Where to move for best diving in Florida?

[DebbyDiver]

But, that's a condo, and it is waaaaaay far west (10 miles in SoFla traffic is really far west) and it is a lot more than ten minutes north of 595/FLL/etc. Lots of folks love Coral Springs but it is really far west in traffic.

Some real nice 2/2 condos in my area for about $160-ish if he's over 55. And there is a really nice bike path to the beach.

p.s. hilarious av, Tim!

 

[netmage]

Whats this 'traffic' you speak of....? Yeah, I know... I work from home & people down here are #^$&*%^$ crazy.... So, ~10 minutes at 75mph... I took the guesstimate using your figures, since it takes me 90 mins to get to Conch...

I don't go outside unless its < 8am on a weekend, or after 7pm in the evening...

 

[DebbyDiver]

Well there is very little stop and go traffic for me to the Keys. But to Coral Springs, that's an hour (if I commuted to the Northwest Regional Library where they tried to send me and I said NOOOOOOOO!) But I know how you are getting to the Keys from your house, so if he was just going to the Keys, Coral Springs is viable. But for local diving, I'd stay east and near I-95.

 

[djtimmy77]

You can get a nice 2/2.5 townhouse in my neighborhood for ~200k right now. 5 minute walk on a private path to a 5 mile stretch of beach with full public access with nice parks along the way and a fishing pier. , 1/2 mile to the closest dive shop, and 1.5 miles to the closest dive boat. 2.5 miles to the next, and about 10 more within a 20 miles south. Jupiter traffic is far far easier to deal with than anything down south. Key largo is about 2-2.5 hours away.

 

[taymere]

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!

Thanks for your Reply, and everyone else's replies too. Do to happen to remember the name of the Bed and Breakfast in Homestead? Dade county definitely is closest to the diving action so if I could find a happy rural low crime spot a bit inland there that would be nice.

 

[taymere]

Well there is very little stop and go traffic for me to the Keys. But to Coral Springs, that's an hour (if I commuted to the Northwest Regional Library where they tried to send me and I said NOOOOOOOO!) But I know how you are getting to the Keys from your house, so if he was just going to the Keys, Coral Springs is viable. But for local diving, I'd stay east and near I-95.

Speaking of traffic I spent a little time on mapquest this morning after reading the responses to my original post. They have built a huge glut of brand new single family homes on 1+ acres near Immokalee and mapquest says that's 1:58 and 112 miles from Miami. Is that 2 hour drive time a Mapquest fantasy due to traffic? Does it really take much much longer? Port Saint Lucie was 1:58 113 miles from Miami, is that realistic? Cape Coral was 2:26 149 miles, would that time be fantasy? In any of those 3 overbuilt towns, Cape Coral, Naples, and Port Saint Lucie I could definitely afford to live mortgage free and use my cash for dive trips. I could live with the commute times Mapquest is giving me if they are the real deal.

I'll check out Dania and the Keys on the MLS as some have suggested. Thanks

 

[bottomfeeder22]

Thanks for posting this question - I have the exact same plan as you do, and the responses here are very helpful. So far, I've narrowed my choice down to the Boynton/Boca Raton area, but will have to make several more trips to SE FL before deciding. So far, I've only explored the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood/Pembroke Pines areas, so there's a lot more to check out. Moneysavr, you have a pm.

 

[rjnjupiter]

I was born in Tampa (west coast) and was relocated to Miami when I started working . I worked my way North as the density got thick and ugly. One day I got in my car and said," I am going to drive North until I can stop at a McDonalds and they don't mess up my order." The McDonalds is still there at I 95 and Jupiter exit. If you are advanced or interested in advanced diving, I would say Jupiter is the best diving I have seen anywhere in the world. The main reason is all the life. Good luck in your travels. You will find several great operators in this area.

 

[taymere]

Thanks rjnjupiter, that's great to hear because that's not too far from Port St. Lucie. If I live there mortgage free I can be assured that great diving is a short drive away.

 

[I Dive]

Thanks for your Reply, and everyone else's replies too. Do to happen to remember the name of the Bed and Breakfast in Homestead? Dade county definitely is closest to the diving action so if I could find a happy rural low crime spot a bit inland there that would be nice.

Grove Inn Country Guest House. Homestead, Miami Florida, Bed and Breakfast. Eco tours

This was far from anything fancy. It was clean and there really was nothing wrong with it at all, except for the owner creeping me out, but it was just a quiet place with the bare basics for us to crash in between days of diving and was about a roughly 20 minute drive to the Homestead Marina where the dive boat was based out of. The B&B itself is nothing I would ever rave about, but I found the location to be unbelievably peaceful and beautiful.