[paRN]

My dream home in FL if there were no limitations would be Longboat Key....LOVE IT THERE!

[bamboosmom]

Boy only if we could all have no limitations!

[rkumar3]

Since we are talking about no limitations... I will take one of the mansions on the West Palm Beach. Now in realty since i can't afford it, I settled for an average house about 10 minutest from the beach in Delray Beach... and I love it

[bamboosmom]

I know there are great homes for sale with the great prices too. Now buyers just have to come and see for themselves! WHY WAIT? YOU JUST MAY LOOSE YOUR DREAM HOUSE TO SOMEBODY ELSE~

[mousepotato]

Lake Wales, FL because of Bok Tower and Gardens. So beautiful, tranquil, and peaceful there.

[kymmer]

I would have to pick the panhandle area as well because it is less crowded, however you certainly have the yearly threat of hurricanes. And hurricanes have not been kind to this area. My best answer therefore would be anywhere but Florida. Housing here has gone through the roof and soon there will be only two classes of people in Florida, the rich and the poor. There is no longer any room for middle class.

[Jammie]

My dream spot is to live at SeaWorld. I know that's not possible, but I absolutely love it there. Realistically, on a cold winter day up here, I'd settle for almost anywhere in Fla.

[graffixjones]

I've also been eyeballing Florida as a place to move to, since I love the sun and have no problems with cultural diversity.

One thing that keeps popping up is how 'expensive' everything is in Florida... however, I'm currently in northern California and costs here are about 2x-3x what they are in Florida.

For example... in the town I live, wages on average are between $7.50 to $10 an hour, even for semi-professional positions (such as middle office management, etc.) yet the cost for a decent 3bd/2ba house is in the $335,000 range. In light of those figures, many communities in Florida look absolutely dreamy, all things considered. I couldn't believe that you could get the same amount of house for around $150K, yet wages are relatively the same. This means you have 2x the spending power on housing than you do where I live.

Combine this fact with the beautiful beaches, proximity to the Caribbean isles, and most of all, the weather, and Florida seems to be a slam-dunk.

Of course, I'm a married dad with 2 kids, so I have many considerations to make, such as quality of life and schools, since I want my kids to be safe most of all... all I know is there's no way I could ever afford to live long-term in the town I'm in now, and prices get even more expensive the farther south you travel in this state.

I understand that hurricanes can be a problem, but here in California we have earthquakes instead... I think it would be an even trade.

Otherwise, I've found this thread very interesting, and thanks for all the insight into places to look.

[bamboosmom]

The weather here has been very quiet. A tropical storm is off the coast of the Carolina's right now. We are having nothing! Thank goodness.
So it's just a decission a family has to make. Weather happens everywhere.
SW Florida's prices are still affordable compared to the East Coast of Florida and North of Charlotte County.

[lulu]

We had heavy rain & some thunder, here this morning, for about an hour...and now it's full sunshine!! Always, remember that hurricanes, unlike other natural disasters give a pre-warning that can even be seen on t.v. - one can prepare or worse case scenario one can simply drive away from it. One of my neighbors is something else... when a threat hits, they put the shutters up, pack, grab the kids & go elsewhere vacation. Last year, when of them edged over us, they were on their merry way up to Disney World.