[Fially Out of the 863]

As a rider myself I love Howey-in-the-hills its in the middle of the state its 13-14 miles from gator harley davison in leesburg its also close to orlando and daytona for bike week and biketober if you like to view the bikes. Howey-in-the-hills reminds me of the north alittle with the hills very good view and its quite

[sprintrps]

I am VERY appreciative to each and every one of you for taking the time to respond to my query. I will take all of these suggestions and begin my research and plan my trip to FL accordingly.

[sprintrps]

Originally Posted by outsider1

keep in mind that he's from socal though. Many folks are leaving socal specifically to avoid conditions such as exist in bradenton lately. If he's familiar with orange county, then bradenton is sort of anaheim in miniature(not santa ana though, which is a plus), with lakewood ranch been a quasi-anaheim hills, i suppose.
Sarasota around downtown is sort of a cross between marina del rey and west hollywood.
Part of sarasota south of bee ridge road is more like laguna niguel in south orange county.
Osprey and nokomis are south of sarasota and also south oc sort of places.
Venice is laguna woods and may or may not feel too old the op.
Englewood is like oceanside without the crime. But without a pier unfortunately.
North port, port charlotte, cape coral are the inland empire and beyond.
Fort myers = central la meets miami.
Fort myers beach = imagine the beach around santa monica in the summer.
Estero and bonita springs are more like nice places in ventura county than like orange county.
Naples = laguna beach-"wannabe" meets newport beach-"wannabe" with parts of san juan capistrano mixed in.

this i understand!!!!! as I am originally from Huntington Beach

[outsider1]

Originally Posted by sprintrps

this i understand!!!!! as I am originally from Huntington Beach

In that case take a closer look at zip code 34231, you'll probably like that environment. Newer housing might still be a little bit out of your price range, but all sorts of deals are becoming possible with each passing day lately. Zip 34233 is a couple miles to the east and very similar to 34231. You can already afford what you're looking for in 34233. 34238 is directly south of there and is another good option.

[jetboy]

Look into The Space Coast of Florida either Satellite Beach, Indian Harbour Beach, Indiatlantic or Melbourne Beach. All on a barrier Island with beautiful beaches, Clean parks, libraries and all well within 30 minutes to A Harley store. Low to little crime. Also 45 minutes to Orlando Center. Like the rest of florida a large inventory of new construction homes.

[Sweating in Florida]

North Port(NP), Fl is a newer small town and it is in Sarasota county. It has a lot of new homes for sale that have been empty for some time. It is about 45 minutes from the city of Sarasota and about 30-40 to the gulf beaches. There are a lot of younger average families that have moved in there and now living along with the elderly and retired. NP is not good if you are looking for a good full time job. There is a small but decent library in NP that is fairly new. NP is next to the city of Port Charlotte which is a small dead end town, but some older people like the quiet and simplicity of it. Port Charlotte has some poverty stricken and trashy neighborhoods, so beware of those. The number of crimes has gone up in Port Charlotte and it is probably a result of poverty. North of North Port is Venice and it has the most elderly in my opinion. Even though you do not golf, I will tell you that in Venice there are many golfing communities and 55 and older communities that are very prudent with beautiful landscapes and nice homes. I suppose it depends on your personality and what you are willing to tolerate.

[Sweating in Florida]

Originally Posted by Sweating in Florida

North Port(NP), Fl is a newer small town and it is in Sarasota county. It has a lot of new homes for sale that have been empty for some time. It is about 45 minutes from the city of Sarasota and about 30-40 to the gulf beaches. There are a lot of younger average families that have moved in there and now living along with the elderly and retired. NP is not good if you are looking for a good full time job. There is a small but decent library in NP that is fairly new. NP is next to the city of Port Charlotte which is a small dead end town, but some older people like the quiet and simplicity of it. Port Charlotte has some poverty stricken and trashy neighborhoods, so beware of those. The number of crimes has gone up in Port Charlotte and it is probably a result of poverty. North of North Port is Venice and it has the most elderly in my opinion. Even though you do not golf, I will tell you that in Venice there are many golfing communities and 55 and older communities that are very prudent with beautiful landscapes and nice homes. I suppose it depends on your personality and what you are willing to tolerate.

In addition:
I forgot to metion that there are Harley shops in Port Charlotte. I think they even have "Harley/bike hang outs and bars."

[floridaorbust]

Originally Posted by SANDYHAIR

Sounds like Leesburg Fl lots of retirement communities there also try the villages about 10 mins from leesburg or O cala Fl, Try Del Web communities Good Luck

We are also trying to find a location in Florida to move to. Would prefer the East Coast. We ride a Gold Wing, not a Harley Sorry Harley people

We kinda were looking at the Leesburg area. What are the surrounding areas of Leesburg? We rode our motorcycle through there a few years ago and can't remember the small towns. I do remember the villages. But the other towns looked interesting too. thanks

[faithfulFrank]

I own a home in Leesburg, in one of the many nice 55+ gated golf communities.
There are many nice, small towns around Leesburg. Mt. Dora is very popular. Eustis, Traveres, Clairmont, Fruitland Park, The Villages, Wildwood, Yahala, Mineola, Howie-in-the-Hills, are just a few.

Leesburg has a new Honda dealership on Hwy 441, just down from the big Gator Harley place. It also has a very well known annual Leesburg Bikefest, (do a google on it)...I think that is every April.

My good friend who lives across the street from me has both a GoldWing and his wife has smaller Helix.
Any other questions, feel free to ask, either by post or by DM.

Frank D.

[floridaorbust]

thanks Frank. We did not know that Leesburg has a bikefest?! That would be fun. Until we can move to Florida, my husband travels to the area and usually stays during the month of March. I join him during the end of the trip. We trailer the bike. Kinda hard for him to do business on the bike Are there any bike rallies in the month of March?

A few years ago he suprised me with a 2001 Shadow 600. I love it. Can't wait to ride it in FL. Nothing feels as good as when you ride on your bike.
We have riden the Blue Ridge Parkway a few times. Love it.

Thanks for the tip concerning the new Honda shop.