[faithfulFrank]

We kind of just stumbled into where we bought....very unlike me, who is known to spend hours researching the death out of things.

I think one needs to first sort by geographic area.......temperature avg highs and lows. There is a big difference between Miami and the panhandle. Know what you want.

Then, decide if you want coast or inland.

Then decide how close or far one wants to be from major cities, etc.
Then once the area is decided, visit for awhile, looking at different developments, streets, etc. DO YOUR RESEARCH.....in regards to financial stability of the community, HOA fees, future building and infrastructure, tax rates, etc.

Also research hospitals, quality of Fire/EMS/Law enforcement, etc.

Jobs if you need one.

Frank

[imagardener]

We drove through both Florida coasts from the midpoint to the south looking at cities we had read about and wanted to see them up close. We had been in Naples for 10 years but our HOA turned ugly and after looking around Naples didn't see anything we wanted to buy/live in.

We were actually open to anyplace in the US that wasn't too cold but after discussing taxes, cost of living, distance from relatives (NE area) we decided to stay in FL which we liked.
After seeing both coasts we liked the Gulf more than the Atlantic and liked Sarasota County. Couldn't find the home we liked/could afford (2 years ago) in Sarasota or Bradenton (I know, diff. county) so drifted south and ended up in Englewood because that's where the house was we liked near water.

We also loved Nokomis and Osprey. The hard part is finding a newer than 1980 non-HOA home. Took some work. Like a lot of retirees we have no kids so school quality didn't matter to us.

[Memphis1979]

Well mine was partially work related.

I transfered down from Michigan last year. I knew the center of my area of responsibility was going to be Fort Walton Beach. I looked all over for places to stay. I had a couple of offers from Pensacola Beach, some in Destin, and a couple of others. I had looked at the schools, and Niceville had the best schools in the area. So I looked here, and found someone to rent a room with for my initial move. I then asked around for the best schools vs. property taxes vs. close to the beach community. That seemed to be Bluewater Bay. So I moved into this area of Niceville.

Parks had little to do with it. I just wanted to be close to the beach, with the minimal amount of money spent on rent. That, and I wanted to be centrally located for work.

[faithfulFrank]

I really like where we bought, but I admit, I know little of Florida, and perhaps one day once we know Florida better, I might find someplace I may like more...how do you know?

I do not think i'd like to be much south of Orlando, although I have friends in Tampa, and Fort Myers and they are quite happy. i'm sure I could be happy there as well.

Some say they want to be close to the beach. I can understand this, but one must ask themselves how much are you actually AT the beach or on the water. If you can answer alot, then fine.....but many folks end up admitting they really do not spend as much time there as they thought they would. Everyone is different.

I've heard the Panhadle areas are quite nice. I know it gets colder up there in the winter, but heck, right now it is only 6 degrees here, and I need to snowblow the driveway again, so anyplace south is an upgrade for me. I'd like for freezes to be a rare thing.

Homeowners insurance is higher on the coasts. I like where we are because I'm about 90 minutes from either shore, but inland enough so hurricanes are not as huge of a threat. I'm 40 minutes from Orlando, Disney, etc, but not too close to all that. English seems to still be the dominant language where we are, and I like the amount of lakes, (Lake county) and wildlife we have. Heck, I saw a bobcat walking down the street when I was there last month!

I'm happy with the hospital systems close by, the excellent fire and EMS systems we have, etc.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you ask yourself the right questions, you should be able to narrow the area down pretty well.

Frank

[Guardian of The Gulf]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

I really like where we bought, but I admit, I know little of Florida, and perhaps one day once we know Florida better, I might find someplace I may like more...how do you know?

I do not think i'd like to be much south of Orlando, although I have friends in Tampa, and Fort Myers and they are quite happy. i'm sure I could be happy there as well.

Some say they want to be close to the beach. I can understand this, but one must ask themselves how much are you actually AT the beach or on the water. If you can answer alot, then fine.....but many folks end up admitting they really do not spend as much time there as they thought they would. Everyone is different.

I've heard the Panhadle areas are quite nice. I know it gets colder up there in the winter, but heck, right now it is only 6 degrees here, and I need to snowblow the driveway again, so anyplace south is an upgrade for me. I'd like for freezes to be a rare thing.

Homeowners insurance is higher on the coasts. I like where we are because I'm about 90 minutes from either shore, but inland enough so hurricanes are not as huge of a threat. I'm 40 minutes from Orlando, Disney, etc, but not too close to all that. English seems to still be the dominant language where we are, and I like the amount of lakes, (Lake county) and wildlife we have. Heck, I saw a bobcat walking down the street when I was there last month!

I'm happy with the hospital systems close by, the excellent fire and EMS systems we have, etc.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you ask yourself the right questions, you should be able to narrow the area down pretty well.

Frank

Well said. Even within counties certian areas are worlds apart. In my opinon Florida has something that can appeal to almost anyone, it just takes some time and research to discover what you're actually looking for.

[ChrisA70]

My ex girlfriend back in 1994 talked me into coming to FL. Her dad owned a trailer in Inverness, it was a total shot in the dark coming here, knew nothing about Fl at all, and here I am 15 years later... I ended up in Orlando back then when it was good there. It was a great new experience. Florida is where I learned my career I am in now, where I was married, etc. So as much as I do complain about it here, Florida is still a HUGE part of my life. I don't ever regret coming here. Well, until April when the heat returns!!!! LOL....

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

We kind of just stumbled into where we bought....very unlike me, who is known to spend hours researching the death out of things.

I think one needs to first sort by geographic area.......temperature avg highs and lows. There is a big difference between Miami and the panhandle. Know what you want.

Then, decide if you want coast or inland.

Then decide how close or far one wants to be from major cities, etc.
Then once the area is decided, visit for awhile, looking at different developments, streets, etc. DO YOUR RESEARCH.....in regards to financial stability of the community, HOA fees, future building and infrastructure, tax rates, etc.

Also research hospitals, quality of Fire/EMS/Law enforcement, etc.

Jobs if you need one.

Frank

Fantastic information Frank.

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by imagardener

We drove through both Florida coasts from the midpoint to the south looking at cities we had read about and wanted to see them up close. We had been in Naples for 10 years but our HOA turned ugly and after looking around Naples didn't see anything we wanted to buy/live in.

We were actually open to anyplace in the US that wasn't too cold but after discussing taxes, cost of living, distance from relatives (NE area) we decided to stay in FL which we liked.
After seeing both coasts we liked the Gulf more than the Atlantic and liked Sarasota County. Couldn't find the home we liked/could afford (2 years ago) in Sarasota or Bradenton (I know, diff. county) so drifted south and ended up in Englewood because that's where the house was we liked near water.

We also loved Nokomis and Osprey. The hard part is finding a newer than 1980 non-HOA home. Took some work. Like a lot of retirees we have no kids so school quality didn't matter to us.

This is great advice to anyone. Actually spending time in the areas you like.

Thanks for sharing.

[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Originally Posted by ChrisA70

My ex girlfriend back in 1994 talked me into coming to FL. Her dad owned a trailer in Inverness, it was a total shot in the dark coming here, knew nothing about Fl at all, and here I am 15 years later... I ended up in Orlando back then when it was good there. It was a great new experience. Florida is where I learned my career I am in now, where I was married, etc. So as much as I do complain about it here, Florida is still a HUGE part of my life. I don't ever regret coming here. Well, until April when the heat returns!!!! LOL....

Chris I believe you have lived a several areas of Florida if I am not mistaken and can be fantastic value to those who are looking or want to move to Florida.

[KathyA11]

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days90

I often wondered this.

I know jobs and schools are important to people but I wonder what makes you pick the town you moved to?

Such as close to the beach, family, park, sights, know someone who lives there etc.

We moved from the NYC metro area in northern NJ, and even though we have family in Ft. Myers and on Sanibel, we chose Marion County (we intended to move to Ocala, but found the perfect home in Dunnellon).

We chose it because of its relative safety in hurricane season, and because it's a residential area, not a resort. We didn't want to deal with the higher traffic volume (and before anyone points out that Rt 200 in Ocala has heavy traffic, even at its worse at rush hour, it's nothing compared to Jersey traffic) the attractions would bring, and also felt that property costs and the cost of living would be lower.

Our taxes on a property 10 times the size of our NJ property with a house over twice the size of the house in NJ are a third of what is levied on the NJ house; car insurance is about half what it was in NJ (we expected a drop, but not that much), homeowners' is $100 less for more coverage on a larger house (which was a real shock, since we'd heard horror stories about the prices in FL), and we pay no water or sewer since we have a well and septic (in NJ, we pay about $600/year for water).

We have to pay for garbage here, and are limited in what we can put out, with pickup only once a week; in our hometown in NJ, there is garbage pickup twice a week, with recycling of cardboard, plastic and glass once a week. And if you could get it to the curb, they'll pick it up (I felt so sorry for them when we were dejunking for the move -- twice a week, we had tons of stuff for them to take -- the product of 30 years of marriage, with nearly 20 of those in that house). And taking the cardboard to the recycling center has been an experience....