Floridians..........

[sapodila]

How's the weather this turkey weekend! .. tell meh .... de waters still warm? :D

[sapodila]

Ah see no body eh come an tell bout dey ever so beautiful, welcoming, jewel of the Americas. Anyways! The gulf was exquite .....but chilly and the Atlantic was bikini weather :lol:

[sapodila]

Hello Mods..........Please move this thread to Travel and Tourism......whatever.... please and thanks! :)

[brag]

Sorry sap. I just saw this thread. The weather is great, nothing like Spring and Fall her. No Winter at all. Summer is real hot, but I love it. When you live in Florida, you never think about Winter. Florida is another world unlike the rest of the USA.

[sapodila]

Thanks BRji..... had a wonderful but extremely too short of a weekend there, driving down for approx 14 hrs to Orlando.... had lunch at the wonderful family of Dean, head over to Tampa. visited St. Petes, suck two sugar canes like back home one after the other, then swim the crystal clean and clear but cold / cool waters of the Gulf, collected some shells, head over to Sarasota, picked oranges and grapefruits there, then off to Miami and Fort Lauderdale........drink coconuts like it going out of style.......I now know it's refered to as "fort liquor dale".... catch up with endless Trinis at a prayers house... food fuh so.....the waters was warm there. Drove through Margate and Hillsboro......I definately will retire in one of those two neighbourhoods... I am in attachment with Margate/ Hillsboro/ W. Palm Beach. Then headed up to Okeechobee ............that place is the BOMB.......casscadu in people's pond, sapodilla in the trees, drink more coconuts off the trees........ The drive back was very foggy and long .......but safe. Ah love Florida. Ah coming back to experience the hurricanes season and de heat next year and then ah go decide de future.............ah go plan to visit next time round BRji..... if God spare life.

[brag]

I am glad you had a good time in FIorida. Not to worry about the hurricane too much. There is no where else in the US where you can have summer all year round. I too love Margate. I have lived here for the last seven years.

[peanut]

Florida was my home for 11 years before moving to NC .. I hated the fire ants and Lawd the squitos are so big they can pick you up your bed and put you outside for their friends to feed on.

I stayed in Tampa for 1 month after leaving T&T and moved to Port St Lucie in '88. Now doh fool yuh fat, I remember it getting down to way below freezing in '89, and that cold is worse that the cold yuh get when it snows. In NC I am enjoying the 4 seasons as opposed to the 2 in Fl. Spring and Fall is my 2 favorite Seasons, and yeah we are susceptable to hurricanes too. One only have to remember Floyd.

[sapodila]

Aye Peanut.... teh biggest quitos anywhere in the Americas is dem Canadians quitos......dey pick meh up befor eh :D . Ah sure dey not dat big in FL :D ........Ah remember Floyd.... was just befor or after Bonnie....Margate nice too bad ... BRji. .... lemme check meh schedule.....may be back soon to check out Ft Myers!

[dancerboy]

I retired to OCALA, FLORIDA in june. I am loving it. Couldn't live in NEW YORK on retirement salary. It would deplete your retirement savings long before GOD ready to retire you. DANCERBOY

[sapodila]

Understood! What other factors besides hurricanes has caused the value of houses to be priced so low in FL. as compared to other parts of the northeast?

[brag]

One or two cold days or even a week, but never more is nothing to speak about. I can never forget the Chicago cold with the wind chill factor almost always below zero.

[dancerboy]

SAPODILA: the price of houses in FLORIDA has nothing to do with hurricanes. As a matter of fact, a few years ago,immediately after a severe hurricane season the price of houses were going up. In the past three years,there was a housing boom in AMERICA. Everybody and dey tantie was getting mortgages no matter what your income. That has now led to what is being referred to as "THE SUBPRIME MORTGAGE" problem. Home buyers were getting houses with no money down, some were getting "ARM" (adjustable rate mortages), your payment may have started at a low $1000.00 a month, and after couple of years as agreed in the contract your mortgage then hits the roof to $2000.00. Then you had the interest only loan. The home-owner paid the interest only for an agreed upon time. (this works to your advantage sometimes, i will explain how). After that time is expired the home-owner now has to pay interest, plus prinicipal; you could just imagine what will do to your paycheck, and savings if you have any. This subprime is wreaking havoc on the U.S economy. COUNTRY-WIDE, one of the biggest motgage lenders laid of thousans of employees, the first black C.E.O at MERRIL LYNCH was either laid off or demoted, and only today it was reported that BEAR STEARNS was set to cut 650 jobs jobs,making this the third wave of layoffs which as of last month eliminated 900 jobs. Now, one way an interest only loan can work is if you plan to rent the house, and then sell it. My son buys, rents and sells homes in delaware, so he takes an interest only loan with a five-year agreement,and he sells the house(if the market is good) within the five years. I am being affected by the subprime. I have a two-family home on the market for sale since february. I have an excellent tenant upstairs, but i was very aprehensive about getting a tenant for the apartment i occupied. However, after paying the $1300.00 a month in mortgage since june, i had to relent and rent the house. Thank god i have that option, otherwise i would have had to sell at a loss. I had several offers, but because it's a buyers' market, people are making very ridiculous offers. SORRY FOR BEING SO LONG, IT'S NO WAY I COULD HAVE DONE THIS IN THE FORM OR A PRECIS. DANCERBOY

[sapodila]

This "Subprime Mortgage" issue seems to be a problems everywhere it the USA and the Global markets. I aquired my house before the "BOOM" so even with the depreciation in todays market, my equity is far more than doubled. However If I were to sell and acquire another house here where I live, I would have to fish out quite a heafty mortgage payment each month, because house prices here haven't been reduced as other markets and the loans is hard to find now. ... ofcourse I would have some cash in my pocket. I'm looking at FL.....and wondering WHY the house prices seem so low. When I say low is because what one will pay say....$350,000.00 in FL., one would have to pay $ 750,000.00+ in my neck of the woods.....just wondering if there's anything hidden that I should know.

Thanks for the info ...Dancerboy.

[dancerboy]

SAPODILA, here in OCALA, the homes are very inexpensive now. You can get a three bedroom house about 1,700 sq ft. with plenty land for under $200,000.00. If at any time you plan to visit FLORIDA, feel free to contact me and i'll be more than happy to take around. DANCERBOY