[sallyo]

I Live In The North East , Long Island Ny It Is Very Expenive To Live Here . Is Florida Very Expensive , I Am Afraid Of The Hurricannes That Come Through There. I Here Its A Pretty Place To Lve I Have Family Living In Daytona Beach Area, And Miami . They Are Staying They Love It . How Is The Crime In Fla. Is It Bad . Are There Stores , Jobs , What Parts Of Florida The Best We Are In Our Late 40's . What Do You Suggest . We Live A Very Fast Paced Life Style Before Moving To Longisland Ny We Came From Brooklyn Ny. We Also Checked Out Sc That Seems To Be A Nice Place To. Can You Please Help Us . Thank You

[bamboosmom]

I too am from NY, then NJ. It is very expensive up there. It makes where I am now in Punta Gorda look very very affordable. There are stores, jobs, restaurants, beaches, good schools, etc. It all depends on what you can afford and what your desires are. Hurricanes do come but stuff happens everywhere. If you watch the weather channel, there is a show called
"it can happen tommorrow" and it shows that a hurricane is likely to hit NY.
They are stating that it is going to be catastrophic all the way out to the Island. You just need to be prepared wherever you live.
We are two hours from Orlando, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale in either direction. So when we want a fast paced life, we head out for some fun. Then when we want to just chill out, we are home where there is tranquility and less crowds!
If you need anymore info, let me know.
Remember, you will hear alot of negative responses onh this site about taxes, insurance, people, etc. but compared to Long Island NY and New Jersey it's still affordable down here if you budget yourself right. You need to pick a place where the home prices aren't over inflated. If you go north of where we are, the prices tend to be higher. If you tend to go south of where I am, the prices there are also higher. The east coast of Florida is much higher than areas here in
SW Florida.

[milano]

I don't really agree with the above thread answer, However I would raccomand you the east coast of Florida more!! The prices are getting more and more affordable every day, it is all up to you to decide what kind of place you want and how much of city you want or a smaller town and so on...
Come down for a look, and then you will feel comfortable to make any decision, Good luck!

[SleepingDragon]

Originally Posted by sallyo

I Live In The North East , Long Island Ny It Is Very Expenive To Live Here . Is Florida Very Expensive , I Am Afraid Of The Hurricannes That Come Through There. I Here Its A Pretty Place To Lve I Have Family Living In Daytona Beach Area, And Miami . They Are Staying They Love It . How Is The Crime In Fla. Is It Bad . Are There Stores , Jobs , What Parts Of Florida The Best We Are In Our Late 40's . What Do You Suggest . We Live A Very Fast Paced Life Style Before Moving To Longisland Ny We Came From Brooklyn Ny. We Also Checked Out Sc That Seems To Be A Nice Place To. Can You Please Help Us . Thank You

Hey, sallyo:
I am down here to stay having moved two weeks ago. Expensive-wise, I've learned that the sales taxes vary from county to county and costs for everyday items, therefore, can vary depending upon where you go.
Compared to my old area of MD., food costs a little more here it seems, but gas is a little cheaper. It all works out in the wash. If you are afraid of the weather, I mean REALLY concerned, you may want to re-think. I came down here in absolute confidance with a motorhome and to be honest, I could get "punked" anyway. Have a plan beforehand for the "what-ifs" but also, shucks, remember, it is only a few months out of the year v/s a really great quality of life here.

[pianogal]

I've lived in Florida from '78-'81 (Tampa) moved to Georgia to California and then back to Florida from '84 to the present. I've also lived in S.C. and Tenn. Other than Tenn. (because I LOVE the Smokey Mountains) NONE of the other places I've lived would hold a candle to Florida. I was bored to death in SC and Georgia. California was awesome, but I HATED the climate (we were in Fresno on the edge of the desert) and talk about expensive real estate!! Even back in the 1980's we couldn't afford to buy a home there.

In my 25 years of living in Florida, I have experienced 3 hurricanes. All of them in 2004. Only one of them - Charley had any impact at all on us and our home. With Charley we were blessed - only lost a few shingles. We had more damage than that in '93 when a hail/severe thunderstorm blew through. None of the homes in our neighborhood had any significant damage - except one. They had a large oak tree fall over on their home. Now out of 25 years, that's not a bad record. I can remember tornadoes that tore up Chattanooga area when I lived in Tenn. There were many homes completely leveled. A friend has a cabin in North Ga. This spring tornedoes uprooted trees in 5 of her 40 acres and her master bedroom had a tree on the roof.

No matter where you live, there will be some weather related issues. You just have to decide what is most important to you.

[bamboosmom]

Originally Posted by pianogal

I've lived in Florida from '78-'81 (Tampa) moved to Georgia to California and then back to Florida from '84 to the present. I've also lived in S.C. and Tenn. Other than Tenn. (because I LOVE the Smokey Mountains) NONE of the other places I've lived would hold a candle to Florida. I was bored to death in SC and Georgia. California was awesome, but I HATED the climate (we were in Fresno on the edge of the desert) and talk about expensive real estate!! Even back in the 1980's we couldn't afford to buy a home there.

In my 25 years of living in Florida, I have experienced 3 hurricanes. All of them in 2004. Only one of them - Charley had any impact at all on us and our home. With Charley we were blessed - only lost a few shingles. We had more damage than that in '93 when a hail/severe thunderstorm blew through. None of the homes in our neighborhood had any significant damage - except one. They had a large oak tree fall over on their home. Now out of 25 years, that's not a bad record. I can remember tornadoes that tore up Chattanooga area when I lived in Tenn. There were many homes completely leveled. A friend has a cabin in North Ga. This spring tornedoes uprooted trees in 5 of her 40 acres and her master bedroom had a tree on the roof.

No matter where you live, there will be some weather related issues. You just have to decide what is most important to you.

This is so true. We only had very minimal damage with Charley and it hit our county head on. We were lucky. Some weren't. But like you said, tornadoes
did stuff in North Ga. and TN has tornadoes and so does the Midwest.

Just be well prepared and make sure you pay attention to the forecast so you will be able to decide when to put those hurricane shutters up! We still haven't put them on yet this year. It only takes about an hour to shutter the whole house. I see people have them on all summer. We will put them up when and if needed.

[sami]

There are plenty of posts on the pros and cons of Florida. I have some posts, too. I said before and I'll repeat quickly, expenses are relative. You have to consider income, expenses, lifestyle, jobs, and so much more. Sometimes it is hard to compare apples and oranges IF the two places are quite different in what they offer. Personally, for a working class slob like me, I find my area of St. Petersburg cheaper than my area in the NY metropolitan area--a suburb near Newark, NJ..... Even with house insurance and so forth..... However, that is only MY personal experience.....and others have other opinions.... This place IS more expensive than places like Georgia....but then again the lifestyle is different.

Uh, if you like it fast paced, there are many great neighborhoods in the St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Pinellas County area with tons to do and everything close. (This is on the central west coast) I am not on the water and it is a high and dry area. (Insurance is lousy....but that is another post.) But the place really is great, and I researched before coming here from NJ. Hey that is MY opinion folks.....

[rkumar3]

While to locals FL sounds expen$ive, it is still very affordable when compared to NY/NJ and if you factor in the sunny weather it is a bargain. My own brother moved down to South Florida last yr from NJ... They love it down here. I have personally live in Fort Lauderdale/Southern Palm Beach for a long time and don't see us moving out anywhere.

Anyway, to answer the original poster, the housing market is getting slower and it is great time for buyers... They have a huge inventory to choose from and sellers are willing to work on prices as well as offer to share closing costs. I live in Delray Beach and love it here.. since you are still young, I would think you will like South Florida since it has lots of jobs. At the same time you get tons of activities (pro sports, golf, theatre, beaches, restaurants etc). Please free to contact for more specific questions or if you are interested in finding out the home values here so you have a better idea of what your dollar buys you here..

Good luck

[soapboxsallysmom]

To all those who are contemplating a move to Florida I would suggest googling any cities on your list to find the chambers of commerce, and the newspapers that serve those areas. That will give you a fairly balanced look at actual conditions in the areas being considered. The internet is a wonderful resource for research.

[relocateisapieceofcake]

In my 25 years here, I've lived in 5 counties.
What are you looking for as far as amenities?
What are your hobbies?
What temperature do you like it to be when you wake up in the morning?
Do you like the seasons, there are some here, but not as severe.
When I hear your replies to these, then I can make a recommendation.
Schools also are better in some areas, if you have children or teens.
Once you are here, it is easy to get around and you are probably used to traffic-tourist season has more traffic especially in South Florida.
Let me know. E-mail or write me back here friendsofmonika@yahoo.com