So, I recently retired and now my wife and I are looking to purchase a small piece of property in Florida for winter get away.

We are not familiar with Florida at all with the exception of me making it to Bensen Days a couple years ago.

I would like to have a place close to the ocean so we can fish, walk the beach or just watch the sunset.

Where is a good place to live that isn't crime ridden, high taxes and has good quality of life appeal?

Any and all help would be appreciated.

Chap

My Parents lived in Englewood south of Sarasota for about 8 years, they enjoyed it, it was a very nice area.
About an hour from Wauchula, and right near the gulf coast,

just from driving thru it, Port Orange where Gabor lives seems pretty nice. some parts of daytona are getting thugged out. where we moved to is not bad, at least so far. alot better then Greensboro was anyway. I would stay away from Wauchula, it's a nice place to visit, but you don't want to live there. Punta Gorda seemed nice when we visited there. if you want to get above the freeze line you have to be south of tampa. now that Said it has gotten cold here a time or two, but warms up pretty fast. like right now at 10:42 a.m. it is now 75.8 with a warm breeze of 8 m.p.h gusts.

if you don't mind being inland some, the Deland and surrounding area does have some good deals on some nice houses. we are in Deleon springs, about 5 miles or so from Deland, and there are several small airports near by. and ony about 20 miles from the beach.

hope this helps ya, our realitor was Bee Powell and she helped us find just what we where looking for, her and her Husband both sky dive. so when I told her what I was looking for to be able to fly the helicopter from, she knew just what to send us and not waste our time on places that did not fit our needs.
if you don't mind some labor to fix up, you can get some great deals on older houses. just make sure to do a good termite inspection.
our place was built in 1975. had not been taken care of in years. went from a over grown spot of property to a nice place in just a few months.

East coast Central Florida because you are a pale white ass!
Nothing beats the central FL area.
The weather is bearable and the massive golf stream is protective of us in this region from Hurricanes.
The cape is close Orlando is close you need years and years to discover all the amusement parks and stuff.
But that's just me and I am very bias.
Look for yourself: https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1011122895570204

Plus he can fly out of KDED with the

Your place is looking awesomer and awesomer Tim

Congrats to you and cindy

Thanks Muz, today was our 4 year anniversary of being together. the women deserves a metal for staying with me this long..lol

I enjoy seeing the progress from what it looked like and seeing the improvements. it's really starting to feel like home, just really miss my big shop in n.c. but I don't miss n.c.

the more we live here, the More Cindi and I love the area. just don't like that huge damn bear that comes in the yard alot.
here is a foot print from last night.

I have lived in central Florida for 29 years and previously lived in Ft Myers for 6 years so Florida is home for me. I have no desire to live anywhere else.

The best location for you depends on what kind of lifestyle you want and your tolerance for rules (some areas have lots and lots of rules).

I recently moved from a suburb of Orlando 20 miles north to DeLand and love it here. I have 1.3 acres only 10 minutes from KDED and it is very peaceful here. Orlando is much more congested and although more is available, all that I need is still within 40 minutes of where I am now. DeLand is much more relaxed than the Orlando area, traffic less congested and the people are friendlier.

The biggest complaint I hear from people that move here from farther north is the heat and humidity. If you can't tolerate some heat and humidity, Florida will not be good for you. I personally would rather have it very hot and humid than cold 365 days a year. I am cold at an air conditioned 75° so I love Florida.

Come and visit summer and winter and see how well you tolerate the heat!!

Now if you are serious about looking for a place in central Florida, my wife is a Realtor who would be happy to help you find your perfect Florida home. She is quite familiar with the Orlando area as well as the DeLand, Port Orange and Daytona areas (she has associates in other parts of the state also).

Look us up if you decide to visit and check things out. Did I mention that my wife is a Realtor who would be happy to help you!!!

Very impressive Tim .
I would love to pull off something like that some day .

Think Gentle Ben .

Up in N GA (mountain area), a bit NE of Dahlonega... there is a restaurant called 'Turners Corner'. Over the years it has changed hands... however the guy who built it and started it in the 1930's had a pet bear. Yes, a pet bear.
There are pictures of him playing with his bear, and folklore abounds about the place.

I have not been up there in a while... however I think the place is still open.

Corner of 129 and 19 if I remember correctly... a but south of Vogel St park.

Gentle Ben, that's where I first got interested in airboats

Turners corner café..... yeah, I've been there (on googlemaps)

Had to leave..... couldn't bear it

YUP... that be the place.

If you were to drive to the right from that picture, say, about 4 miles, and head up a gravel road about a mile or so... you would come to a cabin on a lake. Ladyfriend about a decade ago, lives up there...

Really a beautiful part of the country!!!

If one were to make a U-turn and go up the road behind the photographer (GA 129 north).... they would be driving on what is called the Devil's tail (or backbone)... it is a famous curvy road, motorcyclists from all over the nation come to ride it. About 8-9 miles up the road, one comes to 'Blood Mountain', then a few turns and another hundred ft of elevation... and one comes to what is known as 'the trading post'. It is a stop on the Appalation Trail.
The AT or Ap Trail, starts at Amicalola Falls Part (GA state park):

http://www.georgiatrails.com/gt/amicalola_falls

The trail is well over 2000 miles long. One of my HVAC customers, used to be the CEO of a Fortune 500 co... was having a mid-life crises at age 58... decided he was gonna hike the trail to figure out what he wanted to do. He wrote an auto-biography of his experience:

http://www.amazon.com/Bearfoot-Northbou ... %28book%29

Good read... the guy is a 'doer' to say the least.