A warm place to retire

[Terry]

Lex,
Sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread. Punta Gorda has a place in my heart.

The hurricane that went through there was Charley. I flew down to the nearest airport after it hit, which was Tampa/Clearwater, because Ft. Myers was so delayed. I was right in between the next hurricane. It was so wierd to have Charley turn into Charlotte Harbor. My sister & husband held up in their master closet. When I called her to check on them the eye was over them.

It's a great area. Google the ariel view and it's pretty cool. The downtown area is historic with some neat shops and cute restaurants.

I totally trust her research on where they retired. They lived in Chicago prior to retirement at age 50. She is a research-a-holic.

Venice is nice also. It's quaint. Close to Sarasota.

[nothintolose]

I read somewhere that Oxford, MS is one of the best kept secrets as far as a place to retire goes. I was there for my first time last year and fell in love with it except for the fact that it was REALLY cold. Then again, if you're coming from up north, you may not think it was cold.

[AquaGirl]

Hurricane Charley indeed did some major damage to Punta Gorda, but it was unusual for it to hit there. My parents live in Venice and I love that area. Town is quaint, beaches are nice and easily accessible, close to Sarasota for "bigger city" needs like shopping and medical care. From Venice, you can use the Sarasota airport, Tampa (about an hour and 15 min to airport) or Ft Meyers. I have used all 3 airports going to Venice, depending upon flights.

California Girl - are you going to have to change your forum name to Florida Girl??

I like the idea of moving somewhere and renting for a year when you are not familiar with the area.

[Terry]

Venice is where my parents retired. I loved it there. I lived there for a year after college in their villa. Did you know that is where the terrorists (9/11) trained at the Venice Airport (small) My Dad always wondered why there were men from the middle east learning to fly there. When my Dad's cancer became so severe he would babble about planes flying into buildings. Makes my hair stand up on my arms now, thinking back on it. My Dad was a WWII airforce vet. He got his engineering degree from Mich State. The owners of Sharkey's on the Pier graduated from the same place. An instant bond was made.

Anyway, it's still a great small city and check out their beaches...wonderful! Sharkey's on the Pier is the best beachside restaurant around.

[California Girl]

California Girl - are you going to have to change your forum name to Florida Girl??

I don't know... I was thinking maybe X-California Girl

I like the idea of moving somewhere and renting for a year when you are not familiar with the area.

It's very tempting to buy a place because there are some phenomenal deals there right now, but I really think you need to know the area before you put down any roots. We like the idea of living on a canal, for instance, but there may be drawbacks to that, like brackish water, gators, stink... whatever. Or it may be just as heavenly as we think it would be. You just gotta be there to learn those sort of things.

[Lex]

Thanks for the responses. Most of them deal with the southwest Gulf Coast. Is there a somewhat general consensus that that's the part of Florida most appealing for retirement? Any other areas of the state that anyone might consider?

I've been doing some research. If this continues to hold our interest, we'd probably spend a week traveling the area. If we really were to move, I'd definitely rent for a year before buying. Actually, I kind of like the idea of renting for the rest of my life. Problem? Call the landlord. But having grown accustomed to Boston property values, Florida real estate prices are hard to resist. It would be quite tempting to just snatch something up

[lprof]

Lex, this website has a lot of links and numbers, but if you have not yet seen it, you might want to take a look....

http://www.topretirements.com/blog/grea ... ules.html/

[California Girl]

If we really were to move, I'd definitely rent for a year before buying. Actually, I kind of like the idea of renting for the rest of my life. Problem? Call the landlord. But having grown accustomed to Boston property values, Florida real estate prices are hard to resist. It would be quite tempting to just snatch something up

Our thoughts exactly, Lex!

lprof, I looked at the link and I see Ft. Myers is #4! Do we know how to choose a place or not??!!

[Terry]

Lex,
I say you buy CA Girl's home. It's a great location and in a great community. Check it out!

[California Girl]

Lex,
I say you buy CA Girl's home. It's a great location and in a great community. Check it out!

I concur!

[AH]

We live in New Smyrna Beach,FL on the Atlantic. We try to keep this a well guarded secret but I have had a glass of wine or two and must say we have wonderful blue skies and sunshine and the ocean breeze. Small town vibe. We would not trade this for anything, anywhere. We moved here from MI 8 months ago and have had a smile on our face each & every day since.
AH

[lprof]

We live in New Smyrna Beach,FL on the Atlantic. We try to keep this a well guarded secret but I have had a glass of wine or two and must say we have wonderful blue skies and sunshine and the ocean breeze. Small town vibe. We would not trade this for anything, anywhere. We moved here from MI 8 months ago and have had a smile on our face each & every day since.
AH

I had wondered how you are doing and if anything is growing there for you! Glad to hear that you have gotten happily settled. Would love to have an ocean breeze!