[Teressah]

I moved to Fl from CT in 1980 and thought I would NEVER want to leave. I have seen the changes through the years, but in here in Broward, if I hear one more person speaking spanish in my ear, I will scream. People in general have become angry, rude and the cost of living is out of control

If you plan to raise children, stay out of Palm beach county, and Broward and Dade for that matter! There are a couple nice towns, like Boca, but no way would I raise my son there!!! So concrete, such rude people, and yes, I think Spanish is the first language in Dade and Broward. High crime too.

I live in Naples now, I love it, maybe the only decent school system in Florida, but we are moving to NC. I miss the cool weather, and i would like to afford a home!

[rebeljames]

most 2 North Carolina

[shoptb]

Hello everyone. I've just finished reading all of the posts in this thread, and although some of the posts border on terrifying, I find myself wondering if some of the folks that are wishing to leave Florida (for all of the previously mentioned reasons) realize that these factors are present in the majority of all places in the US...?

I'm an Arkansan who has lived in Central and NW Arkansas for over 28 years. I've also spent a lot of time traveling and living in NJ/NYC, Hawaii, Chicago, and Europe. Increases in Costs of Living, Home Prices, Home Owner's Insurance, Travel Times, etc are the Norm, and you will be hard pressed to find salary increases keeping up with these costs anywhere. If you find that place, I can bet you that people are moving there and making cash off "the next best thing". Let me give you an example:

I moved up to Fayetteville, AR in 1995. At that time, Northwest Arkansas' MSA was about 250,000 folks, and one could buy a new home for anywhere between $75-85 per sq/ft. In the past ten years, this area's growth has exploded. We now have close to 500,000 residents; you cannot find a home for less than $130-140 sq/ft. The success of Wal-Mart and various other companies brought over 500 vendor companies into the area; as well as retirees looking to get a cheap deal (mostly from IL and FL). Salaries have not increased much at all....and my 10-mile transit on the 1 four-lane highway in the area takes me between 30 and 45 minutes one-way. It sucks!

I think 'Sunnydog' expressed it quite well earlier stating that everyone is not looking for the same thing out of the area in which they live. For example: I'm not married, don't have children (nor plan to have any), am under 30, love nightlife/outdoor activities, and appreciate diversity. NW Arkansas has the best school systems in AR, and AR has the highest teacher pay in the surrounding 8 states. There are mountains, streams, lakes, stars in the sky, and four seasons (although it is 85 now and was 30 last week..LOL) However, the extent of diversity around here is basically which evangelical Christian church you choose to attend (nothing against religion), and "Night Life" means your choice of two or three college bars 35 miles away.

My point is to say the following things:

1) Florida is not the only place that has experienced RIDICULOUS changes over the past 10 years. (Have you guys seen how expensive it is to live on the West Coast or HI for that reason?)

2) There are so many SUVs and Hummers, $1M+ homes in gated communities up here that one can barely count them...and this is the hills of the Ozarks folks. This phenomenon is happening almost everywhere.

3) Yes, insurance rates are higher in FL. That's because you live on a coast, and have beaches and a gulf/ocean on both sides. I would totally expect insurance rates to be ridiculous. Again, check rates in HI. You'll feel better about your rates.

4) Moving to TN/GA/NC/SC may be a temporary fix, but it won't last long. If what has happened in NW AR is any indicator as to what the outflow will look like in 10 yrs, it won't be as affordable there either.

5) Immigration is everyone. You might not like the fact that people speak Spanish to you when you go shopping, but that's part of living in a changing society. Take a close look...these are the people that aren't afraid to do the jobs that local residents won't. True, English is the official language of the US, but it's also becoming clear that a knowledge of the Spanish language is only a benefit for everyone. ;-)

Just my $.02.

As for me, I've been seriously looking at shipping out of NW Arkansas for about 6 months now. I've compared cost of living in Chicago, Raleigh-Durham, Portland, Seattle, and also Tampa/St Petersburg. Surprisingly, Seattle and Portland were the most expensive...even above downtown Chicago. Raleigh-Durham compared to Tampa/St Petersburg pretty squarely. I'm looking for an urban environment with a nightlife and things to do on the weekends. I would be interested in seeing some advice from folks that live or have lived in the Tampa/St Petersburg area that are in situations similar to mine as education/schools and living in a quiet area are not things that are very important to me. Thanks all.

[LSW]

I Am A Floridian,have Lived Here All My Life. My Family And I Are Planning On Leaving For The Same Reason Many Others Are: Increasing Cost Of Living And Home Owner's Insurance. Wages Here Just Are Not Keeping Up.

[nina]

Dee,
I am from Miami and currently live in Panama, I am planning on moving back to the states within the next two years and though I love Miami the high cost of living made me deside to move to Ocala where homes are a lot less $
I have visited the area several times and have just closed on a house there.
I am counting the minutes till I move back to Florida!!!!

[Stargazing Lisa]

Originally Posted by Callie_D

Hey Stargazing Lisa-okay, Citrus county is on the gulf of Mexico, I live in Inverness which is about 18 mi inland. So far we've been lucky here and haven't gotten hit with any bad storms. The nuke plant is in Crystal River, right on the water. Shopping is better in Crystal River and Ocala, Inverness has all the major grocery stores (Publix, Winn Dixie, Kash N Karry), and a few retail stores. Crime rate is reasonably low, people are really friendly, and real estate is still reasonable. I don't like homeowners associations either, so I would probably go for a single family house. Inverness has a decent hospital and tons of dr's, and Crystal River has a large hospital too. It is like living in the country and sort of the burbs at the same time, but a lot of horse and cattle farms exist in the area. Pretty to look at though. Ocala is about a 30 minute drive from here, Crystal River about 25 minutes. If you're looking for more of a social scene, Ocala might be more of what you're looking for! Hope this helps.

What concerns me is the closeness to the Gulf. Both for hurricanes and the chance of flooding.

Is there an area of Citrus County that is closest to Ocala?

I just can't get it through my head that Ocala can be 60 miles inland (good for me) but Inverness/Lecanto is only 15/18 miles inland. I think I mentioned I;m only 5 miles from the beach, but they say if we ever have a big wave it will go in 14 miles ! so you can see my reasoning.

[Callie_D]

Hey Stargazing Lisa, Ocala is definitely more inland than the Inverness area. Any areas of Citrus County that would be close to Ocala are REALLY in the country. Like I said, Citrus Co. still has a lot of farm land and it would be kind of isolated out that way. (unless that is what you're looking for). I think your best choice would be to come on up here and really check out the area. Inverness is nice but the powers that be are trying to keep it from growing too much, which can be a good thing, depending on how you look at it. The downside is there are not too many great places to shop, not a lot of night life, etc. The upside is traffic isn't too bad, the area is beautiful, and the people are friendly. Ocala is more fast paced, as it would be with the small city environment. But people I've met there were friendly too and there are a lot more things to choose from as far as shopping, dining out, etc. Along with that comes a lot of traffic, noise, slightly higher crime rate. I guess it just depends on your preferences. But do come and check out both places, maybe find a good realtor who will take you around. Good Luck!

[zeus1fl]

I love Sarasota, but can no longer afford the property taxes and having homeowner's insurance rates doubling every year!

we're planning to move to AZ within the next 2-3 years.

[House4Sale]

but to another part of Florida. My advice is to live for a year in the town you plan to move to perm. Everything looks different while "shopping" it than actually living it.

[firemed]

The 1920’s, in America, were a time of great prosperity. Skilled and educated working Americans had jobs providing numerous fringe benefits, paid vacations and pensions. In addition, automobiles were becoming commonplace for the wealthy and middle class allowing cross country travel. This good fortune set the stage for the Florida real estate.
Starting in 1920, many Americans became enamored by the materialistic and prosperous lifestyle of the time. During this time, the stock market was moving forward at an extremely fast pace. Many investors were becoming quite wealthy. Florida became a hot spot for these newly rich people, who didn’t enjoy the cold. Many whole families took vacations to Florida. It was at this point that tourism started booming and land prices were skyrocketing. Many astute investors took notice and started buying Florida real estate. The population in Florida was growing exponentially and housing couldn’t meet the demand. Florida became the “playground of the rich and famous”. Illegal casinos and drinking parlors became widespread in Miami.
At this point, almost anybody could invest in Florida, even without much money. Credit was plentiful and soon everybody in Florida was either a real estate investor or a real estate agent. In 1922, the Miami Herald became the heaviest newspaper in the world as a result of its humongous real estate advertisements. People in the North heard about the real estate prices “doubling and tripling”, causing a snowball effect. Capital was rapidly pumped into the real estate market. Whole golf communities were developed, such as Temple Terrace. Resorts and retirement communities were developed almost overnight. Mansions were sprawling in every area, as were swimming pools. As always, waterfront property was the most desirable. Florida was seen as a veritable Utopia.
Real estate prices quadrupled in less than one year. An elderly man invested $1,700 in property and by 1925 the property was worth over $300,000! It seemed you could do no wrong by just buying any property in Florida and become a millionaire. By 1925, real estate prices had become so exorbitant that buying land wasn’t affordable any longer. New investors failed to arrive and old investors started to sell. Panic arrived, as it always does, and the real estate market crashed. Prices kept moving downwards as heavily indebted investors tried to sell to avoid bankruptcy. In most cases, no buyers arrived, and the investors were bankrupt from the enormous mortgages.
To make matters even worse, a highly destructive hurricane ravaged South Florida in September 1926. The 125 mile an hour winds eventually turned Palm Beach County into swamp lands. After the storm, a huge tidal wave crashed upon the towns of Belle Glade and Moore Haven. Due to these horrible turn of events, over 13,000 homes were destroyed and 415 people died. Additionally, the arrival of the Mediterranean fruit fly obliterated the large citrus industry. It took years for Florida to fully recover, even through the highly prosperous time from 1925 to 1929. Florida was barely affected in the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression, because of its poor financial state from the start. Market crashes always occur in the same manner. Regardless of the market, the same simple psychological underpinnings are always at work. People who are caught up in a bubble never look back for historical examples. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it