MDMike

I am looking to retire and move back to Florida from Maryland in the next year. I was in Apollo beach- south of Tampa 20 miles in 2006-08. However the real estate down turn killed that move, could not sell Maryland house in time to make it all work out, bought nice house in a great waterfront community in Apollo Beach- The Mirabay, and loved it. However we could not give away our house and 4 1/2 acres up in Md at that time. Wife told new boss to F himself and quit,( reason we moved there) I just got my real estate license there and opened Home Inspection company, no time to get up and running before the real estate switch turned off, we were in a bind and came back to Md to old life. Only took another year to sell the Florida house, But now wife is long gone (thanks) and Im gonna go back real soon. Question is, WHERE ? Loved that Apollo Beach area, BUT not real close to a beach area, I saw only a High class and a lower class of people there- not much of a middle class did I see in 2 years. Either driving a mercedes or hittin you up for money at the gas station. Also I am one of those dreaded "car guys" always working on a hot rod, motorcycle,boat or something with an engine, even in my late 50s. The home owners association did not exactly love me, so no more gated communities with HOA rules in a binder. So where can I be within walking-biking distance of a beach, have a garage to tinker and play and enjoy the warmth of the southern part of the state. It was never too hot there for me, we moved from MD in July of 2006 and it was 106 with the heat index in Md, drove to our new house for settlement in Apollo Beach, it was 92, how sweet it was. I guess i will start a zillow search or realtor.com search again. Just looking for general suggestions, loved the Gulf side, but who knows, any help is appreciated, Thanks Mike

Ackislander

You are right to like the Gulf side; the Gulf is the Good side!

If you don't mind being on the bay rather than the open Gulf, the way you were before, take a look at Bradenton, Venice, Edgewood.

Look at Google Maps to see places like Apollo Beach with regular lots and boat canals laid out by the developer and avoid them because they will have homeowners associations and they not only can make your life miserable if you like to tinker, they can legally stop you. On your own property.

A lot of people want an association because they want amenities or don't want the neighbors working on cars or boats in the driveway. They think it hurts property values. Well, there is a lot of property in Florida in older neighborhoods without these restrictions, and since you are retiring and presumably going to stay in the house the rest of your life, short-term property values are less a concern.

I would be surprised if the economic imbalance has changed. You are still going to have the guys in Mercedes and the guys standing on the corner outside Eckerds holding a sign. The squeeze on the middle class may be greater than ever. This only matters to you if you need to work to supplement your retirement funds. Then it matters a lot unless you can do some of the things that no one in America wants to do any more.

If you like tinkering with cars, could you take a course that would qualify you to work in a car dealership or garage as a mechanic? Do marine diesel? Outboard motors? What Florida doesn't need are any more real estate people, whether in sales or doing home inspections or doing mortgage originations. Oh, sure, the market is improving a bit but it is still bottom feeding.

Good luck.

MDMike

Yeah, I think the gulf side is the way to go also. I will have 32yrs in as a union carpenter, so I might "tinker" more in that direction for a few bucks, but have always had a motorcycle, boat, play toys etc. I have my RE. license up here in MD, still not much happening for a part timer to make any money yet. We were right on a canal in Apollo Beach leading out to Tampa bay, with boat lift, it was REAL nice, hit the button-drop it in the water and go. I just want to be closer to a beach- had to go down Rt41 10 miles, then 10 more across The Sunshine Pkwy bridge then 10 miles to Clearwater/St Pete beach areas. A few blocks away would be nice. I'm thinking of catching a Southwest flight to Bradenton and scout out from Sarasota to Naples, just head out on RT 41, and see what it looks like south to Naples, maybe for a week. But thanks for your input, ultimately have up to a year to figure things out. Thanks Mike

tarfan24

The real estate market in FL is slowly making a come back (or so I hear from family and friends). You should be able to find something close enough to the beach that is affordable, the car/tinkering part might be more of a challenge. I have a friend who bought a place 2-3 blocks from the beach in Indian Rocks. She and her SO love the beach and love being close enough to walk in the evening. I suspect having a car in the driveway for tinkering might not go over so well though. You might be better checking some of the smaller towns a bit further away from the main cities - think Crystal River and the area between there and Clearwater/Dunedin.

I was born and raised in Jax, went to the beach regularly and always thought I'd live near a beach (am in CO now and absolutely love it). While there are part of the Atlantic side I do like, I prefer the West coast of Fl all around - from the panhandle down around the bend to down to Naples.

Dukey1

I'm in Fort Lauderdale and perhaps things are a lot better over on the "better" side of the state. But if you are going to live close to the beach and depending on what you plan to live in I doubt it is going to be cheap..it sure as hell isn't over here on the "bad" side.