Who knows the west coast of Florida?

[gristy]

What are some good cities to live in? Would prefer that a sizable portion of the population still be living in their first half-century (as I still am - for a little while longer anyways). How dangerous are hurricanes on the west coast? At what elevation above sea level is one's home safe from flooding? Any older communities not "discovered" yet?

[Renew Deal]

1. Try this site

findmyspot.com

Don't give them real info.

[NightTrain]

2. I have a cousin who moved to Naples, FL, in 1992.

She absolutely loves it there!

I've visited her there a couple of times and must say, it's quite nice. Elitst as hell, though.

[gristy]

3. Oh, yeah, Naples...

I know of a guy on the town board (city council?) in Naples. He built without a valid permit on some waterfront property within the Adirondack Park (strict park-wide zoning) in upstate NY. Lawsuits are working their way through the courts... Doesn't Larry Bird live in Naples?

[saltpoint]

4. No major hurricanes for decades on that --

-- coast, but that means they're due. Coastal flooding is a problem on almost the entire west coast of Florida, but there are flood maps to let you know what flood zone you're in. Realtors have these, too.

That part of the country could use a few more Democrats. Sarasota is represented by Katherine Harris, the craven power-mongering thief who turned the 2000 election over to George Bush.

But you'd have 2 Democratic Senators -- Graham and Nelson.

[no_arbusto]

5. Flooding

Flood maps for the entire US.
http://store.msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

P.S. Nothing in Florida is undiscovered.
P.P.S. Florida is a giant sinkhole with horrible drainage. Flooding and ponding occurs EVERYWHERE.

[BlueJazz]

6. I live in the Clearwater-St.Petersburg area

and it's one of the more Liberal places in Florida. The St.Petersburg Times Loves to beat-up on Bush. Folks here are generally pretty damn nice. Lots and Lots of things to do, also...

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. My Brother lives in Ft Myers and Mom is in Port Charlotte....

If i am not mistaken, Lee County, FL. used to trade off with Clark County, NV as the fastest growing county in the country. I lived in Miami for 17 years and my mom and dad had been residents or owned a home in S. Fla since the '60's.
Retirees are everywhere in Florida and Sarasota(about 30 miles north of where my mom lives) is often referred to as "Wrinkle City".

Ft. Myers has a relatively young population and i like it very much there.
As far as Hurricanes are concerned, yes they hit the west coast but direct hits are VERY rare. Most storms that affect Florida's west coast seem to have historically tracked North Westerly through the Gulf toward Louisiana, Texas and the Fla. Panhandle but they do, of course, do as they please. The worst storm in modern times (Andrew in 92?) tracked right across the state but lost considerable punch over the Fla peninsula. It did regain strength when it got over the Gulf of Mexico but Ft, Myers was spared the serious damage seen in the Miami/Homestead area. If you are on the water or on a barrier island (Sanibel, Captiva, Estero) you MIGHT get street flooding but storm surges have not been too much of a problem only because of the typical direction the storms tend to track.
If you like larger cities, consider the Tampa/St Petersburg area. Lots to do, plenty of water everywhere and all the amenities a large city provides.

[Sgt. Peppers]

8. I met my wife in Ft. Myers

Then had two kids and got the hell out, now we are better than we ever where in FL. If I was to move back? Venice, nice waves, not to big or small and is close enough to visit Tampa, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, Naples and cruse to Orlando on your day off (that is if you ever get one!) And lets not forget, Gov. BUSH! You know their is a reason everything bad goes through Texas or Florida right.

[Nay]

9. I grew up in the Largo-Clearwater-St. Pete area, and

I also love the St. Pete Times -- liberal newspaper. The area is too crowded for me now, but plenty of people don't seem to mind. The weather is great, lots of stuff to do. I also lived in Sarasota for a while and loved it there as well. But again, it's crowded, which makes the beaches, parks and natural areas less attractive to me.

Up in the northern "curve" of the state there is Destin and some other wonderful beaches that are less crowded, but it is more Repuke up there from what I remember.

I lived through 5 or 6 hurricanes, including Donna (a BIG one) and I'm still alive to talk about it. Of course, if you are going to have a hurricane party and refuse to evacuate the coast, you're an idiot and may likely die, but generally evacuations are orderly and you can get yourself out in time. Flooding will occur all over, as someone else said. Ditto the looting. There was no looting in my growing-up years, but that was then.

[sweetladybug]

10. gristy, I don't know where you want to live in FL but I own some

property near Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach(about 30 miles from Panama City) The property is for sale. It's not right on the water but not for from it. (the property is not in a flood zone area) It's a little over 2 acres. Has a new well. 2 travel trailers and will have a small cabin once we get back down there to finish it(we're at our home in TN now) Let me know if you might be interested in it. I have pictures that I can email you.

[KG]

11. i absolutely love St Pete.

a charming city, not much traffic, great downtown, great music scene. highly recommend it.

[rbnyc]

16. My vote is for St. Pete...

...and I'm not a big fan of Florida. Sorry.

[Heyo]

12. I used to live in Sarasota...

It's pretty nice over there...

Heyo

[morningglory]

13. Florida takes more lightening strikes than any other state, I believe.

For flooding and lightening, avoid land with pine trees. Pines grow on land 9" above the water table. The roots go sideways 150 feet, the trees are tall and attract lightening. They are subject to break in high winds and fall on your house. Hardwoods, like live oak grow on the higher ground. Ride around in Florida and look at the swampy areas and note the pine trees, look up the hill and you will see hardwoods. I recommend Grayton Beach area in North Florida. Music scene, young people, etc.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

14. I hear Tallahassee is quite a nice place to live...

It's an hour from the #1 beach of 2003, it's rather cheap to live there, and the county's a rather liberal one, despite being the city where Jeb lives. Ick. That sounds like the only drawback. I have a good friend that lives there. That's the info he gave me when I voiced interest in living there.
Duckie

[gristy]

15. Any more input?

I'd love to hear from more of you.