gotta start somewhere, please help (Jacksonville, Miami: appointed, rent, HOA)

[crashdavis565]

Kind of dizzy with figuring out where to retire. We are definitely looking at Florida but after that it is wide open. So, I am just kind of throwing this out there and we will see what we catch. This is the "ideal" place. I understand, that it just may not be possible for all the things listed. Might as well start at the top. I do know this may not be placed in the exact right forum but again, gotta start somewhere.

1) We want to live on the beach. Beach view and access to the water right outside my door. We are open to either coast but
we think we would lean to the Gulf side over the Atlantic side. ( calmer water). We do not need a lot of space and would be comfortable in 1000 sq feet, more would be better but we do have some financial constraints as I will discuss.
2) My wife and I are looking to retire in about 10 years, we are thinking about buying a place now but this is not absolute. We have about 250K in cash for the place and would be willing to finance another 250K. That said, if we finance, we will need some rent support and need to think about taxes and the like to make it close to cash flow neutral.
3) We want to ditch the car most days. The ideal place would be very walkable, with shops and restaurants close by. It would be awesome to walk to the grocery, dinner etc. Tourists are cool but locals would be better. Would love to be able to bike on the boardwalk like in Hollywood or something similar.
4) I would love the town to be smaller and have a hometown feel. Again, I know this is a lot but I figure start at the top and work backwards. Not a busy beach place and it would be awesome to have a little downtown area to shop and just have coffee.
5) In the ideal world, I would lean to the southern part of Florida over the northern part as I would hope to have a little warmer weather.
6) Gotta have low crime, I will be older and do not need to worry about being safe.
7) HOA will play a part and do not want to buy a place and just dump the money into a poorly run HOA ( nor do I want to run it myself!)


That is all I have for now but hope to open a discussion. We have looked all over the internet and cannot find the perfect place. To give you an idea where we are, right now I am thinking New Smyrna is the best I can find. Yes, it is on the Atlantic and northern but it does have a cute homey feel and seems to be fairly safe.

Thanks for any input to this thread from any locals.

[cfbs2691]

I'd cross South Florida off your list.
Best of luck!

[Nolefan34]

1-3 are doable in an area such as Pompano Beach. But 4-7 is where you go off the rails. There is no small, hometown feel anywhere around here, crime is high compared to the national average, and HOA's rule. South FL is no longer an ideal retirement area like it was decades ago. The retirees in your situation are mostly looking at places on the West Coast or suburban Orlando areas. There is really nowhere walkable other than Miami Beach and to a lesser extent Fort Lauderdale Beach. But those are touristy places with large crowds of transits, and predominantly younger crowds.

One area you may consider is northern Palm Beach County. The towns of Singer Island, Lake Park, North Palm Beach areas, and perhaps Jupiter. Those areas are far more suitable for retirees in my opinion and are still considered South FL. I also see an abundance of retirees in eastern Boynton Beach along the water. You may want to check into those areas.

For small towns, you would need to look further north in areas such as Stuart, Vero Beach, and further north. The Melbourne/Palm Bay area may be an area to check out, but I admit I am not as familiar with the area.

[jhlcomp]

Okay are you sitting down? Current HOA's in some beach front condos in Fort Lauderdale, which also includes insurance, runs about $1500 a month for approx. 1600 sq ft. This is in a multi story building of about 13 floors or so.

Do yourself a favor and go to realtor.com and enter your parameters - that way you will get more accurate info.

Setting that aside, I have lived in south Florida, Weston to be exact, for over 20+ years. I am seriously considering moving further north, because in retirement we know we will not be able to support our current home - insurance (wind mitigation and auto) and property taxes are key factors.

If I were you, look at Vero Beach which is on the east coast and about 2 hours north of Fort Lauderdale. Stay away from beach front unless you can afford it. Also look on the west coast from Bonita north and into the pan handle such as Destin Beach. Some folks will go so far to say into Alabama where beachfront is more affordable. South Florida is just too expensive. Good luck to you.

[LifeIsGood01]

Look on the gulf coast such as Naples or Fort Myers/Cape Coral or try north of there.


Very few beach places are walkable to shops etc. Of the areas I know Hollywood Florida has some walkable areas but more beachy, tourist. Galt ocean mile in Fort Lauderdale has supermarkets within walkable area. At the end of Commercial Blvd by the beach there is a pier and walkable shops nearby but geared to beach goers and tourists. If you want small town feel don't look in a city.

[LifeIsGood01]

[quote=Nolefan34;40862152, crime is high compared to the national average, .[/QUOTE]

Crime is higher statistically but I have not had one problem with breaks ins or muggins or shootings near me in the 8 years I've been here. Of all the people I've met here, none which are originally from Florida, only one has had an attempted break in. He said his unit has a weird entrance so it's obstructed and less visible and an easier target. No one else has had any problems with crime. I have not lived in gated or upper income areas either, but in Florida you can cheaply live in a nicer area than in some higher rent states.

[harry chickpea]

You have totally unrealistic expectations, as pointed out by other posters. Your price point is the first stumbling block, it goes downhill from there. You also have not factored in hurricane damage and insurance costs. You MIGHT find something in the general price range on a lake, but understand that water - ANY water - and immediate access is an open invitation to thieves, casual walk-up visitors, and a magnet for relatives you haven't seen in years. Also, water is not always pristine - red tides, seaweed stench, oil spills, etc. You have a FANTASY. Bring it down to earth or be horribly disappointed.

[butercup]

What I'd recommend is that you figure out your 3-4-5 "must-haves" and then rank them, followed by ranked "nice-to-haves". As everyone else has pointed out, what you are looking for sounds awesome, and does not exist.

When we left FL two years ago and I was researching towns on the west coast, an extremely astute poster commented on a thread I was following, and the comment has stuck with me. You have to look at your list and see where the things you are searching for are mutually exclusive. (In our case, it was a large lot walkable to a downtown - see how that doesn't work, lol? We finally figured it out.) Charming beach-front town in the warmer areas of FL with mostly locals and less tourists? That's a pipe dream. Florida in general where you can ditch your car and just walk everywhere? Also barely exists - this state was mostly developed in the last 50 years, so it's VERY car-centric, even more so in smaller towns.

Areas that I personally love include Atlantic Beach in Jacksonville and Siesta Key in Sarasota.

[Nolefan34]

The west coast is not walkable at all, but would probably suit your other needs. Southeastern FL is too built up, too expensive, and too transient to suit your needs.

[BroncoZ71]

Originally Posted by crashdavis565

Kind of dizzy with figuring out where to retire. We are definitely looking at Florida but after that it is wide open. So, I am just kind of throwing this out there and we will see what we catch. This is the "ideal" place. I understand, that it just may not be possible for all the things listed. Might as well start at the top. I do know this may not be placed in the exact right forum but again, gotta start somewhere.

1) We want to live on the beach. Beach view and access to the water right outside my door. We are open to either coast but
we think we would lean to the Gulf side over the Atlantic side. ( calmer water). We do not need a lot of space and would be comfortable in 1000 sq feet, more would be better but we do have some financial constraints as I will discuss.
2) My wife and I are looking to retire in about 10 years, we are thinking about buying a place now but this is not absolute. We have about 250K in cash for the place and would be willing to finance another 250K. That said, if we finance, we will need some rent support and need to think about taxes and the like to make it close to cash flow neutral.
3) We want to ditch the car most days. The ideal place would be very walkable, with shops and restaurants close by. It would be awesome to walk to the grocery, dinner etc. Tourists are cool but locals would be better. Would love to be able to bike on the boardwalk like in Hollywood or something similar.
4) I would love the town to be smaller and have a hometown feel. Again, I know this is a lot but I figure start at the top and work backwards. Not a busy beach place and it would be awesome to have a little downtown area to shop and just have coffee.
5) In the ideal world, I would lean to the southern part of Florida over the northern part as I would hope to have a little warmer weather.
6) Gotta have low crime, I will be older and do not need to worry about being safe.
7) HOA will play a part and do not want to buy a place and just dump the money into a poorly run HOA ( nor do I want to run it myself!)


That is all I have for now but hope to open a discussion. We have looked all over the internet and cannot find the perfect place. To give you an idea where we are, right now I am thinking New Smyrna is the best I can find. Yes, it is on the Atlantic and northern but it does have a cute homey feel and seems to be fairly safe.

Thanks for any input to this thread from any locals.

Broward County is no longer the Ft Lauderdale of the 1980s..Its either millionaire or dirt poor...high crime, dangerous to walk and dirty. Look towards the panhandle or even Alabama/MS