[MauraSun]

Hi. I see there are numerous entries for this subject. Thank you for starting it, and thanks to all who contribute. I need this information and am grateful there are so many here who take the time to inform us.

[burgler09]

What are you from? Grand Rapids, Michigan
Where in Florida are you moving? Miami - Coconut Grove
What attracts you to Florida? University of Miami, weather, DIFFERENT
What research did you do or have already done to pick your city or location? I wanted to live in a large city with a much different atmosphere than where I am from.
Did you spend time in that town in person? Si, me gusta Miami mucho!
Did you communicate with people who live their personally? Yes and no, I talked to students on campus who really seem to enjoy it. I also have an uncle who lives in SoFla(Jupiter) and he said he thinks Miami is a very cool place to be also. It seems all of the people who hate it give me their reasons.. and it is almost everything Iam looking for in a city.
I thought Miami was awesome.. soo many large buildings and people everywhere. I like how busy and fast paced everything was. I come from Grand Rapids, Michigan.. a fairly large city but it is just kind of boring to me. I will be moving in August and I am also learning Spanish so I hope being in Miami will allow my Spanish skills to also grow. Dating a cute latina wouldn't be half bad either

[johnd393]

Lived in Northwest Indiana most of my life. The winters are cold and the summers are hot and humid.
I was in Florida once in the summer and the humidity was no worse then here.
We've spent a about 10 days in Orlando every February for the last 25 years. We've seen the home prices and traffic go crazy over the years. We'd like move to central Florida in 2 or 3 years. We'll be retired then. Problem is homes are too expensive. Adding $100,000 to my home value here buys a smaller house there. Also I won't live in a covenant controlled community. We'd like to have a home in the hills around Clermont slightly in the country with a acre or so of land. Probably won't happen. Everything we like is $200000 over our budget.

[jodyj1622]

Hi, I am new to this forum, just joined today although I have been browsing and reading post for several months. I have lived in Minnesota all my life and spend my winters vowing to get out before the next one comes. This year I am serious. I can't do this no more.......!!!! My lease is up next month and I am moving to Florida. I haven't decided for sure which area and any advise would be really appreciated. I have visited Cape Coral and Port Saint Lucie and found both coasts beautiful but different. The beaches on the gulf side didn't seem to be as nice as the Atlantic side. Is this true or did I just not know the right places to go? I loved the blue water and white sand down by Fort Lauderdale but that area is too expensive for us. My other concern is the real estate taxes and insurance, can anyone tell me what is happening in those areas? Do you know if they are using your purchase price as the fair market value to determine taxes or are they using the inflated values caused by the boom which busted? I have a couple of properties in mind and when I look up the taxes, they are appraised for 2007 based on a fair market value of say $250,000 and the taxes are around $5000. These houses are currently for sale at $150,000. Would the taxes be based on my purchase price or on other houses on my block which may still have an inflated value because it isn't on the market. Not sue if I made my question clear but I am hoping you know what I mean. I have read other posts on taxes but they have me even more confused. Is there anyway to get a least a ballpark figure or information on how the property appraiser is handling the downturn in values?

Back to the original question, I am moving to Florida because I want to live in a warm, beautiful place and complain about the humidity.

I have visited Floriday for a few weeks during my lifetime but don't have any friends or family down there. Hope to make friends that will become like family to replace the ones I leave behind.

Haven't communicated with anyone from the area but am hoping to get responses from people here on this forum.

Thanks Jody

[venusflyer]

This is a great thread! I am interested in this information too!

What are you from? I am currently in Lebanon, TN; about 30 miles East of Nashville.

Where in Florida are you moving? Not sure yet; probably Destin, Pensacola or Ft. Walton Beach area

What attracts you to Florida? everything! the beach, the palm trees, the warm weather, the old people with no care in the world....

What research did you do or have already done to pick your city or location? I have been researching non-stop for the last 3 months or so. My husband will be looking at changing jobs and with that, we will be changing location. Florida is my homestead of choice, but it is not set in stone yet. So I've been researching every place in the US we have had any interest in living. So far, Florida looks great to us. The only thing we really don't like about it is the alligators.

Did you spend time in that town in person? We have been in just about every town on the coast in the panhandle area.

Did you communicate with people who live their personally? We do have a few friends from college who came here for school who beg us to take them with us if we move there!

[zyberrat]

Where are you from?
Oskaloosa, Iowa

Where in Florida are you moving?
In a couple years we would like to move to the Engelwood, Venice, Osprey area.

What attracts you to Florida?
The sun, palm trees, beaches, boating year round and NO SNOW. We had 24" of snow in less than a week this last winter.

What research did you do or have already done to pick your city or location?
I've been looking at Google earth for various locations were I would want to live then going to city-data to research and checking out these forums.

Did you spend time in that town in person?
Not yet. My wife and I went to Clearwater on vacation 3 years ago and fell in love with the west coast of Florida.

Did you communicate with people who live there personally?
No. My wife has a cousin in St Pete. We will be talking with her to get more info on the area.

[Blondie621]

Was born and raised in New Jersey. All my friends and family are back there except for Dad, he is is Port St. Lucie. I am living in a big City called Deltona. Of course you never heard of it....it is horible here. The weather is great that is it. There are too many rednecks here and people are not friendly at all. Have been here 3 years and have nothing in common with these people here. I would like to move more South. I noticed the more inland you go the worse the areas get. Crime is also rampant. Also the doc/medical situation here is horrible. You have to travel or Orlando to see a decent doc and even then they are sub/par! Jobs are non existent here unless you want to work at a Publix, WinnDixie, Food Lion or the Fast Food places. I think I will eventually go back home to New Jersey! I would rather shovel snow than live a life with no family and friends! Home is always where the heart is!

[Alphaman]

Originally Posted by Blondie621

Was born and raised in New Jersey. All my friends and family are back there except for Dad, he is is Port St. Lucie. I am living in a big City called Deltona. Of course you never heard of it....it is horible here. The weather is great that is it. There are too many rednecks here and people are not friendly at all. Have been here 3 years and have nothing in common with these people here. I would like to move more South. I noticed the more inland you go the worse the areas get. Crime is also rampant. Also the doc/medical situation here is horrible. You have to travel or Orlando to see a decent doc and even then they are sub/par! Jobs are non existent here unless you want to work at a Publix, WinnDixie, Food Lion or the Fast Food places. I think I will eventually go back home to New Jersey! I would rather shovel snow than live a life with no family and friends! Home is always where the heart is!

This thread is supposed to be for positive florida talk I`m sure you can find a million other Florida Stinks threads to post in.

[hurricanes]

I moved from Sunrise to Atlanta 2 years ago and I am sooo ready to move back and deal with the high cost of living and hurricanes and the rude people. The crime here is among the top in the nation. I thought Miami was crime infested geez. And it's soooo boring here! Unless you're a redneck and like hunting, atv riding, etc. At least south florida you have the beaches, fishing, all the sporting events are pretty close, more diversity in people for sure and nice hot weather hehe.

[rluey29]

Where are you from? I live in Jonesboro AR right now. It gets pretty darn humid here also, we just returned from orlando a couple weeks ago and it was hotter and more humid here than it was orlando.
Where in Florida are you moving? Somewhere in central Florida, have at least 1 year to figure it out.
What attracts you to Florida? Weather mostly, love summer and really love Palm trees.
What research did you do or have already done to pick your city or location? Have done tons of research about various towns nad areas, have friends that live in Lakeland area.
Did you spend time in that town in person? Depends I have spent some time there but haven't figured out where I will land yet.
Did you communicate with people who live their personally? Yes my friends LOVE it there they are also transplants from AR.

My wife is finishing up her degree this year and we will be looking at dental hygienist (sp) schools after that. I am a teacher/coach.