[blackdog]

Those Florida Homes from the 50's with poured concrete walls, and floor, flat spancrete roof, metal framed crank windows, no heat or central air, are Spartan and fantastic.

Shovel the sand and muck back out, run a dehumidifier, fresh paint, new (2) window units, and you're back in business. 200 mph wind won't hurt them.

They weren't meant to be luxury. 60 Amp service at the main panel. A gas log fireplace. Nothing on the walls. No carpets or flooring. Just a place to sleep and make a few meals. It's Florida. You're supposed to be outside, on the beach, fishing at night, and being a bum.

They are harder and harder to find. I lived in one for years. No showcase for sure. Rented it for $225 a month. 2 bedrooms, one bath, big kitchen, outside shed for a laundry. No dryer(you're in Florida) just a clothes line. The shed served as laundry and fish cleaning station, with gray water going right into the sandy yard.

Then things there went nutz in the 70's, 80's, and 90's. Toothpicks, T-111, blocks, and pitch roofs with shingles. WTF?

[Keyhopper]

Homes built around Miami’s airport are built like that.
The south Florida building code is the strictest in the nation. Home built in the 50s & 60s are tanks.

[Bobbyvotes]

Today’s local regulations probably will not allow to build a house like you lived in. But those type of houses make good sense in hurricane country.