Florida revisited...

[rayinpenn]

My sister and brother in law live in Port Richie, Florida in one of those massive new gated townhome communities that are growing in the state like weeds. Their home is beautiful, all the tile and stone work and the sun room with pool and has a view of a size-able man made lake. They’ve only moved in recently so this was my fist look.. the Mrs and I were enthralled. We’ve been there before as both of my wife’s older sisters own similar lovely town homes. Pools, waterfalls, designer kitchens, etc.,

We took one of my sister in laws home one night she lives in Venice, Florida. On the way over we saw the endless development along the way. A new hospital and endless town home communities and oh that traffic. Yeah Ive talked about it before, my feelings have been reinforced. There’s no doubt i love to fish, the heat in winter but the growth. Think of a V8 with the peddle to the floor - there are limits to growth.

Oh and there was one more surprise for me my- brother in law took me to his garage/man cave. There it was, a shinny blue convertible mustang. Yeah simply gorgeous - some very nice zoom zoo. They are very careful with money so I’m not worried. He said this may be my last chance

On the ride back the Mrs had the same misgivings about Florida but she said thats were the relatives are.

 

[pb4uski]

I think you're too much of a worry wart about traffic Ray. The key is just to judiciously pick the times that you travel. We try not to travel during rush hours. We do occasionally get caught in annoying traffic, but it is rare.

 

[harley]

During the season the traffic can be/is maddening, but it gets dark early in winter and many old people don't drive after dark. We do a lot of our errand running between 6 and 9 pm, and it's not too bad. When the season ends so does the traffic.

However, the growth is worrying, but what can you do? It's not like I'm a native cracker. As long as the people are moving down there the value of my house is going up. And anyway, it's not like Wilmington is flyover country.

 

[Dtail]

Not specifically familiar with Port Ritchey, but just make sure you check out the whole surrounding area.
There are parts of West Pasco County which you would not want to walk around at night.

 

[Buckeye]

Not specifically familiar with Port Ritchey, but just make sure you check out the whole surrounding area.
There are parts of West Pasco County which you would not want to walk around at night.

Or during the day! Maybe the new development will help clean up the area. Some serious drug (opiod) issues around there.

 

[Senator]

Levy county area is still a bargain. I purchased a 2007 house (double wide) on 5 acres for $80K.

I can count on one hand the number of cars that go by in a day.

 

[rayinpenn]

I think you're too much of a worry wart about traffic Ray. The key is just to judiciously pick the times that you travel. We try not to travel during rush hours. We do occasionally get caught in annoying traffic, but it is rare.

Perhaps. It isnt just the traffic its the congestion, the acres of similar houses that look like a scene out of the matrix. Ive never enjoyed crowds, cities and general over crowding.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Oh No, Not Again, traffic, bugs, Alligators, Sinkholes, Hurricanes, Long waits at.. well everywhere, Geriatrics driving backwards on the freeway.

Run Away, Run Away...… LOL

 

[Amethyst]

The developments you've been visiting, were engineered to appeal to the largest number of buyers. The houses are alike so they will be cheap to build (while having all the interior bells and whistles customers want, and which impressed you), and the yards are tiny because it keeps the HOA dues down.

We have half an acre, near a beach access, and no clubhouse, gates, or HOA (sometimes I wish we had them, sometimes I'm glad we don't). Every home in the neighborhood looks different. There is a lot of snowbird traffic during "season," but right now it is all FL license plates. After Thanksgiving we'll see lots of plates from New England and PA, the gym will be overcrowded again, getting to a restaurant will be torture (so we won't do it) and the beach will be lined with surf fishing poles.

Florida is huge, and contrary to what some will tell you, it is not yet entirely full. Getting to be, but not quite there yet. If you really want to live here, you have to tell some real estate agents what you want. They will find you something. If you don't have to live in Palm Beach County and farther south, they can even find acreage. We almost bought an older house on 2 acres (with its very own gates!), but it was soon going to be surrounded by the type of developments you describe, and we didn't want that.

Perhaps. It isnt just the traffic its the congestion, the acres of similar houses that look like a scene out of the matrix. Ive never enjoyed crowds, cities and general over crowding.

 

[pb4uski]

Perhaps. It isnt just the traffic its the congestion, the acres of similar houses that look like a scene out of the matrix. Ive never enjoyed crowds, cities and general over crowding.

IME with our winter condo.... crowds, cities and overcrowding are virtually non-existant and I live in a very rural area in Vermont in the summer... we do run into crowds if we attend the various festivals or weekend events in the area but we can easily avoid them but we do go to some of those things occasionally... while we live in a condo community the highest building is two stories and we have lots of flora and fauna... far from overcrowding.

 

[pb4uski]

.... Florida is huge, and contrary to what some will tell you, it is not yet entirely full. ...

+1 If one goes a mile or two in certain directions from our winter condo you are in cow pastures.

 

[Dtail]

In general, some of inner Florida and a lot of the Northern areas will be much less crowded.
There will be positives and negatives to some folks in living in these more rural lower COL areas.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

On a serious note. There are definitely some beautiful condo and similar "lock up and leave" developments in Florida, we looked at one recently in our area. The homes are as you say very nice, but we did not like the area of this particular one. We looked at a few others and they seem to be building them in, what up until VERY RECENTLY were not so desirable locations. I assume they do so to keep the prices down. I do not know if we are ready for that yet. Like anything else, they will no doubt improve with age.

 

[Dtail]

The Villages is another example. Everything is self contained, but go outside the Villages and the surrounding areas are not that nice for the most part.

 

[Quacker]

Oh No, Not Again, traffic, bugs, Alligators, Sinkholes, Hurricanes, Long waits at.. well everywhere, Geriatrics driving backwards on the freeway.
Run Away, Run Away...… LOL

Sinkholes are no joke IMHO. Pasco County (to include Port Richie) is in Sinkhole Alley. Google Pasco County sinkholes and see what you think. Spooky stuff.

 

[ckelly78z]

If you want less congestion/traffic/noise in Florida (East, or West coast), you may need to look inland at properties that aren't near the coast, but still possibly on a river, or lake.

I believe you can buy alot more house value for less money in a less desirable location, but still within an easy drive to the coast, or family.

 

[gerntz]

How are the boa constrictors doing?

 

[Dtail]

How are the boa constrictors doing?

Only in the Everglades for now....

 

[Teacher Terry]

Are you thinking of year round living or just winter? While the older crowd is in Florida aren’t your kids nearby where you are now? I am not a fan of communities where everything looks the same.

 

[Bamaman]

Wonder where Florida residents go on vacations?

They go tot he mountains of Northeast Georgia, Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. About every third auto license plate in the mountains is from Florida.

I would assume there is a reason they go there.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Wonder where Florida residents go on vacations?

We go to Mexico or the Caribbean in the winter, yes we like the heat.

 

[omni550]

They go tot he mountains of Northeast Georgia, Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. About every third auto license plate in the mountains is from Florida.

I would assume there is a reason they go there.

Maybe that's "home" for those folks. I see a lot of FL plates in Michigan in the summer/fall.

omni

 

[harley]

As far as the building out goes, I have to admire their (the developers) acumen. In Lee county where I live there are a number of quarries. And as the quarries are mined out or hit water developers are building high end "lake front" properties. Basically turning relatively worthless land into a gold mine. I'm not fond of the results, but you have to admit it's very clever.

 

[pb4uski]

The clever thing the developers do in our area is that they clear the land and fence it and put in cattle to get an agricultural exemption for property taxes while they are waiting for permits and getting ready to break ground.

There was a big area down the road from us that is fenced in with cattle... when we get down there in a week or so I'm keen to see if they have started building yet.

 

[Richard4444]

I've lived in Palm Beach County for 22 years and am glad I made the move from Boston. The first year was the adjustment. If you don't want to deal with traffic, drive after rush hour and before noon - pretty reasonable. In season the restaurants are too busy because many snowbirds eat out every single night, so if you have reservations at restaurants, not a problem, or else frequent the local places. Those who live here do not have convertibles - it's just wayyyy too hot at traffic lights, etc. And (YMMV) it's better to live in a place with a heat index than with a wind chill factor !

Rich