Do you want to move to Florida?

We actually had the 10 acres "sold" (or so we thought!) twice, with contracts and deposits, but both fell through. Once was right at the height of the real estate bubble - had it "sold" for $550K!! That would have been great! But he never got financing. Then the next year we had it "sold" for $499K. But they wanted to change it to commercial zoning, thought they had it all figured out, but found out more requirements at the last minute and backed out. Now with the bad real estate market, we have actually cut the price in half, and can't go much lower. But the local market seems to be just barely starting to pick up a little recently, especially for cheaper houses. If the economy starts to turn around, I think prices will start rising again, at long last.

We haven't bothered to try to sell it the last couple of years, except for the ever present sign out front. But now that it is starting to pick up, I am going to give it a try again. Maybe if it doesn't sell this year, we will just hold out for a higher price in a year or two. I have also put an ad on Craigslist, offering to trade the 10 acres for a nice house on a big lot in the Phoenix area (we hope to retire there eventually).

This is a great time to buy a house or land if you can afford it. The prices were artificially high a few years back, and they are artificially low right now. As soon as the economy improves, prices should get back to a more moderate level, in my opinion.

(Tim works at a pet shop).

Would that ever be cool if Carol moved here!!! Remember, no state tax!! No earthquakes! Land cost is probably 1/100th of what it is out there!

Originally Posted by Nanci

(Tim works at a pet shop).

Would that ever be cool if Carol moved here!!! Remember, no state tax!! No earthquakes! Land cost is probably 1/100th of what it is out there!

I'll survey things out there in August!

I forgot, this state likes guns!!! You can have whatever you want!

Yes, if Carol moved here, then I could just go out to the building and LOOK at her beautiful pink snows and striped Miamis, and not have to get any for myself, lol!

We do have hurricanes, but we are quite a ways inland, so not as likely to have extensive damage, and no storm surge here. We have never had more than minor damage from any storms or hurricanes so far (knock on wood!!)

We have a Quonset - style metal building for the animals, rated to more than 125 mph winds, and no windows. Probably where we would all go if there was a hurricane, lol! And NO earthquakes in Florida! It IS pretty hot and buggy here in the summer (that is why they invented A/C!!), but our winters are WONDERFUL. And we do get some dramatic, gorgeous storms to watch during the summer rainy season.

No state income tax, although we do have a 6% sales tax. And property taxes will be much cheaper if you do some kind of agricultural business, such as fence the property and board some horses, or something similar.

August is good if you like to see Florida at its worst! Probably the hottest and wettest month of all, with the most mosquitoes and hurricanes. If you can stand it here then, the rest of the year is a breeze! Probably not a month I will be actively trying to sell the property to non-Floridians, lol!

That's it. I'm dragging my trailer down tomorrow. I'll figure out how to finance it later. LOL.

I would LOVE to live out in the woods like that, but Tony would hate it... such a shame...

If it wasn't for the weather, I'd already be packing my stuff to come down. I am not a fan of hot weather at all....I don't think my horses would appreciate it much either, they're so used to the cooler weather up here.

If I had a choice, I would be a "snowbird" - up north or on a mountain in the summer, and down here in winter. But since I can't afford both, I will take our hot, wet summers over the cold, snow, and ice, any day, lol!

Wow, about seven years ago I'd been all over this offer... but I'm married, tied to a house, and a good job, and lots of friends I'd miss, and the total lack of human population in general that the outback of North Dakota has going for it... Mmmm....but man I'd love to be able to go snake hunting in my own yard! LOL!