got_hp?

florida has no emmision testing at all.......*pause for a moment of appreciation*



as for your criteria..........there probably arent any 20k populace towns near a dragstrip.

for the rest of the stuff, you pretty much described North Port where I just moved. www.cityofnorthport.com
its approx 50 miles from bradenton motorsports park, which is one of the quickest strips around.
north port is a small town that is mainly residential areas, with very little commercial areas (no downtown at all).
the closest cities are sarasota (30mins north), and ftmyers (45 mins south). i commute daily to sarasota for work.
the majority of the area in north port are privately owned lots. very few gated subdivisions so that keeps prices down. and most of the lots are still empty. for example, my street is approx 1/4mile long, but only has 15-20 houses on it yet. no traffic, no hustle, no annoyances. of course, withing 5 years everything will be built up, but thats happens anywhere. north port is one of the fastest growing areas in florida.
brand new 3bed, 2bath, 2car garage homes range from $150-200 and average 2000-2500sqft.

the best thing is that because its part of sarasota county, it has one of the highest appreciation rates in the state. i made $20k on my house by the time it was finished construction.

Caveman

iTrader: (2)

You forgot to mention that southwest FL. is 70% old people that drive 25MPH on every road and make you want to rip your hair out!!! I grew up in that area and I`ll take the tourists of central FL. over the old farts anyday.

got_hp?

from his criteria, it sounds like hed rather stay out of traffic.
old people = stay home
tourist = out on the road

tourist towns always become a dump, because tourists have no concern for it. that is part of the reason why southwest florida towns have such higher appreciation rates than central florida. the old farts invest time/money into taking care of the area they live in. a tourist town makes its decisions based on tourist profit, and not the concerns of the residents.

2003 appreciation rates
Orlando 8.5%
Sarasota 26.1%
Bradenton 18.7%

Caveman

iTrader: (2)

I agree about his criteria, the traffic in south Orlando and Kissimmee sucks, all the tourists stay in that area. Thats why I previously suggested Clermont or one of the neighboring small towns(Winter Garden,Oakland,Groveland,Mascot or 5 others). I lived in FtMyers for 17years and liked it, except too many old people. Not much to do there compaired to central FL. Theme parks for the kids, lots to do at night, beaches are close, 4 dragstrips nearby, tons of car clubs and hangouts,lots of jobs in any feild of work. Its the best area I`ve ever lived!!!
As for his housing criteria, 3miles east from me Windermere $500K homes and up, 2 miles west of me down a back country road(Tilden Rd) $100K- $200K homes that would make you think your 50 miles from BFE, country homes on 2-4 acres w/Pickups and broken tractors in the yard. My house in a subdivision has gone up from $240K to$325K in 1 year but the houses in the country areas are still cheap for a couple more years anyway.

SStillSSmokin

Another vote for the Gainesville/Ocala area! I also love it up around Tallahassee, just not sure about dragstrips in the area. I was born in Manchester, and was raised in Lebanon NH. My parents moved here when I was in high school, so I had to come too. Definitely a different culture down here Don't know if you hunt, but those two areas(G'ville and Tally) are both great for that. Alot of the rest of the state sucks for it(IMO).
Good luck! and Come On Down!

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

Cool, I have a pretty good list of places to visit now. I'm no hunter but I do like to take my pickup out 4 wheeling every now and then. Nothing extreme, just the ***** trails for me.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

I live in Palm Bay, I just sold my house (if nobody squirrels
out on the deal) a hair under 160K w/ inground screened pool
and a nice 12x16 poured-slab shed, 3/2/2 and new roof. If
you live west of US-1 you can get decent tract house prices.
A little messed up from the hurricanes (fence panels, pool screens)
and about a decade of unsupervised bachelor living but you get
the idea. If you want to go out in the swogs, further west into the
back corners of subdivided Palm Bay you can get a house for way
less.

If you want to work near Wally World I'd say St Cloud might
be a reasonable deal, also Orlando's older 'burbs (forget those
new "gated communities" and anything with its name on the
billboard, Orlando has a bad case of California-itis but regular
older neighborhoods are not so bad. Speed World up off SR50
is not a great track, but a track nonetheless. Long haul, like
50 miles from PB/MLB but not so bad from Cocoa area. If you
are hospitality industry might also consider Cocoa Beach /
Port Canaveral, like that. Port St John is pretty similar to
Palm Bay, just people there live off the Cape rather than off
Harris Corp. (these being the engines that bring the money
into the county, whence it swirls around the local economy
a couple of times before heading down the drain).

Brevard county and east Orange county are pretty sleepy,
lots of open land left (bring your own fill dirt). Just don't
buy anything until you understand the traffic and growth
patterns. Rent a house for a year in the neighborhood you
-think- you want to be in, listen to the local low-down and
not the realtor.

5POINT7

I've lived in Orlando (busy city) for eight years and now two years up here in Gainesville (not a busy city).

Do Not:
Live in St. Cloud unless you enjoy Klan members...seriously not even joking.
Live in Orlando b/c of the traffic and horrible drivers. Too many young high schoolers out and about in Orlando, along with tourists.


To be honest, Gainesville sounds like your place. 21 yrs. old and you'll fit right in with us Gators. Houses are cheap here, and you could easily rent out to a student if you wanted. Gainesville Raceway hooks the best in Florida. This city is country when you want it to be and poppin when you want it to be. Plenty of clubs and parties from the UF crowd, and plenty of wide open straight roads too.

Villain281H

iTrader: (5)

yep, definately fits the gainesville bill requirements. But where are all the long straight roads J?

Derek

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

If you're a regular working stiff, or own property, be sure you
live outside the "voting range" of the university towns. Had
some relatives who lived up there and the college kids love
to vote for things they can make somebody else pay the
bill for. But the countryside is nice.

5POINT7

Offense not taken. It's true.

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

Yeah, Gainsville area seems like it would suit me. We'll probrably do like Jimmy said and rent for awhile just to see how we like things. I'd like to find a duplex or something with a garage and and some sort of yard for the dog at a half decent price.

5POINT7

What you're looking for won't be hard to find. Good luck.

v8pwr

iTrader: (19)

I live in the Palm Bay/Melbourne area and I haved lived in Miami and regularly visited many other areas . Although I like the some of the city life more , this relatively slow is great . 150K - 200K for a nice home (i'm renting for now) and they continue to appreciate rapidly . Good job market depending on occupation . I'm an hour or two from Orlando , Daytona , Tampa , or S. FL . So I can enjoy the benefits of city life (i love going to universal studios, 3x in 6 months) or I can get away from it in a 15 minute drive . I'm also close to the Intercoastal Waterway as I love boating and saltwater fishing . I feel I get everything here . If you want to know more PM me . THANX from a happy FLORIDIAN !!!

greentahoe

iTrader: (2)

Bradenton is really nice and very reasonable. If you are a bartender and dont mind a bit of a drive you could work in Tampa or Ybor. I worked there for a few years and they pay even the security staff very well. Bartenders make ALOT of money. My exGF made anywhere from $1000- $2000 working 4 nights a week. Guys probably make a bit less, but still a very good living.

GM Muscle

iTrader: (9)

Looks like I'll be coming down in the end of April to look around for a couple of weeks. Has anybody been throught the Yulee area. That seems to be like another nice little spot we'd like, it's close to the water too and not very expensive. Is Jaxs a big tourism area? In Orlando it seems I can pretty much get a job doing what I want where ever because of all the tourism. So I don't know how tough it would be to get a job around the Yulee area. I'd like to walk into a job as Chef II or Banquet Coordinator. No bartending for me though, it's almost guaranteed that I'd smack some jackass.

ylwjacket

Look into Lakeland or Winter Haven. Bartow is another option. Lots of money around there, but still plenty homey. Plenty of land around there, and you could get a decent house at a decent price. Halfway between Orlando and Tampa, so you could either way to work. Also, Lakeland has its own set of bed/breakfasts, with a few nice resorts, convention centers, etc thrown in. As for water, you're 60-80 miles from either coast, and a million really nice lakes. There's even a 'Chain of Lakes', that lets you travel a pretty good was through town by water.

I have lived in Central Florida almost all my life, and driven nearly every state road in the state. I have no idea where the hell Yulee is, unless that's place up north of Crystal River that I'm thinking of. If so, it's too small and out of the way to be able to land the sort of job you mentioned.

smask04C5

iTrader: (1)

winter haven

LS1_Unleashed

iTrader: (12)

I live in bradenton, fl. I can't say much for the pricing because like everyone else was saying it is always changing. There are alot of old people here, but after 7 they all go to sleep. Bradenton is right near the coast and we have a 1/4 drag strip within 20-30mins. of anywhere in town. There are alot of teenagers in this town also so your not gonna get your 20k population, i dunno many places that have that few people and a drag strip nearby. Florida is very populated, but I have lived here all my life and have never regretted it.

shawn's SS

iTrader: (5)

Damn andrew, making the big move huh? Well as far as the car goes your gonna love it there no emmisions, no inspection, you can have tinted windows ( I miss my limo tint ) and the best by far is that you can drive your car year-round Now for the not so good stuff, car insurance very expensive compared to here, very hot weather but your body will adjust somewhat in time, traffic = just plain sucks, TAXES nuff said. As far as jax goes (this is where I lived 95 to 98 ), stay away if you don't like population and iddiot drivers, plus jax raceway is a joke. They won't let you live in middleburg because you have all your teeth Good luck with your move and No I still haven't mounted those DR's yet