lowedaph
Registered
Far X, you may want to check out Pine Island. Its a little further south then your target area, but might be something that appeals to you. I imagine its like the Keys were 30 years ago.
Best Place to Live - For a Diver.....
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Pine Island is a WRECK from Hurricane Charley, the leading edge of the storm and eye went right over it and really messed things up. Land prices there have gone up outrageously over the last 3-4 years as well, and with all the new construction in that area traffic presents a challenge for those who were looking for a serene place to live, even more so for those of us who are natives to the area and basically believe this part of FL to be mostly destroyed by poor management of the ongoing development.
Personally, I'd look at Homosassa and Crystal Springs area.
Personally, I'd look at Homosassa and Crystal Springs area.
So looking at the title of this post, I actually have had the opportunity to live anywhere in Florida, or most of the world for that matter, for diving. When I first moved to Florida a couple of years ago, I lived in South Beach. Dade county was ok, the Keys were just down the road, and it was convenient to get to MIA until I reached the point where I came to HATE that airport with an unholy passion. I can handle FLL and PBI airports ok - but I still have to use MIA to get to the Caribbean. I finally got tired of Miami Beach - too dirty and noisy - especially on the weekends.
I chose not to live in the Keys since I had already done 20 years in Hawaii, and there are no Costcos in the Keys. Sorry, but that is one of my personal definitions of civilization. The Big Island of Hawaii has one, Maui has one and Oahu has three, so they met my definition of "habitable". Kauai were Molokai were out as was Niihau since I'm not 50% pure Hawaiian. Plus I'm kinda used to electricity now anyway.
I skipped all of Broward county to live. Apologies to you NapoleanBroward countyites, but Broward just did not cut it for me, on land or on the water. There's lots and lots of wrecks off Broward, although Dade county might have more total sunken footage. But Broward waters are too crowded and too often not all that clear. Clearer than Dade county though. Both have TOO MUCH boat traffic and TOO MANY totally clueless bonehead drivers (afloat and ashore).
So I opted for Palm Beach county. Manalapan is nice, but $10,500,000 for a fixer-upper was too rich for my blood.
The waters off Palm Beach are a little less crowded than Broward, and I like the water better. Less wrecks though which is a bummer, although the Hydro Atlantic is the closest wreck to me. Boca Raton is pretty quiet compared to lots of other places, but I have yet to hear any gunfire at night.
I would like to live on the Intercoastal, but I missed a chance to get a waterfront house in Boca, plus it would take over an hour to get to the inlet. The lowest water listing right now is something like $1.5 million for a POS with a dock. I hate going slow anyway, but trailering a 30' boat can be a little hairy sometimes.
Jupiter is a great area, although land there like everywhere else in the county is jumping through the roof. There's a trailer park right in the middle of Jupiter channel that you can see on Temptation when you dive with JDC - how that has managed not to get developed is beyond me. But it is pretty up there, and Martin county to the north is still not paved over.
If I was more of a caver, I'd be up in High Springs somewhere. It's gorgeous up there, and I'd even be willing to live in proximity to aCompanyThatShallNotBeNamed that is hq'ed up there.
So my own personal opinion is Palm Beach county. There are still a lot of available bargains between Boca and Jupiter - just takes a bit of research. And, there are Costcos baby...
Finally, these are my own opinions - not judgements on where anyone else lives or would like to live.
Mahalo for your kokua.
I chose not to live in the Keys since I had already done 20 years in Hawaii, and there are no Costcos in the Keys. Sorry, but that is one of my personal definitions of civilization. The Big Island of Hawaii has one, Maui has one and Oahu has three, so they met my definition of "habitable". Kauai were Molokai were out as was Niihau since I'm not 50% pure Hawaiian. Plus I'm kinda used to electricity now anyway.
I skipped all of Broward county to live. Apologies to you NapoleanBroward countyites, but Broward just did not cut it for me, on land or on the water. There's lots and lots of wrecks off Broward, although Dade county might have more total sunken footage. But Broward waters are too crowded and too often not all that clear. Clearer than Dade county though. Both have TOO MUCH boat traffic and TOO MANY totally clueless bonehead drivers (afloat and ashore).
So I opted for Palm Beach county. Manalapan is nice, but $10,500,000 for a fixer-upper was too rich for my blood.
The waters off Palm Beach are a little less crowded than Broward, and I like the water better. Less wrecks though which is a bummer, although the Hydro Atlantic is the closest wreck to me. Boca Raton is pretty quiet compared to lots of other places, but I have yet to hear any gunfire at night.
I would like to live on the Intercoastal, but I missed a chance to get a waterfront house in Boca, plus it would take over an hour to get to the inlet. The lowest water listing right now is something like $1.5 million for a POS with a dock. I hate going slow anyway, but trailering a 30' boat can be a little hairy sometimes.
Jupiter is a great area, although land there like everywhere else in the county is jumping through the roof. There's a trailer park right in the middle of Jupiter channel that you can see on Temptation when you dive with JDC - how that has managed not to get developed is beyond me. But it is pretty up there, and Martin county to the north is still not paved over.
If I was more of a caver, I'd be up in High Springs somewhere. It's gorgeous up there, and I'd even be willing to live in proximity to aCompanyThatShallNotBeNamed that is hq'ed up there.
So my own personal opinion is Palm Beach county. There are still a lot of available bargains between Boca and Jupiter - just takes a bit of research. And, there are Costcos baby...
Finally, these are my own opinions - not judgements on where anyone else lives or would like to live.
Mahalo for your kokua.
down4fun:
Girl! We're practically neighbors! You need to come over on the weekends to dive if we can pull you away from the boats...
down4fun
Contributor
We will definitely have to hook up and do some shore dives. I have only done one, and got chased out of the water by a nosy bull shark. Besides the boat thing gets expensive when you have a habit like mine
OP
Thanks for all the details Tom.... (and you others too,....!)
I think I've decided away from Orlando. Looking more at the Lauderdale/ Pompano/ Boca/ W. Palm Beach areas right now.
Down4Fun - are you still planning on attending the M&G up at Gilboa - if so I'll hafta pick your brain the whole time...
I think I've decided away from Orlando. Looking more at the Lauderdale/ Pompano/ Boca/ W. Palm Beach areas right now.
Down4Fun - are you still planning on attending the M&G up at Gilboa - if so I'll hafta pick your brain the whole time...
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