Pros and Cons Of Becoming a Florida Resident

When our kids were in college in Tallahassee (north Florida) we got a phone call "its snowing!"
It is 340 miles from Miami to Jacksonville, 250 from Tampa area to Tallahassee. Folks that have never spent any time here tend to underestimate the size of Florida and how different the weather can be in different parts of the state.
 
Manatee said:
When our kids were in college in Tallahassee (north Florida) we got a phone call "its snowing!"
It is 340 miles from Miami to Jacksonville, 250 from Tampa area to Tallahassee. Folks that have never spent any time here tend to underestimate the size of Florida and how different the weather can be in different parts of the state.
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However, the entire state can be hit by a hurricane and/or tropical storm. The entire state get hot/humid during the summer months. In all of the big cities, such as Miami, Tampa, Orlando and even the smaller Jacksonville has their problems with crime/murders.
Florida is a nice state for many, but it just wasn't for us anymore, once we went back to Colorado for a visit in 2018.
 

ClassicRockr said:
However, the entire state can be hit by a hurricane and/or tropical storm. The entire state get hot/humid during the summer months. In all of the big cities, such as Miami, Tampa, Orlando and even the smaller Jacksonville has their problems with crime/murders.
Florida is a nice state for many, but it just wasn't for us anymore, once we went back to Colorado for a visit in 2018.
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Are you living in Colorado now?
 
My parents lived in Florida for 6 months out of the year. They owned a condominium. My dad played tennis while my mom read books and they both loved it. They did this for almost 30 years.

One year I went down to visit for two weeks and had a great time. I swam a lot and did a lot of dolphin and bird watching. It was nice for a visit.
 
We love the mountains aka Rocky Mountains. The beaches we like are around a freshwater lake. Rather funny, but nobody here where we live, including the Seniors, would ever think of living in any southern state, let alone Florida or even the East Coast.

For us, we sure wouldn't be back in Colorado if we thought Florida was that great. 10 1/2 years living there was way, way too long!
 
Oldguy said:
My wife has this saying "You don't have to shovel sweat"
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Oldguy said:
My wife has this saying "You don't have to shovel sweat"
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Now there's a woman after my own heart. My mom loved Florida (lived in Ruskin for a few years) and Texas and used to say "you got an air conditioned house, air conditioned car and a pool right outside your back door...whats' not to love already, if God would have meant man to live in the frozen tundra, he'd have made him out of fur. LOL!
 
There may be a man in this God's world who detests winter more than my hub, but haven't met him yet! His big complaint is the fact he knew he shouldn't have moved north of I-10 - we live a bit north of it and its nearly always a few degrees colder in both winter and summer than H town.
We're like Geckos ...looking for that big flat rock to lay on with our tongues hanging out in 700° "air you can wear' weather to catch bugs all day!
 
Lc jones said:
Yup that is where we live... ahhhhh
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My Neice just moved from Ft Myers area to Blairsville, Ga. Fortyish couple with a 12 yr old Son. Much happier in Ga. They couldn't deal with the heavy traffic in FL. I myself am in Jacksonville. I love it here Husband not so much.
Floridatennisplayer said:
Lol, I didn’t realize I was responding to a 2 year old thread. OP was only here about a week then....poof!
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Same here.
 
Lc jones said:
We moved from Reno Nevada to the West Coast of Florida two years ago. We did not keep our home in Nevada as we did not want to have two houses that we would be responsible for and paying taxes for. Also we needed that money to plow into our new home which is entirely paid off.
You must love heat which in summer can be quite difficult, but if your air-conditioning works no problem. There’s always the chance of hurricanes as well but being on the West Coast that helps somewhat but there’s no guarantee.
We do not regret the decision and it was a huge one... I love waking up in the morning taking my coffee and sitting out by my pool and looking at my palm trees I would never have experienced that in Reno Nevada. It’s always been my dream and I’m now living my dream. Also I live 30 minutes away from some of the most beautiful beaches you’ve ever seen outside of the Caribbean, we go there weekly to watch the sunset or go in the morning and have our coffee and breakfast and watch the dolphins swim by.
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We left Florida...Tampa area...to retire in Las Vegas. We left the family and grandkids there also. Don’t miss it even a little bit. Las Vegas is like being on vacation 24/7. My husband and I took up Poker and it is a great way to meet people. The Shows are fabulous as well. Property and no state taxes dirt cheap. My daughter is a flight attendant and we can fly free whenever or wherever we want. The funny thing is we have not left for over two years. The family comes here every chance they get.
 
I thought and researched OP's idea last year, except to rent in TampaBay for some months. I really like the Clearwater area... but the rental prices were so high for apts or condos anywhere near the beaches in a safe neighborhood. AirBB is not a choice for me. I have a cat that complicates the move. I am only familiar with the bay area. You want to stay near the water? Some fancy condos are available actually ON the beach.
Renting makes more sense than buying to me, less hassle. Are you excluding trailers? Obviously, the more desirous the home, the higher the cost and more competition. Will the virus situation bring down the rental prices or homes to buy?
how about first floors? Often easier to find.
 
Babycakes said:
We left Florida...Tampa area...to retire in Las Vegas. We left the family and grandkids there also. Don’t miss it even a little bit. Las Vegas is like being on vacation 24/7. My husband and I took up Poker and it is a great way to meet people. The Shows are fabulous as well. Property and no state taxes dirt cheap. My daughter is a flight attendant and we can fly free whenever or wherever we want. The funny thing is we have not left for over two years. The family comes here every chance they get.
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Great to know that you are enjoying retirement in Vegas...

I am based at Tampa, FL since 2000. Our family loves Vegas vacations and over years we became very familiar with the area. Have a general idea of what living in Vegas may be like. Until now, what stopped me from moving-to-Vegas are: LA influence on Vegas, crime rate, toasty summer, water shortage and heathcare quality. We continue to visit Vegas twice/yr for relaxing time. May be some day I will become a Vegas resident too.
 
I lived in Florida about half my life, off and on from 1957 to 2018. I liked it and were it not for family things I would move back.

You have gotten a lot of good advice already so I will keep mine limited.

I grew up in a town that was about half snowbirds and learned a bit. Some maintained 2 homes, some just moved down on retirement. I know that about half were unhappy with their decisions, mostly missing home and family and the hassles of maintaining 2 houses. Of course the other half were happy. I believe you really need to know the area you are considering buying in, I would try renting for a season before buying.

As has been pointed out renting short term may be possible, I have had houses that I did that with, however it is not simple. First you really need to understand the market, if you are trying to rent in a place or at a time without much demand it will not work. Look around and see what the competition is doing, probably your best clue. If there is no competition that is probably a bad sign... And as has been said maintaining and insuring a rental like that can be problematic. Also you cannot homestead in Florida and anywhere else, some of the counties are quite aggressive with enforcement of that. My brother had a house in Georgia and one in Florida. He ended up paying a big fine.

As to storms and storm insurance, much depends on where you are. The cost of flood insurance can vary from a few hundred a year in high dry places not close to the water to well over $10,000 a year in low waterfront places. You need to be sure of the elevation of the place relative to base flood elevation (BFE) and be well above it. Not just a little the BFE has been raised numerous times. Wind is the same, close to the coast and in southern Florida its much more expensive than inland or the north. Wind insurance is also effected by the construction of the home, older pre-hurricane homes cost more than newer. All this takes a lot of investigation to be sure you know what you are getting into.

I do not currently own a house in Florida and I do go back and rent from time to time. Unless I decided to move back I will keep it that way. You might consider renting in Florida rather than buying. And I strongly suggest you do it for at least the first year, until you are really sure its what you want.

All that said if my wife agreed I would be back in a minute. I love Florida!

I know this is an old thread, but its a good question and one I suspect people other than the OP are contemplating.
 


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