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View Full Version : Any Florida area recommendations for retiring?



Steve Pippins
02-09-2016, 1:30 PM
I am nearing retirement and have begun my search for a good location. Google searches reveal
many Florida cities that are attractive for retirees - Venice, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Cape Coral, etc.

Anybody have strong opinions on most desirable areas? Or, can you point me to a good resource?

I am a USF grad and prefer the gulf coast. Have lived in North Texas >31 years so am out of touch
with latest Florida news.

Thanks for any information that you can share.

Steve

Jim Becker
02-10-2016, 9:59 AM
While the 'rents originally chose Bradenton for Florida retirement, they ended up in central Florida just below Ocala for the last 30+ years. They preferred the active communities and single homes there. Only recently did they move to an assisted living facility for health reasons. What you want to do life-style wise is going to factor into your decision for sure including whether you want to be near the ocean or gulf or a more inland area is more suitable.

Robert Engel
02-10-2016, 11:48 AM
What makes an area attractive for retirement depends on too many things for me to advise but I think good hospitals are important.
There are retirement communities, condos, etc.
If you have a wood shop this will be a major consideration as nowadays HOA's have to be dealt with.

My brother lives in Seminole and he really likes it there. (Way to crowded for this country boy ;-)
There are good hospitals in the Tampa area.

Steve Pippins
02-10-2016, 1:56 PM
Jim, I am starting from zero so any input is welcome.

Steve

Steve Pippins
02-10-2016, 1:58 PM
Robert, thanks. I will check out Seminole on the web.


Steve

Andrew DiLorenzo
02-10-2016, 2:17 PM
I live 100' from Venice and can make it to the beach in ten minutes unless there is traffic. My shop is a detached garage for a suggestion to you if you are looking to build a shop, but I do not have a HOA and am glad about that. There is a very wide variation in house valuations in this area so without asking a bunch of personal questions how do you expect me to make suggestions? Feel free to PM if you want and give me a few days to check back here. There are pros and cons with living this close to the water, and on the water is very expensive, IMHO. Do you boat? Any kids in school? Personal sports or hobby interests can all influence a decision.

I, too am a USF grad as is my wife and son! USF is about 75 miles from me, and the Tampa area offers more nightlife, culture, and academics. On the other hand, I just saw the musical HAIR at the Venice Little Theater.

I am a member of the Florida Westcoast Woodworkers Club, http://69.195.124.102/~florieo4/ . ( Hope I have the link right, if not search on the terms and we are on the first page.) We meet tonight at a room hosted by a company that imports exotic lumber--they have some nice stuff.

Jim Becker
02-10-2016, 9:21 PM
Jim, I am starting from zero so any input is welcome.

Steve
For my parents, they weren't really into the "water lifestyle" and didn't like multi-unit condos and the "noises" that come with them. They found that central Florida was more to their liking and moved there after a few snowbird seasons...it was kinda like what they were used to from PA (at least until things built up...) albeit the houses were more like a neighborhood instead of the country. Dad enjoyed golf and my mother took an interest in ceramics and started teaching that after a bit.

Florida is a pretty versatile place to retire because there's so much variety available. I really do think you need to make a list of activities you want to pursue once you move, things about an area that would be very important to you (shopping, recreation, attractions, arts, sports, etc), the type of property/housing you prefer and anything else that you can think of that would really enhance your enjoyment and use that to help narrow down some of the areas that are going to give you most of what you really want.

Daniel O'Neill
02-11-2016, 4:25 PM
My grandparents live in Val Rico right outside of Tampa. Have for years now. They like the space & my aunt is a bit away in Venice. It's a nice area I've been down for a couple weeks to visit on several different occasions. I think if you did a snowbird method for a couple of years it would allow you to try a couple of different areas until you found one you liked a lot. It might be a expensive to travel back and forth though.

Barry McFadden
02-11-2016, 8:40 PM
I obviously don't live in Florida...but any time we go down there we stay on Sanibel Island which is just north of Fort Myers. We absolutely love it there. Beautiful area, low key, great scenery and food. I imagine it may be expensive to buy there but as soon as I win the Lottery I'm moving there!!!

Julie Moriarty
02-12-2016, 2:55 PM
Steve, we just moved to Punta Gorda in August and closed on our house in December. We chose the area because we wanted a house with a pool and a dock and unrestricted access to open water (no fixed bridges). We searched the entire U.S. coast below the freeze zone and this was the only area that offered what we wanted without breaking the bank.

There are a lot of good and some not-so-good things about the area but that's my opinion. What are you looking for? Boating? Sailing? Fishing? Arts & culture? Fine dining? A condo or a house? Inexpensive housing or price is not an object? Without knowing what you want, it's hard to help you.

Steve Pippins
02-16-2016, 2:36 PM
Julie, thanks for the input. Right now, I am concentrating on collecting input on areas.
I will assess how well the area meets my specific wants and needs when I actually visit.


Steve

Charles Wiggins
02-16-2016, 3:31 PM
About all I can tell you about Florida is that we get a lot of what we call "half-backs" here in Western North Carolina. These are "Yankees" who moved to Florida and didn't like it for one reason or another, and did not want to go all the way back up north, usually because the winters are too long and too cold.

Julie Moriarty
02-17-2016, 4:10 PM
About all I can tell you about Florida is that we get a lot of what we call "half-backs" here in Western North Carolina. These are "Yankees" who moved to Florida and didn't like it for one reason or another, and did not want to go all the way back up north, usually because the winters are too long and too cold.

I first got a taste of the summer heat when my dad was living in North Palm Beach. His rule for playing golf was if you didn't tee off before 8AM, you will melt. Even teeing off at 8AM, I still melted. When we moved down in August, we got the tail end of the heat and it is oppressive. Most northerners who do the half-back do it because of the heat. Punta Gorda was a ghost town until November. If you can afford to be a snowbird, that's the way to go. I am absolutely loving the winter weather here. We're outside today painting the house in shorts and tank tops and it's hot! :D But we will pay come summer. We'll be working on the inside of the house then, with the AC on. :cool:

John Goodin
02-17-2016, 11:22 PM
I moved to Texas after thirty years in the Orlando area. If I ever move back it would be somewhere south of St. Pete. I prefer the gulf coast more than the Atlantic. Sunsets are nice; watching the sunrise just makes me want to go back to bed.

Allan Dozier
02-21-2016, 1:00 PM
So much depends on what you value the most. If you definitely don't want to see the winter temps below 50 then you want to be south of Orlando. If you want a semblance of seasons then try farther north. I grew up in central Florida and am like a snowbird in reverse. If I were to have to move to Florida I would pick somewhere like Gainesville or Tallahassee. But I appreciate the change of seasons, more roll to the land, and more typical trees. Charles is correct about the half backs here in NC. You could always get a place in FL for the winter and then spend summers in the NC mountains. MANY Floridians do that.
Jim's parents probably were in The Villages. All new construction and lots of amenities, including a woodshop!

Wade Lippman
02-21-2016, 4:38 PM
I first got a taste of the summer heat when my dad was living in North Palm Beach. His rule for playing golf was if you didn't tee off before 8AM, you will melt. Even teeing off at 8AM, I still melted. When we moved down in August, we got the tail end of the heat and it is oppressive.

It is not really the heat, but the humidity. I spent a summer in Israel, which is easily 10* warmer than south Florida, but not all that uncomfortable. Miami in summer is just unbearable.

My son just moved from SF to Chicago. I think he is crazy. That is where I would go if I could get my wife to leave WNY.

Brian Elfert
02-21-2016, 5:37 PM
My friend and his wife retired to Florida and planned to spend summers back in Minnesota. The grandkids lived next door and they ended taking care of them over the summer so they never did come back to Minnesota. The wife hated heat so she rarely ventured outside over the summer. They choose Orlando, but mainly because of the grandkids.

My body cannot handle heat and humidity so I could never live in Florida. I can't even tolerate the summer humidity in Minnesota and have gotten violently ill several times after being out on a high dew point day too long. The funny thing is I have no real problem being in 100+ degree heat in a dry climate as long as I drink water.

Scott T Smith
02-22-2016, 11:27 PM
Steve, since you're already in Texas have you considered Kerrville or San Antonio for Retirement? The countryside around Kerrville is gorgeous and the humidity is low (plus no hurricanes!). It has a good retirement community and hospitals, as does San Antonio.