rwhans007

Hello readers,
I am hoping to convince my wife (real beach lover) to move to Florida. 2 years will put all kids in College and so, schools are not that important to us. I really prefer to have a house on a canal with bay access. I will be working remotely, so the job market is also not that important. My wife is a dance school owner and we have not figured out what to do there, but We can easily live on one salary. My questions: what to look for (or look out for ) when purchasing something near the water. What area would you think is best (I have been looking near Ft. Meyers and Coral Gables). What do I have to keep in mind coming from PA?

Possibly additional info that I have not thought of yet.

Thank you so much,
Ronald

gmoney

Just remember that for anywhere near coastal water if there is a hurricane flooding becomes a real possibility.

emalloy

Plan several vacations and/or long weekends and go to the areas of Florida that interest you. Go in winter, spring, summer and fall and see how you like it before you decide to move.

RoamsAround

Type "Moving to Florida" in Search feature at the top right of this page. You'll bring up links to scores of threads dealing with moving/living in Florida. It is a topic that is frequently discussed on this forum. Just about everything question you might have and some you haven't even thought about yet can be found there.

Also, you can research about living/working in just about every city here: www.city-data.com. You'll also find a very active forum on that website.

fmpden

My advice whether it is Florida or Southern CA, I would try for a month long rental in each season of the year just to get a total feel for the weather. The heat and humidity for the summer months would discourage me.

Sassafrass

Money magazine just named Hollywood, Florida as one of the top places to retire.

Dukey1

I live in Florida and I agree with RoamsAround re the thread search.

I have nothing against "Money" or any other magazine but these "best place to retire" recs are usually based on a variety of factors and IMO one needs to decided whether or not those "factors" are all that important to you.

I'd be very interested in why you are particularly interested in Coral Gables and Fort Myers (note the spelling) and knowing that might very well influence any recommendation I might make to you.

It is all subjective but

property tax rates
flood zones
wind insurance rates
auto insurance rates
the weather and a few other things down here are much less so.

elbegewa

And google and watch for the potential of sinkholes anywhere you are thinking of buying ... the geology in much of FL is ideal for them ... lots develop in FL and swallow whole buildings.

gailscout

On a canal, alligators.

Dukey1

Another "thing" you need to watch out for: people here who obviously do not live in Florida spreading rumors about how "lots" of things happen.

vincenzo32951

>>What area would you think is best

NewbE

But the West Coast is better than the East.

vincenzo32951

LOL!

Christina

You don't have to live in Florida to be able to read and hear the weather issues. They do have sinkholes, I think they are a problem around Tampa, but I don't know if there are "lots" of them. You hardly have to live in Florida to know they have hurricanes and flooding issues, they aren't a secret.

I don't live there but prefer the west coast for beaches and swimming, also.

Christina

Florida sinkhole map. Looks like lots to me.

https://www.dep.state.fl.us/geology/...ole_poster.pdf