As you plan to retire soon you may find you want to relocate to a new location. According to one recent survey close to 60% of baby boomers will choose to retire outside of their home state. And while the phrase, “retire to Florida,” may seem like a bit of a cliché Florida remains the number one destination state for retirees.
This brings up the question, what are cheap places to retire in Florida. So let us take a look at 3 of the best places to retire in Florida.
Apalachicola
One of the best places to retire in Florida is this small town on the Gulf Coast. If you enjoy a nice quiet town, you will find it here with a population of around 2300. Apalachicola is a wealthy, old fishing town with a long history due it to its proximity to the rich oyster and fishing areas of the Gulf Coast. Downtown Apalachicola as an interesting array of restored buildings with a lovely, working waterfront with fishing boats tied up next to tasty seafood restaurants. Many believe that the town’s oysters are the finest in the entire world.
Apalachicola boasts some of the best beaches and coastline in the state of Florida. If you want to live on the beach, nearby Sand Island, St. George’s Island and St. Vincent Island offer warm, tropical surroundings. You will find a plethora of restored homes and you can plan a mini vacation in one of the many bed and breakfasts. And the homes are affordable, how does a median home price of $110k sound?
Sarasota
Sarasota is next up on our list of best places to retire in Florida, it boasts a population of almost 53,000 residents and is located on the central west coast.
You will find dozens of historical buildings dating back to the late 1800s. If you choose to retire here you will discover what makes a top retirement community choice. It has one of the best downtowns in Florida.
Sarasota is home of the Ringling Brothers circus in the winter. They bring a rich culture to this medium sized city. The Ringling Museum of Art is one of the most impressive museums in Florida.
One option for living in Sarasota is an apartment in the downtown area. Alternately, there is a wide variety of housing options available in various neighborhoods. Sarasota home prices are still affordable with the median home price coming in at $185k.
Venice
Just south of Sarasota lies Venice, a charming city of 21k residents located on the Gulf of Mexico. It was originally developed in 1925 by, believe it or not, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. They were visionaries, thinking Venice would be an ideal senior retirement community. You should not be surprised to discover canals and rivers running through Venice Florida just like Venice Italy. Once you see it and meet some of the residents you may agree that living here is one of the best places to retire in all of Florida.
Venice offers lower traffic levels and cheaper home prices. For example, the real estate market in Venice is very soft right now as it attempts to recover from overbuilding, the hurricanes of 2005 and speculation. Home prices have decreased dramatically from their 2006 prices of $300k; just last year they were down to a more reasonable 140K.
Now you know some of the cheap places to retire in Florida.