Exploring South FL

[Karl]

We spent January in Naples, 1 rainy day and 1 cool week, never did turn on the heat but we are from MI - wore shorts even on the cool days. We had 3 great weeks of weather - warmer than normal. Naples is very nice but pricey. No sign of damage that I saw. Not sure about hotels but airbnb type lodging would be hard to find - I think - unless you are looking a year in advance. Traffic is a pain - we try to book superior locations - hopefully can walk to beach and food and avoid driving. The nice thing about staying for a month is you figure out the shorts cuts so to speak and save some time and frustration. Have spent a time in Fort Myers Beach - not but congested. Prefer between Clearwater Beach and St Pete's Beach - less pricey, lots of beach and stuff.

 

[mpeirce]

We spent January in Naples, 1 rainy day and 1 cool week, never did turn on the heat but we are from MI - wore shorts even on the cool days. We had 3 great weeks of weather - warmer than normal. Naples is very nice but pricey. No sign of damage that I saw.

We were in Naples in January too. Stayed a few days at a friends house at one of the gated communities where we did a lot of walking. Many, many of the roofs in the area were getting replaced. Had to be storm damage, since many of the places weren't very old.

 

[Dtail]

I agree. My sister and BIL live there and we’ve visited many times. However it gets pretty chilly in the winter. Might be fine if you’re from the North or Midwest, but if you’re looking for somewhere you can enjoy the beach and swim in the water year-around, deep South FL is the only viable choice that I know of in the Continental US.

True on the beach side of things. As to great winter weather though, Tampa averages 3 days in Jan with highs only in the 50's. The average highs in Dec through Feb are 70-76 degrees.

 

[JoeWras]

True on the beach side of things. As to great winter weather though, Tampa averages 3 days in Jan with highs only in the 50's. The average highs in Dec through Feb are 70-76 degrees.

As a full time resident, I enjoyed those rare, cool, cloudy days in the dead of winter. No big deal.

I think sometimes people who come for vacation and happen on those days feel cheated and it makes a mark. For residents, it is just a blip.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

As a full time resident, I enjoyed those rare, cool, cloudy days in the dead of winter. No big deal.

I think sometimes people who come for vacation and happen on those days feel cheated and it makes a mark. For residents, it is just a blip.

What he said.


Also, when we were in Naples last year looking at property, we noticed all the roof work being done also. It seems to be taking a long time to correct. But the traffic and line ups for everything made moving there a showstopper for us. We are very spoilt in our little piece of FLA.

 

[Dtail]

As a full time resident, I enjoyed those rare, cool, cloudy days in the dead of winter. No big deal.

I think sometimes people who come for vacation and happen on those days feel cheated and it makes a mark. For residents, it is just a blip.

I agree with you. The DGF though would rather have 80+ weather 100% of the time. lol

 

[Aerides]

As a full time resident, I enjoyed those rare, cool, cloudy days in the dead of winter. No big deal.

I think sometimes people who come for vacation and happen on those days feel cheated and it makes a mark. For residents, it is just a blip.

Same, the few days the heat kicks in are glorious! If someone is here for vacation in January, and is surprised by those blips, they didn't do any research (and it's still warmer than wherever they came from).

 

[ShokWaveRider]

66 Degrees and rising here on the Historic coast at 8am, slightly overcast, not too shabby. And yes, for us FLA folk it is ALL about the weather, that and the beach for some.

 

[Nick12]

What he said.


Also, when we were in Naples last year looking at property, we noticed all the roof work being done also. It seems to be taking a long time to correct. But the traffic and lie ups for everything made moving there a showstopper for us. We are very spoilt in our little piece of FLA.

That's nothing new in Florida. When a storm does a lot of damage to hundreds of roofs of homes sometimes it takes a few years to get your roof fixed.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

That's nothing new in Florida. When a storm does a lot of damage to hundreds of roofs of homes sometimes it takes a few years to get your roof fixed.

That is OK I suppose, unless it is one's own home..... Ours here were all fixed after 1 month after Mathew.

 

[Moemg]

That's nothing new in Florida. When a storm does a lot of damage to hundreds of roofs of homes sometimes it takes a few years to get your roof fixed.

After Irma I lost some roof tiles .It took over a year to get them replaced .

 

[Scuba]

True on the beach side of things. As to great winter weather though, Tampa averages 3 days in Jan with highs only in the 50's. The average highs in Dec through Feb are 70-76 degrees.

Southern CA is what we’d be getting away from because it’s too cold for us here in the winter. Our average high Dec-Feb is 67. We’d like to go somewhere where average high is 75+ and the water temperature is as close to 80+ as possible.

 

[JoeWras]

Southern CA is what we’d be getting away from because it’s too cold for us here in the winter. Our average high Dec-Feb is 67. We’d like to go somewhere where average high is 75+ and the water temperature is as close to 80+ as possible.

Consider the Florida Keys.

 

[Dtail]

Southern CA is what we’d be getting away from because it’s too cold for us here in the winter. Our average high Dec-Feb is 67. We’d like to go somewhere where average high is 75+ and the water temperature is as close to 80+ as possible.

Possibly then Naples or Miami.

 

[kgtest]

Southern CA is what we’d be getting away from because it’s too cold for us here in the winter. Our average high Dec-Feb is 67. We’d like to go somewhere where average high is 75+ and the water temperature is as close to 80+ as possible.

Or Hawaii. West side. Kihei, Wailea, lahaina, Kona. Diomondback

 

[Scuba]

I think Hawaii or USVI would probably be better for us than S FL. I looked up water temperatures and was surprised that Key West is 73 in January. Pretty chilly!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I think Hawaii or USVI would probably be better for us than S FL. I looked up water temperatures and was surprised that Key West is 73 in January. Pretty chilly!

Problem with the USVIs is that one is almost guaranteed some form of storm damage on an predictable and annual basis. Hawaii is simply too expensive for most retirees now.

 

[Scuba]

Problem with the USVIs is that one is almost guaranteed some form of storm damage on an predictable and annual basis. Hawaii is simply too expensive for most retirees now.

Annual basis? USVI had major hurricanes in 1989, 1995, and two in 2017. It’s a risk to be sure, but 4 major hurricanes in 18 years isn’t annual.

Some friends of ours recently sold their house in So CA for well over $1M and bought a simple but newer home on the Big Island for less than half that amount. She said food is expensive but property taxes are much lower. Still, I agree with you that in general Hawaii is very expensive, even relative to So CA.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

There are some nice homes here in Ormond beach not too far from the beach in a X Flood Zone.

https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sa....150052,29.388064,-81.168334_rect/15_zm/1_fr/

 

[Cut-Throat]

Annual basis? USVI had major hurricanes in 1989, 1995, and two in 2017. It’s a risk to be sure, but 4 major hurricanes in 18 years isn’t annual.

Some friends of ours recently sold their house in So CA for well over $1M and bought a simple but newer home on the Big Island for less than half that amount. She said food is expensive but property taxes are much lower. Still, I agree with you that in general Hawaii is very expensive, even relative to So CA.

If you are looking for warmth, I'd skip Hawaii and go to the V.I. ---- I am currently in Hawaii for the last 3 months.... Molokai and Maui -- and it gets a bit chilly for me in the Evenings..... Also it is far more windy here than in the Caribbean. If you are just looking for water temp, Hawaii would be OK, as they don't get severe cold fronts.



Also Hawaii can be a bit isolated from the Continental U.S. --- But, I am guessing that Food is much more expensive in the V.I. than Hawaii ..... We aren't finding the food prices in Hawaii that bad... We wintered in the Bahamas for 3 years and food was generally twice as much as U.S. Mainland...

 

[Cut-Throat]

Annual basis? USVI had major hurricanes in 1989, 1995, and two in 2017. It’s a risk to be sure, but 4 major hurricanes in 18 years isn’t annual.

Some friends of ours recently sold their house in So CA for well over $1M and bought a simple but newer home on the Big Island for less than half that amount. She said food is expensive but property taxes are much lower. Still, I agree with you that in general Hawaii is very expensive, even relative to So CA.

Or if you really want to think outside of the Box, the Northeast Coast of Australia is probably perfect for you... We wintered last year in Hervey Bay, North of Brisbane... And the weather is perfectly Hot... The people in So. Calif. could only dream of real estate prices this cheap near the ocean. Most any community North of Brisbane would give you want you want... And You'd pretty much be on the Great Barrier Reef!



You can get a retirement visa if you prove financial assets (I think it's only $500K of Liquid)....


Rent a winter there (Ours) and see if it's your cup of tea!

 

[Scuba]

If you are looking for warmth, I'd skip Hawaii and go to the V.I. ---- I am currently in Hawaii for the last 3 months.... Molokai and Maui -- and it gets a bit chilly for me in the Evenings..... Also it is far more windy here than in the Caribbean. If you are just looking for water temp, Hawaii would be OK, as they don't get severe cold fronts.



Also Hawaii can be a bit isolated from the Continental U.S. --- But, I am guessing that Food is much more expensive in the V.I. than Hawaii ..... We aren't finding the food prices in Hawaii that bad... We wintered in the Bahamas for 3 years and food was generally twice as much as U.S. Mainland...

Thanks for this information. Another thing we hadn’t thought much about is wave action. Since we like diving and snorkeling, high surf is not desirable for us. Friends told us they prefer Hawaii to the Caribbean because of the waves in Hawaii. Made us realize the Caribbean may be better for us for that reason alone.

 

[Scuba]

Or if you really want to think outside of the Box, the Northeast Coast of Australia is probably perfect for you... We wintered last year in Hervey Bay, North of Brisbane... And the weather is perfectly Hot... The people in So. Calif. could only dream of real estate prices this cheap near the ocean. Most any community North of Brisbane would give you want you want... And You'd pretty much be on the Great Barrier Reef!



You can get a retirement visa if you prove financial assets (I think it's only $500K of Liquid)....


Rent a winter there (Ours) and see if it's your cup of tea!

Great idea!

 

[mpeirce]

Made us realize the Caribbean may be better for us for that reason alone.

If you have a generous budget, look at St. John USVI. There's lots of nature (US National Park covers most of the island) and so many really awesome beaches. There is an underwater trail in the park for snorkelers in Trunk Bay (one of the nicest beach in the world).


Also, the weather during winter is excellent. Today's water temp is 79°

 

[Scuba]

If you have a generous budget, look at St. John USVI. There's lots of nature (US National Park covers most of the island) and so many really awesome beaches. There is an underwater trail in the park for snorkelers in Trunk Bay (one of the nicest beach in the world).





Also, the weather during winter is excellent. Today's water temp is 79°

Yes, I agree, St. John is beautiful. We love Maho Bay, Francis Bay, Cinnamon Bay, Hawksnest, and Leiner. We volunteered with Red Cross after Irmaria in 2017 on STJ for 2 weeks and STT for 2 weeks. How is the recovery coming along?