the amount of suckers buying "pre-construction" condos here in so fla is amazing... what a joke.... these prices are outrages up 200% over 1 year ago
Houses in non waterfront areas of Florida, and indeed most of the southeast, are much cheaper than UK. 100k sterling will buy a very nice house in these areas, not a mansion but a very liveable house. Most of you have no idea how small and crappy most houses in the UK are. Don't get me wrong, I love the UK and the people and have spent a lot of time there, but in general the housing just does not compare to the US. One does not have to deal with the extreme crowding and congestion that plague Britain either. Even now petrol prices are dirt cheap compared to what you chaps pay, and we take things like unlimited telephone useage and long distance for granted. No stamp tax either. The main downsides? You can't get a decent pint of bitter or Indian food, and there are not too many lovely English girls.
I have noticed the engish people appear more tuffer and thicker skinned.. they have more of a serious approach to life... does this have to do with the cultue in the UK? --MIKE
They might not be English, but I can assure you that there are plenty of lovely women in Tampa, FL. And in the summer, they are practically naked.
Interesting observation. I think that their culture has traditionally respected stoicism, understatement and not complaining. They are a damn tough lot too, don't let the "posh" accents fool you. The Spaniards have one train blown up, they throw out their government and beg al Qaeda not to hurt them. Hitler bombed England night and day and they were ready to fight with pitchforks if it came to that.
I love the southwest coast of Florida. It seems to me that there is some fairly cheap land available, as compared to the east coast of the state. I go to Ft. Myers every year for Boston Red Sox spring training and stay on sanibel island. I'd love to get a house there some day....
I live in South Florida where housing prices have been rising rapidly the past few years. But up state, and in particular, in land, there are nice pieces of property available at very reasonable prices. Overall the cost of living in Florida is moderate. Certainly it's cheaper in Texas and elsewhere in the midwest. Florida doesn't have an income tax and the intangibles property tax on investment assets (excluding bank deposits and retirement funds) is now a joke. The tax is 0.1% of assets and the first $500,000 for a married couple is exempt. Agree with the comment about hurricanes. It's always in the back of your mind during hurricane season. Property insurance is therefore very expensive. But I'd rather live in a hurricane area than a tornado area (most of the midwest). You usually get several days notice about a possible hurricane versus only minutes for a tornado.
Texas (I'm in Austin) is cheaper due to no state income tax but the incentives you mentioned make Florida attractive as well. No wonder professional athletes either live in Texas or Florida....
The Brits are tough? After Dunkirk, they did their best to avoid fighting the Nazis until the war is almost over so they can go in and claim victory along with the Americans and the Russians. Pitchforks, give me a break! By your logic, the Russians are many times tougher than Brits. The Russians took on much more brutal attacks from the Nazis than British ever did, and they actually pushed Hitler's military machine all the way into Berlin. Please don't pick on the Spaniards, the French or the Germans. They have the guts to stand up to Bush while Blair is just a subservient puppy.