Should We Move to Florida or Southern California ?

[rvest]

If you really feel that you need to live in South Florida you've probably made the best choice as far as location goes. I have to tell you almost everyone I knew who had kids were dying to move out of there, many wanting to go out west. Jupiter, St. Lucie, Jensen Beach are all pretty nice. We really weren't used to all of the east coast- New York mentality were everything is an argument/lawsuit mentality but that's just us. You may also think about Sanibell Island or Cape Coral, the people on the west side are more midwesterners which I could relate to better. It's great to tell yourself how much you're going to be out on the water, in reallity if you're working and rasing kids you're not going to be out as much as you'd like to think, speaking from experience. You'll catch dolfin, sail fish you need to do kite fishing, tarpon is backwater fish like in the keys- it's unlikely that you'll take your boat down there- too far, they never see marlin anymore, I'm not so sure about the sea trout, the redfish I think they're mainly on the gulf coast, Swordfish started coming back but it's a nighttime thing with rubber balloons with glowsticks in them, people catch wahoo some, and some lobster. I think it's a good place to visit but not so great if you're going to live there, I met a lot of people who grew up there and all they could talk about is how much it had changed and how they wanted to leave. I live in half the square footage and am so glad to make the change. I remember talking to people from the northeast who move to Florida for the weather and hadn't been to California. When I told them to imagine walking outside and the whole outside was air conditioned they couldn't believe it. One other thing the Bahamas charges you $300 each time you take your boat in there now. If did live in San Diego, Carmel Ranch/Del Mar is the best if you have kids. Good luck with everything.

[capcook]

Originally Posted by vegasandre

Ok back to Florida in the Summer. I am in las Vegas in the Summer. I have not been to Florida in the summer but will go there this year. Expect it the same as vegas. 110 and no humidity or 95 and 90 % humidity."

Ha, I have been to Vegas in the Summer and lived 15yrs in Florida... if you can handle Vegas in the Summer, FLA is a piece of cake.. The great thing about FLA west coast is the Sunsets... I like two places a lot, Tarpon Springs and Bonita Springs... In Bonita Springs, check out Bonita Bay, a beautiful place on Estero Bay... but leave the 6' draft in Cali...

If you like a Greek flare, than Tarpon Springs is really nice and probably more family oriented if you can really say that about anywhere in Fla....

You won't miss the Income / PPT taxes which on a big boat is significant in Cali... but they do get their pound of flesh in Real Estate taxes; however I expect an equal house on the water in Cali will pay much more in taxes due to valuations...

cheers

[SabreKai]

I'd say California. For me cruising always meant the South Pacific so that would be a good starting point.

Besides you are less likely to be covered in oil there.


Sabre

[vegasandre]

Originally Posted by rvest

If you really feel that you need to live in South Florida you've probably made the best choice as far as location goes. I have to tell you almost everyone I knew who had kids were dying to move out of there, many wanting to go out west. Jupiter, St. Lucie, Jensen Beach are all pretty nice. We really weren't used to all of the east coast- New York mentality were everything is an argument/lawsuit mentality but that's just us. You may also think about Sanibell Island or Cape Coral, the people on the west side are more midwesterners which I could relate to better. It's great to tell yourself how much you're going to be out on the water, in reallity if you're working and rasing kids you're not going to be out as much as you'd like to think, speaking from experience. You'll catch dolfin, sail fish you need to do kite fishing, tarpon is backwater fish like in the keys- it's unlikely that you'll take your boat down there- too far, they never see marlin anymore, I'm not so sure about the sea trout, the redfish I think they're mainly on the gulf coast, Swordfish started coming back but it's a nighttime thing with rubber balloons with glowsticks in them, people catch wahoo some, and some lobster. I think it's a good place to visit but not so great if you're going to live there, I met a lot of people who grew up there and all they could talk about is how much it had changed and how they wanted to leave. I live in half the square footage and am so glad to make the change. I remember talking to people from the northeast who move to Florida for the weather and hadn't been to California. When I told them to imagine walking outside and the whole outside was air conditioned they couldn't believe it. One other thing the Bahamas charges you $300 each time you take your boat in there now. If did live in San Diego, Carmel Ranch/Del Mar is the best if you have kids. Good luck with everything.

Thank you again RVEST, a lot of great info.

its funny I know a lot of people arent happy there(its the same here in vegas) Its funny what happens to your psyche when your nest egg is wittled away in one or 2 years when housing collapsed as well as the market. We are prepared for it though. Kind of like to swoop in when the going is tough. I forgot to tell you I am from NJ for 32 years- . So I think I will fit in. I am typical NJ -loud ,opinionated and always right-.- and the RED SOX sux too.

thanks for the fishin info . I am on the florida sportsman forums every day. looking forward to it. Will miss the long range tuna trips on the Excel out of SD though- will try to go back yearly for one of them.

Dont plan on working too hard - kind of adhere to the "4 hour work week principle" but that I am sure will change once I get there.

Capcook- I am leaving the boat in SD with its 6 foot 8 in draft. Its in charter with Harbor sailboats on harbor island. Will eventually sell it and get a cat- probably a used leopard 46 from the big M in a couple years.

[babykinz]

I lived in Bay Area for a very long time...I loved the weather but hated the crowds and the crime.
I LOVE Florida... Even with the hot humid dog daze of summer...there is just so much here. I am in the pan handle where I can enjoy the beautiful gulf, or the crystal clear waters of a the local springs.
What I would do if I were you is open up Google Earth and travel around until you see a town you like....then go to city-data.com and learn about that town.

Some places I would like to live is Crystal River and Port Saint Joe because I like to Kayak and snorkel.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by gonesail

what he said: have you ever been to florida in the summer?

Umm, have you? On the coast it's fine in summer (inland it's miserable, though). I remember being amazed to fly down to Ft. Myers in July one time from New York City, and finding it much cooler and more pleasant in Florida.

If your only two choices are Florida and So. Cal., you may find a decisive factor is house prices. I guess SW Florida is literally one-third the cost, in terms of real estate, of So. Cal. You can afford a house on a canal with an ocean-access dock for what a sh*tbox in an awful suburb in So. Cal. costs.

Besides that, the sailing is much better in Florida, especially the West (Gulf) coast, although you will want a fairly shallow draft boat.

But why restrict yourself to those two places? You can find much better sailing in other places, and a more interesting life to boot. How about Greece or Turkey? Or Croatia, maybe? Think how great it would be for your kids to spend a few years in a place like that. And the sailing is incomparably better.

[gardnsailor]

'cause I think we're just about full here in Florida. We've long had mosquitoes, alligators, and noseeums-now iguanas and constricting snakes. It's just too dangerous, I'm tellin' ya. Crowded too, did I mention crowded? Don't believe those 'chamber of commerce' promotional videos for one second.

[lostsoul]

ok everyone should tell there specific situation.
1salary
2kids
3boats
what is cheap and expensive, how much time you have to be on the boat.
i posted pages back-lived annapolis now sw florida. charley almost relocated my house.
i get a real kick out of the post from a fl resident that says his area is immune from those little 125 mph storms (just 3 reefs i guess) the entire east coat of usa has been hit.
anyway i sail charlotte harbor- its a decent size bay with good winter wind -i like 20+ but there are no anchorages and i sailed to key west this season. left christmas day and returned january 3 just when the long cold spell started.
I have no idea where the people are talking about when they say there is great sailing here east or west coast of florida. when i went out into the gulf I was heading to the dry tortugas almost dead south i think it was 170 Magnetic. but we had no wind and had a 30 hour motor so went to key west instead. Then the NE wind hit we had 7 ft waves at the municupal moorage .as i sat and read the cruising guides i realized that there are only a few anchorages for the entire island chain from Miami you can sail in hawk channel but protected places are about 5 on the east -ocean side and less on the gulf side. I only need 4 feet if you only need 3 feet or less you have a few more-aside from cats who could do it. oh and i had a 30 hour motor back north just made boca grande (charlotte harbor) when a NE front of 30 knots hit. that would have been hell because between BG pass and key west there is almost no where to duck into and if you follow a straight route you get 60 miles off shore.
For me we get 2 or 3 days to sail so we day sail. sometime we sail to the pelican bay anchorage at the "end " of charlotte harbor. next day we sail home it is 18nm.
someone must explain to me where all this sailing is going on- i met a woman who sailed around miami area . she said that the sailing was limited to the ocean and was frustrated about it. th
the bahamas- wow i went on a cruise ship twice. you need to cross the gulf stream with a w window it is ok but you usually haveto wait a few or more days- then you can cruise where ever- now i have only read about this cause we only get 3 days except for the annual vacation. even 2 weeks would not be enough-1 month minimum seems realistic
you know maybe I dont know any thing but this is the way I see it

The north west is great but from all the stuff i have read and my times there-it seems like there is very limited wind.
been in cal rode a motorcycly right down the coast in 81-then i thought so if i can ride down the coast and look at the ocean where are the inlets for the--you know boats??? so it seems SF bay is a graet place to sail.-the folks i have met since then basically say yes we have ocean sailing in san diego-
I wll take chesapeake bay as my compromise at least until the struggle for legal tender frees me from land.
there is the new england area and the great lakes and maybe some other places. I sailed on land in Cal "el mirage" if i rember dry lake that was fun. then of course what i consider the most fun I have ever had (with clothes on) was ice boating-but i had to throw that in.
I am truly confused by what people say here they talk of kids in school and then going to the bahamas-when.
east coast florida is more young and like a real city sw fl is slower with more retired, but there are still families people keep making babies every where.
florida has changed much in the last 10 years (so has the country) my house is worth squat. there are over 1000 empty houses in north port (it is the next town north) the news told of the vacancy. I can see vacant houses all over. now we have drill baby drill oil coming-guess what happens when that oil hits the gulf stream (highway in the ocean) the entire east coast of usa is in danger of oil.
anybody have opinions about sara sota (I have my own) it is only 50 mile north of me on the west coast of fl and the water is blue green. charlotte harbor is dark because of the rivers that feed it like the chesapeake.
i need a nap
keep up the discussion!! with the price of sailing pretty soon all i will be able to do is talk about it
lost soul.

[Alan Brown]

Hey Vegas!

I was enjoying this thread until you wrote:

"and the RED SOX sux too."

I would never say anything like this about the GD Yankees!

LOL

[ASIMPLELIFE]

I grew up in Palm Beach county and Moved to Jacksonville in 1994. Southeast Florida is great from Jupiter north. The people there still speak english. As for Northeast florida. Property insurance is affordable basically $750 per 100,000 value. The milage rate is also low 17.30. Northeast Florida has its pros and cons as for boating:
1. Golf stream 40 mile off coast.
Pro: Eastern Huricanes never come ashore they travel to the Carolinas
Con: Dolphin, sails ect are 40 miles out.
2. Climate less humidy than south florida, four seasons without snow, big oak trees.

It is different than Vegas (my Brother lives there) Not a dry heat like walking into a sauna. We do have bugs but not bad like central and south Florida. We just have house flies and stuff like that. I would look at Jacksonville, St. Augustine (NW), Pal Coast areas. All have great schools. Jacksonville has the two top high schools in the nation Bowles HS and Stanton Prep.. Good luck.. check out my website www jaxbuyorsell.com

David Hart

[djmarchand]

We live in Orange County and keep our boat in San Diego so I certainly appreciate the pros and cons that you mentioned.

I think that if I were in your shoes I would seriously consider SW Florida. Maybe Cape Coral or somewhere around Charlotte Harbor. CH is a great sailing/cruising area. Nice anchorages in Boca Grande, Cayo Costa State Park or Useppa Island.

Hurricanes, heat and bugs are the downside. I learned to live with hurricanes and less so with the heat, growing up in Houston. Many deal with heat and bugs by having a pool and a screened lanai over it. It sure is nice to jump in the pool on a hot August afternoon and then finish it off with a cool one as the sun goes down.

David

[vegasandre]

thanks everyone for their reponses.

LOSTSOUL: man your response was all over the map but that is ok. I enjoyed it. . As far as vacation we are on the "european plan or Aussie plan " minimum 4-6 weeks per year- yank the kids out of school etc. It never seems to amaze me how everyone in the US looks at me in horror when I tell them we are going away for a month. The US is under the "work till you die" philosophy and its not good.

it amazes me when europeans and aussies visiting the States have seen more "states in our country" than the average US citizen has.

As far as the Bahamas - I sailed from FT Laud to Bimini in March - at night with a night landing in 7-10 ft with a 20-25 kt north componant- it was a joke. easy(41 lagoon) . seeing all these "weather windows and no north winds for the crossing" makes me laugh. we just went to Bimini and gun cay and I thought that was paradise(and I know its not that great anymore)

ALAN: Yeah I may have to change my thinking based on the last two nights. Yanks looking terrible.

ASIMPLELIFE: we are set on Jupiter . made 4 fla trips in 5 months. the Mahi and sails are actually sometimes only a few miles from Jupiter inlet. (look at a fla map and see how jupiter juts out a bit , the stream is only 3-5 miles off) Kingfish everywhere. Blackfins also all over the place. Plus I will probably feel like im down at the Jersey shore with all the tri state clientele in the area. we are going to rent a nice house first for a year (as there is more pain on the way for fla housing and much much more for cali housing )

[majnun]

I've lived in California for the past 30 years, first in the SF Bay area, currently in the LA area. I preferred the former for its beauty and air quality (I lived in Marin county, the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge and on a boat in Sausalito). Where ever you go, there you are. It's the people and yourself which make a home and a community. Humans have the knack of turning Paradise into Hell. Just choose. You can always move in another 10 years.

[goat]

Originally Posted by majnun

I've lived in California for the past 30 years, first in the SF Bay area, currently in the LA area. I preferred the former for its beauty and air quality (I lived in Marin county, the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge and on a boat in Sausalito). Where ever you go, there you are. It's the people and yourself which make a home and a community. Humans have the knack of turning Paradise into Hell. Just choose. You can always move in another 10 years.

Well, since it's been six years since the original post, he's only got four more years to wait.


Sent from a boat somewhere

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by goat

Well, since it's been six years since the original post, he's only got four more years to wait.


Sent from a boat somewhere

That's assuming his spot on the waiting list for a dock in CA already came up.