1KULC7

Would not move to the Villages if you paid my way. First place I ever been too that had a traffic jam of golf carts, yes it was a traffic jam, backup up traffic of carts. Houses are cheap construction, high cost, Bonds are added into your cost, plus homeowners and activity fees. RIP OFF, unless you got a lot of expendable income when you work or retire. I am concentrating my search near Kissimmee, south or Orlando.... been there several times and like it.

RatDog

For anyone thinking about relocating to Florida from the north, if you haven't visited Florida in June, July, or August, I recommend that you do so. It is oppressively hot down here. I've lived in Florida for most of my life (south Florida, central Florida, panhandle) and I've never gotten used to it. If you've never considered adding A/C to your Corvette, that thought will most certainly cross your mind down here. Also, my garage would hit 110 degrees in the summer so I air conditioned it.

Even with the hot summers, I still wouldn't live anywhere else. Winters are outstanding down here. I'm just saying to know what you're getting into. Air conditioning is your friend.

Steve

Jackie Chan

Martin county. Stuart/jupiter/or jensen beach. Seminole County is garbage, I grew up in central Florida. Lived in Jensen Beach and then got transferred to Jacksonville and live in Ponte Vedra. Martin county is awesome. Schools are great,water is great, close to west palm, less than 3 hours to miami and the keys.

Nelson765

I don't have a recommendation on where to move but I have a strong recommendation where not to move! Stay away from South Florida. I've been in Miami Dade County for the last 25 years due to my career choice. Can't wait to move away from this area. Where do I start; very high property taxes (probably the highest in the state), traffic is unbelievably heavy most of the day, homeowners insurance is off the chart high (homeowners insuranse is a triple wammy, 1st standard homeowners - higher than most places, 2nd Windstorm insurance, very high and 3rd flood insurance since most of South Florida is in a flood zone. The worst drivers, resulting in the higher car insurance, high crime/drugs, corrupted local government, corrupted businesses everywhere, highest fraud in the nation, schools are a hit or miss (mostly miss). Services are also pretty expensive and poor quality. Other than that, it is a great place! Broward and Palm Beach counties are not much better and Orlando is even worst. I love the state and I'm planning on retire in a couple of years and will retire here but not in South Florida or Orlando. Best of luck.

RatDog

I agree with all of that. Moved to Miami in 1971 for a job. Left 8 years later because I couldn't stand the area and never went back. We're in central Florida now, about a hour north of Orlando and really like it here. This is where we will live out our retirement years.

Steve

Mike Campbell

It all depends what you like. I've been all over the state of Florida and found out long ago that Lee & Collier Counties are the best places to live in . The crappy weather normally stalls just south of I 4. The east coast is a mini-New York urban sprawl. If you like cities, go there. If you are upper middle class, you'll love Naples, Estero, Bonita and South Fort Myers. And if you love Corvettes, they're like popcorn down here. Just saying.

pokerpro

Yes you are on point with all of that.

snow

There are great places to live throughout FLA if you have the right income. I have grown up in South Fla, 55 years now... Grew up in Miami, these days we live in west Broward, way west... In Dade County there is Cocoplum, Gables by the Sea, Pinecrest, Aventura, Star island. In Broward, Weston, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches... plenty of up scale neighborhoods each with great schools. Good luck.

RatDog

That would be Rennigers. Huge flea market and antique center. They have a "Guitars & Cars" show once a month.

Steve

Ol'55

Mike? We moved here (Florida) this past September from Southern New Jersey, and feel as long as you stay away from the cities (just like New Jersey?) you will make a better choice in real estate. We weren't ignorant to Florida as the Wife's parents and two Sisters were already here for years. Other folks from our Corvette Club have been trickling here for the past 10 years, so we had good knowledge of areas of interest. We liked what (retail MAGNET) The Villages in Lake/Sumter Counties brought, but as others here have stated it's not for everyone (and not for us either!) We bought 2 minutes OUTSIDE The Villages in The Fairways in Rolling Hills in Wildwood,FL 34785 (isn't that a hoot!) where we gain all the Villages has to offer without the restrictions, and fees. My suggestion is to "visit" Corvette owners already here, where most of us enjoy friends visiting the state, and encourage folks to investigate the state and all it offers. Maybe "rent" in an area of interest to get it correct the first time. This place is a whole state of things to do, financially MUCH better than "The North" with more sensible government, great gun laws, wonderful road systems, and for the most part nice people. The Wife and I have no children, so school systems were never an issue, but in our real estate search had seen graph declarations of the level of academics offered in each area of interest. We had the same real estate agent during our year and a half search who had all the answers to our questions. Let us know if we can help you in your search, and best of a good time doing so.

RatDog

Yep, in fact the legislature is currently proposing the elimination of "gun free zones" in the State.

Steve

cor28vettes

And if you don't have a gun when entering FL, one will be issued at the Welcome Center.

RatDog

LOL! That's funny, but maybe appropriate. The first photo was taken at either the Welcome Center or one of the rest stops along I-75. The other one was posted awhile back by another Florida resident on this forum.




Steve

Mike Campbell

They don't call it the "Gun Shine State" for no reason! After all do you really want to face a snake or a gator with a handkerchief?

Mike Campbell

Don't worry, Gator fans are easier to spot since they're much taller and tend not to have fish breath!

MSG C5

After growing up and living in the Midwest (Chicago area) most of my life, I moved to Sarasota-area and the west coast of Florida 12 years ago. The way I view it is that it's hot everywhere in the summer, although the humidity in Florida is higher than most places. However, unlike the midwest, I'm 10 miles from the beach and love it.

Over the years, the summer heat/humidity has become easier to handle. It's usually at the start of the NFL season every year that I welcome the cooler weather as the one time of year I definitely miss is the sunny autumn midwest days right when football gears up.

RatDog

You're right on with the nice midwest autumn weather. We had a hiatus from Florida from 2005 to 2011 to take care of my wife's aging parents in Minnesota. Summer and fall weather was glorious. However, midwest winters are not suitable for a Florida boy.

As an aside, not having anything to do with the current thread, it was during those 6 years in MN that I got the hankering to buy a Corvette, having wanted one all my life. However, you can only drive a nice car about 1/2 the year up there. And during the 1/2 year the weather permits driving, the roads are so full of potholes that I decided I just couldn't own a nice car while I was living there. During that time, I joined the forum and began researching Corvettes and learning as much as I could about them. When we eventually moved back to Florida in 2011, I had found my car and had it delivered to the Florida house within a week of our arrival.

Steve

corvette312

I lived all my life in South Florida, grew up in Miami, got married and moved to Homestead and lived there until Hurricane Andrew blew me away back in 1992. Moved to Cooper City and been living there ever since. Not planning to go any where.

phils C5 vette

The Tampa area is great. I lived on the east coast of Florida for 12 years in the mid 80's and 90's and loved the beach.

Now for the last 10 years, Ive lived in south Tampa. Its a great little city. I live in the Plant school district. Its expensive, but a great school district.

I like sports. We have three Professional sports teams here. Tampa bay lightning hockey, Tampa bay Rays baseball, Tampa bay Buccaneers football. Having 10 baseball spring training teams within an hour of Tampa is just icing on the cake.

The beaches are different on the west coast are calmer. I miss watching storms coming in off the east coast.

Phil

WKMCD

We're a year away from retiring and have been to Florida many times looking for a retirement home. The Sarasota/Bradenton area is very nice and we looked around there a number of times. My daughter and granddaughter moved to Charleston, SC so we decided to check out Northern Fl. St Johns County just had too many people and too much traffic for us. Not much different from Northern VA. We ended up building a home in Amelia Island north of Jacksonville. Far less people and congestion and a nice beach town that's not going to see a bunch of drunk frat boys every summer weekend. House done this June and we'll move in a year.