I’m ready to move somewhere tropical, but I don’t want to end up in a sterile town full of retirees from the north. I’m interested in wildlife, access to rural areas and activities like ocean kayaking, etc. I like to run and I like to explore. I want to live where there is ethnic diversity and diversity of all kinds, where I can grow tropical plants in my garden. Somebody told me Sarasota, Florida. Any input from Florida folks here?
There are some nice lots available IN the everglades!
My s-i-l just sold one back to a real estate broker.
“Beware of the Cog”
IANAFloridian
Daytona Beach may interest you; it definitely interests me (that’s where I plan to live if I ever get up the balls to leave Springfield).
There are nature trails nearby, and of course the ocean is right there so you can go ocean kayaking at your leisure.
According to this page, DB’s population is about 65,000 + change, ± 60% white, ± 30% black, ± 3.5% Hispanic. Don’t know if that’s ethnically diverse enough for you, but there you have it.
I also note that DB has tried recently to shed its image as a Spring Break/party image and market itself as a more family-friendly place to live and visit. To this end they’ve spruced up their boardwalk, they now have casino boats that dock at DB and leave for the open sea (for cruises of a few hours), and they’ve made a handful of other cosmetic changes.
I live in Tampa Bay, and it’s good. Extremely culturally diverse. It’s nothing to meet people from other countries daily, let alone other states. Nobody’s from here. The ones who are, IMHO, are typically in possession of a certain tinge of rougesse about the neck area.
You won’t do too much exciting ocean kayakking here on the gulf side, though, so Sarasota would be quite tame for you. Plus, you’re miles from a lot of stuff to do. But, you ain’t gotta shovel sunshine babe.
Wildlife?
Dont swim at nite- moccasins and alligators in fresh water and sharks and jelly fish in salt water.
Your usually ok if you stay on concrete, but once you leave the side walk, you will find plenty of fire ants, scorpians, sand fleas, no see’ums, black widows, and small striped very posonous snakes in your back yard and sometimes they come in the house(Actually, in most of florida, the mosquitos are not bad at all - they seem to be much worse up north).
You also need to spray your house several times a year to keep your cockaroach population down.
Water bills are high, I dont know why though.