Run to the sun!?!?

Shaun,

I'm glad to hear the talk went well. That had to be a huge load off of your shoulders. The fact that he won't replace you even after your departure speaks volumes of your relationship with him. It looks as if the road is now paved for your move. I wish you and Heather the best of luck. These are indeed exciting times for you!


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Thanks Todd, and again, thanks a million for your advise. It was all taken into consideration on whether or not to discuss this with them. In the end I knew I could not, in good faith, accept the raise and other perks he was giving me this year. Incidentally, he is insisting that I take them anyway but at least now I can do so with a clear conscience and not feel like I'm putting the screws to them!!


Shaun
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Great to hear it went well Shaun. From what you said before I knew your boss would be disapointed but he and his wife sound like great people who obviously would not want to stand in your way. At least you have it all out in the open now and can move foward with your plans knowing you did the right thing by telling them upfront and being honest about your intentions for the future rather than give them a last minute notice. I am sure they appreciated that, I know in their position I would. Am sure you feel relieved:) Hope everything goes well, am sure it will. Best of luck:)
 
Good to hear Shaun! I'm sure you have less anxiety now that this is out in the open. People that really care about you will support you in your dreams....usually.
 
Great to heat Shaun! I'm glad you feel better and you had the talk. It sounds like your bosses are truly great people.


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AMFM3 said:
Great to heat Shaun! I'm glad you feel better and you had the talk. It sounds like your bosses are truly great people.


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The best!! Without question leaving them will be one of the hardest things I have to do if we make this move.
 
Best of luck to you and Heather, Shaun!!!:smt038 Just remember, communication is always the key...
 
Question for you florida boaters. I hear a lot about surfers and waves on the east coast. In s fl are there a lot of days where boating or anchoring out is not possible due to the waves? What is the "norm" on waves when there's not a storm or other reason for high waves?


Shaun
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The Atlantic Ocean is larger than the whole damn continent and it is the ocean that decides what's going on that day, not the land. There will be days that you will be able to canoe to the Bahamas and likewise, days that have two square black & red flags flying straight out (little homework for you to have local knowledge.)

Mother, Mother Ocean (as the Reverend James Buffett calls her) is a living identity and deity. Traveling on her requires you respect her at all times and appreciate the days she allows you to return home unscathed. There is nothing more exciting than being out on that body of water knowing there is a whole other world right below you and no land to see...ahhhhh! Watching Florida disappear behind us and in a short time begin seeing the Caribbean Islands appears before us. But just like the movies and history, Jason and the Aquanauts were real, King Neptune is real, Sirens’ in the Sea are damn sure real (I’ve partied with those chicks before and am counting my lucky stars to be alive today). Ahab had it coming no different than Custer simply because he was out captained by a big ass fish and there are days that I don’t see land all day and start thinking Ariel is going to surface and wave me over….just scared as all heck of her Dad……why? Cause he does Mothers dirty work and at times when I am coming off the backside of an 10 footer, I start apologizing to her like a thief in church, thinking I did something to upset her that day….oh, and all that data is in addition to gathering the days NOAA, USCG, Notice to Mariners Report info. That stuff is kind of relevant too.

Let some of the other ocean guys see if I am on the right track here…… NOTICE- Because of the job I hold, I will be real serious with you and say that ALL kidding aside, I beg folks to be actively engaged in learning as much as you can about boating and safety. Safety to me is having the right plan for the day and knowing exactly what to do at any given time. Becoming a captain of your own vessel is paramount; I am talking about vessel knowledge and operations. Being a Steward of the sea is my daily mission (this includes looking out for everyone else on the water and protecting the waterways itself from disrespectful humans.) You may be the best driver in the world but after it turns dark with no land insight and the waves growing to eight feet coming over the hardtop, I am going to reach over and turn off all the electronics and ask if you are familiar with lighthouses and range lights or can you read a paper chart?

Being a captain to me means having the knowledge, skills and experience to keep myself out of situations that require me to use knowledge, skills and experience.

Life is good Billy-Ray and is only going to get better now that you’re going to live the "where lands ends, life begins" lifestyle.

Very good question for a Sunday morning read Shaun and smart that you recognize a potential difference in boating. A year from now when you and Heather are sun burnt Floridians, you will re-read your posting here and get a smile from what you knew at that time as compared to what you know now.

DISCLAIMER- Might sound like I am bragging about how good one has to be to boat on the ocean. I am here to tell you my most vinyl induction due to pucker factor boating, was in the Great Lake’s. Damn you had better be on your toes in those ponds. Went out is 2ft w/ 10 second intervals, came back in 6ft’s w/ a fricking 2 second spread. All the so-called myths I mentioned above, the Edmund Fitzgerald was as real as it comes………know what I mean.

Have a great day guys!

Capt.Rrrrrrrrr
 
Shaun - I boat on the intercoastal waterway so I cannot address your specific question about offshore boating. Your observation about surfers and Florida is interesting because the waves in Florida are nothing like other parts of the country such as Hawaii and California. South Florida rarely gets surfable waves because of the effect of the Bahama's land mass. The coastal community where Rusty and I live produced three of the top ten surfers for 2012 - Kelly Slater, CJ Hobgood and Damien Hobgood which is difficult to explain.
 
Rusty, thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. I know that I have a ton to learn about boating in the ocean. One of our favorite things to do is pick a spot, throw anchor, let the dogs swim and grill out. We do that a lot during the summer but on Lake Michigan you never know what conditions will be and they change very rapidly as well, as you eluded too. I guess I was just wondering/hoping we would still be able to do that there.


Shaun
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I have been reading up a ton of info on living in s fl and have seen a lot about it being a great surfing destination so that's where the question comes from. What we normally do is head out on a Sunday, leave port, head a coupe miles north or south of the peer and throw anchor at a sand bar or a couple hundred yards of shore where it's 3-4 deep so I can stand in the water and let the dogs swim. Is this something people do in the ocean or is this unrealistic to expect? Sorry for what may seem like dumb questions, just pretty naive when it comes to the "big" water.


Shaun
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I'm glad we have the job situation resolved and can return to the destination decision!

I'm following this thread with great interest. I started doing zillow.com searches around the different areas mention looking for homes either on a canal or with great water views and was surprised that housing market was still as expensive as it was considering the big downturn the Florida market had. That or the houses were 1960's with original appliances. Being from Texas we're used to VERY reasonable housing costs. I'm going to have to adjust my expectations.
 
That is pretty much what we do nearly every day, except..........we have barrier islands in NW Fla. That means we can find a spot to anchor that is protected from winds and seas, no matter what the conditions are. The islands I mentioned are narrow and protect the bay so you can anchor on the "inside" and then walk a few hundred feet across to the ocean for surfing, shelling, surf fishing, or whatever while your boat is anchored in protected and calm water. I am sure other locations in South Fla have protected spots, but this is a unique situation since the ICW runs from Apalachicola to Mobile in rivers, canal and ba ys and is always protected even on windy days when there are small craft warnings out.

Generally, it is against he law to have dogs on Florida beaches, however, this is a local option thing and many communities have dog friendly ordinances where dogs are permitted. A large part of our boating area is either private, or part of the state park system where dogs are permitted. Just check local ordinances where ever you plan to go.

I've been following this thread, but haven't posted since I don't know a lot about the areas you seem interested in. One thing that is applicable everywhere in the state, however. You can't find the right location by long distance. You avoid a huge risk of making a mistake (for you in your situation) if you spend enough time in a location to get a real understanding of the area and see just how you would adapt. 9The previous post about older housing is a prime example..........pre-Andrew houses (Floridians pretty much date things by major hurricanes) were typically stick built homes. After Andrew, construction codes in most of south Florida had to meet something like 140 mph wind loads (the Miami code) . That means that little bungalow on the canal that needs a little updating probably has no hurricane ties, on the studs or rafters, and a roof system that is not safe in a big blow. And, that little canal home is perfect, but how far do you have to run at idle in the canal system to get to open water?

You just have to be here and do a lot of listening...............
 
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Thanks all. Frank, I whole heartedly agree on needing to visit. For many reasons as of right now we are definitely attracted to and focussing on the Jupiter area. We are going to be flying down in Feb to visit the area. Plan on spending a lot of time checking out the area, neighborhoods, local businesses, housing, etc. If we don't feel right about the area then we will check out other areas while we're there. We intend on coming back to MI after that trip #1, knowing that were moving and #2, knowing where. We plan on renting for a short period so we can evaluate for sure what neighborhood or area we prefer, then buying sometime within the first year hopefully. So that's the plan for now. We will have much more definitive answers after that visit. Would love to come down sooner but Heather can't get time off from surgery until then. So now we wait. In the mean time I will continue to research neighborhoods, marinas, jobs and local info. And please still keep the ideas, opinions and thoughts coming!!


Shaun
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Also, from info I've learned online and members of this site, Franks info on housing is good advise I will heed. We will not look at housing that was built prior to 2001.


Shaun
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Lucky's said:
For many reasons as of right now we are definitely attracted to and focussing on the Jupiter area.
Click to expand...

I have always liked the Jupiter/Stuart area. It's close enough to South Florida to take advantage of that but far enough away from the crowds and traffic. Great choice.
 
My time in south FL was limited to visiting others, Miami, Orlando, Vero Beach, Naples, Tampa. In general I found it too touristy, too many people, too much traffic, too hot and too sticky. My sister from Atlanta has a home on Hilton Head, she goes there to unwind. I go there sometimes to visit and have to unwind when I get back home.:lol: I guess it’s what your used to. I did have a place up in the panhandle, much better there. The panhandle has cleaned up pretty nice in the last 20yrs and it would be worth considering if FL is a must. The local people I knew there were good people, except for the lawyers, realtors and handymen…a good portion of them were shysters. I had to keep a close eye on the dog, he and I would hike a short ways into the woods behind my place to some little swampy lake/ponds. He’d want to swim like at home and thought he could play with the gators. I sold my place in 2007, got out when the gettin’ was good. I don’t miss it at all. The WI county I live in has around 1,000 lakes, more deer than people, a bear behind every tree(it seems), no billboards and I love Lake Superior boating. I did no boating in FL, thought about towing it down but never did.

Years ago I wanted to move west, somewhere near the rockys. I dreamt of getting in them mountains hunting, fishing, hiking…never did it. Years later my wife worked for a couple months in west Montana and the subject came up again. We got excited and started talking about moving, she was all for it. Then reality set in, I’m not in the fine physical condition I once was. Knee problems, foot problems…I wasn’t really up to that kind of activity. This is what we should have attempted when we were in our 20’s not late 50’s. If FL is what you want…go for it…you can always leave if you don’t like it and there’s only one way to find out.

For us now, our kids have kids. The wife has to have a daily dose of grandkids or she isn’t happy. We usually aren’t away from home more than a couple weeks at a time.

Question, You said your boss is looking to sell out at some point. Is this an opportunity that should bump FL for a while? Maybe it’s the means to have the best of both MI and FL. Maybe Lucky’s Funeral Home will even have a second location in FL requiring you spread your time between both.:huh: You got my best wishes in any case.
 
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