Jim usually when they act like that its jealousy!!

You could always PM me the "not safe" for public forum or the uncropped version of the posted pic. :whistle: She is beautiful. Hope to see some in the "Boater Girl" thread.

Ok back on topic....... sorry for the hijack Joey. :D

I am crashing at your house this winter. lol

Apparently, I'm always the first to congrats someone on their dream "whatever" I think it's cool and am happy for anyone that can fulfill their dreams.

No apology needed when it's for a pretty lady.

Come on.

Couldn't agree more. 100%

I could see living at LOTO for 8 months out of the year (I would not want to miss spring or fall especially) and then heading south for the brunt of winter. The Cape Coral/Fort Meyers area has always been a favorite of ours due to not just the wintertime weather and boating, but all of the fishing opportunities between the mainland and the barrier islands. It also allows day trips to Miami or up to Orlando if one desires. They keys are also awesome (especially the mid-keys), but I think that I might get a bit stir crazy.

Lol we watch that market there often too.

Saw a 2/2 condo with dock at Osage beach for $136k....nothing crazy but enough for just me and the GF.....so tempting.

Nate, you talking fulltime or what kind of %

Maui,Hi

I have lived in SE Florida since 1976...most of my adult life. I moved here from North Alabama because I didn't like the weather there from November thru March. I arrived here om business in January of 1976 and fell in love with the area.

Simple answer...warm as opposed to cold. This is a boaters paradise. Year round tropical boating. With a trailer boat you can go anywhere...Keys, East Coast, West Coast Gulf of Mexico. If you have a smaller Bass Boat you can run Lake Okeechobee and the Glades...and do it year round.

Occasionally...we go to Colorado or Utah to Ski in the Winter. It's nice for a few days but it's always nice to step off the plane in mid February and feel that 80* warmth.

I would want vaca home....she wants full time.

Realistic life though it would be a vaca home...for us a time share would actually work best. We are young and both work. To go back and forth would be too much at this point in our life.

Owning and renting it out was an idea as well.

Am I the only west coaster on here? Keep home in north idaho (I know river/lake boating isn't the same as ocean boating) and get a place in San Diego. We are empty nesters next month and that is exactly what we are trying to do. But wait does that mean we need two boats:)

I live in Upstate NY right by Lake Ontario and the boating is great here, close by enough to go to the 1000 islands or to go down to buffalo. Lots of small lakes like the finger lakes that are great to boat in and a ton of others. The downfall you only get 3 decent months to boat 5 if you are a die hard, but between the fishing, hunting, snowmobiling, skiing, dirt bikes, four wheelers, you get threw the other months. The worst part you never know when you will get 2 or 3 foot of snow in the winter. If i was going to move it would most likely be to the Carolina's or Florida. I dont mind the heat played a lot of soccer tournaments in Florida in July and lived threw them lol

If you went fulltime could you both find jobs up at LOTO, I don't know what you guys do, but good paying jobs are scarce,..........sounding like the owning and renting is the way to go for you guys, good luck, LOTO is the best.

We thought about two boats, but then it's two more of everything, we'll be hauling our boat back and forth.

Now that I know Jim is gonna be in loto part time I have a place to stay if I go!!:lolhit::party-smiley-004:

I really love and embrace the 4 seasons we have in Mi, I hunt in the fall, ride snowmobiles in winter and boat In the summer. I wish winter was 2 months longer and summer was 1 month longer, that would be perfect!!! I lived in Illinois and it was similar to MI but more crowded, lived in CA, couldn't leave fast enough and lived in VA which I hated the most out of all places I ever lived. There are good points to all states, if someone lives where they are un-happy they should make the move to where they want to live, its tough to do but live your dreams!!

Funny, I just happen to catch this commercial a moment ago....pretty much sums up the topic of this thread

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g9MMpnj3EY
:evilb:


Cheers,

Dave

When we get all squared away, your welcome to come.

I agree, everyone should follow their dreams whatever it is.

Cool vid, loved it.

I love San Diego! my aunt moved there 10 years ago, she said she will never leae, I really enjoyed visiting her there, great place!!! helps we are 5 years apart so lifestyle is similar lots of bewzing and water!!

I love the great lakes, the winters suck but it helps fix chit like Glassdave said, just have to keep yourself busy, but then again, I also love any place that has palm trees, southern FL. would be a destination later in life once I don't have family keeping me north!!

I LOVE FL.... and San Diego... best 2 places I ever been...

I'm at LOTO 25-30 days a Summer.
I own a timeshare week at Vintage Landing/Four Seasons. It pretty much cost me nothing to buy it off ebay. Its OK, but if I had to buy in, it would not be worth it.
I have run the numbers and renting/timeshare maintenance probably cost me 30% annually of what it would cost to actually own a condo.
I would only buy for the convenience factor of having all my stuff there.
Owning and then renting out will not even cover half of your mortgage and dues.

I grew up in New Jersey and Pennsylvania so I am comfortable with 4 seasons. The only thing I miss is hunting season for turkey and chicken soup because it is actually refreshing to warm you up. People say Florida is hot but it isnt that bad in the coastal areas. Inland sucks! I lived in Atlanta for 12 years and it is hotter in Atlanta by about 5-8 degrees most of the summer. Heck, most of the northeast had a hotter summer than we did.

That being said, aint nothing like going out on the boat in October/November and watching college FOOTBALL in shorts and a T-shirt! I still giggle like a school girl and razz all my buddies up north...

It's great to hear the different ideas and opinions and not arguing about it, one is not better than the rest, they're all perfect for what each of us wants out of life.............................. a drama free zone, thanks.

Advantages and disadvantages to every place. What really makes the most sense is personal preferences, friends/family, and finances.

I had two full seasons of ski bumming, 140 days straight for both of them. Hard to do now with the lack of snow, and I no longer like the cold. I once, truly did like it.

I like the seasons sometimes, but Fall is shorter than summer, which is shorter yet than winter.

58 years in the Northeast is a bit much for me. I don't do winter sports, I bowl indoors :lolhit:

It's all about what you want to do, and where you like it. If I won last night's Powerball, I wouldn't have spent too much time thinking about it. But alas, wasn't me. It was 35 degrees one morning this week. I counted on Global Warming to prevent it, but I think it's back.
If I didn't work, I'd think about Clearwater area, although I still love Jupiter area on the other side.

i like living in the mid south . 4 seasons . never too cold in the winter but can get a little sticky in the summer . spring and fall are great . if i lived in somewhere warm all the time i would have be flat broke and not able to use my boat after the first year ....

Pacific Northwest is not good...I am talking from Seattle to Vancouver....I just winterized my boat cause the rain is starting...will be very inconsistent til May....rains all winter long but not much snow...anyway nice boating with the scenery here in that 4 month window but rather be in Florida

dayum, and all this time i thought ILL was the crotch of the united states. lol but hey look on the bright side, chicago was named murder capital of the usa in the news today...props

i was living in clearwaer 20 some years ago, my grand parents retired there in the late 60s, it was really awesome back then, we would build big bon fires on the courtney cambell causeway back when it was a two lane road with killer beaches on each side, and party every weekend. now you can;t even have a beer on the causeways, it has become a police state full of ahole redneck good ole boy cops... back in the day there were no speed limits on the inter coastal from clwtr to st pete beach!

Chicago here and theirs a reason they call it the windy city..if i had my choice i would stay here for the summer and head to florida until march then go cross country to san dimas ca and visit some friends then hit lake havasu az to visit some of my cousins then head back to chitown ....BTW 40' American eagle diesel pusher would suit me just fine..

I might be the only guy here with an "end-game" plan for...BOATING. I abhor Illinois (lived here my whole life), which is why my wife and I find ourselves LEAVING the state almost every weekend to go have fun. We boated in 6 different states this year, and my local launch ramp is 25 minutes from the house with access to one BIGASS lake. I love winter, summer, and fall...spring just plain sucks.

To my initial point...our plans is to be outta here in 5 years or so. Moving WEST. I fell in love with the mountains when I first visited 15 years ago, and the Colorado Front Range is where I want to be. I enjoy boating, but my true passions are for mountain biking, trail running and snowboarding.

I promise to keep my AT all nice and pretty for whoever wants it in 5 years!

http://www.coldwellbankerbahamas.com...listingID=3983
Cheap island getaway less than 50 miles off the coast of Florida

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...9-24116?row=12
Summer house with skiing/winter activities nearby!

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...99-63508?row=1
Full time pimpin' :D 44,000 sq ft on 105 acres!

I do like the seasons here in CT. Long Island Sound is some of the best boating in the country without question. However cold = expensive. We have no other option for heating other than oil. Being tethered to Big Oil for everything really makes you despise the oil markets.

Why do you heat with oil and not natural gas or electric?

Growing up in the Midwest we had a oil burner but went to gas in the early 70's.

I grew up in ny and moved to palm beach fl for 3 years. My wife and I found that although you are able to boat all year the atmosphere wasn't the same. When you can boat all year it's nothing to say "ah ill get out next weekend " but when your season is limited you seem to find a way to make sure your on the water every nice day possible and others do the same so seems when it's nice out in a climate with 4 seasons its easy to find a bunch of people ready to go all out and have a hell of a time. My wife and I moved back to ny and really enjoy ourselfs here. Also it's nice to jump of the back of the boat and not worry about being eaten by anything lol

Electric heat is most likely the worst way $ wise to heat a house, and there are very few towns or neighborhoods around the Northeast with natural gas. I tried calling to see when my neighborhood was going to be getting gas and they said 8-10 years. But for the people that have it, it is by far the most efficient heat. Natural gas furnace with radiant heat is the most cost effective heat you can have............

Hey Jim, try not to let all the haters bother you. How ya been, I for one am very happy for you living your dream!! Wish you guys the best in your condo search back up here.

I would rather live where it's warm all year(Florida). I hate cold weather anymore, the first snow is nice to look at but after that I'm done with winter. We do like the fall and spring seasons but I would give them up for year round warmth! The only thing I'm not sure about is that damn salt water all the time.

We will be down in KW with the whole crew again for the PR and races, come down and have some drinks for a few days!

Is there a lot of timeshare option up there?

I told her I would have high interest in something like that for sure. Spend like you 20-30 days there. Bring the boat up and enjoy. I like that idea a lot.

Thanks Ben, nice to hear from you, you know how it is, some folks want to bring people down and can't be happy for others, not me, I'm always hyped for others accomplishments, I'm sure you're enjoying your new Gun, it's a beauty.
We may make it down to KW, Terri is wanting a dog (puppy French Bulldog) and we may have to fly up to St. Louis and get it mid October and if we do it'll only 8 weeks old and she's not going to want to leave her here when she's only 12 weeks old, she's wanted this dog for ten years and we traveled so much we were never home so that we could have a dog, we're not traveling as much as we used to, so I told her she could have a dog..

Drinks next Summer at LOTO, next year at KW (dog will old enough for kennel) or if you're ever close to Fl Hwy 75 South and exit 143, the house is only 20 minutes down the road.
Take care and have fun and we'll see ya soon, thanks, Jim

Im bailing out of Fl as the I get older the summers are just too much with melting heat, it's like being in winter for 3-4 months stuck in the house..The state of Fl has become a Nazi state and they want everyone in their "system"... Im really considering the Mooresville NC / Lake Norman area as I cant afford 2 places as I got re-distributed 5 years ago so Im selling my business and houses and going to try out some places but cant find out much about the Lake Living in Mooresville.. Any input ?

I guess because were newbies to Florida (just 15 months) the Summer seemed not different then LOTO to us, anyway we've never been to Lake Norman, but from pics and stuff from another boating site it looks beautiful, if you try it out make sure you give us the 411 on it, we're looking to get a small condo back at LOTO just for the three Summer months, then head back down here for the duration, good luck, keep us informed.

It's hard to beat boating in the Winter. for anyone wanting to twist my words, this is JMO