Gulf coast. I grew up on the Atlantic (Ft.Laud) and running to Grand Bahama and cruising Biscayne Bay are the highlights. There USED to be a ton of things to do on the ICW....but that has mostly disappeared.

Here onthe west we have fishing, diving, poker runs.....inshore and out.....no treacherous inlets (Port Everglades is THE WORST and Hillsborough get real nasty too) and the Gulf is almost always flat....especially compared to the Atlantic.

No matter what, FL leads the nation in unemployment. If you don't have it already, don't come here to find it.

Houses around me (2-yrs ago were close to 1mil) have been selling from as low as 174k (no pool, 3-2-2 with lift and Captains walk) and as high (still low) as 379k for a 4-3-2.5 3000sq with dock, lift, solar, spa, pool, screened lanai, 20' ceilings, 8' doors, granite.......and so the list goes.

Oh.....and here we have world famous places like Cabbage Key, Sanibel, Picnic Island, Captiva......Google any of them and other local info will come with it.....

I've been to Sanibel & Captiva before and thought both were BEAUTIFUL places, but I am most certain they are out of our budget. Where is around you? Do you have any more info or links to the 174k houses your talking about?

Hey Jim,
I moved it to Safe-T-Storage on Pine Ridge Rd. It may be 5 minutes to Punta Rassa, and I seem to keep it up much better.Something about leaving the plug in while it was in rack storage and there always being some kind of water in the bilge. It was always a pain to get it back on the trailer if I needed anything done to it.

Look at houses in Cape Coral (close to Sanible). Many younger couples (Us included) in the area and close to a launch that will put you at the mouth of the gulf in 30 minutes.

Why move from Lake Norman ? I have heard it was a great place in fact I want to move to that area from NJ

Hi , we are planning on visiting Sarasota in Nov bringing the boat and leaving it down for the winter . I need to find safe storage indoors and have been told that putting it on a rack it will get very dirty , so they recommend aleaving it on the trailer .. Are you near this area and what are the average rates ??

I went down scoping out East Coast areas a few years back. The re-location job wise did not work out. But last year, we wen to the West coast as well. On the East coast, I still ove the Jupiter PB Gardens area, North Palm Beach as well. My GF is from the Vierra area, and while different, it's not that bad.

I loved the Ft. Meyers beach area, at least the beach and ocean parts. But the drive from Naples north I hated. Much more traffic than I had been used to on that side. But the West coast seems to be a much better area for boating in general, less surf, better access etc. But getting off Ft. Meyers beach was something to behold traffic-wise. We never got to Tampa/Clearwater or St. Pete. Maybe next trip.

Chances are, if I lived on the East coast I wouldn't do any boating. It's also hard going from being a spoiled freshwater lake person, to the added nastiness and maintenance of salt or brackish water. I might get a smaller outboard boat for fishing or whatever, who knows?

I would think a go fast boater would prefer to be on the West Coast.

Yeah , can you point us in the right direction for these deals

Anybody know of any openings in financial services or insurance in the Tampa/Clearwater/St. Pete area?

I am studying for my series 7 and have someone here locally who is sponsoring me for the exam. I am looking to find a company where I can start and move up. I've also got a bachelors in finance. My wife has all her insurance licenses and a bachelors in management. She will be looking for a job as well.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. We are searching and putting our resume and name out as many places as possible. If we can land jobs we could possibly relocate immediately. We have our house on the market & there has been some serious interest. Thanks everyone & anyone for ANY help or advice. Happy New Years!