Wintering over in Florida

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I am a couple years out from living the dream or living my dream. Which is to head to Florida in Jan staying through till April and heading back home. Its what im calling my early retirement. Dont know if the math makes it early retirement given that i will be returning to work and will probably work enough hours in the remaining 8 or 9 months to match your average overworked workers hours in a full year. I will do more diving than anything but I also love to fish. If any of that matters in locations.

I have a couple of buddies who live near Fort Lauderdale and I go to Florida every chance I get but my times always to short to start looking at options for lodging for us and my boat. Im once again making a last minute one week trip in a couple of weeks. And really need to do some more detailed investigations to help narrow down where I might land.

One level I am thinking the first trip I get to spend a few months I will just rent a couple different VRBOs a few weeks or a month at a time and use them as base camp. Being able to do so might help me narrow down where id live. But Id love to have some thoughts on locations before this next trip in case the weathers to crappy to get much diving in. Long term I want to buy a fixer upper but im needy. I want something within 30 minutes from a boat launch with quick access to the Atlantic side of the ocean. Id like to be able to buy property with at least half an acre of land ideally it would already have a garage large enough for my boat and two cars. Which is really a fantasy that makes it a wharehouse. Im most likely going to have to build the garage which is ok. Im also cheap. Funny I own a 6 figure boat and I live in a trailer. And my class of fixer upper is a totalled house in a great location if the walls and roof are structurally sound great., I want to revive a home that will be worth at least double what I paid for it which leads back to the right location to start looking.

I like Homestead because it is mid way between the keys and southern Florida but my buddies dont think Homestead is really that great of a place. Now some of that is because now they have to drive an hour to dive with me. Or maybe they are right. Im not opposed to locations further north than Fort Lauderdale either but I have never actually spent much time there to know. I also dont want to be in an area that is riddled with crime. I dont need a great view or to be neighbors with movie stars and billionaires.

Ideally my wife would get a giant raise and I could just retire and help make sure she us up and ready for work on time But she has some fantasy that Im going to work another 10 years.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Homestead has gone down hill a bit.

what your looking for is going to cost you a fair amount of money. however with the rising oceans, you could buy in Miami about 15 miles inland and in a year or two have ocean front property

Florida also has the Gulf Coast....

 

[ahicks]

I prefer the Gulf side because it doesn't seem as commercial. Divers and fisherman though, often prefer the Atlantic side for it's deeper water.

I'm also very happy living 10 miles inland at about 80' above sea level.

Time to buy "fixer uppers" was about 5 years ago. If looking for one now, pickings are getting pretty slim as the good selections are being snapped up as they become available......

 

[Scott Danforth]

Agreed on 5 years ago was the time to purchase. Real estate has gone up significantly in the past few years. However there may be a downturn coming as the balloon payments are coming due from the crash 9-10 years ago

I also prefer the Gulf coast over the Atlantic coast

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I wish i had bought land there years ago when I first started going there but we have been putting 3 through college and that was priority 1. However we made our last tuition payment early this month. While ill help my kids get launched they will soon all be working and there smart and motivated young men unless we have some tragedy we will be fine with the costs of the right property. We also live in a tourist trap thats got a fairly high cost of living index and any areas we will buy will be a deal compared to here. There is a plus side to the properties going up in cost they have also done the same here actually quite a bit. Im a little in front of the 8 ball on that level so a higher cost of properties for me actually is a plus. And im a pretty savvy shopper ill hunt for the right property at the right price.

My friends are also pushing the areas above Fort Lauderdale because of water levels and storms. I have not spent much time in the northern area of the state nor the gulf side. My primary hobby will be diving so the Atlantic side is pretty much where I will land. We like the Keys a lot which is why I think about property south of Miami however we can see them all enough to be fine anywhere. My wife has a couple relatives in the northern section of the state however I have never even driven up to meet them so they must not be that close. It may turn out that I moor the boat any way if so then I could be a little further from the marina but Ive moored my boat before and often times dont think it saves me much time given what it takes to drag diving gear to the boat etc. But I dont know. There will be a lot of things that will be subject to what works and what doesn’t. Thanks for your input.

 

[ahicks]

Just realize Florida is not all lowland. There's a lot of what I call "horse country" that's high and dry (Pines and sand). Pretty much the opposite extreme when thinking Everglades type areas. There's also a lot of difference in property value as you move north and south and coastal vs. just a few miles inland, not to mention differences due to expected winter temps.

Point being, there's huge variables in play as you look at Florida property. Make sure to keep an open mind going into it. We explored Florida for a couple of winters staying in a motor home, moving/changing areas every couple of weeks, exploring, moving, etc. Ended up buying in an area we gave up on once!