Florida Homes

Like this one, every home at the beach looks a little different. Some live here full-time, like our family. With two adults and one 16 year old (almost adult), we like living a half mile off the beach in a community with plenty of elevation (for Florida anyhow) and neighbors who live here year round. Some people use their home only for vacations. Some like it both ways, spending their holidays here now, renting it out to vacationers when they aren't here and planning for the long-term, they will hold on to it so when they retire it has paid for itself. A smart, multi-purpose investment. I took a class in "permaculture" this summer and one of the core principles of that way of thinking is that everything you make, plant, or do should have three practical purposes. As a retirement investment three important values come to mind. 1. Great climate - yes we get storms but our geography helps us because the Santa Rosa Beach area is high so if you buy smart, you really don't worry about flooding. 2. Safety - the scariest part of living here is driving on Hwy 98 with the summer tourists who for some reason, have a hard time slowing down for their vacation. Other than that, with the basic precautions, it's safe here. 3. Lifestyle - we are a little light on "culture" but working on that as a community and in terms of outdoor activities, we have plenty of outlets. We are rich in places to walk, bike and boat. Long gardening season. Beautiful State Parks. Shopping and dining everywhere. We have an abundance of fishing and golf. Obviously, there are a lot of homes on the market right now and buyers rule so if you can get away from the crisis de jour, multi-task and look at houses during Autumn Tides. Go to www.southwalton.org for schedule and details on the whole event.