Moving to West Palm Beach. Club? Living quarters?

[bradxb]

Hi, Everyone!

My name is Brad. I'm an Arizona diver (there are lots of us!) moving to the West Palm Beach area in 4 to 8 weeks. Can anyone recommend a dive club (whether dive shop affiliated or not)? Also I'm flying to Florida to scope out living quarters, probably Aug 18-20. I need two bedrooms. Not thrilled about buying because of the uncertain housing market. Renting (condo, apartment, townhouse, cottage) may be a better bet initially. Because I like lots of quiet, a cottage may be ideal. Of course, the cheaper the rent, the more I can dive! Recommendations, opinions, and insider information would be greatly appreciated!

Looking forward to diving with Florida Conch Divers!

Brad

 

[CAPT HOOK]

Get ready for the shock - there is nothing cheap in the WPB area! Not sure of rents in your home area, but I live in Royal Palm Beach and rents around us start at about $1700 a month plus!

 

[CBulla]

The dive club ya want is right here. So many divers always diving somewhere around WPB or LBTS.. boats, shore dives, both... all kinds of stuff. I have never had a lonely dive on that coast!

 

[HowardE]

Get ready for the shock - there is nothing cheap in the WPB area! Not sure of rents in your home area, but I live in Royal Palm Beach and rents around us start at about $1700 a month plus!

I live in Ft Lauderdale on the beach, and I only pay $1300. Deals are abound, if you look.

But like Colin said... Just post something in the Conch Forum, and you should find plenty of buddies.

 

[KBeck]

I think that renting in the area first is a wise idea. WPB area can be extremely varied, from closer to the beach condos, to cute old florida homes/cottages (but usually will be vvery expensive as those areas are experiencing a renaissance), etc. An average one bedroom apartment will run @ $1000, two bedrooms from $1200 and up.

As you stated, the housing market has been wild, so you may do well with getting a Real Estate agent show you one of the multitudes of condo-conversions that those speculators are now renting out because they can't sell, rather than the average apartment complexes. Often, the condos will have some upgrades or be a newer complex in general.

Throw me a PM and I'll give you my personal e-mail and try to tell you some areas you may want to look at/avoid. There is a SLIM possibility I may be renting out my condo soon, as I'm hoping to get a job that will take me south of here ( ) .........


As for the typical dive clubs, there's not much active in the area. Many divers in the WPB area prefer the private boat route, and often their safety.......is not what I'd like to see. I pretty much found every buddy I have off Scubaboard. Definitely come join a dive once you're in the area!

 

[bradxb]

Thanks for all of the good info. But Capt Hook, I sure hope I can find a place under $1,700! "When I first came to Florida, I was living in a tiny shoebox on the side of the road. But if you try to tell the kids of today that, they'll never believe you..."

 

[Orlando Eric]

DancesWithSeals- Your Nick on SB reminds me of a woman I met at a memorial day celebration. She has lived in Fort Pierce her whole life and once worked with the USO. She told me stories about how she and her friends spent time at the dances with the Navy Boys who trained here in Fort Pierce at the then SEAL training camp.

Back to Living in Florida. It is tough working to live here as a regular Schmoe. Even the once little town I am now in (Fort Pierce not Orlando) has caught up with the Price race.

The Standard median house here is in the $240k range. A Townhouse in a medium crime area (dont send your kids to the school) is 140k. Hell I saw a crack house the other day and it was 68k!

The local beach Condo's are 500k to 750k depending. Other Condo's can be found at 2/1.5 at 110k to 140k in older buildings inland.

The wage in this area has not caught up with the housing market. If there are not changes soon I fear many people will be moving from here to either cheaper housing OR better wages.

Good Luck and welcome to paradise.

 

[CAPT HOOK]

You can find many 2 bedroom apartments (condos) in WPB area for $1200-$1500 per month.
Thought you wanted a house and around here that's the going start price!

 

[deepstops]

The wage in this area has not caught up with the housing market. If there are not changes soon I fear many people will be moving from here to either cheaper housing OR better wages.

Good Luck and welcome to paradise.

Actually, the exodus has already begun. While the SE FL population continues to grow, for every 100 new residents, about 80 others are leaving. There was an article in the Herald or Sun Sentinel recently.

My house, that I paid $300K for in Jan. 2002, was valued at $700k late last year but has dropped to $600k today. I personally could less, I was born in Broward County and this is "home" to me.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

I would work with a few realtors. There are many speculators that have purchased houses that they can not now sell. If you are patient you may well be able to rent a nice new home for much less than what it would cost to own one.