Do you regret moving to Florida?

Old Dummy

Old Dummy

Who am I? Why am I here?
Location
In the backwoods of NYS
Have any of you grown up in the north, retired and moved to Florida but found out you don't like it there so much, and are considering moving back north?

I'm toying with the idea of buying a small house in The Villages or some place similar. I'm planning on flying down there this summer with my buddy to check things out. He and his wife have a house there (not in a community) and live there for 7 months or so per year, and come back here for the summer at their original house.

For me I would sell what I have here in NYS and would live in FL all year. Been at this spot since 1981 -- on a dirt road in the boonies, surrounded by big hills, right next to a burbling year-round stream. It's pretty nice, but there's a lot of work that goes into living here.
 

hollydolly said:
Isn't Florida a HUGE place tho'?.. are some parts very different to other areas?
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Yes, my baby sister has a condo in W. Palm Beach that they rent out sometimes or family members use...Ive been there and I love it but don’t live there..just vacation.

My sister that lives in Colorado just spent a week there with her hubby in Feb. and she said her hubby didn’t want to go back to Colorado and the snow....probably work too, lol.
 
RadishRose said:
Really? I wonder who that could be? :playful:

OD, I have seen The Villages on TV. I've heard people say it's a beautiful place and they love it.
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Yes, I don't think I'd have a problem living at The Villages, it's the summer weather I'm not so sure about. But like someone said, up north you spend most of the winter indoors, we spend most of the summer indoors.

And then there's the sticky problem of leaving my sisters and their descendants behind.

hollydolly said:
Isn't Florida a HUGE place tho'?.. are some parts very different to other areas?
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Yes, it varies quite a bit from north to south, or from coastal to inland. I would definitely live in the northern part, inland.
 
We came to FL in 1972, not near retirement age. We landed in Clearwater, then had a company move to Jacksonville and a year later to Boca Raton. In 1981 we returned to Clearwater. We found that we prefer the gulf coast to the Atlantic side, north or south. A plus for Clearwater is the gulf beaches and Tampa has a major airport. Our kids and now grown grandkids live in other states but always like to come for a visit. Our granddaughter will be here next week. By Florida standards Ocala/the Villages gets chilly in winter. We found that it took a couple of years to get acclimated. To us Florida is home, we will not be leaving.
 
Manatee said:
We came to FL in 1972, not near retirement age. We landed in Clearwater, then had a company move to Jacksonville and a year later to Boca Raton. In 1981 we returned to Clearwater. We found that we prefer the gulf coast to the Atlantic side, north or south. A plus for Clearwater is the gulf beaches and Tampa has a major airport. Our kids and now grown grandkids live in other states but always like to come for a visit. Our granddaughter will be here next week. By Florida standards Ocala/the Villages gets chilly in winter. We found that it took a couple of years to get acclimated. To us Florida is home, we will not be leaving.
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Do you stay inside a lot during the summer?
 
I'm from Atlanta Ga. and I've lived in Florida off and on for past 40 years. This time been here 22 years.
I like Florida. Just hope they do something about the lakes,rivers and sea shore environments. Hasn't moved North yet but if they don't stop big biz from polluting it will.
Now Nestles and Coca Cola and big sugar are ruining the water and natural habitat.
Plus urban sprawl and uncontrolled growth 'septic systems' is also causing problems.
 
MeAgain said:
I'm from Atlanta Ga. and I've lived in Florida off and on for past 40 years. This time been here 22 years.
I like Florida. Just hope they do something about the lakes,rivers and sea shore environments. Hasn't moved North yet but if they don't stop big biz from polluting it will.
Now Nestles and Coca Cola and big sugar are ruining the water and natural habitat.
Plus urban sprawl and uncontrolled growth 'septic systems' is also causing problems.
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jujube said:
I moved to Central Florida 40 years ago from the frozen North. Haven't regretted it yet. I haven't spent a summer here for the last nine years, but I could if I had to. The rest of the year makes up for it.

You might find The Villages a little overpowering after living in the quiet "boonies".

Have you looked into locations in the Florida Panhandle?
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Yeah, I'm wondering about moving from a secluded place on a dirt road to something like The Villages. But it's getting more and more difficult to live here (I'll be 69 this summer). But it's not a physical thing (yet) it's mostly mental. I'm just getting tired of doing the upkeep, and find myself doing less and less of it.

My best buddy and his wife live near Williston FL, and I'd like to be within an hour (or less) from them. If for some reason I couldn't, then I probably wouldn't even consider moving.
 
Manatee said:
We came to FL in 1972, not near retirement age. We landed in Clearwater, then had a company move to Jacksonville and a year later to Boca Raton. In 1981 we returned to Clearwater. We found that we prefer the gulf coast to the Atlantic side, north or south. A plus for Clearwater is the gulf beaches and Tampa has a major airport. Our kids and now grown grandkids live in other states but always like to come for a visit. Our granddaughter will be here next week. By Florida standards Ocala/the Villages gets chilly in winter. We found that it took a couple of years to get acclimated. To us Florida is home, we will not be leaving.
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Villages ' chilli ' weatherwise maybe, otherwise they get too 'hot' like heat waves with STD epidemics 52% rise in Syphilis and other STDs. 10 women to every man. Just be careful guys and gals.


 
We spent our winters in Florida for 16 years, always heading home at the start of April. Enjoyed every winter that we spent there but never entertained thought of making it year-round. We gave it up as we passed into our 80's as the packing for the 3 months or so and the drive became quite an effort. We were on the Gulf side in Punta Gorda.

By staying in the old homestead, here in Massachusetts, we are still able to spend a couple of months in the spring and again in the fall, at a family cottage in Maine. My avatar picture is taken from the front porch. if one likes solitude, that's the place to be.
 
I have a home in Clearwater, which we are now considering selling. We only go down for a few months out of the year. All of our friends and family are here. If the weather is the only reason for me to go south for the winter, I’d prefer maybe Arizona or maybe South Carolina.

What I know about Ocala and The Villages is that it is one huge development and still growing. Kind of cool in the winter, some nights are borderline near or at freezing. The summers are damn hot, period. I visited it a few times and considered building there, but I met a man that came across as being very intelligent and practical. He told me that, “Coming here was the biggest mistake I ever made.” He had lived there for 3 years and was planning on moving back to Tennessee.

I know now there are a lot of good deals online to buy there.
 
For what’s its worth, we have been snow birds for 20 years now, having a camper in upstate NY we spend our summers in. This will be our last year doing that and will make FL our year round home. We love it here, in our little community, on the East coast near the ocean. Check out Melbourne. Palm Bay Area. Villages is growing by leaps and bounds and way to congested for us.
 
It depends on what you're looking for. It's difficult to transfer one's current life just about anywhere. Florida has no state income tax, weather and now a lot of people and traffic. You have tourist, country or urban living. Mixing all three in the same area doesn't always work. Florida lacks what a lot of fast growing areas do-character, everything winds up being the same like the architecture-lots of condos, apts etc Same for the businesses-there are areas where every service or store is part of a national chain which could be good and bad. It all depends and as usual sometimes money can make choices and/or tolerating things easier/the way you want.
 
I lived in Lake County, Florida for about 6 years after I retired. I didn't mind the summer heat because I had a pool at home. We did have a night or two every winter when frost was an issue, so had to cover up some plants. Visited The Villages multiple times, did not care for it. 100,000+ geezers and geezerettes wandering around on their golf carts, trying to remember which house might be theirs....
 
Pappy said:
For what’s its worth, we have been snow birds for 20 years now, having a camper in upstate NY we spend our summers in. This will be our last year doing that and will make FL our year round home. We love it here, in our little community, on the East coast near the ocean. Check out Melbourne. Palm Bay Area. Villages is growing by leaps and bounds and way to congested for us.
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' Congested ' is one word for it.:) But I do think it gets a bad rap but lots of jokes here in Florida about the place.

 
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