Carole. My soul mate and I lived in Florida off and on for several years. She was a Native and often times wanted to return. We found the area around Cape Canaveral/Merritt Island had the most to offer unless you were looking for employment. St. Augustine is a close second. Southern Florida is terrible...congested, rude people and extremely hot and humid weather. Good luck finding what fits your needs.

My aunt retired there in Pensecola. She found an apartment on the bay side with a view of the water. I think there is reasonable places to live all over the gulf coast.
Good Luck,
Paula

I have heard favorable comments about Del Webb communities...I. know we looked at the one in Hilton head

The one in central Fla is suppose to be very nice.

I am familiar with" The Villages" in Central Fla (not far from Del Web) 55 and older community.....has everything and is 1 1/2 hrs to either the Atlantic coast or west to the gulf. We were snowbirds there the last few years. So many activities vailable and gated and self contained, has everything multiple pools, rec centers, shopping, golf, horseback,tennis, you name it its there. Music and dancing in the square every single night. I guess you can tell i like it. My girlfriend just bought a place there and loves it.

Good luck whatever you decide , no one can argue with the weather .....I am in Ohio , so like you know all about the cold. Hugs sherri

HEY HEY HEY from a South Floridian (Jupiter) , I don't think you can generalize - especially the PEOPLE of an area, MisrableWithoutHer - GRRRRR to you!!! ha ha ha. I worked for the Chamber of Commerce both in South FL, and NJ , and wouldn't ever make a sweeping statement like that about any area or it's people.

We were looking to retire in St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, and then later Costa Rica for a time (we have good friends who live in St. Thomas). I wrote (on line) to other Chamber of Commerce and got all of their literature, read all I could read (library books) and online about both areas, did almost a research paper on the pluses and minuses - health care, cost of living, etc., and we were planning to visit Costa Rica, (that was to be our next trip). I know that when we moved to FL, we had vacationed here, and the West Coast for several years, had a time share, very good friends who lived here, and we knew the different areas of Florida by then. They are diverse, I prefer the West Coast, even though I am on the East Coast due to an offer of employment, but it depends on what you like.

You DON'T have to worry pretty much about abundant scuba activities - WOW - beautiful diving almost everywhere - the Keys are unbelievable. My suggestion is to visit for sure, and then even then , if you sell your house, I would rent in the area you think you are most interested, and take time to get to know it. When we moved from NJ , we rented for a year near our jobs, and spent weekends looking around. I have heard of Del Webb - big communities, but another thing is if you would like a gigantic community.

All in all Carole , the most important thing, in my opinion is to COME ON DOWN!!!! I would also come down in the winter as well as the summer to see if you can'' take it''. I live by the ocean, and it's never that bad - our AC is like your heat in winter - for a few months you grin and (BARE it) (wear as little as possible) ha ha ha.

GOOD LUCK!!!!
Vicki

My husband and I lived in Florida (moved from Georgia) for 1-1/2 years at the end of the 90s. We figured we loved vacationing there so much that we'd enjoy living there. We built a brand new home near Tampa and after about a year, all I wanted was to move back to Georgia because I missed the seasons (especially spring and fall).
The dear man loved me so much that he agreed...we moved back in 2000...been here ever since.
Florida has so many beautiful places and it really is nice if that's what you want. It wasn't for me (I'm from NY, not the city, so I guess the seasons mattered to me more than I thought). Good luck to you and follow your heart. Hugs, Sharry

Just an FYI about FL from a FL native. Florida has 3 distinct parts: northern, central, and south. We'll start with the south. You don't want to move there. Nuff said. Central, if you like warm/hot weather all the time and enjoy beach life and Disney style, it's a good choice. North FL is where I live and I love it the best. I've lived all over FL and I like the north the most. It is more rural, we have springs and falls, and sometimes snow (every 10 yrs or so). It's not so crowded and we have lots of river, lake, and spring water to play in and on. FL is like 3 different states. Be sure and research before making a choice!

u all live in america . its so different here

We moved to Tampa 24 years ago and never once regretted the move. A lot depends if you want urban, suburban or rural. We, now I, love the Tampa area because the Tampa, St. Pete area has almost 3 million people. There is just about anything you would want here. Yes the weather is hot but not as hot as inland Orlando. From November through March the weather is wonderful. Our real estate taxes are far, far less than what we paid in Illinois. I will say the electric is high especially when one has to run the a/c continually during the hot months. All in all, also from Northern Illinois, Florida is a good place to live.

I too live in Florida (Clearwater) and love it!!!! I have been here since I was in 4th grade ( born in Ohio). I still work and have to keep on doing it to prevent starvation lol. Jim and I always planned on living in a little beach house when we got old. Man, I miss him and all our dreams.

Florida is a nice place to vacation, but I wouldn't want to live there. Unfortunately, I lived in Florida for 14 years. Based on what you've said, I think probably the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area might suit you. South Florida is very expensive and most towns are for the retirees/seniors. North Florida where I lived is great for surfing and fishing, but not so good for scuba.

The weather sucks for 10 months out of the year. There! I've said it! LOL! October and March are nice. April and May are tornado season. June through November is Hurricane Season and the weather is so hot and humid you can't spend any real time outdoors after 10:00 in the morning. December to February can still get pretty cold - frosts and freezes - although snow is a rarity. You run your airconditioning constantly for at least 8 months of the year and the heat a couple months. Your utility bills for that bit of comfort are astronomical.

It's not unusual to get 3 inches of rain in one afternoon. That's when there are no storms! With tropical storms, it can be as much 6 inches in a day. The locals don't slow down on the roads for the weather, and they are really blase about somebody dying every single day on the freeways. It's stunning really....

And if you don't like BUGS, SNAKES, or SPIDERS, you won't like Florida. Cliff nicknamed where we lived "Bugopolis". You develop a new-found love and respect for exterminators. My sons hated the lizards and screeching frogs, too. If you live anywhere near the water, expect GATORS.

North Florida is Bible Belt and Redneck Country. They still fly the "Stars and Bars" Confederate flag - proudly. Made my flesh crawl... Real estate there is cheap right now - loads of foreclosures and high unemployment. My home in North Florida has lost a third of its value because the economy is so bad there. If I can sell it this spring, I will do it at a huge loss. No cultural amenities to speak of. 40% dropout rates in many of the high schools, and in some places, like Jacksonville, 47% of the adult population is functionally illiterate. Despite that, 2 of the top high schools in the country are there. North Florida rarely gets the full force of the hurricanes - it's usually the tail end of one, which can still do a lot of damage and is still dangerous, but not as bad as elsewhere in the state.

Central Florida has crap weather. Most of it is Orlando and sprawl from Orlando. Ocala is nice if you're into horses - John Travolta has a ranch there and loves it. The people from there that I've met and dealt with were all very nice, very down to earth. But scuba diving would be a long drive from there.

The Gulf Coast is great if you are okay with losing everything you own every few years. They get the worst of the hurricanes, and they get them for the full season (6 months). There are a lot of small retirement communities, and there are a lot of pristine beach areas. Some really lovely parks.

The Fort Myers-Port Charlotte area, on the Southwest Coast, got hit with 4 hurricanes in one year. There are still people living in FEMA trailers there. My sister was going to move there; I'm glad she didn't.

Far South Florida is the haven of the rich, and organized crime. Miami is New York with a Cuban accent. Key West is where old hippies go to drink themselves into oblivion in the sun. Fort Lauderdale's only claim to fame is that it is where the college kids go to get drunk and have sex on the beach every spring break. Palm Beach is nice but expensive, and is very popular with the senior crowd. Jupiter where Vicki is is not far from there, and is supposed to be pretty nice. My sister lived in West Palm Beach for many years and loved it. But she can't afford to live there anymore.

The Panhandle and Pensacola are poor and redneck, with the Navy thrown into the mix. They have been hit pretty hard with hurricanes in the last few years, and have yet to fully recover and rebuild. Pensacola lost most of its downtown a few years back in a series of back-to-back storms. Tallahassee, the state capital, is geared towards politicians and FSU. Its decent - a bit more relaxed and open-minded than some places, but not what you're looking for.

I think your best bet is going to be Tampa-St. Pete-Clearwater area. Visit, and visit a few times - different seasons - and follow the local news of where you're considering to go. You might want to know what the locals are concerned about and proudest of.

A website where you can look at any city in the US to get information and statistical data and read through comments in the forums about places you're considering is:

http://www.city-data.com/

It was helpful for me when I was considering moving OUT of Florida, before my life situation changed (I'm in England now).

Hope this helps, and I apologize if I have offended any Floridians with this post.

Love and Hugs,
Martha

WOW Martha.....what about oranges.....we have oranges , (when we aren't importing them.)???

And shells - nice shells, (which can be purchased in tidy containers at tourist shops - never having to get sand on your feet)???

Our grass is greener (due to our live in gardeners in Palm Beach County - va va voom)???

Right now , the politicians LOVE Florida, and have made several promises - that they are 'gonna keep ????

Snake sushi is DELICIOUS!!!

So are the tourists - BURP, it's called road kill, or be killed on 95.

xoxox Actually, A good description of the Sunshine State.

PS don't run for Gov. - ok??? Although you would probably straighten out ''da boys'' xoxox Vicki

@Vicki - ROFLMAO!

Ya know, we had armadilloes but I never saw a single one that was alive. I became convinced that Dubya was having the dead roadkill ones from Texas airlifted and dropped onto Florida roads just to annoy his baby brother Jeb.

I had friends in government who tried to get me to run for office. I just wanted to get out - not run the place.

Forgive me, my Florida friends, I tried, honest to goodness I tried, every way I could, but Florida was a mistake for us. We moved there to be close to my mother, to help look after her and she was going to help look after my boys - one of whom had already been diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum (both have been diagnosed since). But Momma died 6 months after we got there. Seems like whenever things start to go right, somebody I love dies and all my plans go kapooey.

It's easy to think that a new place is the answer to your problems. In the recovery programs, they call it "doing a geographic." When you mistakenly think that a new place is somehow going to solve all your problems, even the ones you're carrying around inside of you - like grief, or alcoholism, co-dependency, etc.

I'm having to learn to be happy wherever I am. That's been the big cosmic lesson for me, I guess. The year I had to be away from my kids really hammered it home to me just how true it is about home is where the heart is and all that. I could probably live in Timbucktu now, so long as I have all my guys with me.

But if you're on your own, the temptation is much greater, and the arguments against are much slimmer, to just go ahead and go somewhere else. Like we discussed in Warmth's post, it's a good idea to wait a year if you can.

And Vicki, I will be back in the State this spring sometime. Can I come and bake you a cake to make this up to you?? If it's chocolate?? Or do you want a strictly Florida apology - like Red Velvet Cake with a side of Key Lime Pie?? :)

Love and Hugs.....

Hi Carole, I live in West Palm Beach, which would be considered southern FL i guess, althought it's more like the northern sector of southern FL. If you want conveniences this is really a great spot, I'm not more than ten minutes from ANYTHING. Any store, it's here and very close by, hundreds of awesome restaurants, theaters, comedy clubs, museums, all here and nearby. I'm eight miles from an awesome beach, but Singer Island is just a bit further and it's an amazing beach. You can hit the beach here pretty much all year round, not so further north.

My wife and I came down for a month to survey the various areas before we settled on WPB. Everything is here, close by and the people are nice. I think the folks that are talking about south FL not being a good place to live are talking about areas further south: Like Ft. Lauderdale and Miami, ugh. We also likes St. Augustine, but things were too spread out and it's cold in winter.

Best thing to do is head down here and look around for yourself.

If you're looking for a 55 and over community there's an awesome one here called Baywinds, very young 55 and overs. We have friends there and the place is just spectacular, we were planning of relocating there at some point.

I really don't know anyone who lives in this area that thinks its a bad place to live. I personally love it.

Godd Luck, Sal

I've been following this post because the same thoughts of relocating and living in a retirement community have been racing through my mind. My daughter now lives in suburban Ft. Lauderdale and while I would like to be closer to her, I'm just not sure about Florida in general. She complains that where she is living now is very expensive. When I visit, I love the warm weather, and we always have a day at the beach. I stay lost most of the time, and can't even find the grocery store because of all the trees, shrubs, bushes, flowers and other greenery that covers up everything! (But this is a good thing, I just make sure I have plenty of gas to drive around lost for hours on end) However, I have noticed when we are out...mall, restaurant, grocery store, tourist trap....the people are very rude, and a lot of times I don't speak the language. The same observations were true during visits to Gainesville, Destin and Tampa/St. Petersburg.

I live in the South, and while people here can also be rude (and redneck), they at least have the decency to follow a rude statement with "Bless their heart!" The contradiction still leaves me speechless sometimes.

Martha & Vicki - I appreciate your input, both sides. And BTW, redneck knows no geographic boundry, you just have to figure out how to avoid it where ever you are....hehehe

Carole - good luck in your relocation endeavors!

With that being said, if anyone else has any suggestions on great places for retirement communities, I would appreciate any comments.
Thanks much,
Cathy

Martha Cliffskat, I LOVE you - yes to one of each - (CAKE). Sal, I'm going to look at Baywinds - not familiar with it. Glad you feel the same way about this corner of the world.

As far as retirement ideas, I've been reading about the Beacon Hill Village in Boston and DC - I think I saw an article in AARP about ''Aging in Community'' - a co-housing village - like a commune MON!!! Everyone shares ''voting'' on the community needs, all ages live together (sep. houses), (ironically , a lot of young people) and they eat together - pay association dues, etc. Like peace out man!!!. Maybe we can start a widow/widower commune? (I don't do windows , and I cook mostly veggies) but I clean very very well.

Anyway, home is where the heart is - and right now - well give me a home where the buffaloes roam and......oops - isn't that Las Vegas???? I'm confused.

Gotta go - Have to watch the State of the Union address - speaking of screwed up'' states.''... ha ha ha x0x0