Help me move to South Florida.

[Billy Northrup]

I cut my teeth in cold water diving here in Monterey California and I love it. However the dive culture runs heavy in Florida and I need more. Wrecks and Tech are great and cruising reefs works too.

Where should I live? I would like to buy a house somewhere north or south of Miami. FLL to Homestead just not IN Miami probably but I'll keep an open mind. I thought about the Keys but the place would be small and the walls would close in on me after time I think.

I have the money to purchase and the commitment, with the post Irma prices and such no time is better than now.

What is your input on where to live with a possible part time job(s) in the industry?

Thank-you

 

[flyboy08]

If you like a night fun filled City, then Miami it is if I've moved back to Florida, Miami would be my first choice.....but I'll never move back to Florida

 

[sheeper]

I prefer the quiet parts of Florida. I live in Vero Beach where we have a strong dive (and treasure) culture. Its a great lifestyle with great property values.

As for jobs. There are part-time seasonal jobs in the treasure hunting world. And I happen to be a senior manager with the largest private dive operation in the US. And we have opportunities for the right person(s).

 

[Tienuts]

I lived all over south Florida for 11 years. I loved it. In fact I still have my house there, and will move back some day.

I'd consider the Fort Lauderdale/Pompano Beach area. Most of the great diving is Pompano for wrecks, or Boynton through Jupiter for the reefs. Miami area does put you closer to Key Largo, but I prefer the diving north. I still say the reefs of the Palm Beaches are the best I have ever dived.

People are surprised to learn Miami doesn't have nearly as much diving as Pompano Beach. There's a few shops, but not as many choices for diving and employment. Very likely you'll need to be bilingual in the Miami area.

No city is without issues, but I find the culture of Miami is a bit tiresome. Too many people looking to impress with fancy cars, clothes, and tough guy attitudes. It's nice to visit there and have dinner once in a while, but I don't want to stay there. MIA airport is also a disaster, and hard to get to. FLL is much nicer, easier to get to, is international as well, and offers free Wifi.

I also don't know the Miami real estate market, but there are many great cities and neighborhoods in the Fort Lauderdale area where you can find a decent and affordable home.

Tony

 

[Bubblesong]

I helped my mom buy a Florida house this way: we took ten days, every day we drove to a different town, stopped at realtor for listings, drove all over town looking at outside of houses, and inside only a few, and chatted up the neighbors for the feel of the place. This way we got more of a feel of friendliness, safety, esthetics if a town, (plus now with internet, this would be even easier for you to google each town’s Scuba shops and sights. )
It was tenth day, last house we found, (by driving by for sale sign, as the realtor had left it off her list hoping to buy it for herself)
18 years later, NO regrets on great location and well built house! Good luck to you!

 

[Schwob]

...as the realtor had left it off her list hoping to buy it for herself...

seems the norm...
but
good that you "found it anyway".
Curious, how did you then end up buying it? Mad dash for another realtor? That very same realtor ?
Or w/o somehow?

 

[Bubblesong]

seems the norm...
but
good that you "found it anyway".
Curious, how did you then end up buying it? Mad dash for another realtor? That very same realtor ?
Or w/o somehow?

House buying takes gutz:
We asked for all listing under $75k, (18 years ago), but while visiting a different house, we drove by this lakeside, well treed, cement block construction house with its sign, and I decided I would just call and see how expensive-Surprise! It was only $55k due to uncooperative divorce. Called other realtor, but she had a broken leg and couldn’t show it, why house was still available. So I talked her into gimping over with full leg cast plus aid of her kid, toured and decided. My mom was sadly devoted to first realtor who was evil incarnate and told mom 1) it was a flimsy, flyaway house (we could see cement bricks), 2) she couldn’t buy, it was in foreclosure,(I called their bank and actually it WAS about to foreclose but I begged a two week extension for people I never met so Mom could buy), 3) The Worst: Realtor told Mom to LET it go into foreclosure so she could chisel price further, but I told Mom she’d never get another chance and why let people get financially hurt to save a few pennies?
After I called realtor to have some Spicey Words with her, the foolishness ended and Mom bought, plus the two wooded lots next door. Her lawn is riddled with turtle burrows, reasonably nice teens drink beer in her woods, loads of trick or treaters: she is happy, in Lady Lake, one hour from Disney.
Did I mention I had my three year old and 8 month old babies along? I was energetic.
Someday, I’d like to dive this little spring fed lake, with proper training, of course.

 

[elbig]

I live in West Palm Beach area. I agree with Tienuts that Ft Lauderdale/Pompano Beach area is worth checking out. BTW I can recommend a realtor that knows the area if you care. I have no affiliation whatsoever. I used them in my search and found them to be very professional.

 

[sportxlh]

I lived in Florida for just shy of 10 years until last year when I moved to ATL. I lived in the Jupiter/Palm Beach Gardens area and we enjoyed it. Diving is good in Jupiter, WPB and Boynton where it's mostly drifting and the Keys are only a 3 hour drive. I miss waking up on Saturday morning, rolling out of bed and heading to the dock 10 minutes away to catch a boat to dive. Makes for a nice morning, especially since I was usually back at the dock early enough to meet my non-diving wife for lunch. I've done a few Tec dives on the deep reef, but it's Tec-lite. There are more deeper sites south, into Broward County.

If you like beach diving then Lauderdale by the Sea and Hollywood are good choices. The diving in Pompano and FLL is also good, lots of wrecks though not quite as much drift diving as Palm Beach County.

 

[Schwob]

Does outside of the blue area in the right picture still get you far enough south?

Elevation of Southern Florida : Image of the Day

Edit: better map downloadable here:
USGS Scientific Investigations Map 3047: State of Florida 1:24,000- and 1:100,000-scale Quadrangle Index Map—Highlighting Low-Lying areas Derived from USGS Digital Elevation Models

Edit 2: and here you get to play with water level rise anywhere world wide (the feet scale seems to top out at 10, the meter scale goes higher...):
Surging Seas: Risk Zone Map