i may be a bit premature but.....
 

some of you guys may already know but I own a retirement condo in delray beach. it's a bit down the road but in 8 short years i'll pull the pin on my career with the largest commuter rail in the country and dedicate my next chapter to being an east coast snowbird. lately I've been looking at pine island/st james city and maybe big pine key. something on the water. I know there's a waterfront condo complex on pine island that looks ok. don't know how many members are on the west coast but it seems like a nice quiet place to settle down. kinda like old florida. or course we know it's hard to beat the keys but i'm not sure I want my own house for the golden years, what with painting and mowing and such. any ya'll familiar with pine island or surrounding areas? looks nice from what I can tell and I already have an old buddy or two in the area.

also, the differences in the fishing between the east and west coast. more about the sport for me so I love the tuna and dolphin and such but i'm gonna want to bring home the occasional grouper and snapper for the table.

When you say Pine Island, which area are you referring to as theres 2 Pine Island's on the west coast that I know of. I'm guessing you're talking about the one close to Ft Myers?

Before you decide against your own house - compare the cost of condo dues with paying a kid to mow and paint. Looking at a condo, look into the financial reserves, condition of the property (roof, siding, etc.), history of big repair assessments, management - talk to some owners about their experience with the running of the place. Condos can be great but they can also be full of unpleasant financial surprises and it can be a pain to get things fixed if the management is incompetent or the maintenance guy is a slob. You don't want to spend your golden years tearing out what little gray hair you may have left.

Read John D. MacDonald's book Condominium and you'll check things out a lot closer if you decided to buy one at all. Great read btw.

p.s. Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival would apply as well.

Ferm, not sure. didn't know there were two. the one by Sanibel and cape coral and captiva. south end of the island. st james city.

Thats the bigger one which is the one I figured you were talking about. My sister in law lives down there, but inland next to I-75. The area is growing pretty rapidly, and not one of the cheaper areas to live in anymore. It's an unusual area with alot of money with those living out on the islands/beach, but as you go inland it quickly turns into illigal aliens, fruit pickers, and other assorted trash. I would reccomend spending some time in the area as it isn't for everybody.

Fruit pickers!! Perfect for CTT!! lol

Just a thought..
A NE Ohio friend who used to own a house in FL now rents a house there for month or so each winter. His rational was that for what he was paying for a house ($165,00 + taxes, maintenance, etc. every year ) he can rent a place or even a different place every winter. He has done this for the past 15 years.

maco, you'd be the first fruit I pick.

wanted to bring this one back for some more speculation. i'm a bit closer to the move now and have a few friends who are also considering the area. talk to me about FISHING!!! southeast vs southwest. I guess i'll spend some time riding around on my scooter looking for some fishy water. sammich in the basket, rods in the back. maybe some light tackle rod bending action from shore, suds, canals. some nice sammich size snappers and such. how different is the inshore fishing between the east side and the west side? it wont be every day I dunk the boat so i'd like to just scoot up to some water and catch me some tasty fish tacos. what do you south florida guys think???
also, the snorkeling. I know it's awesome on the east coast. what about the west coast?
kayaking?

The big problem right now is red tide and blue/green algae. There has been massive fish/everything kills down there. If it recovers there is kayaking a plenty. Fishing from shore is mostly limited to piers and bridges due to the shallower water depths on the Gulf/west coast. South Florida is getting VERY over populated, and the fisheries is suffering. My brother in law was a guide down there until red tide hit last year and wrecked everything. Our new governor has taken an aggressive approach to fixxing the water problem's, but it is a complex/complicated issue, and will take millions and lots of work to begin to correct it. The inshore waters of the Gulf in south Florida is some of the most beautiful there is with rivers, bays, harbor's, flats, oyster bars, rock beds, mangroves, and anything else you can think of, but boating traffic is EVERYWHERE! I'm sure it will recover down there, but it's going to take some time.

well, that went fast! i'm now only 4 years from pulling the pin on my career. i'll be 60. my wife wants me to stay a bit longer but man!! I just want to get started on the next chapter of my life already. still focused on pine island. Sanibel. naples. cape coral. never really spent a lot of time on the west coast but I feel it calling me.

Good to hear from you CTT!

As a retired guy, I can tell you that the closer you get to the day, the faster the time goes.

And once you retire, time accelerates again, it seems like I just retired the other day, May 31st will be 3 years.

There's alot of places for sale on the water down there from everybody getting out. Our new governor is working on trying to clean up the water, but he's being fought tooth and nail at every turn. Myself, you couldn't gete to move down there right now. Too much development, way to many deed restricted communities with nazi HOA's, and the fishing has gone down hill. My brother in law just finished selling his boat and closing down his charter business because the area is basically dead right now. I want to go to the nature coast, but the developers are trying to get going destroying up there as well.

thing is Ferm, right now we have a place in delray beach. bought and paid for so it owes me nothing. I feel like that area is more to my wife's liking, what with the yuppy atlantic ave and the artsy bars and sh!t. me, I don't set foot in a bar. i'd rather sit on a seawall somewhere and just cast a little tin and smoke some weed and find a nice shade tree to eat my lunch. maybe ride my scooter to a canal somewhere and sip on my coffee while I look for some fishy water. snorkeling gear in my basket in case I see a nice rubble pile to swim over. i'm just looking for the laid back, island time kind of life.

mawshj
 

finding a "kid" to mow or do any work was an option years ago, but is no longer an option , in todays world. contract mowers are now paid similar to doctors

You got me there Mawshj,

The last kid I used, actually an intelligent (book smart) young guy, managed to knock a chunk off the corner of a concrete step and break the crankshaft in my mower in one stroke. However, I have found that there are quite a few guys in our immigrant population who actually know how to work and aren’t afraid to do it - I’d think Florida should have enough of those really good guys to keep Charlie’s lawn mowed.

I’ll grant you that our native born suburban (and probably urban) kids tend to be a pretty useless bunch when it comes to doing anything involving physical skill or breaking a sweat.

oh please.... American kids are all pussies. I have two boys, 18 and 21. big boys. strong and healthy. guess who mows the lawn, shovels snow, moves furniture, etc...... back in the day we did all that sh!t. grabbed a shovel and hit up the neighborhood. only ones you see doing that now are the black kids. might get rid of mine and adopt a couple of them.

BS
 

I call BS on that one. My grandkids are All-American kids who can saddle and ride a horse, rope and brand, cut and stack firewood, shovel snow and pick up dog poop. They all have friends who do the same and more. They compete in sports and excel in school.

Don't paint with such a broad brush, there's lots of great young people around and they deserve a lot more credit than they get.
XXL

yeah, here in downstate new York, we don't do a lot of riding, roping or branding. this here is one of the most populated places you ever did see. BIG. BIG difference between my home and yours. sports wise, both my boys are exceptional at basketball, maybe scholarship material...... but here in the big city, having never had to saddle a horse, our kids are a bit softer.