Where to Retire in Florida

I bought this book, spent many many hours reading it, loaned it out,they loaned it out,now I think the whole town has read it. I'm buying my second copy. I took it to florida with me, and it's for the most part it's right on the money. I hope there is next addition coming out also.

Having read many a relocation guide, I can honestly rate this as one of the best I've encountered. It gives an insider's view of each of the Florida locations reviewed and provides the reader with pros and cons and overall relativity much needed in the process of deciding on, or at least ruling out, potential relocation destinations. There's a definite sense of "he said, she said" , a give and take, a yin and yang to this guide and when reading between the lines, one can look for a meeting or diverging of the minds involved to make ones own decision as to where to live. I highly recommend "Where to Retire in Florida" to those who, like me, are seriously considering a move (retiring or otherwise) to Florida.

The authors, Richard and Betty Fox, make clear their preferences while letting the reader form his/her own. The demographic and other factual info helps the reader find the places worth more research before making a trip to checkout a place firsthand. The factual info also helps eliminate places based on cost of living or type of housing or the lack of some required amenity --- golf, boating, fishing, shopping, restaurants, etc. My husband and I used this book to help us find a place to retire to in Florida. We had already lived in Boca Raton, FL in the mid-90's and knew we did not want to retire to Boca (despite the Foxes high rating), but we definitely wanted to return to Florida. Based on the Fox's book, we checked out a number of places on the Gulf Coast, but the "feel" wasn't right for us. So, we planned a second trip to the Atlantic/East Coast (our preference all along, but we were trying to keep an open mind) and found a place that meets our needs. The book's map was helpful in locating the places discussed in the book as well as seeing the relative positions of places in Florida. Keeping all those Palm-something places and Winter-something places in their proper location is tough for those unfamiliar with Florida geography. The map and the description pages helped. I recommend hooking up with a realtor either before you get to the area you want to know better or soon after you arrive in town. If the realtor doesn't seem right to you, move on to another. Explain you're not buying this time around; you're just checking the place out and then buy her/him lunch for helping you get to know the place. If you like the area, look at a few houses to get the feel for the relationship between external and internal appearances and price. If you don't like the area, don't waste your time looking at housing. Move on till you find a community that works for you. I recommend this book for any retiree considering a move to Florida. I also recommend doing additional research on the Web to get more info about the places that appeal to you before spending money and time visiting.

This is the best book yet on Florida retirement. It's chock full of useful information. However, the best thing about this book are the dozens of 2-page descriptions of cities and communities all over Florida, that really give you a feel for what it would be like to live there.

After reading seven other books about retiring in Florida, I stumbled upon this one. I wish I had seen it first. It provides an outstanding overview of retirement locations throughout Florida with detailed information regarding health care availability, safety, water quality, churches, traffic, local politics and many other categories. The format is outstanding as well - very nicely organized and easy to use.