OFF TOPIC----FLORIDA LIVING

[QCHOTMIX]

Hey guys, any of you out there living in the Orlando, Winter Haven, Tampa area's I would like to get your thoughts about living and working there.

I've got a couple of companies talking to me and the move down is appealing at this stage.

E-mail me at Qchotmix@hotmail.com.

Thanks for your comments

Johnny

[jaxsailr]

I use to live in Tampa / St. Pete and loved it. The sailing scene is great there. Several clubs to go race or cruise with if you like to. Great airport with good fairs. Lots of ramps to put the boat in at. However FL ramps tend to be shallow angled and the pads can be short if the tide is out. So depending on your boat it can make or break launching your boat.

Just did a race in Mount Dora on lake Dora and it was a wonderful area. Good sailing in the winter I guess. In the summer they say the breeze is very light.

I made the move from Ohio and love it. Although I miss the Great lakes, family and friends.

Regards,

Niels

[PAR]

I've lived in both the St. Pete and Orlando areas and though I'm in Mt Dora now, I enjoyed my time over in St. Pete.

The Orlando area is growing faster then St. Pete and traffic is slightly less troublesome here, but you can find intercity and rural living in either location. The sailing in Tampa bay is very good as is the open gulf. Temperature ranges are very similar, with a slight nod to the St. Pete area on weather. Central Florida (Orlando area) has thousands of lakes and a few rivers, where Tampa/St. Pete is bay and gulf water with a few nice rivers tossed in.

If I was single and younger, I'd shoot for St. Pete as the live style is better in many areas there. Now that I'm older and interested in owning a real burn pile and a healthy chunk of land, I've settled on this area for real estate values and country living. I still have water to putter around on and both coasts are just a short drive away, besides I can watch the space settle take off from my front yard! You can see the smoke trail from St. Pete (I watched Challenger blow up from a roof top there), but here you can actually see it or drive a 1/2 hour and smell it too.

Bring your sun screen . . .

[chipveres]

Yes Sir:

The Tampa or Orlando areas are where native Miamians go when we get tired of the hustle & polution. The rural area around Orlando is prettier, but has a slightly more extreme climate. Hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Plenty of water in either place.

[Garry]

We moved to Inverness (about two hours north of Orlando or Tampa) last year after a year in mid-coast California and living in the Carolinas and Virginia before that. We love it here. Partly because we found a wonderful house 2 BR house with a great lake view. I had fun sailing the lake with my Spindrift 11N and we just moved of 36' ketch to Tarpon Springs, 1-1/2 hours away.

The real estate scene is different here than anywhere. The retirees and snowbirds are a large demand creating housing developments everywhere. But the prices are still fairly reasonable and the market is a little soft right now. You can find some real deals. Part of the market is older homes where folks haved moved on the retirement homes or passed away. Its probably a good time to invest in real estate now (unless I do, then property values will go straight down).

Some of the rural areas are a baffling mix of retirees and rural good-ole boys. There are lots of hunting and fishing and wild animals because of the swamps and low areas that have prevented development in some areas. And then there are lots of tourist activities and theme parks to entertain family and relatives. Afteryou live here a while, you learn not to see the hype so much.

This is a great area for trailer sailing. Tampa Bay, Charlotte Harbor, the Keys, the Gulf and Atlantic, St. Johns River, numerous lakes, and even the Bahamas for larger boats provide a great variety within a few hours radius. For larger boats, slips are becoming more expensive but still available with some on waiting lists. Many of the older marina are being bought out by condo developers who are improving the marinas and adding slips, so they will be the future source of larger boat slips. Most of them will have slips available for rent but they will continue to get more expensive.

The traffic could be a problem in the big cities but its getting like that everywhere - makes me glad I found a job away from the larger cities. Summers can get hot and still but not much more than elsewhere. Spring and fall are wonderful times and winter is much better here than freezing you bilges up north. Your house may become the chosen vacation location for your relations!

Here are some pics of our place and our lake view - we love it!

http://www.pbase.com/sailrosita/florida

[PAR]

One additional point to consider: they have "Evacuation Route" signs (usually with an arrow, pointing which way to drive) everywhere along the coasts in Florida. They point to where I live, literally. In this area there have been 5 hurricanes cross over us in the 150 years they've been keeping records of this sort of thing. One in the 1880's, one in the 1950's and three in one year a couple of years back. The worst of it was Jean which dropped a tree into George's pasture, taking out one of his fences. I was out in the height of the storm with a chainsaw clearing the fence line so Lucile, Cinnamon, Butternut, RickyBob (the bull) and the rest of the herd wouldn't get some fool idea of checking out my greener patch across the street.

No snow (last time was in the 1950's), we haven't had a hard freeze in over 10 years and really terrible winter weather, I mean you might have to change from shorts to long paints, so you can get the steaks off the BBQ in February. You'll also learn the real meaning of cooking off a pot of epoxy down here.

[QCHOTMIX]

Thanks guys for your comments. Thats the kind of stuff I was hoping to hear. Great pictures Gary.

What kind of rates could be expected for homeowners insurance? Property taxes?

Johnny

[Dale Niemann]

I guess I am a little late on this comment but here goes.

I have lived in Clearwater since 1970 and still love it very much. I moved from St. Louis.

I second all the other positive comments above.

Home insurance is a bummer. The politicians are trying to get it straightened out but you know politicians. We will see if it gets better or worse.

Many people down here go outside in Spring, Fall & Winter and inside in Summer. Just the opposite of up north. It does get hot here but you just get used to it. The rest of the year more than makes up for the heat with great sunshine and nice temps.

Both of my sons live up north and would give anything to move back to FL.

Please feel free to contact me by email if you have more specific questions and I will try to help.

Dale