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Where in Florida is the Ideal place to winter. I have notice that there are a few on the forum that have the good fortune of a warmer climate. I just want to hear hear what people say about weather, Florida residents, location and lastly the big one, expenses. In general what do they think and would there be a alternative. I have an open mind.

It's all good as long as you don't get close to RE3.

Go a tad further south

http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental ... rico/r1212

Spare Change wrote:It's all good as long as you don't get close to RE3.

FUJ & FUS!

We have always preferred the Gulf Coast as oppsed to the East. The further north you are, the cooler and colder it is. The further south you are, the warmer , hotter and more expensive it is. With housing and economic situation, there are some good deals. But strapped local govts. are tax hungry and insurance cos. are even hungrier.

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But strapped local govts. are tax hungry and insurance cos. are even hungrier.[/quote]

I noticed this when I was looking at For Sale property around Cape Coral/ Ft. Myers area. The property was reasonable enough, but....The taxes seemed to be a bit much. What about insurance? Usually building insurance is included in the HOA fees. Which most likely made some of those fees outrageous. I saw one that was $990.00. Misprint? Too much for a month and not enough for a year. I would assume that really all one would need is liability insurance unless you have some real expensive furniture.

High HOA condo fees DO reflect ins. When we had a condo, the association rate skyrocketed and HOA's have to carry it. Your indivdual ins. for a condo is not that bad....liability and however much you choose for contents. Bottomline is taxes and ins. are high. You have to decide for yourself how much you're willing to pay for the other perks. It is getting more unaffordable to have 2 homes so you have to decide what your priorities are. Now the two years we had 2 places in FL and one in KY......

Mom and Dad are in Sebring area for winters and they love it. They are not so much beach fans as they are of warmer weather.

I am going to throw another question out there for members who may be familiar with the Cape Coral/ Ft. Myers area. What is the area really like to live in as for as crime, neighboroods that are better or nicer than others etc. I have found that property is somewhat more reasonable there than other places in Florida, relatively speaking and was wondering why. I tried looking at the reviews on different web sites and they have been on the opposite ends of the spectrum. One review even said the homes were pretty decent but crack heads and dopers were all over. Of course there were others that were glowing narratives. Anyone have any thoughts??

If you live there fulltime, you would be better able to handle the neighborhood issues. We have always chosen to be in a restricted area (55+ and gated) in order to better protect us both during our time there and when we are away. Don't depend on what the realtors or websites say. Your best resources are police crime statistics and people who actually live in your targeted neighborhood. We also visited potential places morning, noon, night, weekdays and weekends to get a "feel".

UMMMM! 55+ community, never really thought much about that. We do fall well into that category by several years. Different 55+ communities have different rules I am sure, but do they permit say a very young granddaughter live there as well. Unfortunately that has been a continuing issue with wintering in the sunny south. We would probably have to spend the school year there.

Unfortunately, the granddaughter would be an issue. Communities have to meet certain criteria to maintain the 55+ status. There are a certain # under 55 but usually older than 18. Bummer in that sense....

I'll tell you a little story about some of these condo complexs. In Hilton Head one year, Security was called on a small group (4)of us sixtysomethings for playing a radio, drinking beer (not me) , standing around watching the grandchildren, shooting the bull at the pool. We had to leave the area. They said they had a complaint. Now mind you this WAS 4:00 O'CLOCK in the afternoon. This place was the kind that had a big sign in the exercise room where the indoor pool was that said "NO EXERCISE NOISE PERMITTED" Seriously! Needless to say we won't stay there again. I make noise sometime getting out of a recliner.

We just got back from Naples and we love that area. Also, usually warm enough for shorts in winter. We went swimming in pool at hotel. We actually have family friends looking at property in Cape Coral and have relatives that live in Ft. Myers year round. We took a trip one day on our vacation to visit Cape coral and look at the properties our friends were interested in. It was a unanimous decision, we won't go back to Cape Coral. We were actually shocked they are seriously considering buying there. There is NOTHING there!! And what is there, most of it looks run down and lots of places out of business. There is a reason it is one of the top foreclosure places in the country. Good deals are def. to be found and the houses they gave us to check out were nice, but the neighborhoods had lots of for sale signs and lots of homes vacant and many properties landscaping was not well kept up with to say the least. If your looking to spend money on a home or condo, there are much better options. Ft. Myers is better for prob. the same price point. Farther south costs climb quick but so does the appeal of the area. If I was older, and was going to buy a place in florida, it wouldn't be cape coral, JMHO. I would be worried leaving it for my kids, worried they would be able to sell it, and worry it was going to hold it's value, and not decline even more. Also, once most people visited you, they probably wouldn't come back as there are so many other nice areas to have a place in Florida. Have you ever considered The Villages?

Thanks, Chillin, Yes we have considered the Villages. If I were an avid golfer, they would be on the short list. However, I would prefer to have quick access to boating. We have thought about New Smyrna Beach, across the street from the beach area. But of course it is not as warm as farther south.

Pompano beach? Close to Miami and ft lauderdale so airports are close as well as lots of boating on the intra-coastal waterway. Probably priced about the same for places as ft myers and still far south for florida.

Also, for boating I like St. Petersburg. Boca Ciega Bay is big and pretty and you also have Tampa Bay. Lots of water. Major City in Tampa close by so also easy to fly into direct from a lot of places. Clearwater also in this area. Pretty area a little farther north but not to much but another good area if you are wanting to boat in the winter.