Poss moving to Tampa area

Ok 50/50 shot of me moving this yr to Tampa area. I think we might have to rent a year so I can sell house in NY, and find a house in Florida. Would love any advice or suggestions I have not moved like this before(whole house w dh). My children are grown and will only be visiting. Please suggest areas that are 30 min commute to Tampa that would have dock access (DH lives to fish), I can not work so no dreams of working at wdw. Hoping now I can use my dvc for long weekends. Thanks all

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We are doing something similar! Planning to list our house in NY this summer and looking to rent something in Florida for a year. We aren’t sure which part of Florida we will call our permanent home yet but probably renting in Port St Lucie near family for a to give us time to to find a home there. I think trying to sell here and buy there at the same time will be too difficult and stressful. I’d love to hear the recommendations you get because that will probably help me as well!

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DW family lives in Dade City which is North West of Tampa. I do not recommend living there but I have Fished in Newport Richey and Tarpon Springs. These towns are north of Tampa. There are several party/head boats that are north of Tampa and many many charter boats.

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Port St. Lucie is a nice area. I think it’s a GREAT idea to rent and get to know an area b4 you settle/buy a house. And then, maybe the housing market will calm down a bit by then too :wink: I think areas east of Disney are better than going toward Tampa or West of WDW. Less congested more relaxed. Although I prefer the gulf coast over Atlantic coast b/c of easier access to water/beaches. Not an angler so can’t help you out there but I see them ALL OVER the place… hate it when I have to dodge their lines on the beach :rage: The biggest thing to watch out for, when buying, are the HOA fees and rules. Make sure you know what they are b4 you sign a contract. If they aren’t forthcoming that’s your red flag. Finally, the Disney bubble really is an insulator to the RL of FL; Florida man is real… and it’s not pretty… yes, funny to laugh about but when you live next door to it… well you get my meaning :wink:

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Florida man is real :joy:. That’s definitely a concern of ours as are HOA fees. I prefer no HOA but they do offer some security since your neighbors must conform to their rules. I’m also worried about the Disney bubble. My love for Florida started with my love for Disney but being on vacation in Florida and way different than living there. Renting will help us solidify that Florida is for us and which area fits our needs the best. I do want to check out the west coast and see what it’s all about but proximity to family leaves us leaning toward east coast. I love the beach but don’t go in the water much. When we do go to the beach here on LI we drive on and just put out our chairs. There are a fair amount of people fishing out there and it is annoying when you have to watch out for their lines but we did get to see someone catch a small shark! Hoping to sell now while it’s a sellers market and like you said maybe in a year or so home prices in Florida will come down a bit so we get more for our money. Thanks for your input!!! Very helpful :blush:

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This was REALLY hard for us to find. We have low HOA annual fees. We’ve had to report violations to the association and so far no backlash :grimacing: but ppl sometimes will pay the fines and keep on keeping on. If you want to avoid HOA you need to be out in the boonies :wink: Good luck!

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A thing to look at when considering HOA is looking at what is included with that.

My parents lived about 20 years in Ocala, FL, and they paid an HOA…but that included some things such as cable TV, so they didn’t have to pay for a few things separately. Just depends on the developer of the neighborhood, etc.

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Absolutely, you want to know what your HOA gets you. Ours gets us tickets for parking on the street overnight :face_with_raised_eyebrow: and annual holiday parties, which we don’t care about :smirk:

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Aw, man. You’re so lucky! :wink:

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If you’d like 30 min commute to Tampa + Dock Access, are you looking for access to the Gulf? If so, figure out how far you can deal with travelling to an access point with a boat, unless you’d like the dock to be part of the house, like on an inlet? That will limit the areas to focus on a bit more. Maybe you’d like to be on Tampa Bay itself? Also Youtube has lots of vids posted on areas to get you started. Not only random ppl just describing the towns / areas, but realtors posting videos of pros/cons of towns as well. I’m researching similar areas, but looking a bit south of Tamps in the Sarasota / Bradenton area, and further South. Good luck!

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Notice no :heart:s for that comment :wink: We learned NOT to park on the street

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I have family in Dunedin and they love it there! water access is easy to come by, houses with private docks might be $$$$$, but I don’t know your budget so maybe doable!

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That’s exactly what I don’t want! I want to park in front of my house if I feel like it and I could are less about community parties.

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By not allowing ppl to park overnight on the street I think they can limit the number of ppl/families that live in a house??? our neighbor across the street have 5 vehicles… they have 3 teenagers too, but a driveway that curves around a corner so they can park all those cars… NO cars in their garage… just furniture LOL. Also the street is narrow and during the day when all the lawn services are about it can be difficult to get out of the neighborhood so I can see the benefit of keeping cars off the street overnight.

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Thanks- Good luck to you too!

Thanks- No Dade City check! DH has a boat but will probably want an upgrade when house sells :wink:

Thanks- I am familiar w HOA, being FL I am also worried about sink holes…

Thanks- Former LI’er here too…I am not a lying on the beach type person, but I do like to walk the beach. DH wants dock for boat, so as long as there is community access and parking Im ok.

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Thanks- will watch the HOA

Thanks Ryan, will ask what HOA covers and hope for the best if needed