BuffettNews.com

Cubbie Bear wrote: "Don't ever move to your favorite place in the world. First of all... It will never live up yo your expectations when you are there full time. Secondly, you'll find you never have the time for the things you moved there for".

Remembering the horrid days I put in when I had my first restaurant, I decided he was right. I wouldn't have seen any more of the Keys then I do in my semi-decade visits.

My advice, keep the Keys your special place

I agree with you cubbie...more than anything I'd love to move to Ocracoke Island in N.C., but I think it's better to keep that as our special vacation spot.

I'd be happy with moving somewhere within an hour of the east coast...

When I lived in Hampton, VA that was my favorite hiding place, its beautiful there.

I was just down in the Sanibel/Captiva islands for my 10th anniv.
Never been to KW, yet but we loved where we were except the Gulf side of FLA is very different than VA Beach.

I just left Bonita Springs, 20-30 minutes south of Sanibel/Captiva. I lived there for 1.5 years, and that was 2 years too long. It was a great place to visit, but I would *never* want to live there again. I don't miss it, and will never miss it. The only place I would *ever* consider living in Florida would be the Keys, because the attitude is just different than anywhere else in Florida.

mrmiata wrote:

I was just down in the Sanibel/Captiva islands for my 10th anniv.
Never been to KW, yet but we loved where we were except the Gulf side of FLA is very different than VA Beach.

I just left Bonita Springs, 20-30 minutes south of Sanibel/Captiva. I lived there for 1.5 years, and that was 2 years too long. It was a great place to visit, but I would *never* want to live there again. I don't miss it, and will never miss it. The only place I would *ever* consider living in Florida would be the Keys, because the attitude is just different than anywhere else in Florida.

Why was it so bad? Can you be more specific?

Thanks for all the thoughts. I need to weigh out all the pros and cons before I make this major move... maybe the Keys aren't exactly where I want to be... I'll get it figured out here in the next couple of months. In the meantime, keep all the words of wisdom coming...

I've had the dream for some time now. Just ordered the book to seek enlightenment. At any rate we're going down island for the New Year week so that'll hold us over for a little while (very little). I'd also like to know what's wrong with Bonita Springs as that's another locale we're considering. Take it Blues Torpedos.

Hey Cubbie, I don't think you were cranky.... just realistic.

The Keys are great, but DAMNED expensive. I have two friends who live in Key West and when they sold their house up here, it wasn't enough for even a fixer-upper down there. Houses are STARTING at $300,000 and THOSE are barely liveable.

They both work two jobs to afford rent in new town... their one comment about life down there was "I wish we didn't have to work so much to afford to live here so that we could appreciate the fact that we do..."

Key Lime Lee wrote:Hey Cubbie, I don't think you were cranky.... just realistic.

The Keys are great, but DAMNED expensive. I have two friends who live in Key West and when they sold their house up here, it wasn't enough for even a fixer-upper down there. Houses are STARTING at $300,000 and THOSE are barely liveable.

They both work two jobs to afford rent in new town... their one comment about life down there was "I wish we didn't have to work so much to afford to live here so that we could appreciate the fact that we do..."

Hey,

Where ya been Workin'

hows the voice

CRC....call me if ya need a roomie!!!!

me too

jvman16 wrote:I dont know if this fits the thread but............... I once thought about quitting my job and moving to Las Vegas. I really hate winter and enjoy the heat. I have a friend out there who probably could have gotten me started too.
Then a girl at work said to me.... "yeah, great move, go raise 2 girls in a town where the only 2 businesses are gambling and legalized prostitution !!!". Needless to say, I still live in New York, lol

Actually...that may have been the way Vegas used to be....but as it has grown over the years, LV is really a great city to live in now. There's lots of business opportunities here, great weather year round, and plenty of places for the in-laws to stay when they visit!

Although Key West has always sounded tempting....I've been in Vegas for about 5 years and am very happy living here!

CRC Parrothead wrote:Thanks for all the thoughts. I need to weigh out all the pros and cons before I make this major move... maybe the Keys aren't exactly where I want to be... I'll get it figured out here in the next couple of months. In the meantime, keep all the words of wisdom coming...

One more thought......don't forget about the impact of real estate taxes. I know Ocracoke Island, NC carries the majority of the tax burden for Hyde County and I'm sure the same would probably be true for Key West since it is the main draw for Monroe County, comparatively speaking.

When my wife and I decided we had enough of Wisconsin, we decided not to try Key West for just about all the Reasons posted above. We decided on Tampa and have been here since September. So far it is the best move we've ever made. We are close enough to the Keys for a long weekend trip, but far enough away that we don't ruin it as a special place.
It has only been a couple of months, but I don't know why I'd ever want to live anywhere but Florida.

skink wrote:When my wife and I decided we had enough of Wisconsin, we decided not to try Key West for just about all the Reasons posted above. We decided on Tampa and have been here since September. So far it is the best move we've ever made. We are close enough to the Keys for a long weekend trip, but far enough away that we don't ruin it as a special place.
It has only been a couple of months, but I don't know why I'd ever want to live anywhere but Florida.

Good for you skink!! Glad to hear you are so happy!

Why was it so bad? Can you be more specific?

Bonita Springs itself is pretty cool, but you have the combination of high-falutin' snowbirds in Naples, who think they run the town when they only live there 4-5 months out of the year, bass-ackwards roadbuilding (there are only two routes north and south from Ft. Myers to Naples, and neither one is a quick route during tourist season. The rain in the summertime can be *brutal*, as can the heat. When your water comes out of the pipes already hot, well... There are a lot of pholks from the East Coast moving to the Gulf Coast, saying they moved to get away from the hustle and bustle, but then they p*** and moan about people that don't hustle and bustle. Drivers are rude, clueless or dangerous. I lived 4.5 miles from work and it took me 1.5 hours to get home on more than one occasion because of the aforementioned roadbuilding issues. There are a lot more issues, but I'll be nice.

There are too many people in Florida and it's not going to get any better as the Baby Boomers retire and move to Florida like has been the dream of so many for the past 30 years. The easygoing Florida attitude is gone unless you live in the middle of the state or the Keys. The Keys will lose that attitude too, I'm afraid. If I were forced to live in Florida again, I'd choose some bumble-nowhere town in the middle or, as I said, the Keys. Give me sugarcane and orange groves on Palm Beach Parkway over Cataracts and Cadillacs syndrome any day of the week.

I'm not saying Florida isn't a beautiful place. It is, once you get out of the boring, cookie-cutter look of gated communities, Mediterranean-style houses and golf courses. The cracker communities are wonderful, and there's just something about the Everglades that is amazing. But the coast is not Florida. It's a kitschy, overdone, overpopulated wasteland of rampant urban sprawl with nothing to offer but traffic, hateful people and dangerous roads.

I will allow this... I *would* live in a progressive place like Jacksonville, but if I'm gonna go there, I might as well go to Savannah or Charleston, my first choices.

For what it is worth:

Quit your job and move to KW? Go for it!!!! Just don't have really high expectations that it will be a fantasy world, it will be fun, it will be hard work, you will tire of the tourists and you prolly won't stay as long as you thought you would. But that is OK go have some phun for ahwile! If it doesnt work out you are a better person for trying. Be creative and ask around and get to know people ( as I know you will "HH") And everything will work out. Watch out for the cost of living and live within your means.

I lived in Ski Country Colorado for few years and its all true there as wll, lots of partying, lots of skiing and LOTS of working, but it was a tight nit group of ski bums that changed every year and yes I got tired of it after a few years.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."-Mark Twain

"The trouble with PARADISE....is by the time word gets out and everyone shows up....it's PARADISE LOST!!""

Same old story! Key West has become "PARADISE LOST" for some time now...no water....no room...no place to live...no jobs...politics so bizzarre you have to get a "permit" from the city to BREATHE...

When my wife and I moved to an island north of Key West in '86...it still WAS paradise....but in those days the next island was a land fill...and NOBODY wanted to live here. NOW...no one can AFFORD to live here!!!

IF you REALLY still want to live in these islands...sell everything and move onto a BOAT! THEN...you can live in these islands...for ALMOST nothing!! (But you have to be committed!!!! Luckily...the only thing saving THIS marine paradise from being "lost"...is 99% of people aren't committed enough to give up all their "junk" and live on the water!!)


BTW - boats DON'T have air-conditioning!!! (If they do...you can't afford to RUN them!!! )