Potential Florida Vacation home location?

Lake_Bum · December 15

So I currently live in Arizona, and I'm 8 years away from retirement. I am kicking around a location to purchase a winter home for when I retire. I know what you're thinking, Arizona has warm winters! Well not where I live. I'm in Flagstaff, Arizona and reside at 7100 ft elevation, and we get LOTS of snow. I do plan on keeping my place here, but I don't want to mess with Snow in my later years. Florida is one of a few places I'm considering a "winter getaway" in a place that is nice weather, but not in the super expensive places like Key West, Miami, etc....I'm thinking I'd live there about 4 months a year, and rent it out the remainder most likely.

I know there's quite a few Floridians on here. Let's hear a few ideas, and it'll give me some research to do. Thank you!

aero3113 · December 15

My parents and brother both have homes in Jacksonville. You get 3 seasons, no winter. They love it.

mbnarney · December 15

Mount Dors up in central fla. Small town living at its best

Lake_Bum · December 15

mbnarney said:

Mount Dors up in central fla. Small town living at its best

Small town living is what I like! We would probably take a few weeks in the RV driving that direction, and then enjoy a slow pace for the Winter, then head back to AZ for everything I currently enjoy here. Lake Powell being near the top of the list!

PickleRick · December 16

I haven't been there in a long time but Venice Florida used to be a quiet little old Florida town.

Cableguy Greg · December 16

I have my late mother’s 2 bed, 2 bath duplex in a golf course community in Daytona Beach for sale.

Dream_Inn · December 16

PickleRick said:

I haven't been there in a long time but Venice Florida used to be a quiet little old Florida town.

I was in Venice earlier this year and absolutely loved it. Cleanest, most friendly, quietest place…oh and very safe. I saw many people in their 70s playing tennis or walking past midnight. I don’t think it’s cheap though

PickleRick · December 16

Vacationed there @2009. Found a few homes just a few blocks off the beach. Small 2/3 br cinder block pad homes for 60-80k.

I regret not buying but I was around 26-27 and the market has just crashed. The home we lived in had a mortgage for more than resale value at the time.

MarkB · December 16

There will be lots of deals between Clearwater and St. Petersburg, due to hurricane damage and people that can't cover the damage due to insufficient or no insurance coverage. Yes, you'd need to renovate ... but likley well worth it if you have the time ... it is pretty inexpensive to renovate in Florida, just have to wait for contractors to be available.

I lived in that area (had a vacation home) for 10 years. It was really nice, warm water, better prices than Miama. Supposed to be more secluded from hurricanes, as there's a weird path they'd need to take to hit that area ... but obviously not impossible.

LaRea · December 16

As we work our way south from Tarpon Springs, the amount of storm damage here is amazing and depressing. It's gonna be a long time before contractors run out of work here. Wrecked boats and blue tarps are everywhere. Saw a 75-foot sportfish submerged at the pier and a 90-foot motor yacht wedged under a bridge abutment. You walk around the marinas and half of the boats have at least some damage.

@Lake_Bum they will still be recovering when you get a place here 6-8 years from now.

captkevin · December 16

Might want to explore home owners insurance before you buy. My dad has a place in Bonita Springs. His insurance for 2025 went up 48%.

Lake_Bum · December 18

Thank you ALL for your replies. Definitely some nice places to start looking. I don't really have my heart set on anywhere yet, just have some basic weather expectations to shoot for.

PickleRick · December 18

If Jacksonville winters are acceptable for you the mere 100 miles of Georgia coastline should be similar in terms of winter weather.

I'm a huge fan of Jekyll Island aside from it being the birthplace of the federal reserve.

Small Island, quiet. Still warm enough for plenty of natural palms. Pindos, palmetto and giant sagos but not too hot for rose bushes. Spanish moss everywhere on large hardwoods that offer good shade from the sun. Short drive to I-95.

Winter is off season, only 2 or 3 hotels on the island but VRBO will be cheap once we get past News years

LaRea · December 19

Have you considered L.A.? (Lower Alabama

). We liked Fairhope AL on Mobile Bay. Great sunsets, easy Gulf access, prices not horrible.

Lake_Bum · December 19

LaRea said:

Have you considered L.A.? (Lower Alabama ). We liked Fairhope AL on Mobile Bay. Great sunsets, easy Gulf access, prices not horrible.

I'm still 8 years away from Retirement, I'm not ruling out anything yet. I just know I want to be out of the snow for Winter, and somewhere peaceful, with good weather, that doesn't cost a bajillion bucks haha.
I appreciate all suggestions, I've got lots of time to research!

PickleRick · December 19

In, I think, '76 Tampa and Miami both got snow.

rasbury · December 20

mbnarney said:

Mount Dors up in central fla. Small town living at its best

I think that is mount Dora, which is a nice little town and it's on a nice chain of lakes- depends on what your looking for with regards to water....it's everywhere in fl and around it- property is just crazy, at least compared to 10 years ago. There are lots of nice towns along the st johns river- I live in sanford which is the southern end of navigable water with a 270- smaller can go much further south and them it's dumps into the Atlantic around Jacksonville to the north. I have no experience with southeast FL Miami areas but I'd love to do some boating down that way
West coast gulf is really nice but you have to go out 50 miles to stop hitting the bottom- intracoastal is nice- east coast inlets are pretty ruff however.
Lots of different choices depending on the lifestyle your looking for!

rasbury · December 20

PickleRick said:

In, I think, '76 Tampa and Miami both got snow.

Don't know about Miami but orlando did! We have not had many hard winters since.

PickleRick · December 20

rasbury said:

PickleRick said:

In, I think, '76 Tampa and Miami both got snow.

Don't know about Miami but orlando did! We have not had many hard winters since.

January 19 1977 was the only time in documented history it snowed in Miami.

mbnarney · December 21

Yep Mount Dora. I fat thumbed it. I was working midnight shift down here when it snowed. Not enough to settle but none the less you would have thought it was end times.

rasbury · December 21

One little town we hauled the boat over to on the west coast is Dunedin- I think I have a thread on here about it- there is the state park caledisa which actually has ( or had depending on the hurricanes) nice slips with power- must have been 50 empty slips. Anyway, nice little town, nice marina on the intracoastal- I'd like to go back to that area. There was the eye of a tropical system that came through right on top of us. One of our first trips 60" of rain I think that week- crazy flooding everywhere...just above st pete- but back then it seemed remote-

Lake_Bum · December 22

A friend of mine that I used to work with (he passed away) had bought a small fixer upper in Clearwater, Florida. He spent a few years, Vacationing there a couple times a year fixing it up the way he wanted. I remember looking at his pictures of the complete renovation, he documented it well. He had that place SO nice, complete with a dock and a lift. And he got Cancer and died very quickly about 6 months before he was planning to retire. Definitely a tragic ending, but it put things into perspective for sure. Life changes fast. Enjoy every second.

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