The wifey and I have decided to fly south on a one way trip to Florida. Gonna fly down Febuary/March to check out some areas.

We would like to have a house built, not sure what area to move to. We do not have any kids, but do plan on it, so schools are important. We're looking for an area with younger folks, like us, not a retirement community.

I'm thinking central Florida, somewhere between Orlando and the East coast....Palm Bay, Vero Beach......

Any tips/suggestions on areas, home builders, Etc.......AND.......How are the gun laws, coming from New York, so they can't be worse [:)]

Easy to obtain CCW permit.
Class III freedly state (although you may have trouble in some counties).
The location you mention places you near some decent ranges.

I live in Port Saint Lucie, (in Saint Lucie County, which is just south of Vero Beach)
Your [b]New York Mets[/b] train here in the Spring ([i]I personally hate baseball[/i],...but, being from New York that might interest you)

[url]http://pub49.ezboard.com/ffloridashootersnetworkfrm1[/url]

I used to live in Titusville.

DON'T GO THERE.

You might like the area between Orlando and Daytona Beach.

And just what do you have against Texas?? [:D]

North Florida nice, it's the "south." Kinda like lower Alabama/lower GA.

I never really liked C.FL...

S.FL is the pits IMHO, though Naples is rather nice.

Oh, no state income tax.

Im sure he has the same things against Texas that everyone else has...LOL

That aside, most New Yorkers (and east Coasters in general) move straight down the East Coast, while the Midwest people move to the Gulf Coast, Texas and Arizona.

Eric the (getting his ass kicked by Texans) DA

Welllll, I actually thought of Texas and Arizona, but my wife wasn't too cool with the idea of moving away from her family here in new york. She does have an aunt and a couple of cousins in Florida, so she ended up given into moving to Florida. Then when she saw the houses we could have down there for the money we paid up here, she said lets get out of here! [:)]

Thanks for the tips......

I'd have to suggest the NW Gulf coast.  Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Ft. Walton.  Come on down for a visit you will not regret it.  BTW what kind of work do you do?  That might make a difference.

Being a local...

Palm Bay is a shithole.  It's possibly the very last place you'd ever want to move to.   Avoid it at any cost.

Cocoa is great if you like being in the middle of heavy drug, gang, and prostitution activity. Otherwise, avoid it, too.  Rockledge is too close to Cocoa.

Merritt Island is a good option. It's centrally located in the county and has everything you might need or want, generally speaking, right there on the island.   A wide selection of housing is available.

Melbourne is a fair choice, but the south of Melbourne/north of Palm Bay is a hotbed of drug and other criminal activity and is definitely to be avoided, especially at night.

The beachside communities (Melbourne Beach, Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Satellite Beach) are a good place to live but they're not the cheapest places, either. However, the area is still relatively cheap to live in compared to some states.  CA is three times as expensive for a comparable house.

Cocoa Beach is OK.  A bit touristy, but OK.

Viera and Suntree are the two developing communities that are probably well worth looking into.  Suntree is more of a retiree's place while Viera is more of a young family oriented community.


CJ

In order for a New Yorker to be allowed into Florida you must first have to get a visa.  The only place in Florida you can get a visa is in North Florida.  You must go to a redneck bar on a Saturday night in Two Egg Florida.  You must walk into the bar and yell "I'm from New York and I want to move to your figgin state".  Be sure to mention that you voted for Hilary Clinton and that you are glad the North won the Civil War.  Don't forget to mention that you love the Yankees.  Just wait in the bar.  Your visa will be issued shortly.

How about the New Smyrna Beach area?  I guess if it were me I would locate pretty close to Orlando/Kissimmee.

GunLvr, yearning for Florida residency

I grew up in South Florida. The whole Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area is a giant urban sprawl. Some areas are pretty nice, and some aren't. What kinda annoyed me was the need to drive about 15 minutes to get anywhere. To my knowledge, the only retirement community type area is Boca Raton, in West Palm Beach and north Broward county, and it isn't that bad even there.

But right now, I'm going to college in north Florida - Gainesville to be specific. It's a pretty nice area, almost any kind of living you can imagine. There are some nice schools too, I think. There's lots of rural land in the area, and there are also lots of suburban-type housing developments in west Gainesville. It seems that, perversely, the north of the state has more of a southern culture, while the south has more of a northern culture. It's usually fairly subtle, though.

Other advantages are the lack of state income tax. There is a statewide 6% sales tax, though. Gun laws are pretty nice too. There's shall-issue CCW, with no unusual restrictions. Handguns you can get with a 3-day waiting period, unless you have a CCW, in which case there is no waiting period. Rifles and shotguns have no waiting period, ever. The really nice part, however, is the preemption law. That means that gun laws can only be enacted at the state level, so no county or city can pass any gun laws. Also, no registration or purchase limits of any kind.

CJ pretty much pegged Brevard Co.; I spent 3 years in Suntree, and worked out of Patrick AFB.  The highest elevation is 8 ft.(RR tracks), and your homeowner's insurance will be brutal.  If you live on the barrier island, be aware that the salt air will quickly destroy anything made of metal.  It's a very conservative area, despite the snowbirds, but I'd recommend taking advantage of FL's mild climate and low taxes in the northern part of the state (see Panhandle, L.A.)

Oh, yes...it should also be mentioned that Florida's laws concerning NFA weapons are simple:  There are no laws restricting them.  Federal laws are the only ones you need to comply with.

The ONLY restriction I know of concerning firearms that's written into Florida state law is a restriction against the use of shotshells of the following types:  Bolo, flechette, dragon's breath.

And that's an ammo restriction, not a weapon restriction.

Like I really want to go skeet shooting with dragon's breath shells anyway!  (Actually, it could be a lot of fun!)

CJ

I've been told by non resident people who "researched" Florida, that most storms come up the Gulf coast, the west coast is mostly retired folks, alot of mostquitos , yada, yada, yada. I was basically told that the east coast is better place to live. But who would know better then you guys, people who live in Florida! I was also told that Palm Bay was a good area, guess I've been getting bogus info., I'll keep investigating though.

I WAS in law enforcement, but f*cked up my shooting hand in an accident, so they sent me into earlier retirement (34Y/O). So that area of employment is not an option. My wife is an dental hygenist, you do have dentists down there right? [:D] I'm thinking I could work in Disney, maybe as M I C K E Y  M O U S E  [:)]



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As a 3rd generation native.....

Great.Just what FL needs.Another New Yorker!!!
Can you also bring an Ohioan with you.And maybe a Canadian also.We don't quite have enough of those.

In all seriousness,I can understand why you want to get out of NY.Here's the scoop....

Miami area-Better learn Spanish amigo.You'll wonder if you're still in America.Great fishing.Hurricane prone--not the football team.High crime--they issue you a UZI when you become a resident.Lots of jobs.

Orlando-I moved from there 2 years ago.I was born and raised there.Traffic is a nightmare.Lots of jobs but because it's a tourist town a good paying one might be hard to find.English is fast becoming a 2nd language here as Miami moves north.Coming from NY it probably won't seem like it to you but land is becoming expensive.High crime.If you don't kill at least 2 people you aren't getting on the evening news.


Tampa/St Pete-Lots of jobs.Traffics a mess.Great Fishing.Learn to speak Spanish.


Tallahassee--Beautiful rolling hills.Good luck finding a good paying job.It's really South Georgia.This area is very hurricane prone but if you live inland there's not that much to worry about unless it's a Andrew type hurricane..Low crime.

Jacksonville--Where I moved to.Lots of jobs.Land prices are decent--at least compared to Orlando.Traffic is not bad at all.Hardly ever hear spanish.Average crime.


All in all I think you're best bet is to move to Texas or Georgia.If you do move here remember us natives just love to hear you tell us how much better things were up north and how stupid we are down here(especially when we know 90% of the people here are from up north).

Further Information on Tampa:

Traffic, compared to NYC: Light to medium.

Basis for comparison: I am from Los Angeles originally.  Came to Tampa.  People complained about traffic.  I laughed at them.  Went to the 5 Boroughs and learned that BQE, in New Yorker, means "Free For All Fast Moving Parking Lot"...I felt like I was home again...drove my partner nuts, but I fit right in.

I was glad to get back to Tampa, though.  There's really only ONE serious snarl, called "Malfunction Junction which is where I-4 ends in a T-Junction with I-275 just north of Downtown...not tough to avoid if you know where you're going.

As for jobs...Tampa's got a good portion of high-tech stuff, Capital One's main headquarters is here...and yes, we have dentists...they're mostly on Armenia Avenue, which runs North-South between Dale Mabry and The Interstate.

Tampa has its bad sections, but compared to what I saw in NY...even BAD sections of Tampa are safer than some of the better sections of other places I've been.  No worries there.

Concealed Carry:  Legal With A Permit.
Class of License: "W"
Issued By: Florida Department of State
Requirements:
1) Properly filled out application
2) 1 fingerprint card, done by accredited agency (most sheriff's departments do it for free to up to a whopping 8 bucks)
3) Two almost-passport-sized photos...I think they allow passport photos nowadays but if you pop into any Kinko's in Tampa, let them know you're there for a CW permit picture and they'll get it right.
4) Proof of firearms training.  This can be:
DD214
Certificate of Hunter Safety (NRA)
CJ Standards Certificate
* don't know if this one still holds: Active competitor's card in a recognized shooting organization (IPSC, IDPA, ETC.) *...don't QUOTE me on that last one...that's hearsay.  I got mine because I was already a "G" Licensee so the rest of this was moot for me.

And 5)  A Whopping 117 bucks.

Currently, expect it to take the full 3 months for them to send you your little plastic card that says "Concealed Weapon Or Firearm License" on it.

Along with your application is a copy of 790 Florida Statutes, which details the gun laws of Florida.

The ONLY regulation pertaining to a machine gun, other than enhanced penalties for illegal discharge, is that a machine gun may NOT be carried under a concealed carry permit.  Other NFA weapons, however, are not mentioned as being prohibited.  Please read 790 for yourself though...that's why they give you a copy.

For schools in the Tampa Bay area, go with Largo...small, yuppie, with an overactive police force (Yes, they DID really give that guy on a bicycle a ticket for speeding!)

The Tampa side of the bay is less anal, but a little less "protected" too.  To be honest, all the New Yorkers I've met either retired in Tarpon Springs or thereabouts, or work and live in Tampa.

Warning: Wages and costs of living are MUCH DIFFERENT here in Tampa.  Stuff is cheaper but the jobs don't pay that well...all in all it evens out.

There are ranges in the Tampa Bay area that are class-3 friendly.  Just bring originals of your paperwork...they no longer accept copies of your tax stamps but one range on the St. Pete/Largo side will laminate it for you.

The security business pays squat, but armed officers are a reality here.

There are 5 medical facilities that I know of in the area, of these 5, two are trauma centers: Tampa General and St. Joeseph's Medical Center.  Lots of private practices around.

Five major malls: University Square, Citrus Park, Westshore Plaza, International (over by TIA), and another one I forgot the name of, but it's across the street from St. Joe's.

Sports:
We have our own football team, the Tampa Bay Buccanneers.

We also have the dubious distinction of housing both the best and worst teams in baseball...we are the home of the New York Yankees' Spring Training facility, and we also are the home of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

If you need specifics, such as apartment rates, or other semi-private stuff, send me an IM mail...I'll give you the straight skinny on Tampa Bay.

Panz
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Sorry about that folks...having trouble with my connection, hit SUBMIT 3 times...nothing happened or so I thought...I managed to delete one before my system crashed.

In answer to your query, not usually...but every once in a while I hiccup.

*hic*

Panz
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Panzerboy, do you stutter [:D]

Thanks for all that info..

Garand_shooter, NC was one state I was interested in but, the wife has at least a couple of relative in FL., we don't know anyone in NC.

I'll 2nd the Tampa idea.

As for the kids there and a number of really good private schoold and the Universities or South Florida and Tampa.
Both are well funded schools and both are in the top 10 in the world in their primary fields of focus.

Tampa has the best high level trauma center in the state.

The Tampa Bay area has every major sport other than basketball and 7 major venues for concerts,ect.

Tampa over twice the population of Orlando but is more spread out and not as congested.

A BIG down side to Tampa is there is very little middle class,most people have money or they don't,the burbs are better about that though.(Branden,New Tampa,Town&Country,)

The area known as "Tampa Bay" is made up of 6 counties:Hillsborough(Tampa),Polk(Lakeland),Pinellis(St.Pete&Beachs),Pasco(nothing)Manatee(nothing) and Sarasota(city of the same name and mid size air port)

Tampa Bay is a "regular" town not full of old farts and here it's still ok to be a white guy if you go to south Fl it's another story[:D]

Largo is a yuppie community???  Truly you jest.  Except for a couple of small developments like Broadmoor the place is basically the trailer trash community of Pinellas County.  When I lived there my son went to Osceola High.  As a son of an engineer his friends thought he was rich.  The schools in Largo are awful.  They bus in a bunch of animals from South St Pete.

You must be thinking about the Seminole area of Pinellas County.  It more fits your description.

I lived in Pinellas County (St. Pete/Clearwater area for most of my life. I miss it imensly. Pretty area. Gulf Coast. Great Beaches. Skools arent too bad. The north end of the county is newer than the south end, but its a small county. Close to Tampa and Sarasota, Disney is 90 miles away.

I'll toss in my $.02 for what it's worth (probably less than charged).

I'm getting the impression that the move to FL is virtually a final decision, based especially on relatives and the wife's desires (yes, I'm marrried, too, so I understand - otherwise we'd probably be in another area of FL or, more likely in TX).

1.  Weapon laws are the closest to sensible as you'll find outside of VT.  As others have said CCW is "shall issue."  I recommend the course given at some gun shows, though.  I could have been exempted with my DD214 (if I could have found it in a reasonable time).  I paid the $30. and was glad I did - learned a lot.  If you wind up on the West Coast of FL, suncoastgunshows.com .

2.  But, the housing prices are getting INSANE!!!  The only place you can find something affordable, not necessarily "making sense" is inland in a very rural area.  Otherwise, you'll see prices that look like NJ or LI.  Indeed there are some areas in which they rival CA!!  And, the real estate taxes are up there, too.  If you get more specific on an area, I'm sure you can get details on the board.

Another item.  I live in Largo, near St. Pete.  There was an earlier apparent contradiction between two comments on Largo.  It depends on whether you are in the City of Largo  (in which case the "trailer trash" comment would have been largely accurate) or "in county."  In the latter case, there are a lot of nice homes and areas.  This "in county" business was a foreign concept to me, at first.  BAsically, it is "unincorporated" meaning that you are not in a town, and your government is Pinellas County.  This is a good thing.  Less bs regulations, some logic to the few zoning restrictions, and more straightforward dealing.  The mention of a town , such as LArgo, only comes into play for the post office, which they assign as an administrative necessity.  But, you also need to know that many of the towns are trying to annex homes and subdivisions - for tax base, what else?  A lot of issues.  The situation is similar in other areas of the state, I'm sure.  Just stuff to look into.  The major point is that it explains the contradictions apparent in comments about areas.

3.  I would also comment that moving after anyone, relatives or friends, is sometimes a false convenience and wasteful.  What if they move?  Unless you'd want to live in the area to begin with, I'd say think three times about that motivation.  Yes, I know about the wife part.  All married guys, even with the best wives know that what the little dears want, etc..... (I consider myself lucky that I survived the wife's former desire for CA).

Good luck with the decision.  On the West Coast, there are some nice and more reasonable subdivisions going up in MAnatee County, south from St. Pete.  Still within reasonable distance and convenience to major roads and airports. That's the only place over here where the prices even approach TX, for example.  

Funny you should mention North Carolina.

I did a year in Raleigh.  During that time I traveled to Goldboro, Asheville, and Greensboro.

Then it got cold.

"Mild" winters, my frozen butt!

The housing costs are reasonable, however, given the wage structure is higher.

I like the shall-issue CCW and a lot of their self-defense laws make better sense than anyplace else I've lived, like the people who made the laws had actually been there, done that, and knew what the hell they were talking about.

My permit was issued through the local county, though...let me see...still got it in my wallet...

John H. Baker's stamped signature is on it.  I like the Florida permit better, but that's me.

Oh, one thing about NC...AUTO INSURANCE...MUCH cheaper than in FL.  Like 1/3 the cost.

If you've got money...the word is "Cary"

Also, they've got an excellent range in Raleigh, PDHSC, though the instructor who I think is the best I've ever had has left;  Used to be the Lt. in charge of security at the Nuke facility around there.

During the spring, summer, and fall, Raleigh is beautiful.  During winter...it gets cold. Ugh.  I moved back to Tampa.

But of course I have friends here.  So it makes a difference.

North Carolina has refined charm, however, that alas, Tampa does not.  To each their own.

Panz
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Flash:

GF's son went to Largo High...I don't remember them busing anyone in.  Of course, that was back when the Largo PD was right next to the gas station on East Bay and Seminole (1991-1993)

I didn't know they started busing...it's been a while since I lived there;  That city has changed a bit, I guess.

I love Tampa.  It has all the comforts of a big city for me minus the serious urban decay.  There IS some urban decay, don't get me wrong...but it's nowhere near as bad as the big cities like NY and LA..and at least you can carry a gun here.  Legally.  Don't go to the bus station after midnight, though...unless that form of entertainment is your scene.

No, no...no need to admit if it is...[;D]

Panz
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I'm not sure they bussed students into all the schools.  We lived on Lake Seminole a couple of blocks from Osceola High School.  My son went there from '93 to '96.  It was the newest high school in the area.  About 1/3 of the "students" were bussed in from South St. Pete.  Most of them couldn't even speak English.  The only language they knew was Ebonics.  However, Osceola did have a good football team.