Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
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Our experience with the weather in general is that central Florida is much less uncomfortable than on either coast.
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Actually the coast is more comfortable due to the breeze off the gulf or ocean .
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Our experience with the weather in general is that central Florida is much less uncomfortable than on either coast.
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Would like to hear from anyone who does live in Central Florida, year round, to hear what they think.
CDD's are rampant in central and northern Fl and many are beginning to default. The Villages just lost a major court case in which there bond's will no longer be tax exempt which will impede further financing. My research tells me Julington Creek Plantation maybe the best of the bunch.A different way of looking at it? I am trying to think of reasons why we *wouldn't* want to move to St. Augustine, FL. Here are the things we know about which suit us:
--No state income tax (OK, that's all of FL)
--Moderate climate (not stinky hot, not freezing cold)
--Smaller, less frantic pace of life
--Schools are said to be good
Any negatives?
Amethyst
Actually the coast is more comfortable due to the breeze off the gulf or ocean .
Wife wants me to go to Arizona with her for spring training. Sounds like it could be fun but Florida would be so much easier and cheaper to get to.
Ugh, wow! Wonder what makes the crime rate so high compared with the rest of the country? Our current zip code is rated a "3."
Amethyst
LOTS and LOTS of tourists!
Mike
CDD's are rampant in central and northern Fl and many are beginning to default. The Villages just lost a major court case in which there bond's will no longer be tax exempt which will impede further financing. My research tells me Julington Creek Plantation maybe the best of the bunch.
Schools are better in Northern part of St.Johns county including PV and PVB.
Be careful of elevation, built on slab,any sort of water frontage (Ocean,river,lake,canal,recharge basin) as fairly soon Fema will be eliminating subsidies and redrawing flood maps.
Underfunded budgets for HOA's and Condo's and liability insurance are primary area's of concern.
I still love the idea of St.Johns county (on paper) and it is in my top two choices along with Peachtree City,Ga at this point.
We are still in Atlanta.
about 8 hours to the Beach during the winter (St. Pete's) and 5 + during the spring and fall
OK, you are former Navy - are you also Cubs fan (Wrigley)?
Wrigley,Julington Creek has been around for quite some time. It has built up so fast and so much it's almost like a city within a city. Don't get me wrong......it is a nice area to live in but it now has it's own schools, shopping centers, ball fields, soccer fields, that the original "home town" community feel has escaped.
Mike
And more importantly, are those bulldogs yours? If so, what are their names?
Wrigley,
I only mentioned it in relation to the financial risks of a CDD such as Nocatee or Durbin crossing. I will have 2 young children so St.John's schools and proximity to UF in Gainesville are driving my decision, although I find Mandarin in Duval county interesting.
I am retired but my wife will be working for another 20 years, so we will probably need to be in commuting distance of Jacksonville, which is why we are not looking at Amelia Island.
Fruit Cove seems to check most of our boxes,
I see you are in Jax, any advice to offer?
They sure are! They are sisters from the same litter and will be 7 years old in June. We brought them home from the breeder the day after they turned 8 weeks old. We have had at least one bulldog in our family spanning the past 16 years. Emma is in the foreground and Shea (my wife's the Met's fan ) is in the background (on my avatar) .
Mike
I think I linked a couple pics.
Thanks for the pics Mike!
Nothing cuter than a bulldog, IMHO. We brought our bulldog Bowser (my son named him after the Mario video game character) home at 8 weeks as well.
Bowser lived a long (11 years) and happy life, mostly on the couch snoring, before leaving us two years ago. I would love to get a rescue bullie....
Wow. I don't know that I am strong enough to get to love a pet that will be with us for so short a time. Our Pomapoo is 9 now and still acts mostly like a puppy. No shedding, no drooling, and we are not allergic. Dog is way too smart and we have to spell some words around him...until he catches on to that too, of course! At 15 lbs, their life expectancy is about 20 years.My first bully was "Otis". He was 9 when he died. He had cancer and was a very sickly dog for most of the latter part of his life. I'm sure the new corvette my vet was driving was paid for by my wife and I.
Mike
I am not sure if this has been presented on E-R before:For fun, I did an "expense" exercise for 3 options: living in Bay Area, in Sacramento/CA, and The villages/Florida. To maintain my current living standard at RE, it'd take $120000/year, $95000, and $90000, respectively. I can RE now in Sac/CA & Florida. RE in Bay Area will only have 84% success via FireCalc (I need to work 1 more year).
I am not sure if this has been presented on E-R before:
Vancouver is 72% more expensive than Puerto Vallarta. Cost of Living Feb 2014
This comparison is mostly because Vancouver is so expensive. In fact, by living in PV for 6 months, we can afford a European trip every year and still save a bundle.
PV is also 41% cheaper than St Louis. It is also half the price of Honolulu. This is for living not vacationing.
I am not sure if this has been presented on E-R before:
Vancouver is 72% more expensive than Puerto Vallarta. Cost of Living Feb 2014
This comparison is mostly because Vancouver is so expensive. In fact, by living in PV for 6 months, we can afford a European trip every year and still save a bundle.
PV is also 41% cheaper than St Louis. It is also half the price of Honolulu. This is for living not vacationing.
Sacramento is quite a bit hotter and flatter, but some of the overbuilt Bay Area fringe suburbs will get you a newish house with low maintenance costs, still give you easy access to the Bay Area and all the parks, beaches, museums, airports and attractions for half the price or less of closer in housing.
Even when I'm not driving, the idea of all those cars idling near my house (about 1/3 of a mile from a major intersection as the crow flies) is something I think about a lot.