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Hi all.I'm looking to buy a vacation home on the beach, preferably on the west coast of Florida.
My family has always owned homes on the Jersey shore. I'm talking about areas like Avalon, Stone Harbor, Ocean City, and Sea isle, not like what you see on the MTV show. I love those areas because they have such a unique feel to them. They're very family friendly and laid back with plenty of things to do. There's no huge sky scrapers and most of the people who vacation there are from NY, PA, & NJ. So basically, there's not a touristy feel. I also feel completely safe in those towns. I feel like i could leave my cars unlocked and garage door open and not have anything stolen. There is also a very high rental demand so pretty much every house has renters in it for the majority of the summer.
I've fallen in love with Florida from the few visits that i've had there and would absolutely love to own a home. I'd want it to be on the gulf coast because part of what draws me to Florida is the clear water. The dark cloudy water at the Jersey shore and cold winters are the only reason i wouldn't just buy a house there.
I know it's probably much harder to find a town like this in Florida because it is such a huge tourist area, but if anyone has any suggestions i'd really appreciate it.
I'm open to suggestions in places other than Florida, but please keep in mind that i'd need a house that i could rent (preferably weekly) for the majority of the year, so going too far North isn't an option. I'd also rather not go too far to the West as it would become more of a hassle to get there. I want to be somewhere that the water is clear for at least the first few feet, but i absolutely love the clear blue water in the gulf.
One other thing i'd like to mention is that i don't want to have a house in a town that isn't completely English speaking. I'm not looking to learn Spanish.
As a Florida native and current resident, instead of Florida I would focus on the Outer Banks in North Carolina, Myrtle Beach/Hilton Head in South Carolina or Tybee Island in Georgia. For whatever weird reason, beach vacation homes in Florida aren't in demand as much as rentals inland near Walt Disney World. Tourism here is seemingly becoming more and more one dimensional.
You should probably look into Destin. Fort Walton County area. It has some of the best beaches in all of Florida. Miley Cyrus had bought a condo or something somewhere in the area last year. It's very nice. But I think it's a tourist spot in the summer time. If you want Southwest FL, look into Marco Island. Which is what I personally prefer. It's VERY beautiful. There's huge mansions and safe communities all over the island and the architecture used for the buildings are incredible. Shopping is great. Food is great. Shania Twain, Eminem, Leighton Meester and a slew of other celebrities and NFL players all have homes in the area. I couldn't recommend it enough.
Last edited by allenk893; 08-05-2011 at 11:25 AM..
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