Best Homeport/ Homebase

[Boatguy30]

We're currently living in St Augustine and relatively happy here, but certain aspects of life here could us improvement. One is the fairly high taxes we pay for the city to promote tourism as well as the heavy hand the city then imposes on those cruising.

Anyway, while the real estate market is still rather soft; I'm looking for an "ideal" location to move to.

Ideally:

A large amount of modest priced waterfront homes such as Palm Coast or Ft Lauderdale, but near to easy access daysailing which neither of these places really are.

Not too many rednecks

Not too cold

Good schools

Preferably a state planning to fully implement the ACA as I am only 35 and a long way from the other forms of government healtcare most other US cruisers avail themselves of.

good rental market, so can easily and legally rent property when off cruising and not get whacked on property taxes like you do in FL.

ANY IDEAS?

[LostAtSea2011]

New Smyrna Beach

[tropicalescape]

West Palm Beach,Ft.Myers,Pine Island...Charlston SC...

[GrowleyMonster]

Let's see... not too many Rednecks, (you forgot to capitalize "Rednecks") but not too cold? I think you are gonna have to make a choice between Bubba and Blizzard. You will generally find us Rednecks in abundance, anywhere that you can go outside without socks in December.

There are lots of us in New Orleans, but we're pretty harmless. Just don't walk barefoot where we been busting beer bottles on the seawall, or stand behind a road sign. (as you probably know, we like to shoot them) And when you are riding with one of us and he says, "Hold my beer, and watch THIS!" or draws a deep breath for a "YEEEEEEEEEEE-Haaaa!!!" I suggest fastening your seatbelt. But we genuinely like most folks, even Yankees.

New Orleans and Louisiana have a pretty generous homestead exemption so taxes on a verrrrry basic house are next to nothing. plenty of fixer-uppers in less affluent neighborhoods go for $100k less than the $140k exemption. Not many Rednecks in those neighborhoods... their necks are of a different color, but you might be surprised to find most of them are pretty nice folks, too. This is New Orleans, you know. My 35' slip costs me $565 a quarter and I can (and do) live aboard, and the other afilliated marina is cheaper than that, though not quite as protected. Lake Pontchartrain, where the two main marinas are located, is a full day sail from the Gulf, but the lake itself is nice for a day sail or for joining in the Wednesday evening races. And I keep my $99 walmart 5000 BTU window air conditioner ready to rock in its plywood housing atop my forward hatch even in the middle of winter. So yeah it doesn't get TOO cold very often, and it doesn't stay cold for long, either. Fishing is great, and we have more world famous chefs in the city than any other place on the entire planet, AFAIK. You have to look pretty hard to find a bad plate of food here. We don't eat to live; we live to eat. Lots of great music. Bars can stay open 24/7 if they like, and many do. But you would have to sort of learn to adjust to all us Rednecks, I guess.

[Tingum]

Important ting to remember is that if you need something fixed in a remote place or want good Bar B Que, you need a Redneck! (Hope we don't hijack the thread)

[The Blue Heron]

Pensacola. My 2800 sq ft house with dock on a canal is for sale.