Florida coast living selection?

[a64pilot]

Is the Jail still the phone booth?
We kept a boat in Carrabelle for years at the Moorings

Carrabelle used to be "old" Florida, I hope it still is

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Capt Gary

Space coast canal lots (at least in the Cocoa Beach Merrit Island area) are anywhere from $350,000 to $850,000 with many available in the $450,000 - $550,000 range)

The problem with Cocoa beach and Merritt Island is low bridges. The bridges on the Banana river in Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach are 36 feet and the Pineda Causeway at the North end of Satellite Beach is 43 feet so sailboats are limited to fairly short masts.

[Boatguy30]

Could get a schooner or a 3 masted junk rig to clear 35'?

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by LeeV

We're looking ahead to retiring in Florida and trying to determine the best "small town" atmosphere areas to look. We saw Stuart last week and found it interesting; we also realized that in the range of 350-500k there's a wide variety of quality, depending on where we look! Like everybody we'd like to avoid the riff-raff, but can't afford a palace!

Have you looked at Titusville? A nice small town and growing again after all the layoffs at the Cape now that the defense contractors are coming in and creating jobs again. I think Titusville Marina might have a spot for your Cat.
My experience is (generally) the farther south you go in Florida, the more expensive things are.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[svfinlandia]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

The problem with Cocoa beach and Merritt Island is low bridges. The bridges on the Banana river in Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach are 36 feet and the Pineda Causeway at the North end of Satellite Beach is 43 feet so sailboats are limited to fairly short masts.

Bill:
Not sure just where you mean. I kept my boat (51' mast height) on the NASA barge canal for a year. There is a draw bridge on route 3 and then a straight shot to the lock and draw bridge to Port Canaveral.

Never mind! Looked at a chart and I see where you are now.

Al, S/V Finlandia

[capngeo]

Originally Posted by LeeV

No, I haven't, but have been told to look at Naples, Cape Coral, Fort Meyers and Venice.

Thanks for the good word.

Lee

I am 2 miles north of Venice if I can answer any questions

[DaveWalters]

Have you been on Zillow?

[Seadaddler]

I hate telling you this but look in Port Charlotte and shallow but good for cat
Punta Gorda even better but mor $$$$.
Best day sailing charlotte harbor and easy to the keys or north,best thing we ever did moving here.
Check out Punta Gorda sailing Club and one of many boating clubs in PG and sailors will help you out with info.
Nick

[Group9]

Gulfport. A really cool, eclectic, Bohemian place.

[Symphony]

Great thread!

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by jholder51

Based on the info that we have, if you want to make sure that you are far enough south to not worry about snow, stay south of Frostproof, FL. Cape Coral has more canals than any other location in the world. You would need to be aware of bridges to make sure that you find a canal that will allow your sailboat. This part of the west coast usually is missed by hurricanes as well. We retired to Cape Coral the first of October and we are looking for our catamaran to use as a live aboard in the Caribbean for the next couple of years. (Anticipating retirement, we purchased our condo 6 years ago and used it as a rental until we retired.)

That's what we're considering now, as we travel back and forth from Md to Fort Lauderdale to see dad, who's 88! We'd just rather have a house.
Thanks for the info.

[dennismenace111]

Lifelong Florida here. I grew up sailing in Biscayne Bay near Miami. That said, I would strongly recommend Punta Gorda. Waterfront property in Miami or Ft. Lauderdale is too expensive.

Affordable... $400k to $750k are available there. It's a senior focused, boating community.

We are considering moving there next year.

[BillyBobtx]

Can't say I have much Florida experience 'cept of course the Florabama bar**. But the boat delivery guy said he once got stuck for a few days in Carabelle. He said it was great location and very reasonably priced real estate.







** Florabama bar is a bar that is on both the Florida and Alabama lines. When I was 18 I could go to the Florida side, but not the Alabama side since Alabama law required you to be 19. I once heard Jimmy Buffet but did not see him since he was playing on the Alabama side.

[mbhouston]

I grew up in Key Largo. You may be able to get a canal-front home on ocean side in the Upper or middle Keys in the upper end of your price range, though I haven't priced real estate lately. Obviously, you'd be able to save on marina fees if you can keep your cat behind the house, so you may be able to afford a bit more. With a cat, you shouldn't any problems with all of the shallow water, but some canals are narrow and could be difficult to navigate with a wide beam. The Keys have changed quite a bit even from when I left for school in 2001. But I still get the small town feeling when I go home. But I live in the Houston area now, so every town is a small town in comparison.

If we were to move back, though, it would be SWFL. My wife is from Fort Myers. That area has grown substantially, too. Others have identified the good areas of SWFL. In fact, we would be there now if we weren't both working professionals that need a larger city to accommodate our careers.

Miami and along the east coast is expensive and not what I would consider small town until you get north of West Palm. I have family that lives near Vero Beach, we enjoyed that area as well. I'm not familiar with the quality of sailing in that area though.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[LeeV]

I'm glad at least some folks found the thread of value. Our price range could expand a bit, but we'd like to have a cat and a house and be able to afford both while sailing a bit.

I have used Zillow and Google and it appears that the best sailing, in terms of islands, the Keys and interesting shoreline points to SWFL. We'd like to stay where it's warm during the winter (arthritis, etc...), and the best way to hear from folks with experience is here on the forum.

I was surprised this weekend when the Admiral suggested she "might" be willing to spend summers up north on the boat and then head south for winters. I'm not going to push it, so we'll see! We're heading down for Christmas and visit Ft. Pierce, and then in June when school lets out and she'll stay most of the summer with her dad. We'll use my 10 days to visit some of the towns on the west coast mentioned here.

Thank you for some great ideas and information!