Posted on 11/13/2004 4:52:14 AM PST by mass55th
Yes, she's in a hospice in Pinellas county, but the fight for Terri has become a state issue. After Jeb and the legislature passed "Terri's law" then the Supreme Court struck it down, it's back in the courts. News lately hasn't been awful, Judge Greer seems to have had a minor change of heart, and put a slowdown on the husband's desire to end her life.
You didn't warn him about "palmetto bugs", i.e. giant roaches the size of your little finger that try to get in your house everytime you open a door, LOL.
Thanks, I'll put Pinellas county on my list to check out. We're probably going to come down for a visit sometime in February. It'll be a good time to get away from the snow.
We own a second home in Palm Coast which is on the east coast between Daytona and Jacksonville. A growing, quiet city in Flagler county. Because it is further west that other east coast areas of Florida it has escaped hurricane impacts. We like it because there are abundant amenities (stores, banks, etc) that are newly constructed, the city is layed out in a logical manner, housing prices are reasonable, access to beaches and canals is excellent.
I-95 runs through the center. There are private and semi-private golf courses and marinas. Plus Daytona is only about 30 miles south!
Employement is wide open for just about every skill or profession as well.
Enjoy.
Sarasota is nice and the gulf coast are nice.
If you want the prettiest city in Florida it is Winter Park. It is north of Orlando and would be excellent for job hunting for your son. It is 45 minutes to the East Coast and 1 and 15 minutes to the West Coast. If you are wanting to rent there are some great deals around here but buying is different since the prices in Winter Park are legendary. It is simply paradise on earth with a beautiful small town, a College on one end of main street and a golf course on the other, museums and lakes and sidewalk cafes.
Thanks G. Mason. I've bookmarked your link and we'll be checking it out.
Mother Nature can definitely be unpredictable. Being here in Central New York, the only bad weather we've really had to deal with is snow, ice and the occasional hail storm.
I have lived in Indian River, Brevard and Palm Beach (currently) counties. If I didn't have to worry about employment, I would be back in Indian River County (Sebastian) hands down.
Check out this web site:
http://www.sebastianfl.com/
.45MAN and I are back in FL after a 6-year hiatus to Atlanta. We opted to move back to Palm Beach County because we felt there would be numerous employment opportunities here. Unfortunately, after almost three months we are still unemployed, so no place is a safe bet.
Sebastian offers miles of unobstructed beach as there is a moratorium on building anything higher than 2 stories directly on the ocean. It remains a sleepy little fishing village which is growing by leaps and bounds. When we left there 6 years ago it had a population of 15,000. It is now pushing 20,000 and property values have skyrocketed.
Sebastian was hit pretty badly by the last two hurricanes, Frances and Jeanne, but I know it will bounce back.
Wages here are extremely low, so whatever your son is used to making up north, prepare him for the worst here. There is no state income tax, so that helps somewhat.
You have 30 days to get a FL license and tags for your vehicle. You need a title to register your vehicle - if there is a lien on it, you need to go to the tag agency to get a letter to send to the lienholder to release a copy of the title to them. There is a surcharge of about a hundred dollars plus the cost of the tags.
Indian River has some of the most beautiful beaches on the Atlantic side. Look to Pinellas county on the Gulf side for beautiful beaches.
Sales tax varies, averaging 6-7 percent.
Living further inland does not buffer you from hurricanes necessarily. Ask the people in Orange County (Orlando) that went through Charlie. Also, the summer heat is much more unbearable the further inland you go, as well as mosquitoes. There is always an ocean breeze on the Atlantic side that is more refreshing the closer you are to the water.
Do not come to Palm Beach County if you want to live with Republicans - LOL. However, the wages are a bit better and so are the job opportunities (even though we have hit a brick wall, but we are highly specialized - for your son there are banks on every street corner!).
I *LOVE* Florida and even though I am not a native, I have lived most of my adult life in FL, so that's where I tell everyone that I'm from. I hated my 6 years in Atlanta, although the people there are, for the most part, very nice - but the weather is awful and there is no ocean there.
Here's another informative website:
http://www.flausa.com/tools/maps.php
Oh, one more thing - ***LOVE BUGS*** - ecccch. September and May are two months when they are everywhere. They don't hurt people, but they can mess up your car pretty badly if you don't wash them off frequently while they are out. And palmetto bugs - LOL!! They take a little getting used to.
Good luck!
First of all,rent a place for the first two years.The previous posts mentioned the lifestyle of coastal areas
from the middle of the state to the southern parts.What was
omitted were these accelerating nuisances in the aforementioned locations-gridlock and overbuilding.If you
can put up with traffic and wall to wall housing,the southwest Gulf Coast is preferable to Broward,Dade,and
Palm Beach counties.If you prefer peace and quiet,a
conservative, decent atmosphere,Central Fl. is a good bet.
We moved to Sebring from Fort Lauderdale last year and we
love it.Golf,fishing,the largest state park in Fl.,plenty
of lakes,& the Sebring racetrack are just some of the attractions.We did get hit by three hurricanes this
year,but the damage was mild compared to the coastal areas.
BTW.the previous hurricane that passed through here was
Donna in 1964.Fifty percent of our county(Highlands) is
agricultural.This will slow down growth a bit for
the next 7-10 years.
I'm in Sarasota county, which is really a RED county, but the west coast is mostly Conservative. North Port, is one of the fastest growing areas on the west coast, property prices will surprise you down here, very reasonable.
TPD
If you want just a little bit of heaven, come to Anastasia Island, St. Augustine, south of Jacksonville. And St. Johns County is Bush Country!
Appreciate the kind welcome. I've bookmarked a site for Cape Coral and will definitely be checking it out.
Thanks much!
Good luck with your plans! Hope all goes well.
Thanks much for the housing advise. I've made a note of it.
Thanks for the info. My son had originally mentioned Tampa as a possibility, so we'll probably be checking it out.
Love that debris removal update. Seriously though, your part of FL, seems off the beaten path to me, and therefore desirable. Just moved my Mom from Ft. Myers, before the 4 hurricane onslaught, and the peoplization of South West FL. is nothing less than horrible. Traffic alone would keep me from living there.
A visit was OK, but I've been going to Ft. Myers, since long before I-75 and the mass of humanity, is not fun. Mom's house was probably 13 miles from the beach, but in season, which now is almost year round could take over an hour, and when you get there where you gonna park. My Uncle has a house on Bonita beach, and though always rented, we knew we could park there, but forget finding a public parking place. From that respect, I like the Atlantic side.
Has your area been condoized yet. When I first traveled to Ft Myers, the word condo hadn't been invented, well maybe just a little exaggeration. Now the beach area is full of them. The area from your location up to around Perry, seems like the last undiscovered part of FL, but I haven't been there in years so what do I know, and unfortunately if it is true and you advertise it, "They will come".
Appreciate the info on the Panhandle. It's definitely on my list. Besides, it's that much closer to New Orleans!
The Keys, definitly the Keys. Only tropical climate in the USA. Monroe County is almost Republican. Hurricanes are pesky. But
the quality of life far outweighs that one negative.
I agree with the Panhandle....Ft Walton Beach is the best! It's pure Republican country...close to God's idea of heaven on earth - Alabama!....Speaking of which, Baldwin County Alabama is supposedly quite the retirement mecca. Low property tax, extremely low cost of living....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.