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Old 03-24-2011, 11:49 AM
 
1 posts, read 1,948 times
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My family and I (3 daughters 6 months, 7 yo and 11yo) are about to move to florida. My job will be in Naples but can be moved to other area in FL.

We now live in the most beautiful very affordable 100 year old Victorian Mansion in Spartanburg South Carolina. We would like the same in Florida and are not afraid of rural areas as long as the schools are decent.

Where is the old architectural stock in florida? We are not millionaires and are not afraid of a project house. We do like the beach but are aware that we may not have the $$$.

Anybody know a good place where to start the search?
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Old 03-24-2011, 11:54 AM
 
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In South Florida, Palm Beach County has a good number of historic neighborhoods. I know Fort Lauderdale has a few as well. Prices can be anywhere from 100k to over a million.
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Old 03-24-2011, 12:03 PM
 
Location: Tampa
2,602 posts, read 8,284,524 times
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Every major city will have at least one neighborhood with homes like that. Even some rural areas will have them, too (places like Micanopy and Arcadia come to mind). It might be harder to find them in a place like Naples.

I know I'm being kind of vague, but the best place to start would be to make a list of areas you're interested in and then hopefully posters can redirect you to certain neighborhoods in town. Hopefully someone will chime in about Naples. I'd be interested to see if there are any historic neighborhoods down there.
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Old 03-24-2011, 01:40 PM
 
17,504 posts, read 38,989,711 times
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There are places in Florida that will have those - the key word here though is "affordable". I think it will depend on your definition of affordable. You will find more of that type housing in northern and central Florida. I doubt you will find much, if anything (let alone affordable) in Naples. Tampa Heights neighborhood in Tampa may have some, this neighborhood was established in the 1880's.

I forgot to mention that about 10 years ago we used to own a couple Victorians in Tampa that we got pretty cheap, one of them was like a small mansion (rental properties) but they were not in the greatest area and I wouldn't recommend it. That's kind of the problem with those old places - if they are fixed up and in a great area, they will cost big bucks, if run-down and in a not-so-great area, they might be cheap or affordable, but not the best place to live. They were money pits. Good luck!

Last edited by gypsychic; 03-24-2011 at 01:53 PM.. Reason: more info
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Old 03-24-2011, 02:44 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,163,143 times
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There are some of that type in Fort Myers. Not the best neighborhoods, though. Dean Park comes to mind. Most consider it to be very sketchy.

Naples, no. The few and far between older homes start at about 1 million.
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Old 03-24-2011, 07:55 PM
 
Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
501 posts, read 1,878,294 times
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Most of Florida was settled after WWII, so finding historic stock can be a challenge. Here are some ideas:


Nearest to Naples
  • Downtown Ft Myers (near Edison Home)
  • Arcadia
  • Lake Worth (College Park)
  • Key West (Air/boat service to Naples)
Other Areas
  • Bartow
  • DeLand
  • Miconopy
  • Daytona Beach (many Sears & Roebuck homes)
  • Ocala
  • New Smyrna Beach (Flagler Ave/Coronado Beach)
  • St Pete
  • St Augustine
  • Fernandina Beach
Good Luck!
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Old 03-24-2011, 08:32 PM
 
Location: Niceville, FL
13,258 posts, read 22,755,739 times
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Pensacola has a couple of good-sized traditional historic districts- reasonably safe and well priced, but the schools aren't the greatest- you probably want to see if you can get a waiver into one of the better Escambia public schools or go the private route.
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Old 03-25-2011, 09:37 AM
 
148 posts, read 603,756 times
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Default Gainesville

The Duck Pond area of Gainesville has many Victorians restored. It is north of University Drive in Gainesville. South of University Drive there are Victorians that you might be able to find to fix up. Some of the bed and breakfasts are in that area and were fixed up by couples who felt the same way you do...elbow grease and hard work on their own.
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Old 03-25-2011, 03:45 PM
 
Location: The Conterminous United States
22,584 posts, read 54,163,143 times
Reputation: 13614
I submitted my post before I was finished. I agree with Arcadia. It's going to have the most older homes closest to Naples. Affordable. It's still a haul, though, but closer than anywhere else. It's held it's Southern/Cracker charm, too.
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