Anyone from Florida here? I have a few questions I'd like to ask, concerning best areas to live, cheapest, etc.
Oh don't worry, not for me :P Cheers.

Lived in Florida for 9 years. I recommend somewhere at least 3 states away from that pit.

Ahh go for it Halo...add yourself to the Florida voter base!:p

I live in the Tampa Bay area, I'm rather fond of it myself. I would hardly call it a 'pit'. The thing with Florida is that there are areas that are as different as night and day. You go to the Miami/Ft.Lauderdale area and it is another world compared to, say, Tallahassee. It all depends on what yer looking for.

Morbok Mudblood
Ogre Warrior

'Lived in Florida for 9 years. I recommend somewhere at least 3 states away from that pit. '

- Care to expand? And keep the language moderately clean, my folks will be reading it :P
They plan on moving out next year, and are planning a trip over there in about 6 months. We have family in LA and Boston, but they want the constant sun (storms aside) and, what they believe to be, insanely cheap places.
Right now, Britain is a money sucker. The "Tax man" want a substantial amount of their current business deal, taxes here in general are slightly ridiculous, and above all, the house market is hurrendous. Disgusting. A 3 bedroom house here in Sussex will set you back about £200, 000. Which is about $330, 000.
Anyway, they plan to retire and move out there. Not sure why Florida in particular, but they're looking for a nice neighbourhood, great weather, and relaxing atmosphere.
So why do you think it's a pit?

'I live in the Tampa Bay area, I'm rather fond of it myself. I would hardly call it a 'pit'. The thing with Florida is that there are areas that are as different as night and day. You go to the Miami/Ft.Lauderdale area and it is another world compared to, say, Tallahassee. It all depends on what yer looking for.'

- Again, care to explain? Thanks for the replies, much appreciated.

'Ahh go for it Halo...add yourself to the Florida voter base!'

- Not me mate. I'm off to New Zealand next year :P
And trust me.. I've tried, in vain, to persude my parents not to go to the Land of the White Devil! Or something :P

I think the night/day they are referring to has to do with the heavily 'party town' mindset of many Florida costal towns, and then the more reserved, calmer atmospheres on others. Places like Panama City are pretty much like a bar/red light district/club on the beach, whereas many of the cities even very close to PC are much more relaxed. I live right on the Ga/Fla border and so try and spend spring break/summer breaks on the Gulf Coast when $$$ allows. Not a huge fan of Atlantic beaches, Gulf Coast beaches are almost always bluer water and whiter sand, at least in my experience.

Master Damoiel Mindbend
Retired Enchanter of the 60th Season

Do they want the beach?

Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Destin are the nicest beach towns in Florida, I think.

Non-beach, I'd say check out Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville.

Ive lived in Fla all my life, so i think i can honestly say it isnt a "pit". It has its good and bad places. Just depends on what your looking for

'Do they want the beach?'

- They don't *mind*. Beach would be nice. I mean they're pretty flexible on price, they obviously want something nice. But they certainly wouldn't enjoy a "party" atmosphere town, not something over-run on spring break.
They're both hitting about 55 now.. my father still can knock back a few pints, and they enjoy a good evening atmosphere, but they're not exactly looking for the Vegas strip.
So something like Damoiel said isn't exactly appealing to them.

So based on that, keep the replies coming.
Much appreciated.

Those three beach towns are pretty upscale and not the spring break scene. They should mainly avoid Panama City Beach and Daytona.

Though, they should understand that living on the beach can be pretty damn expensive in those nice areas. For example, my parents have a rental condo on the beach in Destin that's worth right at half a mil, which is nearly twice what they paid for it a few years ago.

The real estate market in those areas is out of control. Great investment if you can afford to get into it.

Mate, honestly, it in no way can compare to what's going on here at the moment. The property market is out of control, especially in Sussex. It's.. crazy. It's benefited them in a way, as they're in the property business, but now they are looking to retire and so forth, they just stand to loose too much staying in Britain, as opposed to what they could keep - and virtually double moving to a place like America.
So money isn't really an issue. We're not talking MTV cribs, of course. But yes, beach is good. Especially as my father is looking to, sometime soon, purchase a boat or something.

So Ft. Lauderdale, Miami, and Destin?
They've just told me they're interested in Cape Coral, is it? I think that's where they plan on looking initially when they head over at the end of the summer. They're in contact with a British family who moved over there some years back, and have nothing but good things to say. Any opinion on the place yourself? Or anyone else?
Thanks again.

and virtually double moving to a place like America.
Still the best country on earth! Go Go Capitalism!

Hm, I think it has more to do with the strong state of the sterling pound at the moment.
You should see the conversion rates from pound to Euro. It's fun.

I have heard from friends I currently work with (Beach front)Naples is a nice area not sure on price but it is getting up there. Out skirts of Orlando like mewer communities in Poinciana, or SE orlando also if they would like to be closer to dowtown there is winterpark though prices are rising fast there due to a new development community.

I have found best bang got the buck to be Poinciana area atm but houses are filling up fast can find a 2,500sq.ft. house starting around $180k there.

New home builder can search look at floorplans (http://www.lennar.com/ushome/)

Poiciana properties (http://www.avatar-poinciana.com/)

I'm off to New Zealand next year

Halo touches my soil (

My father lives in Clearwater. Its on the west coast about midway down the peninsula. Its a great area for retiree's.
The wather is usually good and they havent had a hurricane land there in a long time. (1928 I believe).

I bet he'll touch more than that if you let him Grumblin, you gay black newzealander you!

OK, thanks guys.

Halo If you Love your parents send them to Texas :)

I live in tampa, grew up in clearwater. South of here about an hour is Sarasota...nice place for retirees. It's close to the water, plenty of sun and lots of old people.

Clearwater is nice too, my grandmother and my mother both own condos there. It's cheap and close to the water etc.

The people who have been here a while are generally poorly educated, but you get a lot of retirees from up north who are worth conversing with.

Anyone remotely related to or friends of Halo must be related to the Looney Tunes. My vote:

DISNEY LAND.

If your folks are looking for a self-contained retirement area Sun City might be their thing … it’s a veritable old fart paradise. They have their own hospital, police force, shopping area, golf courses out the wazoo, and its less than 30 minutes from Tampa. I don’t know if that’s what they are looking for – otherwise I would agree with Ehrnam, Sarasotsa might be a good place to look. Pretty much any area from West Palm Beach down to Ft. Lauderdale might be more their speed too.

Morbok Mudblood
Ogre Warrior

I just showed my folks your answers.
They are generally interested in Naples and Florida Keys, but your posts have helped them to define what they want more, and they're looking in to Sarasota and Tampa.. pretty much the mid, West coast areas.
When they saw someone suggest Miami, they both in union said "no". So I guess party-town is off the list as I thought :P Though they did say they still wanted a pretty active area, no "retired" places full of old peeps.

But thanks, thats a big help.

/smack Ibudin
I'm so different from my old man, it's not even funny. He's someone I think who would fit right in to America. Makes Akipt look liberal.

I've heard the Keys are *not* a cheap place to live, especially Key West. But then , I've only visited a few times and have not actually lived there.

New Zealand is a nice, beautiful place to live; however, their pizza is pretty.. lacking (is that really cheese?!). Woot for CCNZ!

Can't wait for NZ. Gonna be awsome. Planned an entire year there. Wellington, Mt.Cook, Auckland.. /drool
Though I'm torn right now. My mates want me to head on over to America with them after University, over to Hong Kong, and then down to Australia.
But I really, really want to go to NZ. Which would mean going on my own and just meeting people there. Which I don't really mind, but then.. it would be great to go with old school mates.
Tough decision.

About Florida.. whats the deal with those gated developements? Housing estates gated off? Sort of private communities? Are they big down there? My folks are showing some interest in them. Or is that what you just described to me, Morogon?

'I've heard the Keys are *not* a cheap place to live, especially Key West. But then , I've only visited a few times and have not actually lived there. '

- Well thats not really a problem. So it's a nice place? Pretty upscale? I believe that's the sort of setting they're after.

N.Z. > Australia IMO, and the more time you have to enjoy it, the better it gets.

N.Z. has much more green scenery and there are lots of exciting places to go. Be sure to visit the Waitomo glow worm caves and go on a blackwater expedition (not the 12 people in-a-raft-one). Also be sure to check out the 'Pie Mania' shop on 36 Wellesley St. West in Auckland.. that has got to be the best chocolate cake I've EVER TASTED!

Skytower is a must, as well. Don't forget 'zorbing' at the Agrodome park! And if you're in to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, of course you have to see some film sites. That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but it's all worth it!

P.S. Oh yeah, the Mai Ora feast in Rotorua!

Lived in St. Petersburg, FL most of my life, not a bad place at all. Except for the state goverment. *groan* I wouldn't raise my kids here, but I do like it now that I'm out of grade school.

About Florida.. whats the deal with those gated developements? Housing estates gated off? Sort of private communities? Are they big down there? My folks are showing some interest in them. Or is that what you just described to me, Morogon?

Sun City isn’t really gated; it’s just a huge area that is pretty much made up of retirees. As such the whole place is set up to cater to them. There are tons of communities throughout Tampa that may be better suited to your folks' taste. Tampa Palms, Westchase, and Cheval come to mind. Lake Jovita is a nice place, about 30 minutes north of Tampa. There are really too many to list, but heres a few links maybe they’ll help.

www.lakejovita.com/ (http://www.lakejovita.com/)
florida-online-realty.com...tchase.htm (http://florida-online-realty.com/thomas/westchase.htm)
www.tampaluxuryhomes.com/info.htm (http://www.tampaluxuryhomes.com/info.htm)
realestate.tbo.com/reales...alms.shtml (http://realestate.tbo.com/realestate/communities/tampapalms.shtml)
www.suncitycenter.com/ (http://www.suncitycenter.com/)

Cheers! ;)

Morbok Mudblood
Ogre Warrior

Halo-

From what I saw of Key West, it is a mix of upscale and way overpriced small homes. Being a tourist destination, you can expect crowds from cruise ships flooding in every so often, noise and probably a lot of petty theft. It's a party town, at least anywhere near Duvall Street. You would have a good time there, but I suspect they might not. Have them visit and decide for themselves.

I would recommend looking at some of the other Keys if they have their heart set on a quiet retirement. They are smaller and less developed, but you avoid the crowd thing and keep the nice weather.

Well thanks Gulor, and everyone else.

We're headed out in about 4 weeks, for a while. If anyone lives in Florida, I'll be the one with "Terrorists rock!" hat on and a "I hate America!" shirt. Hopefully they'll take a liking to me :P

I think my folks said that our first destination is going to be Orlando, and then sort of travel down the West Coast looking at suitable places, mainly the areas mentioned here. Gotta stop off in LA first, Culver City, to visit my uncle (Sizzler here I come, baby. Gibb0r steaks!)

Oh my gosh, I'm becoming like soo a Yank, eh? :P

Halo,

I live in West Palm Beach, FL. If anything South Florida is incredibly the most fastest developed and expensive area in Florida. However, there are nicer homes, then in North Florida, Orlando and etcc...The homes are designed better, well thats my opinion, but I think its the popular.

Palm Beach County is Very Expensive, a 1900 SQ Under Air is 250,000+, thats 3br 2bath. But these homes come with the newer roof tile (s-tiles) and not shingles. They look more attractive and they go up in price faster. If you have the dough get a house out here.
Broward County (FT Lauderdale) - Expensive, people are now moving north.
Dade County (Miami) - Expensive people are also selling and moving north with the profits they make.

All in all Florida is one heck of a expensive state, vs. pay wages and salaries and cost of living.

However the Palm Beach County and Broward and Dade are the more fun and social places for Younger and Older folks.

I am looking at a house currently 2400sq under Air and total 3000 SQ for 215,000 and it comes with all the upgrades you can think of the house is 190,000 without the upgrades. This is in Port Saint Lucie, ST lucie County. This area is the fastest developing area in the World or was it US, at the moment. So instead of looking up north and you guys are looking for something more Social and better night lifes, South Florida is the better choice, again in my opinion.

Orlando is more like the Tourist Attraction Area. Naples is Quiet.

I hope this helps.

oh yeah I have been living in Florida for 16 years, West Palm Beach Area.

Regards

Damn Halo youre comin over too? Shit, we need to get together and have a bee or something, wonder if I can find a way to get down to Orlando while youre gonna be there. I dont live THAT far away but I think Im gonna be in class. Since I didnt get to dry hump Taino when he was over I gotta make it up with you.

I have family that own property in Cape Coral, and I have been there to visit several times. It's a pretty nice area, lots of retirement age people. It's about 15 mins from Sanibel Island and Ft. Myers Beach, both of which have a differant style to offer depending on mood. It's a nice area.

Ah yes, Cape Coral was one of the initial places they were looking at.
That's far south, right? Near, uhh, Keys? Florida Keys?

Sounds good Slant. You're buying, right? :P

Is Orlando all bad? Lots of golfing, yeah, Disney - but driving around there last year, seemed like a sort of huge home gated community-type area. Of course, being from NYC, most folk's tool sheds look like palaces to me. Apartments here are of course notoriously small.

Course Im buying you cheap limey bastard!

'Course Im buying you cheap limey bastard! '

- I've never eaten a lime in my life :(

36 Wellesley St. West in Auckland, NZ

This is in Port Saint Lucie, ST lucie County.
Cool, i plan on moving there around mid august, though i'm going to look at jensen beach for residency( i really want to live on A1A, that would be a hella cool address to have).
halo dont forget to have them look at north florida. Gainesville is a great place and Ocala is nice if you can stand the red-neck's.

I will be in Clearwater the 19th - 26th. Hopefully doing interviews. If all goes according to plan I will be moving to somewhere in Panellis county.

Be sure to visit the Waitomo glow worm caves and go on a blackwater expedition

a-@#%$-men, went on one of those a few years ago. Think a small rubber inflated tyre tube each, think 100m abseil down into an underground stream with lights on your helmets, think going to a dead end, switching off the lights on your helmets, waiting a minute in perfect still silence floating on the water looking straight up at the ceiling - pitch black.

Then almost in unison, a starry cover of glow worms appears, @#%$ beautiful.

Oh another thing. I keep hearing stories about the shittiness of the Ice Cream everywhere else in the world, Australia included. Apparently it's water based?? God damn it, sacriledge. - So perhaps try an ice cream while you're here.

Also, like i've heard some pretty bad things about meat pies in england (i.e. cut a hole in the bottom and fatty Jelly (i bet you americans are all thinking the stuff that goes on your bread with peanut butter - different meaning in NZ, Jelly is Jello, and Jam is your Jelly) comes out. We have fairly stringent legislation pertaining to meat pies, so eat one of them as well.

I ALSO heard that there are no meat pies in america?? like except a shepherd's pie. What the hell? (Sorry for the de-rail Halo, hopefully can co-exist! Or you have finished, whatever :) )

Hmm for the cultural side, you may want to go stay at a marae. I believe they are free (might cost something now, damn capitalist maoris) to any who would like to enter, but like ask at an information kiosk. I have stayed the night there once, totally culturally rich experience. They do a performance as you enter (slowly) and there is a lot of wailing and a "haka" thing as well. The one i went to was set up in a very community atmosphere, with very little privacy. i.e. you eat in a huge Hall with everyone else at 8am, 12pm, and 6pm (will probably vary depending on the marae you visit). You all sleep together in a huge different hall as well. All the people on the marae were generally very friendly, surprisingly so, when i went. But there are cultural traditions that need to be observed obviously, and if someone tries to press their nose against yours, dont freak the @#%$ out they aren't coming on to you, its just a traditional greeting. Just smile and don't kiss them.

On a scenic note, i could well advise going up the sky tower to the observation level (costs like 10 bucks NZD), looking out around the place, then going to wherever you thought looks interesting. On a very clear day you can see the sea both to the east and the west, and the islands about auckland are fantastic to visit. There are quite a few fishing charters all around the coast if you're into that thing, there is some great fishing around the place, they become quite commercial in Auckland proper. It is only as you go further from Auckland that the "grass roots" (as we say) New Zealand is found.

More scenery? On the west coast we have some amazing black sand beaches, i'd recommend Kareotahi beach, there is a restaurant up on a surrounding cliff, good food, looking at about 20 NZ dollars for a huge meal that generally fills the @#%$ out of me. The stand-out feature is the breathtaking sunsets there, You are looking out over a wonderful black sand beach into the ocean, and straight out across the water the sun sets.

On the other side, through tauranga and Gisbourne, we have white sand beaches, the east coast is hardly populated at all, so you get some amazing scenery. Most of the time if you want a good sight you have to walk up a winding path immersed in native trees. But at the end it is generally worth it, bring a camera.

Man, and thats just a bit of the North Island, the South Island is the greater of the two in terms of scenery.

Well, enjoy.

Your folks are retiring to Florida? Whats wrong are they tired of your repressive taxation?