[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by ellie

I worked up in the Panhandle last summer. It makes me sad seeing what will soon be happening to you as well. Get active, protect what you can before it's too late.

I do get involve in the county meetings and I'm a member of local groups/organization that are linked to national organizations...

[tallrick]

The only hope is two simple words...caterory 5 ...LOL!

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by tallrick

The only hope is two simple words...caterory 5 ...LOL!

I better not be in Florida and neither my parents when/if that happens

[ESCAZU]

I am a 40 year old married woman with 3 children. We have our own business and have done well. My husband and I are sick and tired of LA's traffic, hectic life and high cost of living. We live (and own)in a 950 sq ft condo, build in 72 - 2 bed and 1 bath that is going for $500,000. WE are looking for a better quality of life, bigger housing, lower cost of living and definitely Less traffic!!!! We can afford easly a $350,000 to $400,000 home but don't know where to go!!! We can work out of the house. WE want to travel so an international airport is a plus, good schools and a safe diverse city or suburb. We don't like extreme weather so the north is ruled out!!! Any idea please??? WE have been researching Roswell, GA but South Florida sounds appealing too.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by ESCAZU

I am a 40 year old married woman with 3 children. We have our own business and have done well. My husband and I are sick and tired of LA's traffic, hectic life and high cost of living. We live (and own)in a 950 sq ft condo, build in 72 - 2 bed and 1 bath that is going for $500,000. WE are looking for a better quality of life, bigger housing, lower cost of living and definitely Less traffic!!!! We can afford easly a $350,000 to $400,000 home but don't know where to go!!! We can work out of the house. WE want to travel so an international airport is a plus, good schools and a safe diverse city or suburb. We don't like extreme weather so the north is ruled out!!! Any idea please??? WE have been researching Roswell, GA but South Florida sounds appealing too.

WOW that's so sad that even if you do well in California all you get is a 950 sq foot condo. Try miami, a ton of people from California are buying near my parent's house, the homes sell around 350,000 (for now) I hope that Florida crashes before it gets as sad as LA. bad news, traffic in Miami is now WORSE than LA so it's bad to move there too.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by tallrick

WOW that's so sad that even if you do well in California all you get is a 950 sq foot condo. Try miami, a ton of people from California are buying near my parent's house, the homes sell around 350,000 (for now) I hope that Florida crashes before it gets as sad as LA. bad news, traffic in Miami is now WORSE than LA so it's bad to move there too.

That comes out to $523 a square foot! maybe they live in an upscale neighboohood in LA? They could be in a high rise or luxury condo. We have the same here and they can be over $300 a square feet!

I would not reccomend Florida. Yes you may be able to afford a $400k house with the equity gained by selling your tiny condo but have you seen how high hurricane insurance is? I would suggest Texas, Georgia or even relocating to the far north CA like Yuba city.

[bale002]

Since your business is home-based, southern Florida may be for you, though, as you know, you will get more bang for your buck in terms of house size in Georgia (Atlanta is a major international airport) or Texas (Houston).

Southern Florida offers a diverse, but Latino-dominated culture if Dade County (to a lesser extent as you go north towards Broward and Palm Beach, but spreading nonetheless), proximity to Atlantic Ocean and eastern time zone, and it is a good market for business interests in international trade, especially with Caribbean/Latin America, to a lesser extent Europe. It is of course a good market for a certain number of other types of businesses.


Homeowners and commercial property insurance is going through the roof. But, since you have a home-based business, and if you buy outright, you can consider the possibility of self-insuring.

I see two major downsides.

One, traffic in southern Florida, especially Dade and Broward, can be horrible, but this is mitigated by the fact that you can work out of home.

Two, though southern Florida is relatively less expensive than LA, you will still not be able to afford as much house as you would in Georgia or Texas. In Dade County, to live comfortably in a nice house for $500,000 you probably need to look in Kendall or Homestead (you may even have some left over to put in the bank). Palm Beach County, in my view, offers a better quality of life, and objectively in terms of population density compared to Dade County.

Also, whether Florida or coastal Texas, be prepared for much more humidity than you can have possibly known in LA. I am not sure about the Atlanta area.

Like Florida, Texas has the additional benefit of being a no-income-tax state.

So you should carefully compare the Atlanta area, the Houston area, the Miami-West Palm Beach area, and perhaps not exclude the Tampa Bay area.

Good luck!

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by tallrick

The only hope is two simple words...caterory 5 ...LOL!

tallrick,

Do we want a cat 5? So the cost of life(s) is not a factor.. Please negative thinking is going to get you negative results. Who will be able to rebuild in Florida? Only the rich and famous...

Category Five Hurricane:
Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal. Complete roof failure on many residences and industrial buildings. Some complete building failures with small utility buildings blown over or away. All shrubs, trees, and signs blown down. Complete destruction of mobile homes. Severe and extensive window and door damage. Low-lying escape routes are cut by rising water 3-5 hours before arrival of the center of the hurricane. Major damage to lower floors of all structures located less than 15 ft above sea level and within 500 yards of the shoreline. Massive evacuation of residential areas on low ground within 5-10 miles (8-16 km) of the shoreline may be required. Only 3 Category Five Hurricanes have made landfall in the United States since records began: The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, Hurricane Camille (1969), and Hurricane Andrew in August, 1992. The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane struck the Florida Keys with a minimum pressure of 892 mb--the lowest pressure ever observed in the United States. Hurricane Camille struck the Mississippi Gulf Coast causing a 25-foot storm surge, which inundated Pass Christian. Hurricane Andrew of 1992 made landfall over southern Miami-Dade County, Florida causing 26.5 billion dollars in losses--the costliest hurricane on record. In addition, Hurricane Wilma (pdf) of 2005 was a Category Five hurricane at peak intensity and is the strongest Atlantic tropical cyclone on record with a minimum pressure of 882 mb.

[tallrick]

Reality is not negative thinking, it's just a statement of the invevitable. Florida has a date with a big wind, we just don't know when. Why not prepare for it instead of building more of the ugly trash that accomodate the thousands who move here each year? A big hurricane will halt the development and I am sure that even the rich and famous will leave. There really isn't much here to care about anymore and as for the residents, they will evacuate to safety won't they? If this place was built correctly we would have nothing to worry about. Of course most of the vain people here would not want to live in a safe but "ugly" home.

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Reality is not negative thinking, it's just a statement of the invevitable. Florida has a date with a big wind, we just don't know when. Why not prepare for it instead of building more of the ugly trash that accomodate the thousands who move here each year? A big hurricane will halt the development and I am sure that even the rich and famous will leave. There really isn't much here to care about anymore and as for the residents, they will evacuate to safety won't they? If this place was built correctly we would have nothing to worry about. Of course most of the vain people here would not want to live in a safe but "ugly" home.

If Florida gets the big one like Andrew in Miami, property values will crash, insurance will go up another 5 times. Everyone who owns in Florida will suffer, including my parents who will see their house drop 25-50% in value
This will wipe out equity for all of us