Do Not Retire in East Coast Florida... Without Knowing This

Most people think about retiring to the east coast of Florida as all the same or relocating here like I did 22 years ago. Guess what? It's not. Today, I'm breaking down the five regions of Florida that you need to know about if you're thinking about coming to the east coast of Florida. We'll talk housing, lifestyle, the whole nine yards so you can make a good decision. If you're new here, I'm Sally Daley. Not only am I a real estate agent, I moved and made your journey 22 years ago. I've helped hundreds of clients figure out which part of Florida is the right spot for them.

DM me, call me, text me. My information's here and we can figure it out together. The east coast of Florida stretches all the way from Georgia all the way down to Miami. There's airports dotting the whole area. There's no state income tax. And because it's a skinny peninsula, you've got ready access to everything from Savannah to the north to the Keys to the south. But each region is distinctively different. Let's break it down. First, we've got what's known as the first coast. Well, because it's the first coast that you hit.

Primarily, Jacksonville, Amelia Island. Jacksonville is a dynamic river to ocean community. Amelia Island is well an island. Super interesting demographics. You've got a jobs-based economy in Jacksonville. You have golf and a second home community in Amelia Island. So, as a result, you've got growth and diversity because it's a jobs-based economy. You've got great health care. You've got a river. You've got an ocean. You've got Fernandina Beach. You've got live oaks. It almost looks like Georgia because it's so close to Georgia. It's a super hot part of the state because everything is right there and you're close to everything.

You're also going to have lots of options for housing types and prices. You're going to have in the Jacksonville area more moderate price points that working families can enjoy. A lot of doctors, nurses, hop over the river and get to Amelia Island and you can have beach castles down to beach condos. There's really funky parts of town by Fernandina Beach. They've got, of course, the concourse deagance every March, which is fabulous. It really is its own vibe. One thing to consider, it is above the tropic line. So, if getting rid of old man winter is important to you, it's something for you to consider.

That said, it is a dynamic growing part of the state and there's lots of great reasons for you to consider it. Going south and now we hit what's known as the fun coast. Well, yeah, it's Daytona Beach. Bikes, girls, fun on the beach. You're allowed to have vehicles on the beach. It is a really interesting part of the state. Daytona Beach and its surrounding neighborhoods offer both condos on the ocean and a beach lifestyle. Interior detached single family houses. There's always something going on in Daytona Beach. And you don't have to be a biker to like it.

Price points because their highrises are permitted bring prices down a little bit. So you can get a more affordable beach condo than you could say in places like Vero Beach where it's height restricted and you have less supply. So what you need to understand is what kind of lifestyle do I want? There's a downtown that's super vibrant. And then if you're buying a condo, of course, the questions to say, "Sally, help me understand this about the condos. What's the age of the condo?" If it's an older condo, you just need to ask the right questions.

Have they done their reserve study? Have they done their engineering study to give you confidence to say yes? Daytona is an affordable option, and increasingly, that's where a lot of people are saying yes. Now, let's talk about what's known as the Space Coast. For those of you my age, you're going to remember I Dream of Genie, Cocoa Beach. Well, guess what? Cocoa Beach is not a sleepy town anymore. It's long been home to NASA. Everybody knows that. That's super cool. Go see the launches, see the astronauts, but now it has figured out how to be a hub for technology.

SpaceX is there and all kinds of intended businesses that support it. Space Coast is now home to people that live and work. And it is not just a second home retirement community. Straight shot over from Orlando, easy to get to. You've got Cocoa Beach as well as the mainland. So, you've got diversity as well as a super growing economy that's attracting high wage talent and it's bringing younger population to the area. Super interesting. Just south of NASA, you've got what's known as the start of the Indian River Estuary. There's even a preserve for birds known as Pelican Island Preserve.

That's super cool. So, this is an embodiment of technology meets the tropics and it's worthy of your consideration. So, there's a lot going on from Melbourne all the way up through Cocoa Beach. The Space Coast is worthy of your consideration. There's a lot going on, and it's easy to see why it's attracting a lot of people that decide to call it full-time or part-time home. Prices are going to be more moderate than they are going to be in other parts of South Florida. You're going to have more affordability. You will have more density.

You're going to have some highrises. You will not have that in Vero Beach. It's a Coke and Pepsi choice. They're both terrific. You can get housing from $400 to well over a million dollars on the mainland. If you want water, you can get condos or waterfront on the river from five to multi-million. You're going to get more house for your buck than you will in Vero Beach because there's more density which naturally puts pressure down on pricing. One proviso, the waterway is freshwater. So, if getting away from alligators is important to you, you might want to consider the Treasure Coast, which is Vero Beach.

All in all, there's a lot going on in the Space Coast, and it's easy to understand why it's increasingly on everybody's radar. Now, we're going to talk about my personal favorite, the Treasure Coast, where I call home. We moved from Connecticut to Vero Beach, Florida, 22 years ago, and have never looked back. What's the deal with the Treasure Coast? Well, first of all, it's called the Treasure Coast because there's treasure out there. There's a whole flotillaa from the 1700s preGPS that they didn't get the memo there's going to be a hurricane and there's gold in those waters.

And actually, they just found some. So, it's nicknamed the Treasure Coast. Treasure Coast is really going to be comprised of Sebastian, Vero Beach, and Stewart. They're all very distinct and different. What we loved about it is we wanted no crowds, low density, no winter, and a chill environment. And that's what we found in Vero Beach. North of us in Sebastian is a terrific town that at its heart started as a fishing village, and it's in Indian River County. So, we have the same low density and you're going to have a little bit more affordable price points, houses from 350 to over a million and its own governance.

Sebastian is super chill, lots of fun restaurants on the river and you can practically go fishing and put it on the grill and go have dinner. Lots of fun. Vero is a barrier island community which is super cool. Literally, there's an island, three fixed bridges, no draw bridges, which is fantastic. And in 1977, they instituted low density, lowprofile zoning. What does that mean? It means unlike other parts of Florida, no highrises. You can't knock down one house and put three up in its wake. Height restrictions. But it even goes beyond that.

As you go out towards I95, you'll see pretty much everything stops around 66th Avenue because they want to protect the citrus growers, Indian River County Grapefruit, and the guys that are still doing cattle. So, what happens is the development went up to 66th Avenue and then went south and it's fixed. So, if housing and long-term support in a chill environment is important to you, Vero Beach is worthy of your consideration. Houses are going to be 400 to a million on what we call the mainland. On the barrier island, the cost of land makes those prices higher and you're going to be maybe, you know, 650 to multi-million for a condo and a detached house, depending on the age and the condition, of course.

anywhere from a million to 30 million. Right in the middle is a little downtown district, super chill. So, if a chill environment with not a lot of hustle and bustle, but really cool, laid-back, the Hamptons of Florida vibe is your thing, Vero Beach and the whole Treasure Coast is worth your consideration. Just south of us is a beautiful town called Stewart that has a little island called Su's Point which is super cool. Very old Florida. Cross over the river and you get to Stewart proper. If you're a super deep water fisherman, Stewart should be on your radar.

Stewart has deep water fishing all over the place. There's a lovely community called Sailfish Point. Stewart fishing is the name of the game. It's more dense. They allow more development than say Vero Beach. As a result, it's going to be a little busier, but you're also going to have more offerings for shops and services. Downtown Stewart is super cool. There's a corner called Confusion Corner. Let me tell you, it's aptly named cuz trying to find your way around there can be a thing. But there's a lot of interesting dining and activities, cultural scene, and guess what's coming to Stewart soon?

a new Bright Line, which is our super popular high-speed rail that'll take you in a New York minute faster than you can drive it for sure, down to Fort Lauderdale and Miami and back up to Orlando. So, it's easy to see why Steuart might want to be on your radar. It's going to be more expensive than Vero, but if you're a deep water fishing person, it might be worthy of your consideration. And last but not least, we have aptly named the Gold Coast from Palm Beach down to Miami. It's called the Gold Coast because, well, it's our Beverly Hills of the state of Florida.

It is not inexpensive, but boy is it lovely and offers a wonderful quality of living. From West Palm Beach to Palm Beach to Jupiter, where tons of professional golf pros live, Tiger Woods, you name it, they're all there. all the way down to Boca Raton in Miami. It's known as the Gold Coast because it's not for the faint of heart, but it does offer an unrivaled lifestyle. Any kind of shopping and services, many golf courses and lovely beautiful communities. Barrier Island of Palm Beach, West Palm, which is having a moment and it's getting its own renaissance and it's becoming known as Wall Street of the East, down to Miami, which is becoming by some people's measure almost a replacement or akin to New York.

Clean, dynamic, fun, great vibe. They all offer wonderful quality of life. The challenge is going to be affordability and traffic on all of these. It just depends what's important to you. You're going to be spending significantly more money than other parts of the east coast. It depends where your priority is and what's important to you. The unique beauty of the east coast of Florida and its various regions offer different lifestyle choices. Whether you're relocating and still working like me or you're going to be retiring, each one of them offers a very different choice and different price points and pros and cons.

What's interesting is that most of my clients aren't so surprised about the differences, but how the quality of life in each of them and their day-today life, what's what would it be like to live here, here, here is very different region to region. So don't broad rush Florida. There's all different mini regions and together we can figure out which one is right for you. So don't wait till next winter to start your retirement search. This is known as shoulder season where we are now. It's not really peak season when people come down in January and February.

And in fact, there are really some interesting opportunities out there right now because buyer demand has been a little bit muted. And it's always a great time to buy when nobody else is or at least figure out where you want to go. If you want more information, get in touch through our contact form and we can figure it out together or reach out to me with the contact info that you see here and we can figure it out together. So, in my next video, I'm going to reveal new home communities and opportunities where new homes are actually less than resales.

who' have thunk it and we can break it down and you can find some possibilities. So, it's important that you see the whole spectrum of options, resale and new, so you understand when we work together, you're seeing all of your possibilities. So, in my next video, I'm going to break it down so you have the full array of options to consider. So, hit subscribe so you won't miss opportunities before they're gone and you're the first to know about all the greatest and best opportunities throughout the region. Thanks for watching. Until next time, take