John's Island, Florida

From time to time there are hurricanes on both sides of FL. Pensacola Beach got hit hard once or twice in living memory. Storm surges on low islands are NOT fun.
 
Not to be flippant, the whole state. Vero Beach and area are wonderful places. I've visited the area many times, my parents lived a little south of there(Palm City) for over 30 years. We would always go out on the barrier islands for an afternoon when they were in their younger years. When DF first retired he was a fishing guide in that area. I spent many hours with him fishing the Indian River and the intercostal, good fishing.

All that said, what about the area is the draw to you? At the price points on the link, you could go most anywhere in the state(Key West might be more challenging).

As mentioned these places are subject to hurricanes. You don't want to be caught in the evacuation effort. Wife's parents built a wonderful home on Marathon Key, one side had a view of the Gulf, the other the Atlantic. When Andrew came through they had major panic problems trying to get out of Keys. They sold their dream home shortly after that.

Have you spent any time in FL.? It's great, well maybe not in tourist season, unless crowds don't bother you. I would strongly recommend visiting areas you're interested in(without your checkbook) both before and during the peak season to help you decide.

Both coasts, Keys, and panhandle are wonderful places. We almost bought a place 2 years ago in the Florida mountains. Fantastic area too, it's about where you want to be, what your interests are.

Good luck,

MRG
 
MRG said:
Both coasts, Keys, and panhandle are wonderful places. We almost bought a place 2 years ago in the Florida mountains. Fantastic area too, it's about where you want to be, what your interests are.

Good luck,

MRG
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Florida Mountains:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:
 
MRG said:
Both coasts, Keys, and panhandle are wonderful places. We almost bought a place 2 years ago in the Florida mountains. Fantastic area too, it's about where you want to be, what your interests are.
Click to expand...
I don't think anything in Florida could be considered a mountain, hehe. Half of the state will be underwater in a short geologic while. But maybe then your place will be beachfront property!
 
Check out central Fl. (Not Legands), while not 'truly' mountains by the textbook defination, it's 450 Ft. Edit (highest point is 340 feet) and hilly. Some, not all lakes are spring feed, crystal waters. One of the states better kept secrets. And your 60 minutes to beach. Of course there's that sinkhole stuff.

MRG
 
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JPatrick said:
Wow!! Did that drop from 450 to 340 occur just as you were posting??;);)
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No, my feable overconfident brain, I have to check my facts. I know it's 110 ft, now you can't go sledding!

MRG
 
MRG said:
Not to be flippant, the whole state. Vero Beach and area are wonderful places. I've visited the area many times, my parents lived a little south of there(Palm City) for over 30 years. We would always go out on the barrier islands for an afternoon when they were in their younger years. When DF first retired he was a fishing guide in that area. I spent many hours with him fishing the Indian River and the intercostal, good fishing.

All that said, what about the area is the draw to you? At the price points on the link, you could go most anywhere in the state(Key West might be more challenging).

As mentioned these places are subject to hurricanes. You don't want to be caught in the evacuation effort. Wife's parents built a wonderful home on Marathon Key, one side had a view of the Gulf, the other the Atlantic. When Andrew came through they had major panic problems trying to get out of Keys. They sold their dream home shortly after that.

Have you spent any time in FL.? It's great, well maybe not in tourist season, unless crowds don't bother you. I would strongly recommend visiting areas you're interested in(without your checkbook) both before and during the peak season to help you decide.

Both coasts, Keys, and panhandle are wonderful places. We almost bought a place 2 years ago in the Florida mountains. Fantastic area too, it's about where you want to be, what your interests are.

Good luck,

MRG
Click to expand...

Thanks.

We have not spent any extended period of time in Florida. We are looking for someplace warm in the winter, and the tax aspect is very attractive. We would like to be near big water, but are looking for someplace less crowded, so the Vero Beach area looks attractive. Good fishing is an added bonus.

We like Key West to visit, but wouldn't want to live there (expensive, too touristy, no beaches, hard to get to/from).

We would likely never be there during hurrican season.

We definitely intend to visit.
 
Isn't John's Island for the rich and beautiful? Ex CEO of megacorp had a winter home there. Several mil if I remember correctly.

Too rich for my accounts :) But overall, Vero is a pretty nice area.
 
We live in St. Augustine Florida, about 1 Mile from the Beach. About 40 minutes South there are GREAT deals on water property or non water in Palm Coast. Do not go near Daytona, crazy there and way too built up. St. Augustine is a little more expensive than most sanely pricesd coastal towns in FLA, but there is a 4 story building limit so no high rises. We like that. Palm Coast is nice, lots of affordable water property too. St. Augustine is short of "Navigable" water but plenty of lakes.

We seem to be in a weather window between Jacksonville and Smyrna Beach. We do get the "Tail" end of the bad weather from both coasts but the last direct hit was a long time ago. Insurance is high on the Coast side of A1A otherwise it is reasonable. COL is OK. Lots to do and pretty close to everything. Winters can be cool, if you call the mid 50's cool, usually about 15 - 20 days of that otherwise 70's is the norm. We do get the odd "freeze" but only at night and never below 32*F, warms up quickly most days. Lots of sunshine and very tolerable rainfall.

Summers can get warm, but there is always a breeze by the coasts and just "To Die For" by the beach. any place inland is a swamp in Florida and you need to be related to a mosquito or alligator to live there (IMHO of course).
Personally I travelled all over Florida before settling here (Actually by accident) and just hate the High Rises of the Gulf Coast and South Florida.
 
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I've lived in Fl a long time...Dunedin is small but very nice and has a very nice beach. Gulfport is also nice and very close to the beaches. My one suggestion though is to definitely look into the cost of flood insurance or at least read related articles about the rise in prices, if you plan to buy on the water.
 
MRG said:
Check out central Fl. (Not Legands), while not 'truly' mountains by the textbook defination, it's 450 Ft. Edit (highest point is 340 feet) and hilly. Some, not all lakes are spring feed, crystal waters. One of the states better kept secrets. And your 60 minutes to beach. Of course there's that sinkhole stuff.

MRG
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That's rich. I live less than mile from salt water, ~ 450 feet! It isn't even considered a hill.

Ha
 
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He-who-laughs lives in the Emerald City, about 2,500 miles from Tampa, on a hill named Queen Anne (if memory serves). He lives in the shadow of the Space Needle. ;) No 'gators in his front yard.

We also have TREES (as separate and distinct from 'trees') and MOUNTAINS (well, you know; same story). Mt Rainier is 14,400 ft and spare change.
 
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I consider 'Florida's mountains' to be the thunderheads that pile up there. (Not original with me, by the way.) I am sure you can see those storms from the moon.

You have to fly into Tampa in stormy weather at night with a window seat to get the idea.

We tried spook hill. No joy. I am guessing like "The Oregon Vortex"--local hokum. Still, when we have more time, we may try it again.
 
No hills in Florida? The southeast corner of my home 40 is 75 FASL, while up by the road in front of the house is 112 FASL. 37 feet over a quarter mile isn't much of a hill, but it isn't flat either.

I will save you guys the trouble of checking out NW Florida. Our skeeters are so bad, the gators have to use deet. We have desert and swamp, all within five miles of each other. Too dry to farm one, too wet the other. And if you buy a tractor newer than ten years old, your neighbors will think you are trying to be uppity.

Speaking of neighbors, I checked on Rosetta Stone.com, and they don't offer a course in redneck. So you will need to find someone to translate for you doing simple task like buying gas or groceries. Don't even try going to the farmer's co-op for dog food unless you are wearing your over-all's.

So to sum up, don't come to NW Florida. You won't like it, and it is too crowded already. In the three hours I have been sitting at my PC this morning, four cars have gone by on the road. And I didn't know one of them.

Seriously, I have lived an hour away from the Gulf my whole life. That is about as close as I would like to be. In Florida tourist effect everything, even the weather report on your local news. We have to watch a Dothan Al station to get away from tourist weather. {the weather drone will say "no chance of rain this weekend. Come on down," when you have been in a six month drought and are praying for rain} The closer to the coast you are, the more you will pay for everything.
 
Larro Darro said:
No hills in Florida? The southeast corner of my home 40 is 75 FASL, while up by the road in front of the house is 112 FASL. 37 feet over a quarter mile isn't much of a hill, but it isn't flat either.

I will save you guys the trouble of checking out NW Florida. Our skeeters are so bad, the gators have to use deet. We have desert and swamp, all within five miles of each other. Too dry to farm one, too wet the other. And if you buy a tractor newer than ten years old, your neighbors will think you are trying to be uppity.

Speaking of neighbors, I checked on Rosetta Stone.com, and they don't offer a course in redneck. So you will need to find someone to translate for you doing simple task like buying gas or groceries. Don't even try going to the farmer's co-op for dog food unless you are wearing your over-all's.

So to sum up, don't come to NW Florida. You won't like it, and it is too crowded already. In the three hours I have been sitting at my PC this morning, four cars have gone by on the road. And I didn't know one of them.

Seriously, I have lived an hour away from the Gulf my whole life. That is about as close as I would like to be. In Florida tourist effect everything, even the weather report on your local news. We have to watch a Dothan Al station to get away from tourist weather. {the weather drone will say "no chance of rain this weekend. Come on down," when you have been in a six month drought and are praying for rain} The closer to the coast you are, the more you will pay for everything.
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Pretty happy here in Florida today. Did some fishing and kayaking today with DW, some pool time. Probably golf in the morning if I have energy. And the lack of hills makes for more comfortable bike rides. :)
 
Ha Ha..... Northeast FLA is a lot more fun, still no hills but. There are a few bugs but they are tolerable, people come here for the history not the beaches, we have those all to ourselves....
 
Hush, don't tell everybody.

MRG
 
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