Active Retirement Communities

 State:     Florida

City:       Sanford

Sanford is a city in and the county seat  of Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 38,291 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 49,124.   An older agricultural and resort area, Sanford is home to the Delta Connection Academy, Seminole State College of Florida and the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens. The city is situated beside Lake Monroe and the St. Johns River. It is part of the Orlando--Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.

"General" Henry Shelton Sanford bought 12,548 acres (50.78 km²) to the west of Mellonville and laid out the community of Sanford. Believing it would become a transportation hub, he called it "The Gateway City to South Florida." Several groups of Swedes were imported as indentured servants to do the back-breaking labor of establishing a new town and clearing the sub-tropical wilderness in advance of creating a citrus empire, arriving by steamboat in 1871.  Incorporated in 1877 with a population of 100, Sanford absorbed Mellonville in 1883. The South Florida Railroad ran a line from Tampa to Sanford, where the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad ran a line to Jacksonville, and the area became the largest shipper of oranges in the world. Arriving by steamer in April 1883, President Chester A. Arthur vacationed a week at the Sanford House, a lakeside hotel built in 1875 and expanded in 1882.

In 1942, Naval Air Station Sanford was established, which conducted operational training in the PV-1 Ventura, PBO Hudson, F4F/FM-1 Wildcat and the F6F Hellcat. At its peak in 1943-45, NAS Sanford was home to approximately 360 officers, 1500 enlisted men and 150 WAVES and included an auxiliary airfield to the east near Lake Harney known as Outlying Field Osceola. The base was inactivated and reduced to caretaker status in 1946, but was reactivated in 1950 in response to the Korean War and the Cold War. A major construction program ensued, with NAS Sanford redeveloped as a Master Jet Base for carrier-based A-3 Skywarrior and later A-5A and RA-5C Vigilante aircraft. At its peak in the mid-1960s, the base was home to nearly 4000 military personnel, comprising the air station personnel complement, an Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, the Navy Dispensary, the Marine Barracks, a Replacement Air Group/Fleet Replacement Squadron for the RA-5C, and nine deployable Fleet RA-5C squadrons that routinely deployed aboard large aircraft carriers to the Mediterranean and the Pacific, the latter heavily enagaged in combat operations during the Vietnam War.

The opening of Walt Disney World in October 1971 shifted the economy of Central Florida further toward tourism and residential development, the center of which is Orlando. But because of Sanford's former preeminence as a trade center, the city retains a significant collection of older commercial and residential architecture, on streets shaded by live oaks hung with Spanish moss. Its location on Lake Monroe and access to the navigable waterway of the St. Johns River has made it Central Florida's additional center for numerous marinas, allowing access for pleasure boats and commercial vessels to and from the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway via Jacksonville and Mayport to the north.

.Income & Housing Costs Numbers:

Estimated median household income in 2008: $36,709 (it was $31,163 in 2000)

Estimated per capita income in 2008: $18,794

Estimated median house or condo value in 2008: $162,488 (it was $72,800 in 2000)

Mean prices in 2008: All housing units: $166,213; Detached houses: $176,700; Townhouses or other attached units: $128,116; In 2-unit structures: $236,102; In 3-to-4-unit structures: $124,206; In 5-or-more-unit structures: $160,644; Mobile homes: $18,448

Dec. 2009 cost of living index in Sanford: 87.1 (less than average, U.S. average is 100)

 In-Depth Facts and Figures as listed below, plus other information:

·        Climate Charts

1.      Average Temperature

2.      Precipitation (Rain)

3.      Humidity

4.      Wind Speed (MPH)

5.      Snowfall

6.      Sunshine

7.      Cloudy Days

·        Tornado Activity History

·        Hospitals & Medical

·        Airports

·        Colleges/Universities

·        High Schools

·        Locations of Interest

·        Shopping Centers

·        Churches

·        Lakes/Streams/Rivers/Creeks/Parks

·        Tourist Attractions

·        Banks

·        Housing Costs Information

·        Crime Statistics

·        Radio Stations AM/FM

·        TV Broadcast Stations

·        Discussion Forums

For the above information and photos, click this link:

http://www.city-data.com/city/Sanford-Florida.html

Total Tax Burden--Data for Calculation

http://www.retirementliving.com/RLstate1.html#FLORIDA

Listing of Active Retirement Communities:

http://www.retirenet.com/location/communities/36-florida/1-active-lifestyles?city=32771-sanford

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World of Collectibles

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Information on: Architectural Collectibles, Art Collectibles, Artist Trading Cards , Books & Paper Collectibles, Brand Name Products Collectibles, Clothing Fabric & Textiles Collectibles, Collectibles UnLimited, Doll Collectibles, Household & Furnishings Collectibles, Militaria Collectors, Movies & TV Collectibles, Music Collectibles, Musical Instruments Collectibles, Nature And Animal Collectibles, Numismatics (Currency Collecting), Pottery & Glass Collectibles, Technology Collectibles, Theme Collectibles

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Information on:  Overview Of Birds, Ostriches-Emus-Kiwis, Gulls, Plovers, Loons, Grebres, Albatrosses, Penguins, Pelicans, Tropical Birds, Storksm Flamingos-Birds, Falcons-Birds, Eagles-Birds, Hawks-Birds, Cranes-Birds, Doves And Pigeons, Parrots,Cuckoos, Owls, Nightjars, Hummingbirds, Kingfishers-Birds, Woodpeckers, Mousebirds, Passerines 

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