Info needed from Florida residents - Page 2

yamazee · #1 (**permalink**) 05-07-2009, 10:36 AM

Jockey, I just read your PM, now you have a PM as well.
PS
Love bugs were a bigger problem here a few years ago, for some reason the last few seasons for love bugs were not too bad. Also I have never seen the love bugs dim out the sun, but its a cool thought

windy · #2 (**permalink**) 05-05-2009, 07:01 PM

I have lived in Naples, Sarasota, Vero Beach, Daytona, and Ocala. Best drives are across Ocala/Daytona/North Orlando area. Get outside Orlando and jobs become tough to find. Sarasota and Naples are beautiful and getting quite congested in snowbird season. Pretty pricey unless you stay inland. After being in so many places, it is hard to go wrong.

mickmate · #3 (**permalink**) 05-05-2009, 08:48 PM

Bear in mind your favourite Cobra builder likes to see Cobra guys in the Orlando, Cocoa, Jax area. We have a timeshare in Cocoa we love. Cocoa is nice but a bunch of old retired farts and only one way in and out (jammin), 528 the Beeline I think it is. Orlando seems like a bit of a rat race in some areas, nice in others.

CobraDan · #4 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 04:44 AM

I will give Cape Coral another vote as I have lived here 12 years and in my retirement I have been over every inch of Florida. If you are moving here to get out of the cold you have to live south of Tampa and the Gulf side is better than Ocean side. Now is the time to buy, cheap compared to 3 years ago.

4RE KLR · #5 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 12:38 PM

If you do your homework and shop hard you can find homes in Naples that are very nice and well worth the money, especially now.

We lived in Estero for a year. It is about ten miles to the beach, but takes 30 minutes to get there. You have to drive to Bonita Springs OR to Fort Myers to get to the beach.

If you are serious and want to live on the west coast (Gulf side) live NORTH of the Caloosahatchee River. Yea, Naples is OK if you are two hundred years old and only drive 12 MPH. The cost of living in Naples sucks big-time!

The beaches are crushed shell and you cannot walk on the beach without shoes on or you'll need a hospital for stitches. Yes, it is that bad.

When the RED TIDE hits there are more dead fish that GOD himself can count. All below the Caloosahatchee River.

Cape Coral, as mentioned above is an OK little area. yes there are hundreds of miles of canals, but make sure the one you spend the money to live on actually has gulf access. That's right MOST of the canals in the Cape (as it is called) do not have access to the gulf. Yep, you can steal a house there now for a song. brand new if you want one. The town is not so bad either. Small and friendly people. Shopping nearby and once you go across the bridge (toll) you are in a different world. Not a bad area and worth a look.

Fort Myers beach is for kids. Well not all kids. But at spring break they are everywhere. This is a tourist trap little area and as far as I am concerned not worth the cost. It is however a great place to go have dinner on the water. The beaches there are a little nicer than Naples as well. It is also a fishing boat area, so the shrimpers dock there. Don't worry they are inland and don't bother anyone. The fresh seafood from the boats is a MUST!

Estero, is a great little community as well. It is inland and has great shops very close by. I forget the name of the new shopping center there but it is HUGE and has everything you could ever want or need. To get to the beach it is a little further because of the way you have to get there, but very doable. Not as expensive as Naples to buy daily goods either. Look at (Google) Rookery Point for a good little community.

Fort Myers is a lot like Estero only a little bigger, and more traffic.

The schools SUCK in all the communities. Everyone will tell you Naples (Collier County) has great schools. They are filling you full if chit!!!!! Believe me I know. DO NOT PUT YOUR KIDS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS!!!!!!!

In short, if we were moving back there right now, I would have to say we would look in Cape Coral. It isn't as nice as Estero, but there are better deals there now. I would not get a house without a pool, and don't get a pool without a Lanai. The bugs will drive you batty!

There is also Sanibel Island (bridge) that is very nice and not too bad on cost, for what you get. Really nice area, shopping is a little further away, but worth the drive.

Captiva is VERY nice but accessible only by boat. So......

Bonita Springs is wanting so bad to be called Naples it is pitiful. They want to mock everything Naples does so people will think they are one in the same. Pass on this one!

On a side note, in Fort Myers the is Caloosa Nature Center, on Colonial Blvd. They have a cool indoor planetarium there that is a lot of fun to go to. We had season tickets ($40.00) for the whole family. Christmas is a lot of fun there as well.

No matter where you decide ask about the Red Tide before so you will know what you are getting into.

yamazee · #6 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 02:10 PM

Hi, there are many different areas in Florida where you can get a killer deal on Real Estate right now. I would say that depending on what you want out of the area you are going to live in, the answer to your question can change dramatically. I happen to live just north of Tampa in a town called Spring Hill where I own a small Mortgage Firm. Spring Hill has been hit pretty hard by the real estate downturn, the homes that were selling for 200k or better can be purchased for pennies on the dollar. I just had a client that purchased a 1 year old home, that was never lived in, in a gated community for $105k. The house was nearly 3000 square foot of living area and appraised much higher than what he had paid for it. You can call me if you like at 727-946-0904 and I would be happy to discuss areas, and deals with you. I also have access to many of the forclosures in Florida right now, and I know that some of the banks are motivated to move them off the books. If you want check out my site at www.FHAforALL.com there is a ton of good info on there. If you go to the other coast, West Palm etc. you will still get good buys, but the real estate there is generally going to be more expensive than here so you will get less bang for the buck. If job market, industry etc is not as important to you, you may want to look at Cape Coral, its been hit particularly hard by the market down turn, but then again you buy a decent 2/2/2 on the water there for under 75k, I have had some investors go down there and buy up a few of them for as little as 50k and that is a steal for waterfront property that a few years ago was selling at close 200k or in some cases higher. I am also currently looking into the Orlando market for myself as I had a client purchase a Condo there right outside of the Universal Area for 35k and the last sale of that unit in public records in 2007 was 175k. Lots of good deals to be had down here, just depends on what you want to do when you get here for work, and what you prefferences are. If you like call me anytime and I will give you as good of advice as I can, even if you do not need a mortgage, I'm always happy to help a fellow Cobra owner. But then again if you have a Cobra, you should definately consider moving to my town because I would love to have another Cobra on the road here

. Good luck with your search.

767Jockey · #7 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 05:13 PM

Yamazee, you have a private message. Thanks for the info.

rokndad · #8 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 07:28 PM

Like they said, ask about the red tide and the bugs!!! Especially the Love Bugs. No s**t, they join in twos during their mating season and fly around tangled up with each other, and splat all over the front of your car. Sometimes they are so thick, they dim the sun. Virtually impossible to get the bug stains out of the paint, let alone have them easily come off chrome! I have never seen anything like this...only in Florida....

767Jockey · #9 (**permalink**) 05-06-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rokndad

Like they said, ask about the red tide and the bugs!!! Especially the Love Bugs. No s**t, they join in twos during their mating season and fly around tangled up with each other, and splat all over the front of your car. Sometimes they are so thick, they dim the sun. Virtually impossible to get the bug stains out of the paint, let alone have them easily come off chrome! I have never seen anything like this...only in Florida....

Oh, jeez ----- wonderful, just wonderful.....

danc30 · #10 (**permalink**) 05-07-2009, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rokndad

Like they said, ask about the red tide and the bugs!!! Especially the Love Bugs. No s**t, they join in twos during their mating season and fly around tangled up with each other, and splat all over the front of your car. Sometimes they are so thick, they dim the sun. Virtually impossible to get the bug stains out of the paint, let alone have them easily come off chrome! I have never seen anything like this...only in Florida....

Lived here 9 years, an hour and a half north of Palm Coast, Not sure I've seen the love bugs too bad. If your car is waxed good and you clean it off after a run, your ok. rokndad must not clean his car too often.

I am only aware of a couple short times of red tide. They were brief. Just don't eat the shellfish at that time.

Come on down, the weather is great. No earthquakes, riots, mudslides or blizzards......

Dan

CobraDan · #11 (**permalink**) 05-10-2009, 03:41 AM

Lets get rid of some of these myths starting with bugs, in the 12 years I have been in the Cape we only had love bugs that come normally twice a year May & October come once and they came a little early in April and my wife was the only one who got to see them as I followed a month later, so that was 12 years ago. I have run into them on route10 and in Sebring when we had a Reptile Roundup in October. I had my pool cage screened but after loosing it in a storm it’s now only fenced and my Lanai is screened, my wife goes out to swim and is not bitten by bugs. The reason the Lanai is screened is to keep out the flies which are not seen until you have guests bring out food. In the 12 years I have been here they spray so well in the Cape I have never been bitten by a mosquito, can’t say the same for Ohio. The last 6-7 months have been great no bad weather or rain and with a roadster you don’t need rain. If you want hills to run go with the guys from Florida planning a trip to Deals gap.