Having just lived in Tampa I would say go for it except for the summer and the hurricanes.

Joe, I thought you said "she was moving to the Keys after she gets her settlement". Are you sure you are invited?

You forgot spiders that will kill you, scorpians and mosquitos large enough to carry you away. And the humidity? You open a bag a Doritos and they are stale before you can reach in and eat one. Fuc% that.

Don't do it, dude!

Sol, You still got that pic of the instigator? If you don't remember which one, it was taken on the hump in the great OUTDOORS.

:-)

LMAO thanks!

Joe, his friends, and really and truly bad advice go hand in hand!



PS Joe - Florida sucks balls. I couldn't ever imagine living in that hell hole. But hey, as I said, dibs on the couch when I come to VISIT!

topless well of drinks?

hot dam on the pic! big rack in neos'

Maybe in ten years or so my friend.You still have way to much salmon & steelhead on your mind.I got dibs on all those nasty ass K-15's ABU wouldn't clean up for ya.Dreams are free.Good luck,
STRIKE ZONE

P.S. Buy a sun tanning bed and head for Alaska.

I went TDY to the Florida panhandle a couple of times when I was in the military. Nice place to visit, but there is no place like home.

Say it ain't so Joe!

Who will be left to mentor the young jedi Abu? lol

That would be a tempting one. The fact that you can pretty much count on hurricanes nearly every year or two would be enough to keep me out of that area though. Atleast you can rest easy knowing that there are plenty of people here that will take you in when the big blows come through. Sounds like Jake has the drift boat a good home while you are not here. Go for it. Would be fun. And the fish beats the hell out of here if you ask me. Dont get me wrong. I am as die hard for salmon and steelhead as the next guy. But fishing there is a whole other ball game. Not knowing what is going to come up on the next bite is awesome. Plus all the fish there seem to have a solid fight in them. And fishing in shorts and tees in the winter most of the time is pretty sweet. Although after a year of acclimation you will be solved of that. I was down there in the March April months and we had a couple forty, upper thirty degree days. Have fun. Take a risk and you could win big.

My brother-in-law's brother used to live on Big Pine Key. There's a wildlife refuge there (Key deer). There's going to be some amount of tourism, but from what I remember, it seemed pretty laid back. I'd stay away from Key West. In addition, you've got your choice of oceans to fish in.

I fish out Islamorada everytime I go down there, it just seems like a cool deal to try, no gortex !!!! no freezing ass weather lots of Bikinnis, lots of tourist to take fishing to Make that $$$$$

believe me if you have ever caught a Snook or a Tarpon, it will make you forget Salmon and Steelhead plus no NETS !!!!!!!

We will see what happens but for now I think I am all in.

Peace
Fly

.poleing a flats boat instead of rowing a drifter , No more farken egggoo no river Perch.no more 100 other boats to [censored] with on your favorite section of water.Sounds awfully good Joe hope your dream comes ture.

Islamorada is first on my list as a place to head to during the Winter once I retire in 2010. My wife wants to move to Alberta to be closer to her daughter and grandchildren. I am cool with that, but I told her during the Winter we are the hell out of there and headed somewhere warm. We plan on starting in Florida, then head across country to Arizona, then Mexico. Whatever place we like the best will be the permanent Winter spot. So far Islamorada is high up there. I will be taking a scouting trip next May and while I am there I guess I should Tarpon fish.

If you don't have anything holding you here, why not go for it. You can always move back. Rent first, then it is easier to walk away. Me, I will just drive away in the 5th Wheel.

Good Luck. I can't wait to get out of this area. The only thing that would hold me here is the fishing and we all know where that is going or I should say is basically gone. Time for new territory!!

17 years in the sunshine state for me and the list goes on Snook, tarpon, Cobia, King Mackeral, Permit, Groupers, Snappers, Sharks, ect...... Hell, even the baitfish we catch for live bait down there fight 10 times harder than a planter rainbow. In warm water enviorments only the mean survive. I love going back for visits every year. 4 days of Grouper and Kingfish and snapper fishing coming up in june. I think the winters fish way better than the summers down in the Keys. If you can swing a winter house there and a summer and fall house here I think you would have the best of both worlds Joe. Oh, I almost forgot about Amberjack. They will rip your arms out of thier sockets, even the small ones. Good Luck.-TBJ

I know TBJ, I went there for the first time back in 03 and fell in love and now I go about once a year and I would not mind trying the whole gig out, like anywhere there is the good and the bad, but the fishing is all good.

Peace
Fly

I just visited Forida a couple of things stood out, all of them have been mentioned. Outside at home everyone has screened porches at least where I visited. The bugs are a problem, but I guess you get used to them They were having record low humidity, The people I visited said count your blessing the humidity will wear you out. The rain was warm which is kinda cool, The place is flat as a friggen pancake and the whole southern half of the state seems to be paved over. You should be able to find real estate bargains. I looked for land everywhere I went and saw some values I kinda wished I had taken a closer look at. I did not hit the keys but will next trip. I saw a fair bit of construction all over the place we drove half the length of the state, I questioned my relative down there, as he had mentioned development was dead... He said hurricane repair, happens every year,,,,,, that is where I voted Florida off the island