I’m retired after 35 years as an engineer. I have a beautiful ranch in eastern wa. But a bit too much to handle in retirement

I’m looking for locals input on the communities or areas. Florida was always in my retirement picture although open to suggestion as to where.

I wanna have access to public hunting lands especially for hogs. Also to be close ( 1 hour ish) to the ocean. A house on a lake would work nicely.

I’ll pay cash for what I buy so I’m not too concerned about little details of the housing. Just the areas hunting landscape flooding and game

Any insight from locals or knowledgeable folks welcome. I have several very good friends in Florida but not in western Florida.

You can PM me as well if you prefer.

Nice to see you back.

Well along 30 A there are a metric S**t ton of spring breakers and their families during that time of the year causing rediculous traffic jams, wailing and nashing of teeth for a fisherman/hunter type. Not so much the rest of the year. I'd prolly look north of Rt 10. Marianna, FL is nice but there's a prison nearby. Might also want to look at Alabama, and South Georgia around Bainbridge. Not sure about AL, but both GA and FL are easy taxwise on retirement income.

North of I-10 on the Alabama line

Navarre comes to mind. IIRC Florida has no state income tax. Wife and I are strongly considering the Jacksonville area. Selling out in Mooresville, NC soon as we finish a few improvements. Way too crowded after 22 years.

edit: meant Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach, but a little inland.

Baldwin County, Alabama

Stockton area.
About an hour from Gulf Shores, close to tons of public land for hogs and it’s good hog hunting, close enough to Mobile, Daphne, and Pensacola, Florida.


If it must be Florida, Pace seems to be a nice area that will meet your needs as well.

Niceville, Florida will put you next to the base land that you can hunt. Really good schools, high property values, and close to beaches too.

Marrianna west to the Alabama line. The best hunting available in Florida imo. Easy to hunt Alabama and Georgia also. Most beautiful beaches in Florida. Great fishing both fresh and salt. A little north or south of I-10 would be my choice. I wouldn’t let the prison be an issue. It actually helps support the area so there’s more amenities. North of I-10 and west of Marrianna gets pretty rural. If you’re used to driving over a half hour to shop or have a choice of restaurants then that’s not a problem.

Thanks folks great feedback

Driving to get anything is normal here so that would not be a change for us. Living on the ranch is far from town.

Keep the info coming I wanna make wise decisions going forward as it will be my last move hopefully

You'd find a lot to like just north of Navarre, towards Alabama. My brother lives in Navarre and we have a small ranch near Red Level, Al. It takes a bit over an hour to get from the beaches of the gulf to some really nice areas in Southern Alabama.

I can't live in that area cause I hate heat and humidity, but if it doesn't bother you it's hard to beat the area.

Anywhere around or on lake Seminole would be my preference.

I was stationed in Pensacola for 5 years with the USN. I really liked that area. Never tried to hunt hogs there but I took a couple of bucks off public hunting land every year.

I am a Florida Native, born and raised. Born down south, raised in JAX (No one local calls it Jacksonville......)
My son is about to relocate to Palm Coast/Daytona area.

Traffic in JAX is a nightmare, though not as bad as ATL.

Mexico beach was mostly leveled in a hurricane (forget which one??) but the is a great place on the Gulf. I'd look further south, say around Steinhatchee, or Cypress Key area.

LOTS of retirement communities popping up down there, but I'm in Savannah, GA and love it. Would move back to Florida to be closer to grand kids but will keep my little slice of heaven in central Georgia to totally unplug.

JJ, good to see you back. What is your appx. budget? Do you need acreage or a lot? What size lake, like big enough to run motorboats in? You have to be very careful with some Florida lakes. Many are very prone to going nearly or completely dry during droughts. Oh, and by western FL do you mean the Panhandle?

I was thinking Tallahassee west or maybe steinhatchee or Perry area.

JJ nice to see you back on the Fire.
Hey, wishing you all the best on your move. In July me and my wife made our first trip to Florida. We flew into Tampa. We were visiting some friends there. They live in a small community to the North East of Tampa. Tampa was way too busy for me. Where my friends live it was mostly small little ranch type places. We had a nice visit. I could see why a Lot of people like it down there. I did get to see one of those crazy rain storms that put down a lot of water in a short bit of time.
Anyway, wish you all the best on the sale of your place.

I'm sure you'll be blessed in your move.

Subscribed.

At this point in my life I’ve been blessed with having experienced extraordinary hunting adventures as some here probably know about.

I really enjoy hog hunting and saltwater inshore fishing. I also still teach both commercial and recreational diving.

This trio of interests puts the panhandle on the top of my relocation interests.

Most of these replies match my feelings of the geography and opportunities. If South Georgia or East Alabama ends up being a better option I’m okay with that too.

I’ll be flying out once I narrow down a handful of properties to look at.

All well and good now, but not so much later in life when it could be a problem. As we age what was easy today becomes a PIA down the road.

[quote=JJHACK]At this point in my life I’ve been blessed with having experienced extraordinary hunting adventures as some here probably know about.

I really enjoy hog hunting and saltwater inshore fishing. I also still teach both commercial and recreational diving.

This trio of interests puts the panhandle on the top of my relocation interests.

Most of these replies match my feelings of the geography and opportunities. If South Georgia or East Alabama ends up being a better option I’m okay with that too.

I’ll be flying out once I narrow down a handful of properties to look at. [/quoteIf you're thinking cave diving in the Springs, then around the Gainesville Area. Florida has over 1000 named springs, not all caves are dive-able. For hunting, most anywhere you can find land and/or permission or hunt the WMAs there.

Hogs are pretty nomadic and need water,

I’ve had an interest in the Apalachicola, FL area going back a while, check it out in a map. The wife & I went there last Dec to look the area over, no it’s never gonna be a spring break magnet. The area includes Mexico Beach to the West, a tad East, then the smaller communities away from the gulf to the North.

The nickname is ‘the forgotten coast’, 2 said don’t be telling anyone about it. Though it doesn’t have the plentiful beaches further west towards Panama City, there are enough. St George Island has areas to explore. Another to investigate is ‘Crooked Island’ beach.

I’m not into Southern FL, or any of the busier areas, this area suits me, may never be there full time. In general, FL rates better for living & retirement than AL or GA.

I don’t know about hunting grounds, but did hear the duck hunters shooting right from our hotel in town, Apalachicola.

I was born in the Panhandle. If you find lakefront, be sure to investigate whether or not the lake ever dries up. I kill time by exploring places to make my final home.In doing so, I pulled google satellite routinely and saw the completely dry lakes. Google Sand Hills FL and look at all the lakes in that area. Nearly everyone of those showed dry on Google 2-3 years ago. Those same lakes now appear to be full table. There's quite a bit of public land along the panhandle. Blackwater River State Forest, Eglin AFB, Choctawhatchee WMA, Apalachicola Wildlife Area, Tates Hell State Forest, Apalachicola NF, and a smattering of smaller WMAs. They'll all have hogs.

Before I'd had my fill of hurricanes, I had zeroed in on the area between Tallahassee and Panama City. Real estate is affordable, ready access to hunting and inshore fishing and not overdeveloped. Waterfront is a bit of a tough find there though. Water access (easy access to bayous isn't hard) If you are looking for larger Lakes, Lake Talquin is a good one. That puts you very close to Apalachicola NF and convenient to Apalachee Bay. The towns along the coast in that part of the state have a cool vibe about them. Not a lot of condos and such.

I'd never consider Jacksonville....Too much crime, too busy. Tallahassee is a mess of liberals due to FSU being there. This is the place that voted for Obama and where Andrew Gillum was mayor, which says all you need to know about it.

West of Tallahassee is where I would consider. Like someone said, you are not too far from good hunting in Alabama and Georgia and great fishing in the Gulf.

My experiences there are very much out-dated, but some things don't change, so...

Pay attention to how often the Panhandle gets hit with hurricanes and tropical storms. It's the Gulf's bullseye. I wouldn't want to be within miles of the coastline, and I'd have a whole-house generator permanently installed and fueled. But at least that part of Florida is out of the sinkhole region, mostly. If a map shows dozens of perfectly circular lakes, do NOT move there. Look up sinkholes if you want to be terrified.

The Panhandle is also the buckle of the Bible Belt. You can't turn on a radio without being hammered by a Baptist preacher. Anywhere near the beaches will be tourist centers, with all the pros and cons that brings. Traffic, high prices, and crime - along with great restaurants.

Eglin is the largest AF base in the world, with much of the panhandle being bombing ranges. The base even serves as the local airport for commercial flights. Some of the ranges are open to limited public hunting, but it's probably by draw these days (I have no current info about that). Florida is very generous with deer, hog, and turkey limits and seasons. When I lived there, you could tag a buck a day and no limit on hogs. Gulf fishing is excellent, with closer access to deep water than farther south on the gulf.

You should visit the places you are considering in late July or early August to see if you melt. If you are not catching a breeze off the coast, it's a miserable place.

If a house on a lake is a strong prerequisite,look-up Compass Lake…

You might take a look at some of the past hurricane tracks if you are looking in the western Fl area.

Distance from the coast can be a very good thing at times since every hurricane that enters the gulf exits over land. You won’t be safe an hour inland, but it is much better than being closer. South Georgia or Alabama would look good to me. Close enough to what you want, but a little more distance from the coast too.

I live about 50 miles inland from Hancock27 in Savannah. It can get sporty here when hurricanes come close, but nothing like what people will see in Savannah. Most of our hurricane activity is with glancing hits that are traveling up the coast to slam the Carolinas.

Just something else to think about. 50 miles in distance can mean a lot when you are dealing with a Hurricane.

Right now I am looking at Gadsden Alabama as my retirement spot.

Cheap cost of living, right on the edge of hardwood growth but still a temperate climate - a few scattered 70 degree days in February, and close to lakes and mountains.

I think I'm maybe 5 years away

In your circumstances, I’d be looking for somewhere around central South Dakota. (Oh, that’s just me. I’d melt in the south).

We fished out of Destin last spring. Our fishing guide was a self made kid, early 30s, hardcore redneck, keeps saving money and buying bigger boats. He lived outside of Navarre, said it wasn’t quite totally touristed out like everything east is, but it was getting close. There are way too many people there for me to live happily.

Showed a pic of a nice 10 point be shot with his bow right off the beach on public ground. When not fishing he is guiding duck hunts. Asked how he got into that for his “job”. “Well, I was too lazy to work, so I fish abd hunt.”

if you move down here, you're going to dodge Tornadoes 6 months out of the year and the other 6 months you're in the Hurricane Bullseye. My wife and I moved back here after 28 years Navy and I can tell you this: Had I really taken a hard look at the weather, we wouldn't be here. this place is a weather Toilet.

we grew up here, all our Family has been here, and we can't remember ever having this much devastation. Just in the last 3 years The wife and I have been here, my moms place 20 miles away got pretty much Obliterated last year. we lived through 3 major Hurricanes in 2 years (they ran out of names for the Hurricanes in 2020) and Tornadoes tore up about 40 houses on Hwy 14 (10 miles from us).

It is only a matter of time before everything you own is destroyed, you can run and dodge but statistically, the odds of a Tornado hitting a specific point in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi and Georgia, is pretty freaking high.. Highly recommend taking a look at that aspect of it.

[quote=RockyRaab]My experiences there are very much out-dated, but some things don't change, so...



The Panhandle is also the buckle of the Bible Belt. You can't turn on a radio without being hammered by a Baptist preacher. Anywhere near the beaches will be tourist centers, with all the pros and cons that brings. Traffic, high prices, and crime - along with great restaurants.

oh yeah, forgot about that. you better love Jesus. you're gonna get that shoved down your throat whether you want it or not.

You going to have a boat to fish and hunt off of?

I don't know the area but you might want to have access to quality medical care. Speaking as an old guy.

The panhandle area from Dustin to west of Pensacola is all good & much different than either of the coasts of mid & south Floreeda.

Much more laid back, redneck country; I've spent a lot of time in Pensacola & like it very much& it's my favorite part of Florida.

As Florida goes, property values are better than many other parts.

Only big & sure issue is that, at some time, you will have to deal with hurricanes or major storms less than hurricane strength.

MM

Defuniak Springs sounds like it meets your criteria. Several lakes nearby, fairly close to the Gulf and good hunting to the north. An easy drive to P'cola, Panama City, Ft. Walton Beach.

My family roots are up that way. It's a pretty cool area. I'd be inclined to look just a little further north toward Centre. Lake Weiss is a massive lake. It's at the foot of Lookout Mountain and the Little River Canyon. Lakefront is moderately affordable. Acreage is cheap. Little River Canyon WMA is right there.

Hurricanes are certainly part of the puzzle. Fortunately I have a very nice Motor home and Hurricanes come with a week of warning. I can just drive north someplace for a month until things settle down and go back. Insurance covers the rest, I'm not gonna live the rest of my life worried about replaceable possessions. The RV is a game changer for me. I can go anyplace and have everything I have in a home and actually a bit more luxurious in some ways. Including the Rubicon behind it when I travel.

EarthQuakes and Volcano eruptions, crime, tornados, no warnings. Those you cannot evade easily. Hurricanes although devistating are easily avoided. I was sent a Map of various colours showing Past flood level in one colour and proposed maximum flood zones in another color. That makes housing choices a lot easier. Surprisingly much of western Florida seems to be flood zone. However there are lots of pockets of dry ground scattered around. Especially around Tallahasse and Lake Talquin.

Welcome back.

Been missing one of the voices of reason.


Okie John

JJ, I understand you having the motor home and being able to leave.

Here in La. hurricane deductibles are higher than our normal insurance coverage. So often after paying your deductible you come out in the negative if looking for replacement cost. Flood insurance is different as well.

I live 3 hours north of the Gulf and people here are still rebuilding from last year. Things can be replaced but it’s a pain in the azz, and costly at times.

I live in Tallahassee and work at the university. My sons and I dive the coast near St Marks, I can tell you quality water days are very limited and bull sharks are everywhere, we mainly spearfish but good visibility days are rare. BTW, my GF is also a dive instructor. As far as hunting goes, you have the national forest near by but I won't step foot in there during deer season as the dog hunters run the place, just not safe. You may have some limited draw luck on public areas but I've given up on hunting around here. I don't hunt hogs but I know there are many places in FL that offer pay to hunt opportunities. There appears to be way more hunters in FL these days and limited places to hunt. The best land is in the large plantations that run from Tallahassee north to GA but they are all private and are mostly managed for quail. They have lots of really big deer but hunting them is only for the well connected. FL is a great state with a good governor but most elections are close as the state is pretty evenly divided politically. Tallahassee is a very liberal city for what it's worth. My recommendation for hunting and diving would be west of Tallahassee closer to Pensacola. Good luck with your search!

Edit: After walking outside since my post, I realized why I can't wait to get out of FL. The governor is great but he won't be here forever, it's too hot to do anything outside from May-September and there are too many people for my taste. Traffic is getting worse by the day and is seems more and more people are moving to FL. I can understand retirees coming from the NE to escape the cold and heating bills, I would too, but for me it's just too hot and humid, I don't even want to go outdoors in the summer. It's too hot to go out on the boat, even the water to warm and not comforting. We mostly dive in the winter in wet suits when the water temp is below 60. Better visibility and much more comfortable. You may save on your heating bills but your AC will run non-stop May-September. I'm still looking for my "last home" and it won't be here, somewhere West but I'm still looking.

Our insurance went up 35% just this year in central FL. and it is already 2x more than what we pay here for way less house down there. Traffic is awful and getting worse. In your case instead of flying down there to try to make a quick decision, I'd take that motor home of yours and look around down there for a while. A real estate agent will sugar coat any location to get a sale. My brother-in-law lived and worked out of Hollywood, FL. and moved to GA. for more opportunity and better hunting.

what we call 'The Big Bend" area might suit you well. Not so many people. Apalachicola National Forest and Osceola NF are close by with good hunting, hiking and camping. The Gulf is right there for some really good fishing. Real Estate prices are reasonable. There are several 'fire members nearby to hang out and shoot with. Steinhatchee area is right in the middle of that area.

This is correct for the Tallahassee area and why I and others recommend west of Marianna Florida. Water changes further west where the gulfstream comes closer to land. I commercial fished out of St Marks , Alligator Point , Carrabelle , and Apalachicola for years and all the decent diving starts on the western edge of that area with the Empire Mica wreck. South of St Marks it’s all small ledges and live bottom with a couple of artificial reefs and small wrecks you would have to find on your own or someone give you the numbers. Tallahassee isn’t the place I grew up and is fast becoming a liberal chithole. Any thoughts of great hunting on public land should be forgotten. There’s plenty of public land but it is very tough to hunt. The swamps , palmetto and gall berrie flats are are virtually impenetrable. West of Marianna the terrain changes and the hunting is better. You will want to join a hunt club or two for a more enjoyable experience. There are good bucks taken every year on public land but it takes a lot of effort and local knowledge. 257bob isn’t kidding about the heat and humidity during the summer months. It’s brutal ! I fish mornings , evening , and night during the summer. There are no vast open tracks of open public land to roam like the west. That said the fishing is great and once adjusted to the local hunting it’s great also. There is a ton of both fishing and hunting to be done with long seasons and plentiful limits.

negroes out the wazoo and spring breakers 6 mos of the year

Man that’s the life


They is boiled peanuts tho

I'm 45 minutes from there, we have some beautiful country here.

The boys are tellin you the truths. In case you get any wild ideas about hunting the WMA's in peninsular Fl re-read what Dave said above. It is spot on times 10 for anywhere east and south of Tally.

I live in central Fl, everyone I know hunts in Ga, or Al. I see more bucks in a day on my lease in central Ga than I would generally see in a season on public land in central Fl.

The straw that broke the camels back for me came one day in the Green Swamp. I had gotten up at 0 dark hundred, driven to the check in station, checked in , driven halfway around the WMA on the trails, and hiked in over a mile to get away from most of the crowd. I had taken a stand, up on a cypress stump that overlooked 2 trails and a pond. I had been on stand about 30 minutes, and the dawn was getting to the point of good visibility, when I heard someone coming from the trail around the pond. The other side of the pond was close to 471 the road that runs through the Green Swamp and Richloam WMA's. Presently this yahoo came up. He of course did not bother with checking in at the station, and had just walked in from off of 471. He had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, a beer in his hand, a few more in his pockets, and was waving his shotgun around quite a bit. He was also making enough noise that any deer within a mile would have easily avoided his whereabouts. We talked for a minute before he went on. I got down from the stump and left.

The hunting on the peninsular WMA's is difficult, and hot, full of mosquito's, cotton mouths, rattlers, and idiots.

JMO, but hunt at your own risk.

GW

I spent 9 months in Fort Walton Beach just south of IH 10 and loved it but it's a tourist town with high property taxes and the possibility of hurricanes. We covered 5 counties so I saw a lot of the Florida panhandle. There are several really nice small towns along IH 10 with lots of state land close by where you can hunt and close enough to the coast (about 20 miles) for some really good saltwater (and freshwater) fishing. The beaches are beautiful white sand that the locals call sugar sand. The weather is much cooler and less humid than you would expect in Florida. I never had any problems with mosquitos but the gnats were really bad when it was hot. The best thing is that it's a very conservative area with few if any New York transplants. I think it's too cold for them. If you want to do a little ranching you can do that too. I was amazed at all the cattle ranches in the Florida panhandle.

Most people don't know Florida has more cattle than any other state.

Wrong

Florida looks like #18

Wrong

https://beef2live.com/story-cattle-inventory-state-rankings-89-108182

cant imagine living in the Northwest all of my life and then moving to a hot humid hellhole like Florida

wtf? where did you see this? on the crapper wall?

Nah. That was your Mom's number I got off the crapper wall.


Lol.

All the cattle I’ve seen in Florida looked like they’d lose a wrasslin’ contest with an Ethiopian for the last biscuit.

so whos right?.....bob

The theory is Tornado Alley is moving east.

Also old people want to be near doctors and hospitals.

Not LD, but he ain’t no quitter. I’m rooting for him.

😂

Ditto. Looking forward to future JJ posts.

You couldn't pay me to live in FL. Well, you could, if the ante was high enough. If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

Skeeters I got, sometimes rabid critters, and "minority" crime (up in Anc, FBKs, mostly), - but not gators, snakes, skunks, pythons, never-ending lawn care, an overwhelming "immigration" problem (working on it), humidity, hurricanes, Lyme disease, Leporasy carrying armadillos, etc.

I'll stick with winter, the occasional earthquake (it isn't seasonal), bears, wolves, irate mama moose, and fishing season tourist traffic, tho I'd willingly forego the latter.

A tour in the Everglades is on the bucket list, tho.

Get on it, JJ!

Hey JJ, nice to see you. Assume you are aware of the heat/humidity in Gods Waiting Room?

I coulda been wrong on that. That's what I'd heard but didn't see anything out there backing that up.

it's a damn shame more folks don't feel like you do. Florida does NOT need 20+ million refugees

I can't imagine giving my money to those that wish to destroy our nation. Which is any government in the NW.

Florida will be a liberal hellhole soon enough ,along with being hot and humid


all the NE yankees moving in on you , plus schitloads of illegals will see to that


I,ll grant you the far NW states are politically fugged up , but there are others like Idaho , Montana , Wyoming

Much much better places in Alabama than Gadsden. I love about 1.5 hours west of there. You couldn’t pay me enough to live there. Look more towards the northwest around the Bankhead National Forest. Good hunting, fishing and hiking.

Chokoloskee.

Not bad..

For a Texan.

All i can say is visit as many places as you can.

As for storms,that is what insurance is for.

I like your idea with the rv.

My folks live in MS and i really like the fishing both fresh and salt water and the hunting is not bad.

Hope you can find a place you like.

One thing about FL being hot in the summer. Same thing as WY and MT being cold in the winter.

Keeps a lot of the riff-raff out., and we like it that way.

PS- If you're gonna "tour' Everglades, don't just take a 2 hour ride with some cracker in a swamp buggy.

I'd find another place. I've been here (off and on) since 1960. That said, I really don't like it here. I'd forget anything south of say, Jupiter unless you want to live in a foreign land. The Panhandle is great...but...it's hurricane central and they suck. The weather sucks to, unless you like heat and humidity and extreme temp swings. Here in north Florida for example, it can be 20 deg one day and 80 two days later. Humidity is horrendous, save for maybe two months out of the year. Basically, it's a flippin' SWAMP, fugly scenery, but it is a no state income tax state and very pro gun. I'd go for Tennessee myself...

So that's why you have continued to frequent Florida for over 60 years?

Raised in Miami
Went to school there
Joined the Navy doing multiple tours in Jacksonville and Pensacola (where my wife is from)
Own property here
My wife likes it here......(51/100 rule applies)
Probably work at my second job (since I retired from the Navy after 30) for another year or two ...then I am out of this s hithole

Well, nothing has ever attracted me to the panhandle for various reasons.

Jacksonville and Miami?

You seem to have a knack for seeking out s hitholes and spending most of your life in them.

I believe you should brush up on the definition of "seeking" when compared to say, my parents moved there (Miami) when I was six and the Navy ordered me to Jacksonville and Pensacola...But yeah, Florida pretty much is..

My parents also moved to Florida when I was in my single digit years.
We were in a less populated west coast area which was pretty grand to grow up in but didn't offer much for quality employment.

Right out of high school I found myself in a Jacksonville Army facility sitting across from a recruiter with a contract laying between us.
God bless his soul for being honest and informing me that the conntract for the job and region I'd applied for came with no guarantee.
Walked out, hitched a ride home, jumped in my truck and drove to Alaska.
Have never been regionally bound.
Never blamed others for the decisions I've made in life either.

Another two other words of the day for you:
A six year old can't make that call
neither can a Naval Officer on orders They also ordered me to two more s hitholes, Washington DC and Rhode Island, not to mention cursory visits to Iraq and Afghanistan but I do admit those were just "flyover" visits.

Huge difference between decisions and circumstances, but do continue to try...

Sorry you've spent 60 years living in regions you despise and couldn't find a way out of your dilemma.

If you say so, the NW has been for decades.

Fairhope Alabama is a nice place...

Western Florida is southeast Alabama

You can tell from all the tramp stamps hiding inside rolls of fat on the beach.

Grew up going to Ft Walton/Destin back in the 60's and 70's when it was quiet. Now, it is Disneyland 24/7/365. Not so much fun anymore. Can't imagine living there.

I'm SO appreciative of your empathy

That's signature line worthy right there.

Don't know that I could live in Florida, but after vacationing at Navarre Beach, I'd go back there in a heartbeat to visit.

With that nice RV becoming a snowbird might not be a bad idea.

I'd have to get out of the South in summer for sure. Would be a good place to winter out however.

Having a split residence may be something to think about.

The Florida panhandle is much smaller than any of those states.

After living in a place where the blacks storm peoples homes in the middle of the night and hack them to bits with a panga or shoot the place up Hurricanes don’t concern me.

Any hideous problem that has the good manners to give you a weeks notice seems like a reasonably polite problem.

On the west cost earthquakes and volcanoes have no manners or human decency. Nor do the blacks in South Africa or most other American cities from what we see on the news.

Again hurricanes with a week of notice not a really serious problem. Only for those that cannot leave for some reason.

Heat and humidity are an expected issue but after teaching in the tropics the last 3 years it’s kinda built into the plan. I don’t have driving issues with humid roads😂. I don’t have to shovel the heat from my driveway 😂

You have been lead to water...

Be very aware of the population demographics.

Good luck!

g

Our cattle are pretty well fed, but they are a few miles across the Florida border into Alabama. And they're crackers, so maybe that gives them white privilege.

Jim,

The panhandle is where you want to go. Like Creastwiew or Panama City to Pensacola.

As you know, I live about 45 min from your Washington home, and the panhandle is calling Mrs Walter back (was stationed at Eglin) after the last kid graduates from high school. We’ll see


BTW, PM me about what you’re planning for the ranch. We’re looking for property out that way.

A Texan professional fisherman. I know JJ likes his fishing.

What is the fishing like on lake talquin