[PamelaIamela]

Originally Posted by Bruiser Brody

I pay $3,900 a year in property taxes here instead of $16,568 in New York and $700 for home owners insurance here instead of $1,750 in New York. I do not have to pay $22,050 in state income tax here. Seems like a no brainer to be here in Florida.

Absolutely correct.
OP is obsessed about insurance costs for some reason.
There is way more to it than that.
A HUGE factor, totally ignored so far, is the cost of buying a house, which on a sq ft basis is easily double or triple in the desirable sections of the NE.
It's therefore very financially attractive to sell your house on LI (or CT or MA, or..) in a good SD for $750+k and downsize a bit to a lovely ranch in SoFL not far from the beach for 1/3 the price, pocket the difference and live REALLY well.
When you factor in RE taxes going from $18k to $2-3k and NO income tax, hurricane insurance is small potatoes indeed and rarely plays a part in the decision to move south.
Although actual hurricanes might!

When all is considered, the idea of working in FL and retiring to LI makes no sense to me.

[vision33r]

Most people that end up living in FL never move out because they are too used to the weather and sticker shock when they visit the north.

Soon more people will flee to FL and TX because office workers no longer need to be close to their offices. Many well paid execs already moved to cheaper states and fly into the north during weekdays. Now they don't need to fly anymore and they can permanently work in cheaper states.

So I expect good neighborhoods in FL, Texas, and Nevada to go up in prices while expensive cities will drop or stay the same in home values.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Why would you want to go from sun and most things looking nice and new to... high taxes, crumbling infrastructure, bad weather

That's my point, but many in California will say, No! Florida sucks! The weather sucks! Hurricane insurance and property taxes are crazy expensive and make real estate costs expensive! Florida is flat and ugly! Better to retire to the nice, mild deserts of Phoenix! Phoenix doesn't feel as hot as Florida because it's a dry heat! Dry but mountainous desert landscape is better than flat and green!

[tonyp22]

Originally Posted by Bruiser Brody

I pay $3,900 a year in property taxes here instead of $16,568 in New York and $700 for home owners insurance here instead of $1,750 in New York. I do not have to pay $22,050 in state income tax here. Seems like a no brainer to be here in Florida.

BB, would you be able to provide a little more info on your homeowners insurance? Your property taxes are in range with mine, but I couldn’t find insurance quotes anywhere near that low, even being in a Flood Zone X location.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by tonyp22

BB, would you be able to provide a little more info on your homeowners insurance? Your property taxes are in range with mine, but I couldn’t find insurance quotes anywhere near that low, even being in a Flood Zone X location.

Yes, and how is it possible homeowners insurance is so high in NY? What natural disasters do you need protection from! Flooding? Blizzards?

[tonyp22]

Originally Posted by MrJester

That's my point, but many in California will say, No! Florida sucks! The weather sucks! Hurricane insurance and property taxes are crazy expensive and make real estate costs expensive! Florida is flat and ugly! Better to retire to the nice, mild deserts of Phoenix! Phoenix doesn't feel as hot as Florida because it's a dry heat! Dry but mountainous desert landscape is better than flat and green!

I mentioned in other threads that I had taken a serious look at the Phoenix area as a new place to live I went once in the cooler months and again right in the middle of the hottest part of the year down there (I did the same for FL). Yep, it sure does have dry heat, but it’s not like I could stay in 110+ degree heat and think it was great. Let’s face it - the heat in both AZ and FL, while different, is something to deal with. Just as the cold and the ice and snow are in the NE. What turned me away from that part of AZ was two things (among other smaller things). First, once I got past the admitted beauty and grandeur of the vistas, on a more down to Earth and day to day basis it came down to “I’m going to be living in a freaking desert! Everywhere I look it’s just desert!”. Wasn’t sure I was going to like that over the long term. The other thing was, unless I was looking to live outside the boundaries of the various towns I was looking at, pretty much every single house in every single developed community had walled in backyards. And I don’t mean fences; I mean 8 to 10 foot block walls that completely enclosed a backyard. Oh, I saw beautiful homes just North of Scottsdale, for example, that had no walls, but they were also on dirt roads, had water brought in by truck, and were nowhere near a hospital or conveniences (there were a few very expensive “no wall” communities that had public services, but they were still on the outskirts of things). Before going out there, AZ was my first choice on paper, but these were among the things that made me decide differently. I didn’t care for the idea of sitting on the back porch and looking at... wall. Here in FL I now have a house with almost a 1/2 acre, with an open view out the back with no rear neighbors, and I’m 15-20 minutes or less from all my day to day needs. Do/will I miss the kinds of things available to me in the NE? Yes, probably. But like BB I’d be shelling out a ton more money every year in property and State income taxes to keep these things. I’ve been fortunate to have had at my convenience the finest symphonies, the finest art either in house or from world tours, the incredible diversity of selection in anything that comes to mind, among the finest restaurants in the country. Life changes. While I may not have such easy convenience to such things in the future, every part of the country has things of its own to discover and appreciate. I intend to spend my time in Florida finding and appreciating those things.

[Bruiser Brody]

Originally Posted by vision33r

Most people that end up living in FL never move out because they are too used to the weather and sticker shock when they visit the north.

Soon more people will flee to FL and TX because office workers no longer need to be close to their offices. Many well paid execs already moved to cheaper states and fly into the north during weekdays. Now they don't need to fly anymore and they can permanently work in cheaper states.

So I expect good neighborhoods in FL, Texas, and Nevada to go up in prices while expensive cities will drop or stay the same in home values.

That is a great point I never thought of. This remote working thing will make a big difference in where people HAD TO live and now where the CAN & WANT to live.

[Bruiser Brody]

Originally Posted by MrJester

That's my point, but many in California will say, No! Florida sucks! The weather sucks! Hurricane insurance and property taxes are crazy expensive and make real estate costs expensive! Florida is flat and ugly! Better to retire to the nice, mild deserts of Phoenix! Phoenix doesn't feel as hot as Florida because it's a dry heat! Dry but mountainous desert landscape is better than flat and green!

Here is your answer. The MANY PEOPLE you keeping trying to claim are simply WRONG. I just gave you my numbers and it is a slam dunk for Florida. Property taxes are NOT crazy expensive and neither is home insurance. The only insurance that MIGHT be expensive would be flood insurance IF you are in a flood zone. MOST people do not need flood insurance.

[Bruiser Brody]

Originally Posted by tonyp22

BB, would you be able to provide a little more info on your homeowners insurance? Your property taxes are in range with mine, but I couldn’t find insurance quotes anywhere near that low, even being in a Flood Zone X location.

$450,000 home in Lakewood Ranch, not in a flood zone. American Strategic Insurance.

[tonyp22]

Thanks. I’ll have to see if they’re writing policies in Central FL.