   Our tour starts out with a shot of our home which is situated on 5 fabulous acres in New Smyrna Beach, Florida. It's a salt water canal lot which goes right out to Spruce Creek and then into the Intercoastal. Some of the best fishing is right in this area. Our shop building is about 50 feet from our home on the same property. We're fortunate to be able to work and play so close to home. If you call and there's no answer, we're either running machinery and don't hear the phone or we're in the back yard fishing. :-) We've been getting a lot of inquiries about New Smyrna Beach from friends and clients so we though we'd put up this little story. New Smyrna Beach (NSB) was settled in 1768 and is on the east coast of Florida in Volusia County, 15 minutes just south of Daytona Beach. We're one hour northwest of Orlando; one hour south of Jacksonville; three hours north of West Palm Beach and about two hours east of Tampa/St.Petersburg. This area is beautiful and NSB is called one of Florida's best kept secrets and it truly is. The weather is absolutely gorgeous. From September through May the weather is just wonderful with warm days and cool evenings. Naturally, June, July, August and some of September are hot days with cooler evenings. The climate is just right in this area. We don't have anywhere near the heat and humidity of South Florida. We're out of the hurricane belt but it does sometimes get windy and rainy when the hurricanes come through. This area has never experienced 100mph winds which are the culprit for most of south Florida's troubles. It's the perfect location. It's not unusual to sit at the beaches or waterfront restaurants and see dolphins swimming around. This town is like being on a 365 day year-round tropical vacation. NSB is an all American city with a year round population of about 20,000 people. It's a beautiful small town. We have a Walgreen's, three major super markets, a Super Walmart, Burger King and McDonald's. Of course we have some really great seafood restaurants, mom and pop businesses and local bars. There's a lot of boating as some of the best fishing in Florida is right here. The city council maintains control over the beauty and what they call "charm". They want to keep it "charming". And "charming" it is. Development is controlled and there are some new condo's going up on beachside but not anything overwelming. Most of the homes are on regular streets with no 'associations' and therefore no association commando's. Unlike South Florida this area is pristine and not a concrete jungle. Unfortunately there is growth but away from our area and the older sections. Most of the growth is going up west of I95. In fact, they are building a 500 acre, what I like to term, Yuppie Village with the usual tract homes, shopping centers and of course that all now famous 'Town Center'. You know, the shops with apartments above them, the Yuppie stores and everything else that goes along. Fortunately for us, it's miles away. There are a lot of different homes from all price ranges. The beach side reminds us a lot of Key West. Many of the homes are being remodeled and there's a four block area on Flagler Avenue which has been transformed into quaint shops and restaurants. The area is a great retirement community or fabulous for raising a family. In fact, NSB and Ormond Beach (20 minutes north) are both great communities. We have the Daytona Speedway, fabulous white sandy drive on beaches, beautiful weather and just plain real nice people. No one is in a hurry. No one cuts anyone off. People are friendly and pleasant. Imagine all that! |