Where to move for best diving in Florida?

[taymere]

I am relocating to Florida for the reef diving and weather from the Pacific Northwest and I can pick any town in to live in that I choose. I am seeking advice so that I can start researching towns on the internet before taking a diving and house hunting trip there this winter. If you could pick anywhere in Florida to live for reef diving except the keys where would you choose to live? I am seeking advice on the best town to live in that still close to great diving on the South East coast. My criteria for picking a location are good reef dives fairly close by, low crime, and lots of affordable foreclosed newly constructed single family homes. I would of course live in the Keys and many of you would join me in moving there were it not for that last criteria of affordability. Homestead is probably as close as I can get to the Keys and stay in my price range, but from what I remember from a visit there in the early 90's Homestead was a crime ridden place. For affordability I will probably have to buy further north. How is the diving near Port Saint Lucie? I am a little leery of the nuclear plant there, but the home values are fantastic. Does the heat from cooling the nuclear plant bleach the coral or cause algae blooms, or is the diving far enough offshore that it's completely unaffected by the nuke plant? If you could pick anywhere in Florida to live for reef diving except the Keys where would you choose to live? FYI my price range is up to $200,000 but I'd much prefer to buy at half that. At $100,000 I can pay cash and live mortgage free so that I'll have money to fill my dive tanks and put gas in the boat with. Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[Capt Scotty]

The Upper keys fit your diving criteria, but your price range moves you way inland and north. How far are you willing to drive to go diving?

 

[taymere]

Thanks for your response. Preferably less than 25 minutes drive but I can accept reality. My maximum day trip would be an hours drive on the road provided the boat trip is only 20 minutes or so after that. But if the house is cheap enough so that I can live mortgage free then I could drive 90 minutes and afford an overnight live aboard trip to the Keys or stay at hotel close to the dive site. I am trying to balance the commute with the cost of housing. I suppose if the cost of my house is low enough I can also go play in Cozumel or Belize for a week at a time. Asking this question is helping me think through my priorities.

 

[thebes11]

I am relocating to Florida for the reef diving and weather from the Pacific Northwest and I can pick any town in to live in that I choose. I am seeking advice so that I can start researching towns on the internet before taking a diving and house hunting trip there this winter. If you could pick anywhere in Florida to live for reef diving except the keys where would you choose to live? I am seeking advice on the best town to live in that still close to great diving on the South East coast. My criteria for picking a location are good reef dives fairly close by, low crime, and lots of affordable foreclosed newly constructed single family homes. I would of course live in the Keys and many of you would join me in moving there were it not for that last criteria of affordability. Homestead is probably as close as I can get to the Keys and stay in my price range, but from what I remember from a visit there in the early 90's Homestead was a crime ridden place. For affordability I will probably have to buy further north. How is the diving near Port Saint Lucie? I am a little leery of the nuclear plant there, but the home values are fantastic. Does the heat from cooling the nuclear plant bleach the coral or cause algae blooms, or is the diving far enough offshore that it's completely unaffected by the nuke plant? If you could pick anywhere in Florida to live for reef diving except the Keys where would you choose to live? FYI my price range is up to $200,000 but I'd much prefer to buy at half that. At $100,000 I can pay cash and live mortgage free so that I'll have money to fill my dive tanks and put gas in the boat with. Thanks in advance for your advice.

Port St. Lucie is close enough to drive to Jupiter (appx 40 minutes) and West Palm Beach, Lantana, Boynton Beach (appx 60 min) for day trips whenever you feel like it. Jupiter is deeper with larger animals. Both have great ops and fantastic diving. I don't mind driving, so the areas around Fort Lauderdale (1hr 45 min) would also qualify for a day trip to me. Miami and the Keys are also close enough for weekend trips.

And beside all that, it's the spring training home of the METS! Ahhh, paradise......Heck, I think I'll move there!

 

[DennisS]

Check out Homestead. You're near the keys and there is great diving in Biscayne Nat'l park.

 

[cgvmer]

Depending on your age and need for a house or condo..I know of a place in Pompano that fits your bill for cost but you must be over 50 and put up with a co-op board.

 

[I Dive]

IT definitely sounds to me like you want Palm Beach county or south as far as your diving requirement goes. The more you are willing to bend on that, the further north you can go and if you want to get into the 2 hour range or so, you can expand your search to the Ft Myers area. Realtors are free to you until or unless you buy something. I'd make contact with some in various parts of SE Florida, maybe one in Palm Beach, another in Lauderdale, and another in Dade. Tell them what you want, what and how much you are willing to repair on a FC, and have them do leg work for you. In the current housing market, a realtor will likely bend over backwards, inside out, and upside down to help you-especially if you tell them you are a potential cash buyer. Remember, there is a credit crunch and people are having a harder time getting mortgages. Cash buyers bypass that which will make realtors very happy! As far as Homestead, I'll tell you something. Like you, when I drove through there it appeared to me to be pretty crime ridden. But, I was driving to a bed and breakfast that the dive shop lined up for us. When I got outside of the city limits and in Orange Grove country, I felt like I was in a different world. IN a short period of time, I forgot I was anywhere near Miami. I'm not going to say that crime was better, I honestly don't know, but the point I want to make is that you cannot and will not know if you like an area until you spend time there and do some hard research. You may be surprised to find a section of Dade that you are pleased with and can afford and then again maybe not. But, if you mark Palm Beach county as your North boundary and South Dade as your South boundary that is a lot of territory with a lot of options and every last one of them are within a short drive of many diving paradises!!!! Something else to consider... You are an Instructor. Instrtuctors don't get rich but they are able to make a decent living. If you are willing to do some Instruction, that may bring in enough income to boost your price range a bit AND get some free diving and tank fills and info on the best dive sites! If you are like the instructors I know, you barely consider instructing to be work... Good luck with your search!

 

[DebbyDiver]

I can't think of anything for $100K that I would even let my dog live in around here. Even $200K is too low for something decent. You could get into a dinky condo in your price range but if you want single family you are WAY too low unless you want to live in "da hood". I have not searched the MLS in my area recently but you might get lucky, there are still some older 2/1s in my neighborhood and maybe you can get in under $200K.

I still think it's worth it to live here. I deliberately chose living in my area for a variety of reasons.



So where is "around here"? Southeast Dania Beach. I specifically moved here years ago because

1. It is the least expensive place to buy a home "east of Federal" in South Florida
2. It is near FLL, I-95, the Turnpike, I-595, the port, and not far from MIA which means that you can get ANYWHERE in no time flat. Commuting from here isn't so bad because of the access to highways.
3. It is 80 minutes to Key Largo. I know this because I had a home in Key Largo for a few years and it was 80 minutes door-to-door.
4. It is 80 minutes or less to northern awesome diving including Jupiter, then moving further south (and closer) to Boynton Beach, Pompano Beach, etc.
5. Great beach diving a few minutes from home in Hollywood and Dania Beach, and really not that far to Fort Lauderdale beach or Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.
6. Great local parks including Anne Kolb, West Lake, John U. Lloyd, and the beach.
7. Close to boat ramps.

Well I could go on and on, Dania Beach isn't the most prestigious place to live but it is up and coming. I'm on one of the city's boards and the city is reinventing itself into THE boating and marine center of South Florida. Our crime rate is probably the same or less than other nearby cities.

But mostly it's close to the Keys, so close that it would almost be commutable...I know lots of people who drive more than 80 minutes each way for work.

By the way have you actually LOOKED AT the Keys MLS lately? They are practically giving away single family homes down there. Most of them are second homes, vacation homes, and if someone needs to dump a home which one will it be? Not their residence but their vacation home. PM speargirl (Becky) for MLS help, she is a realtor.

 

[moneysavr]

City of Boynton Beach - Home Page
Boynton Beach
as said Palm Beach county *Gulf stream baby its as close as it gets, to the USof A!

That would be my call-Reefs& Diving is world class
and the city purchased the marina so its there to stay and that means the dive boats will stay!

My first choice would do a rental first (short term)easy to find-TONS OF RENTALS<then get a bike and do as I did ride around the areas you would like to live at Saturdays or Sundays Early A.M. everyone is sleeping even the old timers so it's less of a chance to get run over!and get Gattor bike tires otherwise you will be fixing flats lots of broken glass! so many by owner sales/forclosures that just dont make the MLS or get lost in the listings-not knocking realators and wow everybody was a realator in Florida,but this way you can get a real feel for the area you dont get in a car and with the lack of parking the bike deal worked sweet!

The area has a flood of homes / condos,as of most of Florida on the market-a place I looked at a second story -older bldg -1 bed room condo,cement structure- with parking,pool and fair condo fees 2 years ago 190's now owner was willing to hold the paper and finance @(119)= 3 blocks away from the intercostal / marina/ 4 blocks to the ocean!
Do your home work and enjoy Florida is the state of broken dreams,con (men/women),hustlers,shakedown artisits,gypsies,scamers,crooks and so on!
I love it and call it my second home as if you get to know a real Floridian you will have a friend for life and the wanabe Floridians rank up there too!
Oh Port Townsend Wa, say Hi to my sister Alice and my BIL Tim!
P.S. You got a job? if not man stay in Washington and watch the locals burn their shares of Wamu stock to heat their homes ths winter- if your retired sweet,dive instuctors are like realators in Florida everyone is one!

 

[netmage]

If it ever closes..... supposed to be this week.... a 3/2 condo in Coral Springs < $200K

10 minutes north of the area Debby explained along the turnpike, and 5 miles due west of Fill Express, 10 miles due west of most of the Hillsboro inlet boats...