[LoveBoating]

We have been thinking about moving to Florida sometime in the future. We live southeast of Denver and love it here, BUT, we are increasingly worried about the winters here. We are both in our mid 50's and we are experiencing more and more body/muscle pain during the winter/cold here. Besides that, I have had a hip replacement surgery and I know that the cold weather here will affect that.
Since we love boating/fishing , we figure that Central Florida might be the best place for us to be later. We are both from "winter" type States (Ind., Mich). Use to live in So. California.....won't go back there . And, Arizona, Nevada is out also (gets wayyyyyyyyy to hot there).
Give us your thoughts.
Thanks

[pianogal]

That's funny...we live in Orlando and would love to move to Colorado. However, we too are concerned about the winters and are looking into the Grand Junction area. Have you spent any time in Florida? The weather is beautiful IF you can stand the humidity. It is so dry in the west, it would be quite a change. After spending time in Colorado and California, I can step off the plane back in Florida and it feels like a wet blanket wraps around my entire body. I can literally feel the 'pressure'. It gets especially bad when the 'canes' are in the area. I would suggest visiting for 2-3 weeks during August or September before making the move. It may not bother you, but is one of the reasons we are considering moving in the future...although there are many reasons we love Florida and it would be a difficult choice.

[LoveBoating]

Pianogal

Thanks for the info. Since we are both orginally from the Midwest, living back in the snow/cold weather and t-storms really didn't bother us at all. In fact, I've got some great video and photos of those weather conditions. I knew I missed the 4 Seasons, but was really shocked at how much my wife missed them. She still opens the draps wide open and we watch the lightning and the snow fall. But, as I stated in my first thread, our "aches/pains" are felt much more now during the winter.
As far as taking a 2 or 3 week visit, that takes the kind of money we don't necessarly have. We didn't "visit" Colorado, we just simply quit our jobs and moved here. My wife got an accounting job within a month after moving and I got a job in Purchasing not to long after that.
Again, thanks for the info.

[Mike from back east]

You may find coastal NC more to your liking. There are countless rivers near the ocean, and great fishing. Weather won't be as severely humid as FL nor will hurricanes be as much of a hazard. Home prices, and homeowners insurance, ought to be way less than FL. Plus you don't get the snowbirds who come down in winter and clog the restaurants and other places. Spring Break stupidity bypasses NC. You'll avoid most cold winter weather too. Great BBQ. Marvelous college football and basketball. Look at a map, find a town on a river, use realtor.com to find waterfront property with a boat dock. I'd bet you can afford that in NC, most likely not in FL, MD or VA.

s/Mike

[Southside Shrek]

LoveBoating
wintertime weather in Florida is fantastic, at least compared to the Midwest. as for summer weather there, you do need to have tolerance for some high humidity and expect to run the air conditioning all the time. The humidity also gets pretty bad in the Midwest during the sumer and you should know.
So far there hasn't been a single hurricane hit Florida this season and that's great. In another month or so, hurricane season ends and it's nothing but smooth sailing.

[Warp7]

You're in SE Denver and you want to move to Florida? We're in Tampa and want to move to SE/SW Denver. How about this....we swap houses and both move at the same time

Seriously, I'd love to move back to Denver. I used to love Florida, but not anymore. The negatives for me are far outweighing the positives now, and the gap is widening. Make sure you visit here in the hottest time of summer (August) and stay for at least a week, looking at various cities and seeing what's here. The culture, architecture, and way of life here is noticeably different than in Denver and not necessarily in a positive way. My parents (in their mid 60's now) moved here from St Louis 3 years ago and they've known for 2 years that they made a mistake. Life and the business world is very different here than what they were used to. But they can't afford to move back so they're stuck here now.

Just know what you want, come and see if Florida has it, and then be prepared for what you'd be getting into. If you're sold on Florida and have the money you might be really impressed with The Villages, a massive and extremely well-planned development 30 minutes south of Ocala in central Florida. There are some quirks about that place, but it offers so much and the people there always seem so happy. Go to their website and request an info packet. I've never seen anything like that place. It's really incredible, especially if you like to play golf.

Best of luck in whatever you do.

[baily]

as others have stated you better come and stay a few weeks .we been here for 12 yrs central fl were getting ready to move to ga or s.c and as stated above the villages our really nice but pricey .a 3 /2 cost around 350.000 or more plus fees and the gym you have to pay for.check out del webb in s.c and n.c goodluck but i just would not move with our checking out first . baily

[rcnkat]

I have lived in Florida my whole.....the humidity cuts like a knife...
especially if you are used to the dry climate.....I am pretty sure
it would be better on your aches and pains....but, you should come
down and stay a few weeks first....and check out different areas...
and be prepared to spend some money especially if you are buying a new
home....it is pretty expensive.....at least 300,000.
good luck...

[Nav]

Adjusting from CO will also be a big change financially. Taxes and insurance are astronomically high here compared to Denver. We live near Tampa and just built a 370k house. The house I just sold, sold for 405k and we paid $2300/year in Taxes. New house tax bill came in. They county valued the house at 470k which translates into a tax bill of $11,000/year. Add basic insurance and its another $3,000/year. Since all insurance now carries Hurricane riders with 2-3% deductables, if I incur damage caused by a hurricane (the most likely cause of damage), the first $8,000 is on me. And one more thing...all private homeowners insurance bills now carry a several hundred dollar surcharge to bail out the state's "citizen" insurance company which was formed to provide insurance to those who live on the coast. (Their carried dropped them because they were high risk so the state bailed them out and passed the bill on to everyone)
Just for moving within the same area, florida now costs me $14,000 per year plus a possible additional 8k, on top of the mortgage payment. Oh and dont forget the 7% sales tax.

We're the opposite of you. CO, even with state income tax, is coming out thousands of dollars a year cheaper. This is why we are looking to leave the state.

[bamboosmom]

If you love boating and fishing why not try SW Florida??? Charlotte Harbor is nice, also Punta Gorda, Pt. Charlotte. There is the Peace River for boating. It's like old Florida!!!! Lots of Florida birds too.