Best city or community to retire and dive? And why?

[Magnolia3]

Without a doubt, High springs/Gainsville Florida. If your stricktly a salty Id say Pompano.

Yep West Coast fla is awesome... Crystal River and St Pete for me.. much cheaper than SE Fla or the keys.. more laid back.. Less crime.. It all depends on the lifestyle you want. Kids?

You really have not said exactly what kind of lifestyle you want.. you left that kinda sorta ambiguous.

---------- Post Merged at 10:03 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:55 PM ----------

t? i read living aboard is a pretty cool cheap way to retire.

Sail Boat + Compressor = Scuba Retirement Plan

I spent a large part of my life living on sailboats.. the cheap thing is a myth trust me..

I mean there is nothing like begging your friends to smuggle engine parts in their suitcase to avoid customs.. being in some lovely exotic local trying to figure out why your genset is making odd noises that sound like a dying seal with copd. Trying to discuss the problem with the manufacturer on a sat phone at a buck fifty a minute who wants to put you on hold or tells you that they dont make that model anymore (and you know they do) so buy a new one at the cost of $6,800 when the part you need costs $4.50.
Then there are the customs guys... and clearing into and out of a country... the US does not require a zarpe to leave.. but the customs guy in Isla Mujeres religiously wants one. NO zarpe, impound your boat.. Nope I am over sailing on my own boat.. its OPB for me..

---------- Post Merged at 10:14 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 09:55 PM ----------

Are you really sure you want to live here? Hurricanes, tornadoes, lightening, wild fires, red tide, lots of bugs, skeeters, gators, snakes... and that is just in my back yard.. gotta love the jellie burns, or the stingrays one steps on.. or sea urchins... summer temps in aug and sept in the 90's with 90% humdity. Houses that were not built for cold. traffic jams on the Palmetto in Miami, Orlando or the Howard franklin bridge at rush hour. How am I doing? I chase you away yet.. IN truth, its all about what you are willing to tolerate for living here. I cannot complain its been home, with a few escape attempts over the years since 1961. West Coast is my preference. oops I forgot about the Armadilloes and Snow Birds...

 

[decompression]

Some wonderful insights. Prefer quiet and peaceful, and a bit funky (still young at heart), 2 kids, both young now so that will be a concern. We've spent many years on the west coast and several earthquakes so I'm hoping TS are no big deal. And average houses cost $700,000. Would love to have a variety of diving within an hours drive (wrecks, reefs and caves).

 

[Paulmal]

High Springs, Fl. Cave Diving Mecca.

 

[billgraham]

Marianna, Florida. You're within an hour of the gulf if you absolutely must be in salt water now and then, and you've got cave diving disneyland in your backyard (Merritt's Mill Pond). Reasonably priced real estate, trappings of civilization, within an hour of several airports.

 

[Mark Derail]

I'd pick Maui over any Florida place, anytime. Too bad Canucks cannot retire to US soil...Unless we buy our way in (costs 1M$).

 

[Tom Winters]

I guess there's a lotta people from Canuckistan roaming wild in Boca Raton who didn't know that they can't retire down here. That said, since Canada is still part of the Commonwealth, it makes some sense to consider some member place like that. Also, the going rate for resident status in a lot of Caribbean nations is a bank deposit of $100K or so, or it used to be. Not sure what the rate is now.

 

[guyharrisonphoto]

For what you want, it has to be the southeast coast. Lake Worth is prime, as is Boynton and Delray Beach. You are right in the middle of the best diving Florida has except for shallow reefs, and if you want that you are 2 hours from Key Largo any weekend. You are minutes from all you could want, with Blue Heron Bridge (one of the best macro spots in the entire continent--and, a beach dive!), plenty of wrecks at all depths from rec to tec, healthy reefs, routine BIG marine life (turtles, sharks, goliath groupers are plentiful), lobstering, and, which no one has mentioned, the best beach diving in the state with several wrecks and several healthy and beautiful shallow coral reefs a short swim off the beach (great tropicals, macro, colorful coral) without the cost of a dive boat!

 

[100days-a-year]

Jacksonville,diving here is good to epic if you're not a conehead on an overcrowded charter diving the same wrecks each week.Big animals and lots of bottom to dive.9 hours to Key West 9 hours to the Outer Banks.6 to Pensacola,3 to the springs and caves.2 hours to Orlando and all it's attractions.Cost of living is low,food from Afghani to Thai.Crime is mostly in areas only an idiot would choose to live in.Golf is cheap and there's the TPC every year.Plays,shows,concerts and other sports.Jazz and Blues fest as well as live music venues.Historic forts are located nearby.

It's a great place to live the other places in Fla are great to visit but traffic,crowding,crime or expense always come to play.I can Dive the Busch 1 weekend and the Ario the next then stay local and hit unidentified natural wrecks and planes while seeing fish who haven't seen two boatloads of tourists already that day.And we have 3 seasons not 2

 

[decompression]

Nice, I had a quick look at Boynton and Jupiter, I'll have a look at Jacksonville.

 

[fsudiver]

Just curious, decompression, where did you decide? I wish I had seen this post a few years ago, especially seeing so many incorrect comments about Florida and about Canadians. I am an avid SCUBA diver and instructor who lives in Tallahassee but dives all over the state frequently. As others have stated, the west coast is considerably less expensive. Florida is an AMAZING place to live. In the northwest part of Florida, you have easy access to the Gulf of Mexico as well as to beautiful springs. In the southeast, you have BIG sea life, especially near Jupiter. Bigger cities, like anywhere in the world, tend to have bigger traffic and bigger crime, but there are many beautiful small towns that are quaint, affordable, and give you an excellent quality of life. It really depends on your preferences and what you want to do outside of diving, too. Where I live, homes are very inexpensive, and there is a more laid-back lifestyle than in South Florida (though I drive to South Florida a lot to SCUBA dive, too...I actually dive in my neck of the woods as well as around the state often. I've dived in many other countries from the Galápagos, Ecuador to Fiji to South Africa to the Philippines and more). I've been to 76 countries, and there is nowhere on Earth I would rather live than the Sunshine State, Florida. There is no state income tax here, the people are friendly, the weather is beautiful, and despite what others have said, we have not had a hurricane in 10 years!