Vero Beach or Sarasota (Jacksonville, Miami: condo, vacation home, buying)

[poodlemama]

Have enjoyed the comments on here for a few months. My husband and I live outside of FL and are considering buying a vacation home which will eventually be a retirement home. It seems like a good time to buy. We are willing and able to go up to 200K and are looking for a safe, desirable area, near beach, good seafood and good golf. No kids but decent school district would be in the mix in the event of resale ever down the road.
Not interested in a condo, only single family home.

Looking in Vero Beach area as we have family in that area but have always liked SW FL when we have traveled there.

Any and all thoughts/comments/recommendations welcome!
Thanks!

[dbay]

I really like the crystal river area on the west coast, you get the beautiful rivers and the gulf..When I
was there about 15 years ago it wasn't overbuilt..But, when you get older and retire you may see the
advantage to living near relatives...Its not something you think about when you are younger..

[justNancy]

I lived in Bonita Springs for many years and I now live in Vero, although I've only been here for 5 months. I think both Sarasota and Vero Beach are very nice areas. Vero Beach is a little sleepier, but it's safe & quiet. (just don't move next to the train tracks!) I've been on beaches from the panhandle to the Florida Keys and from Jacksonville to Miami, and I prefer the West Coast because of the calm water of the Gulf, although the beaches in Vero are very wide, sandy and pristine. There are many places to park along A1A and most of the beach parks have bathrooms, changing areas, and picnic tables with barbecues. All free too! You will probably need to live across one of the bridges to the barrier island, since there are few homes in your price range east of A1A, as far as I know. However, it's only about 5 miles to the beach, depending on where you buy, and there are no bridge tolls.

On the other hand, I prefer the West Coast and areas like Venice, Nokomis & Casey Key. I like the old Florida type of atmosphere. Having said that, the people over here seem to be much friendlier. I'm not being very decisive, am I?

Right now there are many nice homes in that price range. Of course it depends on your personal preferences (size, location, etc.) I know you said "near beach" but there are some lovely communities in Port Saint Lucie which is about 30 miles from Vero. Cascades, for example, has a really nice clubhouse & pool and is also gated & manned 24/7, if that's important to you. They also take care of the lawn. I only mentioned this if you plan to be away for part of the year and I know there are some beautiful single family homes for under $200,000. Lake Charles is also very nice. However, many people in Vero Beach don't like Port Saint Lucie. Sebastian has pretty beaches, but it's even quieter than Vero Beach and generally more rural.

I came back to edit, since I really didn't help much. Oh, well, sometimes I should just sit back and read.

[poodlemama]

Thanks so much for your comments. We will definitely look into PSL as well.