[MasstoFL]

I live in MA and am planning to move to FL but don't know where to go. I'm looking for an area that's got a quaint small-town feel (pop. 5,000-20,000), is close to the water, not predominantly retirement age people, is pet-friendly, and where I may find motorcycle enthusiasts... I'm looking for places that include all or some of the above. Thank you for any leads and information!

[Larimik]

You will probably find quaint smaller towns more inland. There are many more benefits to moving inland than living along the coast. Probably the biggest benefit, is that as you go inland, you get alot more for your money when it comes to real estate. If you have read any of my previous posts, I live in Sebring, although quaint and small it is growing, real estate has doubled in the last couple of years, but in comparison with the real estate on the coastal sides, you are getting an average of two times the house for your money than you will any where on the coast. As far being close to the water, there are tons of lakes inland, aside from the gulf and the atlantic. And I can tell you from my own experience, I have visited many areas on boths sides of the states, and there are a ton of motorcyle enthusiast down here, many of which are all good people. It's only about 2hrs max to either coast, which is great if you are looking for a road on the bike.

Some of the bad things about small towns, if you are middle aged, and still in the workforce, unless you are in a specific trade such as medical, law or you have a good business degree, you will want to look closer to the bigger cities as they pay alot better. The state average as far as the pay scale is 20% lower across the board than up north.

Every place has its good points and bad points, you just have to weigh them out. There are pets everywhere down here, so not to worry there.
Good luck in your search!

[Summerbreeze]

Hey, you should try "Jenson Beach." It's on the east coast 3/4 the way down. It's a tiny litle place in between Port St. Lucie and Stuart Fl. It's a really great place. Every night when I drive through it has a few bars there that have music and some outside. The bands are outside too. I like it a lot. There are a lot of bikes there and everyone looks like they are having a great time. The town is diretly on the water. It's really nice. It's a small historic town. I would live there.... I think you should check it out. Good luck!

[Lafferty Daniel]

What did you decide?

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by Lafferty Daniel

What did you decide?

As the topic is almost 7 years old and the op only made the one post i'm guessing we'll never know where our op ended up.
I would have recommended Flagler Beach,

[Lafferty Daniel]

I eagerly await for the OP's reply.

[Donna-501]

Originally Posted by Lafferty Daniel

I eagerly await for the OP's reply.

Good luck.