lot of family there)

 

I know nothing about Florida personally, but the one fact that I've heard here in Arkansas from several people that USE to live in south Florida is this:
CRIME. I thought that it was interesting that several totally seperate people that I ran across, had lived in south Florida and left partly because of the crime down there. One couple lived in a nice neighborhood here in Little Rock, and their house was the only one on the block with a steel garage door. (as opposed to wood with windows). They said that they built their house with a Florida mind set, and they didn't want anybody breaking into their garage easily, so they went with a steel garage door like they would have down there. Another guy that I talked to said that he moved away from south Florida back in the 70s to escape the crime. Warmer weather seems to bring out the criminal element everywhere anyway, so no wonder south Florida has plenty of losers wandering around at all hours attempting to break into everything and steal anything that isn't nailed down. Toss a few thousand unemployed boat people and illegal aliens into the mix and no wonder there is no shortage of people willing to take a screwdriver to your garage door lock or your Ferrari.

 

Hey! We just got sprayed!
So I think the humans are outnumbering the skeeters for now.