[Drew1987]

Ghatti - take it easy. I’m not looking for utopia, just looking to get my best odds. Don’t need a neighborhood, and not that I owe you or anybody else an explanation, but my kids are out of the house the majority of the day seven days a week, exposed to not only other people like us and them, but people from all walks of life. They’re social exposure is far greater than children who spend eight hours a day in the exact same room with the exact same kids, they are learning about life from a safe position, but they are exposed to everything and they’re able to process it and make their own decisions. my children are already vastly more successful than their peers - Something I don’t think I have ever flat out “bragged about“ before, but it is clearly visible in their academic abilities, their social confidence, and their achievements in their vocation. Thank you for what appears like concern for their social well-being

My wife and I are neither perfect parents, But the amount of sacrifice and effort we put into letting our children develop into Who they want to be, and the degree to which their education is tailored for their personalities and their tastes, plus the sheer amount of love we have for them naturally and show them intentionally puts us at an advantage I am sure


As for my budget… I don’t know yet. But one of the conditions of this move is my current house being paid off, I don’t have far to go. So a $350,000 down payment on just about anything, without the awful taxes where I currently live, should mean for a pretty low monthly cost.



So if I had to throw it out there… I guess I’d want to spend less than $600,000, have at least enough room to add parking for two more cars, potentially with four post lifts in both spots. Four cars for the price of two

I saw a house today browsing in Lakeland. It was about 2400 ft.². Five bedrooms – one of which we would use as a movie theater/office/game room, and then the other four would be used like they are in our current home. It had a massive driveway with a right angle turn into its three car garage. As long as that neighborhood would allow an additional 16 x 20 cinderblock construction building, I would be able to have a minimum of five cars, that house was like $450,000




By the way where I currently live is pretty free from natural disasters. We do get straight winds, we can get tornadoes, and we get blizzards, but the great lakes are pretty safe. I realize I’m taking a risk, I need to calculate that risk and make common sense decisions to minimize it were possible. None of this mattered when we lived in Boca Raton. We were making good money, renting, only the cars we were driving, and no kids



Wouldloveto

I can totally dig that! The only downside is that manicured look involves a lot of concrete and pools, which cost a lot more to add than to buy lol but that is a very good idea. If I found the right house on a couple acres way outside of town, bringing in topsoil and plants and saving up for the inground pool with the screened in thing Around it etc. could make for the perfect home.

We’ve also considered outside of Atlanta, and outside of Lexington Kentucky. When those two places were in the lead, we were planning on going down and just buying the house we can with the cash we have, figuring out what we want, and then taking a year or so to pursue it. That is quite a bit less likely in Florida, but you encouraged me to try to make that happen. I can leave some of my cars here in CHEAP safe storage while pursuing the ideal home down there From a pretty good financial position – a paid off house that meets little of my requirement, but is doing nothing but gaining value kind of thing. Thank you for the food for thought

[Ghaati]

Sounds like you're "unschooling" your kids. And that's awesome, I have friends who have been homeschooled, others who were unschooled, and other friends who've unschooled or home schooled their kids.

My point, is that if they're living in a rural area, and aren't old enough to drive yet, then they won't be -able- to "go out and play with their neighbor's kids." That kind of social interaction won't exist, outside of an actual neighborhood. Yes, other kinds of social interaction will exist and is great.

But my friends who were unschooled were in a community where other kids were also unschooled. They had a network in close proximity to each other, where like-minded parents and kids were able to interact regularly.

[WouldLoveTo]

Originally Posted by Drew1987

Wouldloveto

I can totally dig that! The only downside is that manicured look involves a lot of concrete and pools, which cost a lot more to add than to buy lol but that is a very good idea. If I found the right house on a couple acres way outside of town, bringing in topsoil and plants and saving up for the inground pool with the screened in thing Around it etc. could make for the perfect home.

We’ve also considered outside of Atlanta, and outside of Lexington Kentucky. When those two places were in the lead, we were planning on going down and just buying the house we can with the cash we have, figuring out what we want, and then taking a year or so to pursue it. That is quite a bit less likely in Florida, but you encouraged me to try to make that happen. I can leave some of my cars here in CHEAP safe storage while pursuing the ideal home down there From a pretty good financial position – a paid off house that meets little of my requirement, but is doing nothing but gaining value kind of thing. Thank you for the food for thought

Ah! I knew I had to be missing something - the pool! You're right, they are so much more expensive to install yourself. But keep your eyes open, you never know what will turn up! You may find something far enough below your budget to be able to add one

[Mathguy]

OP it's the <blanking> federal government making FEMA maps and you can actually google political pressure on fema zoning if you like, it's a real thing.

If the maps seem skewed, well lol...they're not insurers, they have ZERO financial pressure or responsibility.

For example, imagine taking your new FEMA map in front of the state congress vs. the CEO\CFO or other higher ups at an insurance company.

Just stop and think what the concerns are.

Government: Will this stop me from being elected or get me in trouble with the people that appointed me.

Insurer: Are these accurate and will be get hosed financially and I'll be fired or will I be asked to justify these up the foodchain.

Which of the two do you think have less biased findings?