[Cindyls]

Hello All!

We'll be moving the Crystal River, Florida, area from Pennsylvania in a few months, the Gulf side of Rt 19. I understand this is a manditory evacuation area but to live where I want to live there needs to be trade-offs. Evacuating due to weather conditions is one I'm willing to except. My only question is how many times has this area been forced to evacuate due to weather? I've searched all kinds of government sites, local and otherwise but can't seem to find a history of evacuation occurances. Any links or info would be greatly appreciated.
Cindy in PA (for now)

[daniellefort]

It's not often. In the 7 years i've lived here, they evacuated everything that was 1 mile on the east side of Hwy 19 (meaning 1 mile inland from 19) only 2 times and that's only due to high water from the gulf. Since i've been here, we've only had a tropical storm come through Citrus county

[Cindyls]

Thank you Daniellefort for the information! My honey and I really love the area and are looking forward to the move, exhausting as it might be. He has family in Beverly Hills, the Pine Hills area and I have a son who moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago (3 hrs north of course). We love fishing in Ozello and the sunsets at Fort Island Beach are spectacular. IMO, having to evacuate on occassion is a small price to pay for the beauty and nature of the coast. When they've had to evacuate, how long does it normally last, if you don't mind answering? I have one dog and two cats who would be leaving with us and we've planned on staying with his family if the situation arrises. Thank you again for your reply. Cindy in PA (for now)

[daniellefort]

Originally Posted by Cindyls

Thank you Daniellefort for the information! My honey and I really love the area and are looking forward to the move, exhausting as it might be. He has family in Beverly Hills, the Pine Hills area and I have a son who moved to Jacksonville 2 years ago (3 hrs north of course). We love fishing in Ozello and the sunsets at Fort Island Beach are spectacular. IMO, having to evacuate on occassion is a small price to pay for the beauty and nature of the coast. When they've had to evacuate, how long does it normally last, if you don't mind answering? I have one dog and two cats who would be leaving with us and we've planned on staying with his family if the situation arrises. Thank you again for your reply. Cindy in PA (for now)

Oh it's not long. Usually tell you to leave 1 - 2 days before the storm and so far everyone has been able to go back once the storm passes. Of course if there's flooding, they won't let you back in until that's gone. And again, we haven't had any major storms in this area that i can remember. They do open up the schools for shelters. I believe one of them allows pets but since you have family nearby, that won't be an issue for you.

[Cindyls]

Thanks again Daniellefort! You have been a big help. My honey is surprised that someone responded...LOL, since I've been on the internet for days looking for an answer. It's going to be a month or so until we get down there, well me anyway as I have to sell my house. He is in the process of buying the one down there now so things are very hectic here. I'll have to say hello when we're all settled. Thanks again and the best to you.
Cindy & Randy in PA (for now)

[daniellefort]

Well sounds like things are going smoothly. I'm actually moving back to NH in June to be with my family again. I've been in FL 14 years now and i think its time to go home. We too have a home to sell so my husband will have to come back here until it does. It does get hot here in the summer and in fact today is quite warm and humid in the 80's but if my family would move to FL i'd stay here but when i'm the only one in the entire family who moved away, i guess i'm the one who has to make the move back. Citrus county in my opinion is one of the safe counties around the tampa bay region. I read over and over how miserable it is to live in the bigger cities and they all make it sound like the entire state is like that but little do they know the little secret we have here where it's not quite so bad

[Cindyls]

Ah, I know what you're saying but kinda in reverse. I was widowed 5 years ago, my husband (2nd marriage) was only 40. My two children were out on their own and it was my son who moved away first to Jacksonville. He loves it. Then last year my daughter moved to Arkansas (who KNOWS why...LOL) and she loves it there. So it was only me left here. I have my late husband's family and some very close friends but no one else in my immediate family. I met my honey a little over a year ago who had worked his whole life to retire where it's warm. And retire he did, a few months ago. We talked about moving but it wasn't until my daughter moved away that I thought, what the heck...LOL. He's taken me down to his family in Pine Hills and this last visit we did some house hunting. I love the Crystal River area, can ride my motorcycle more than just a few months of the year and love to fish. So I'm good to go! Besides, I love nature and am happy being close to it without imposing upon it and where we're looking to buy is close enough. I'm not much of a city dweller nor am I a fan of the heat. I am hoping that being closer to the shore line, though a few miles, will produce more of a breeze than inland. My son said it took him a year to get accustomed to the heat but now he's ok with it. It'll just have to be something to get used to, and then there is my friend - A/C!

[daniellefort]

Oh yes A/C is your friend. My first summer here was miserable. I had never been out of the state of NH before and i just upped and moved here. I don't regret it because i got a sense of what it's like to live where your not always behind in the times. I came from a very small town where technology was very slow to be introduced and still is today even. LOL.... I think you'll enjoy it. There are a lot of motorcycle runs usually for some kind of charity event and once you get used to the summer rain pattern where it most likely rains every afternoon around 3:00, you won't get stuck out in the rain on your bike. Just be careful though because of all the traffic in Hwy 19, it's likely some old person won't see you and run you down. It is a dangerous road but you'll get to learn the back roads after a while and those would be much safer. Good luck on your move.

[mainship]

before you stop researching try googling "no name storm florida" if you are planning to live west of 19 in a single story at ground level not on stilts. If you look close at construction you will notice all new are on stilts or at least a mound compared to neighbors older houses.

[Cindyls]

Hi Mainship. Yes, we did research while house hunting in the area. My honey has been in construction for 35 years and he was quite curious about the stilt homes we saw. We were weighing our options of stilt vs mound, depending upon which house we liked and where it was located. The house we're looking to buy is on a slight mound further inland than originally planned. I have gotten to know the reference of the "No Name Storm" as we heard about it quite often...LOL. Anyway, at first I wondered why houses were built higher than street level or with a slight upgrade. I wasn't thinking at the time but it makes sense now. All the websites I had scoured gave how-to evacuation info, past storm info but not how many times the area actually had to be evacuated. Like I said, it's a trade off I'm willing to live with I just wanted to know with what frequency. Thank you for your reply.