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Possibly moving to Florida. Some questions

6K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  Saddle Up 
#1 ·
So, my family and i are thinking about moving to Clermont, Florida or Orlando, Florida in the spring/summer of this year or the next. I've been reading up on some of the tales from the Florida riders on here, and just curious if anyone confirm the dangers of riding there, and otherwise. I've seen that there are a lot of turtle crossing there? Has anyone hit one? I assume hitting one on a bike would be bad news. How about the gator population? Snakes? Always a possible chance of running int one of those right? I'm really looking forward to warm weather all year around and beautiful beaches...and women :grin2:
 
#2 · (Edited)
[QUOT E=shawking1985;4919834]So, my family and i are thinking about moving to Clermont, Florida or Orlando, Florida in the spring/summer of this year or the next. I've been reading up on some of the tales from the Florida riders on here, and just curious if anyone confirm the dangers of riding there, and otherwise. I've seen that there are a lot of turtle crossing there? Has anyone hit one? I assume hitting one on a bike would be bad news. How about the gator population? Snakes? Always a possible chance of running int one of those right? I'm really looking forward to warm weather all year around and beautiful beaches...and women :grin2:[/QUOTE]

I love it here. I would never live in Orlando though...Clermont is much, much nicer. Orlando is an overpopulated mess with traffic and people from around the globe trying to drive in it. I would never want to ride my bike there.
As far as road hazards go there are a few here but nothing to be concerned about. (Eldery poeple are the worst hazard) I've heard more riders hitting deer up north and out west than any hazards combined here. As far as snakes and gators...your going to come across them sooner or later. There are very few attacks though. Don't mess with them and they won't mess with you. I wouldn't mess with a gators nest either! PM me if you have any questions
 
#3 ·
I live in Palm Coast just north of Daytona Beach and the Elderly are the worst hazard I have come across yet. Like any place else you have good and bad areas for crime and such but Orlando is always in the news for Home invasions and carjackings, more than other places it seems but then they have a huge population compared to some other cities or towns.
 
#4 ·
Drivers are no worse than any other big city. As long as you stay away from the tourist traps, the traffic isn't too awfully bad. Be prepared for, what I call, hair dryer weather when riding. During the summer riding doesn't cool you down and the humidity here makes most of the 'cooling riding gear' useless. Didn't say where you were coming from. If you're south of the Mason/Dixon line than you're probably familiar with the hot days with high humidity. I moved from Maine back in '86. The first couple of summers really took their toll on me.

Clermont is a nice community. Some good riding around there, for Florida anyway.
 
#7 ·
I live in Cape Coral, Florida (that's southwest Florida). You don't have to worry about gators crossing the road--they do come out on occasion but I've never seen one on the road way and I've been here since 1998. I've dodged a few turtles, but they move so slow they are easy to miss. Down here, we ride all year, but I only ride in the mornings from late spring to late fall--it's too hot for me. I've been riding all day every day for the last week. The weather is perfect. It starts off in low 60's and slowly creeps up to the low 80's by late afternoon. Winter is our snowbird season (we call people from the north who come down here to escape the cold snowbirds). Traffic is worse during snowbird season, but there are plenty of country roads where you can avoid the snowbirds.

If you are conservative, then southwest Florida is the place for you, if you are liberal then southeast Florida might be better for you. However, you can find both parties in either location, but as a general rule the above applies. I used to live in Panama City and Orlando, and I like the weather better down here. About 95% of the cold fronts stall out before they reach this far south, but in Panama City it gets cold and to a lesser degree so does Orlando. Henry Ford and Thomas Edison use to winter in southwest Florida--they both have historic homes down here.
 
#11 ·
Gators

I live in Cape Coral, Florida (that's southwest Florida). You don't have to worry about gators crossing the road--they do come out on occasion but I've never seen one on the road way and I've been here since 1998. I've dodged a few turtles, but they move so slow they are easy to miss.
Rikstik we passed this poor fella on 41 going west toward Marco Island from Miami last October.
Looks like it came out early and got hit. Around six feet.
Sorry the pic is not properly focused, it was a quick stop just to get the pic, person who took it was a bit thrown by the sight of it.
 

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#8 ·
Thanks for all the replies. There has been much debate and research on where to find a home. I am coming from Ohio, and from research the humidity is about on average 20-30% worse here. On every list Kisimmee is coming up for affordable, safest from hurricanes, quality of living, etc. So that is in the lead, i think Clermont has fallen off the list. I've found out that i have family in the New Port Richey area. I haven't heard anything about that place, and it doesn't sound all that appealing to me. I'm not into politics at all. I'm generally a friendly person, blue collar, and i do like guns lol
 
#10 · (Edited)
Shawking, did not see if you mentioned anything about work. Retired?
Clermont certainly has grown in the last few years, not as sleepy as it used to be.

To the north Astatula, Tavares, Yalaha, Howey-in-the Hills, Mt. Dora, Sorrento, all great little towns and almost always a few degrees cooler because of the slight elevation above sea level.
Many lakes and lots of forested areas contribute to that as well.

Tavares has a very good shooting range.

Between these towns and westward to the coast also has a lot worth considering.
Best thing to do is come spend some time, look around and then decide.
Hope you find what you're looking for.
 
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