David T. Hall wrote:
Have you planned for financial hardship?

I can provide food, water, and the basic necessities.

Hell, I could retire right now, if that's all I

.needed to do.

Believe it or not,
there are many in Florida, more in the rural areas, who rely on no cash
at all, and it's always been that way.

Talk about self sufficiency! In this area, that

just isn't very practical. Unless, of course,

you're Amish.


One doesn't need be Amish to farm, hunt, and fish.
Self-sustainment has always been
a large part of the original Floridians and their families.

.Like that guy in the swamps of Tampa that

was just forced, by eminent domain, off his

land to the tune of 5 mil?


Ain't that something?
_
They have
survived Indians, draughts, plagues (such as citrus canker that
decimates entire industries and family enterprises) hurricanes on a
regular basis..on it goes. Florida has never been the cushy place your
ads in between Homer Simpson and reality shows depict. Miami and Disney
have always presented an unrealistic portrait of Florida. It is still a
very much undeveloped state,

That's because much of it is swamp.


Most of it is scrubland, not swamp.

There's an on-going battle between rabid

developers who want to drain the swamps,

and the ecologists who want to preserve the

natural ecosystem


Yep,,,,a damn good time to support the "whacko" environmentalists.
-
There are state roads that traverse through the state east and west that
have nothing in between the coasts except for a few small unremarkable
towns with populations in the double digits.

Sounds like the Pine Barrens in New

Jersey......
_
What's your excuse not to?

I can always sell my home and move north (or inland) and buy incredible
acreage and 4 or 5 times the home I have here and still have enough left
over to live fairly well.

I could do the same. For the price that my

home can get in today's market, I could move

to an unremarkable (READ: not in demand)

area and by a similar place for a fraction of the
cost. But there's no place to work at a livable

wage. But when I retire, that's probably what I

will do.

Our home values increased over 70% in the last ten years in some areas.

My home appreciated about 70% in the 5

years that I've lived here. It's unreal, and it

won't last.



Hell, I was talking Florida as a whole. My home value increased 100% in
the last 8 years, as has many in the flood zones (near or on water).

I pity the people who are buying into the

market now with a 10% down payment and

will likely find themselves upside down when

the bottom finally falls out of the market.
=A0



Some say the bubble will hold here, some say there is no bubble. The
problems will be those who took on bigger and better homes when the
rates were at all time lows instead of paying off their debts.=A0Taxes
when I bought my original home here were less than 300 bucks a year.

I'd die for that rate. Right now, I'm approaching
$5500

Now they are over 3G.

Even 3G would be better than what I'm paying
now.


Well, we'll hit that in a few more years. Houses on the actual tourist
beaches are paying above and beyond that.
_
Houseboats are another option for those of us
who tame the sea.

I once toyed with the idea of living on a boat.

But I have far too much junk to make it

practical. Especially with family

considerations. If I was a loner, I could live in

boat or a trailer and I'd be just fine.




Dude, check out some of the yachts,,,,I know a guy who lives in the
Vinoy Basin and has two dirtbikes on board for he and his son.
_
Of course, I can always throw a
trailer or mobile home near JerryO's place after selling my home and
never have to worry about money again.

At least you'd have a drinking buddy ;-)


Coca Cola only. Besides, I'd rather talk skip than drink. I'd save a lot
of truckers, as Jerry would be chasing my impossible-to-find signal all
the time.


Dave

."Sandbagger"