Choosing Where to Live in Florida

When I was young, fresh out of college, I found a job reporting for the Hollywood Sun-Tattler in Florida. I loved my life then, hated to leave, and always yearned to go back. I had to go back to Illinois because back in the '70s, I did not make enough money to live on, let alone pay for a car and pay back the student loan. I made $2.10/hour with a Bachelor's Degree. Mind you, all prices are relative. I paid $160/month for rent including utilities, and I had a Baby Blue Cougar Convertible that cost me about $7000 new, but $2.10 did not go far. I tried getting a second job but it was not allowed at the paper, and once I did wait tables midnight shift in Miami Beach, but someone saw me there and reported me. So, even though they liked me at the paper, and was willing to give me a loan (further in debt -- really?), I left and went home to cold Illinois.

It was a no-brainer where I would retire to -- but where in Florida. Not back to the East Coast. When Al and I checked that area out years ago, it had changed too much for me to be comfortable there. I had friends on the West Coast in Florida, so that is where I started looking while I snowbirded during those couple of years. I looked at quite a few places and areas, and decided I wanted to be in an active adult community because there were people there.

I chose the active adult community over a neighborhood because I knew it would be hard to meet people as a single, retired person new to the area and the state. There would be no job, no school, no where in particular to meet people, and it was very important for me to be around people and to become involved.

I looked at small communities where there were few clubs, communities where couples were favored over singles, one community (The Villages) that was extremely large and very well known, and there I found it was too large for me. I felt like Goldilocks -- one was too big, one was too small, but where was the right size?

I did find it in Sun City Center. It has two parts -- the gated and the ungated. I chose to live in the gated part because there is a HOA fee and everything is done for you. I do not have to worry about the lawn, the outside paint, bugs, roof, etc. All I have to do is take care of the inside, plus the fee pays for water, cable, garbage -- everything but electricity. I am a half hour to Tampa, half hour to Sarasota, 40 minutes to St. Pete, 20 minutes to Brandon, an hour to Orlando/Disneyworld, 2 hours to Ft. Myers, and 2 - 2 1/2 hours to the East Coast (NASA area). In other words, I am centrally located. And I am getting to know all the areas excluding Orlando.

At SCC there are over 200 clubs, and as I have gotten to know the area, there are those clubs in the gated part and then again in the ungated part. Anyone with a badge is welcome either place.

The community itself is lacking. There are few stores, basically fast food restaurants, and no movie theater, but in just a few minutes I can be anywhere and this place is growing, especially since Amazon has built a warehouse a couple of miles from here. Give it a few years. On the up side, they do show current movies at the theater on grounds for only $2, and there are nice restaurants on grounds, and I am finding great, no, superb seafood restaurants close by on the water.

So, my community was picked. Then, I needed to find a house. I had the offer on my house in Illinois and the closing date was late August. The first of August I headed to Florida to find a house. And I found one, cute, basically new, desired location, and I put an offer on the house and left the state for Myrtle Beach to visit my nephew who is a real estate appraiser.

I did not even get to the state line before someone else came in with cash and bought the house. I had a runner up. I told the realtor to put an offer in on that house. That one was gone in 15 minutes. He could not even put the offer in. I needed to talk with my nephew.

Once in Myrtle Beach, after talking with my nephew, I looked on the internet and found a house that interested me. I was beginning to doubt my decision to move, thinking maybe this was wrong, but instead called the realtor and put another offer on this house. I got it, sight unseen. I was going to close on this house in Florida approximately one week after my house closed in Illinois. I really needed to go home and finish packing and get rid of stuff. Wait until you read about this!

Have a great day. I will be back tomorrow.