Reply #56: I've Lived In Florida Since 1971... Moved Here From Tex-ASS...

[ChiciB1]

Traffic is still going "gung ho" where I am, of course they're fixing the roads around me, but this is the "off season" and I commented to my husband the other day that I really don't want to get out and wade through the throngs of people unless I HAVE to!

I live in the Sarasota area, and while real estate has slowed in the past year, I've been here long enough to know that it will return. I have 5-acres for sale now and it's been on the market for a year now. Since I just paid my taxes I will hold out for a couple of years and my home in Nokomis just got bumped up on the appraisal value. I tell my kids, one day this place will be worth close to a million. Bought it back in '84 and it's about a mile from the the beach and very laid back! I like where I live here on the west coast, but would LOVE SOME RAIN!! And since this was a community that was pretty well established we got a "great" deal when we bought back then. Since then the value has gone way way up! In a slump right now, but Florida really never dies!

I will agree it's pretty hot, no winters to speak of, basically only 2 seasons for the most part... Spring & Summer! But I have great access to the Interstate, live just south of Sarasota and north of Venice and can't complain about my region, a small town in Nokomis and most of the growth is on the east side of 41. I live on the west side and even though my home isn't high end, we have a very large lot and houses aren't too close together.

Now if I could just sell my 5-acres I would be in hog-heaven. I figure I can hold out for another 5 years because we bought the land at and extremely low price back in '89 and it's paid for! Just have to pay the inflated taxes, and I will say many of us are raising our deductibles on our homes and cutting back on the coverage of what assets we have in our houses. We only owe about 8 more years on our mortgage, but the taxes and insurance are a really pain. I think that more and more, my area will attract more high end buyers, but it always has. Many movie stars have homes here and my son works for Martina Navratilova and she has 10 homes here now!

I'm not in a panic as long as I can pay the taxes, but would love to sell my investment in North Port! But it's not cheap! I think in time many of the middle class will be pushed to a breaking point though!

The WORST thing about Florida is it's POLITICS and that really gets my goat... very very little turn out on any action groups and I don't like that. Usually I end up attending them by myself because most of the Democratic Associations do a lot of "talking" or refer you to yet another group who wants to talk some more or refer you to yet another group. THIS does piss me off a LOT!!