[countrykaren]

My husband and I are looking to retire so. We were looking at Fla but all we hear is bad news. We heard that the property taxes are reassessed every year and can double or triple the next year. Looking at real estate posts we see that some houses have taxes at $300, and others at $3000. We heard also that water bills are outrageous, and so is the sewer bills. Neither we pay now in NY. We also heard that food is very expensive. I have family in Fla, but they say every thing is wonderful, which we don't believe for a second. This would be our last move, and it has to be the correct one. Also that you can't get homeowners insurance and if you can find it, it's extremely expensive. Most web sites just tell you about the no state income tax and homesteading etc., but nothing about the "daily living" expenses. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[Restrain]

We moved here from Texas. Electric rates are much lower, property taxes are much lower, utility costs are lower. Consider that in New York you have income taxes, while Florida does not.

There are sites that give COL comparisons. Basically, though, the COL should be significantly lower than NY.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

My husband and I are looking to retire so. We were looking at Fla but all we hear is bad news. We heard that the property taxes are reassessed every year and can double or triple the next year. Looking at real estate posts we see that some houses have taxes at $300, and others at $3000. We heard also that water bills are outrageous, and so is the sewer bills. Neither we pay now in NY. We also heard that food is very expensive. I have family in Fla, but they say every thing is wonderful, which we don't believe for a second. This would be our last move, and it has to be the correct one. Also that you can't get homeowners insurance and if you can find it, it's extremely expensive. Most web sites just tell you about the no state income tax and homesteading etc., but nothing about the "daily living" expenses. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

If you rely on opinions of others you are going to get a mixed bag of responses.

Let's go one by one....

Taxes depend on the price paid for the house in the first year. For subsequent years the tax is based on the homes value. After your in your house for a year and it is your primary residence you get a $25k homestead exemption off the value of your house.

Here is the FL web site that explains various Fl taxes... State of Florida.com - Florida Tax Guide

Water rates are based on usage. The more you use, the more you pay for that water.
For an example here is Dade County's rates: Rates, Fees and Charges - Miami-Dade County
Sewer rates are there too.

Food costs are about the same as most places. You can go to the web site for a store and read the weekly flyers or you can fill out an online shopping list to compare the costs on items you normally use.

The homeowners insurance problems have eased since we have not had a hurricane in over 9 years.
New companies have sprung up and are writing insurance just about everywhere. I live in Hernando County and for years nobody was writing here. Only Citizens Insurance. Now there are other choices and Citizens Insurance is quite solvent now to due to lack of hurricane claims. The average home insurance bill is about $2000.00 but can be a 1/2 that if you adjust the amounts of risk that the insurance company has to cover. Wind Mitigation saves hundreds a year. That is where there are hurricane resistant windows, enhanced garage doors, the right size nails in the roof and some other factors.

There is another good way to find out costs and that is by using an online cost of living calculator.
CNN has a good one that is easy to use. Cost of Living Calculator: Compare the Cost of Living in Two Cities - CNNMoney

The COL here vs. New York City is much less. The state, County and City is not in your pocket taking ridiculous taxes out of it.

Also check out Cost of Living Index figures. Cost of Living Index for Selected U.S. Cities | Infoplease.com

It would serve you well to check the website for the Sheriff's Office for the county you intend to relocate to. Checking the local newspapers on the internet gives you an idea of day to day happenings in places you may have in mind.

Florida living isnt as cheap as it used to be, but where is? I assume you folks will be retired and not need jobs and no school age children??????

C-D is also loaded with good solid info about cities and towns. The forums are good sources of info also, but there are a lot of Drama-Kings and Queens, many of whom do not live here. Some used to live here but left for one reason or another. If the contents of the post are heavily dramatic or negative take those posts as you will.

In general, the COL is highest in S. FL, cheaper in Central FL and even cheaper in Northern FL.
S. FL is very congested and congestion lightens as you go north.

One important factor is the weather. It gets really hot and humid here from May-September. It is like the dog days of August in NYC. It stays hot and humid all the time then. It rains a lot in summer. Virtually everyday. It doesnt usually rain all day, a storm here, a downpour there, they last about an hour or two and then its clear again. Fall-Spring is glorious.

Feel free to ask any questions....
Good luck on the plan.

[countrykaren]

Thank you very much, Spring Hillian. Yes we get a lot of conflicting info and I'm going crazy. I have checked out those web sites you stated but they are for the most part very general. Here in NY, down state property taxes run $10,000 and up for a quarter acre, where upstate where I am, taxes run $3-4000 for 25 acre. Big difference. I've seen web sites that stated that a house in a given city is $xxxxx amount, then when I go on Zillow, there are houses priced a lot less. Are these lower priced homes in a les desirable area of that town? I don't know. So it is very confusing. News articles online indicate that the Florida economy is about to implode, Is it? Who knows. I do know my mother's water bill is high (we have a well here), but is she typical? or just wasteful? Again who knows? At 88, she's not going to give me a straight answer. Again, thank you for you help.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

Thank you very much, Spring Hillian. Yes we get a lot of conflicting info and I'm going crazy. I have checked out those web sites you stated but they are for the most part very general. Here in NY, down state property taxes run $10,000 and up for a quarter acre, where upstate where I am, taxes run $3-4000 for 25 acre. Big difference. I've seen web sites that stated that a house in a given city is $xxxxx amount, then when I go on Zillow, there are houses priced a lot less. Are these lower priced homes in a les desirable area of that town? I don't know. So it is very confusing. News articles online indicate that the Florida economy is about to implode, Is it? Who knows. I do know my mother's water bill is high (we have a well here), but is she typical? or just wasteful? Again who knows? At 88, she's not going to give me a straight answer. Again, thank you for you help.

The websites cant give u exact answers because of the many scenarios.

I live in Spring Hill, Hernando County.

My water, sewer and trash (all on one bill) is about $45 a month.

My taxes are a little under $700 a year. We are on .24 acres. Here they go by value of the property, not the size of the property. There isnt much swing among the counties in the state. Its not like NYC vs. Syracuse where there are huge differences in tax rates.

Here are some "for instances".......
My electric bill averages $150 a month.

We spend about $400 a month on groceries and that includes feeding 3 cats.

My auto insurance is about $80 a month, 2 cars. We dont carry comp or collision. Its not worth it on our older vehicles.

I dont know if that is average because some folks state they pay $3k-5k a year on auto insurance.
Same with electric. Ive seen people quote $400 a month and more.

Home prices vary for a lot of reasons. If u r using one of those home value sites look at the value of houses in the neighborhood.

FL economy to implode? Our economy is doing fine. The economic picture here is brighter than a lot of places. Florida Economy News | The Florida Current

Avoid the drama.

What part of FL are you looking at?

[OpinionInOcala]

Over all, I would echo what Spring Hillian had to say. I would add, however, that the economic outlook and unemployment numbers can be a bit misleading, though that's certainly not unique to Florida. Being retirees I'm assuming that work will not be a concern however, so there's really no need to delve into the relatively poor and selective occupational climate here.

[Sheepie2000]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

My water, sewer and trash (all on one bill) is about $45 a month....

Here are some "for instances".......
My electric bill averages $150 a month.

I'm on the other side of the state. For our family of 4, our water/sewer/trash bill is always about $100/month. We don't have a pool or use our irrigation system.

Our highest electric during the summer was about $165 and in the fall and spring it's around $75.

It sounds like you have already made up your mind that it's too expensive here. I moved here from Ohio and I don't find it more expensive. In fact, we've eliminated our commutes to work, so it's cheaper for us now. What appeals to you about FL? Why do you want to move here? Or don't you? There are so many variables. What part of FL? Will you keep your house really cold in the summer? Will you have a pool? Irrigation system? A well? A two story house? Live in a flood zone? An older house or a newer? Will you go to farmer's markets or co-ops? Go out to restaurants often? There are so many things that affect how expensive it is to live here. A lot of it comes down to your priorities and how you want to spend your money.

[unquiltom]

I might be wrong, someone can correct me if I am, but I think you can save a lot on homeowners insurance if you're buying a condo or townhouse instead of a single family detached house. As retirees, I doubt you'd want to deal with the property maintenance of a single home (lawn care, tree maint. etc.) so a condo or townhouse might be a better option anyway.

[Iching]

I think you might want to stay in NY. It looks like you never ventured outside your little world. How old are you?

Cheers.

[LifeIsGood01]

Your costs to cool a home should be less than it is to heat a house for the winter in a cold area. Groceries are not much more expensive than other parts, there is just less supermarket competition in some areas but you do have to shop around to get the best bargain. But if you are happy where you are stay there.