Good Community To Retire In Florida To Fish And Dive.

[Wink69]

Would like some suggestions on citys\villages to live in for hopefully early retirement. Not looking for the Miami lifestyle something quiet but has good spearfishing and boat fishing. East coast or the Gulf??? Would love the Keys but don't think I could handle the price tag.?? Who knows I could live in a condo with a boat slip and leave the wife back in Nebraska. LOL

 

[sportxlh]

Lauderdale by the Sea has good beach diving and boat diving is minutes away. Jupiter is only an hour north for big marine life encounters and Key Largo is a bit more than an hour away.

Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens are nice but not cheap.

Stuart is 30 minutes north of Jupiter and has a nice laid back vib. Housing costs are lower than Jupiter

 

[sheeper]

if you want quiet, seaside, relaxed and a good value check out Vero Beach and Sebastian. Awesome lifestyle, great fishing, and accessible to some of the best diving in the state

 

[ImmaHyrdalisk]

If you like cheap and great community, check out Hernando Beach on the gulf. Lots of affordable housing for sale with dock on canals with direct access to the gulf. Quiet neighborhoods with LOTS of great people who are passionate about the water. My old neighbor moved over there and he and his neighbor builds boats for fun and are constantly out on the water.

You're about an hour away from Tampa for some city time, and right near Weeki Wachee springs which is a great day trip if you like freshwater springs.

I live on the east coast, and around here your best bet is Hobe Sound, Stuart, or PSL. All will be a bit more expensive than the gulf and dock space can be tricky on a tight budget if you have a (larger) boat as you're limited by a lot of low bridges in PSL. Jupiter and WPB are pricey but absolutely great fishing, and good luck finding a slip at a decent rate.

 

[ReefGuy]

Retiring? Punta Gorda. Great gulf spearing, 4 hours to either end of the keys, 2.5 to the "other" coast, 4 to the springs.

 

[ronscuba]

Sounds like you are looking to buy a home ? Have you considered renting ? It can open the possibilities, give you flexibility to move around and be less stressful since you will not worry about repairs/maintenance or housing appreciation.

I like the diving in the Jupiter, Palm Beach, Boynton Beach area, but have no idea what it is like to live there.

 

[100days-a-year]

Spearfishing sucks in S.Florida(and getting worse for some species) compared to anywhere on the Gulf or above Sebastian.And it costs more to live there,so the retirement dollars don't go as far.

Boat diving from Sebastian to Amelia Island is good but vis and weather are more variable.Spearfishing can be epic.
The whole West Coast is great for spearfishing with affordability better above Tampa,too far north and you get fewer hogfish tho.Vis and weather again are more variable than further south.

Not that you can't find a nice place central to your goal areas and trailer a boat,giving you more options and saving the increased price of waterfront living including taxes,maintenance and insurance.

 

[chrisc]

Panhandle/Emerald Coast!! Destin to Pensacola, diving, fishing, and reasonable home prices.

 

[DebbyDiver]

I am "probably" moving to the Sebastian/Vero Beach area once I tire of RV life (which will take a few years!) That area very much reminds me of how the Keys used to be, and it's a boaters/kayakers/anglers paradise. I don't dive up there but it's not a long drive to SoFla. As a matter of fact, I have good friends in Roseland (a small area just north of Sebastian on the Indian River) who I spend a lot of time with...their extra bedroom is considered to be "my room".

For what I just sold my teeny weeny ancient zero lot line Broward County home for, I could buy a sweet 3/2/2 in that area on a big lot. Just sayin'.

 

[Tom Winters]

These "best place to live in Floriduh" threads are always mind numbing...the thought of having to live in some of the places mentioned makes my blood run cold. But then again, my choices would sound like hell-on-earth to most people, but most of them aren't here anyway.
As long as this state has no state income tax, I will keep a place here. Good luck to finding your nirvana.