[LINYchick]

can anyone tell me about the pros & cons of FL vs NC/ taxes, traffic, people, jobs etc...

[Jammie]

The only thing I can tell you is that NC has a state income tax and Fla. doesnt.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by LINYchick

can anyone tell me about the pros & cons of FL vs NC/ taxes, traffic, people, jobs etc...

Both are pretty big states, you should probably narrow your parameters a little bit. Where in NC? There's a big difference between Charlotte and Boone, Raleigh and Wilmington. And where in FL? There's a world of difference between Miami and Perry.

But generally, FL has much higher property taxes and insurance rates than NC. Generally.

And there are a LOT of Floridians moving to NC. The NC locals call them "Floridiots" because many of the Floridians don't know how to drive in the mountains. I think that's pretty funny.

I'm originally from Tampa and couldn't get out of Florida fast enough.

By the way, Tennessee does not have an income tax, either...

[dreamofmonterey]

The only thing I can tell you is that NC has a state income tax and Fla. doesnt.
_________________________

To the OP you need to give specifics. Are you buying a house? working or retired?/money or looking for work with minimal experience?. Florida is a huge state and very different in many areas.

[Jammie]

Since we touched a bit on the topic of taxes in this thread~does Fla. have a personal property tax?

[tallrick]

No just an intangibles tax, until it's repealed. Our property taxes are high enough to leave you bankrupt anyway.

[florigidge]

hi, i see you're still doing searches on where to live LI!

as a long time floridian, i gave you my wrap up based on what you said you were looking for in florida in another thread. but i've also lived for two years as an adult in north carolina in the mid-80s. (i was born there but parents moved to florida when i was three.)

i was caring for my mother and she wanted to move back to the old hometown. i was hoping one of my brothers could help me with her care (he lived in a nearby city), so i agreed. it was a mistake. the city itself (which i knew from vacations there) was still very very much like a "southern" town with the ideology to match (this is the piedmont area.)

i had relatives there but rarely saw them. our political views were at opposite ends of the spectrum, also. if i wanted to do anything, i had to drive at least 10 miles to the next city (no big deal), but if i REALLY wanted to do something, such a work, i had to drive 35 miles to greensboro or winston salem.

so my advice is: avoid a small town and i might add, if this doesn't offend, especially if you are African-American. in 1985, in this city of about 25,000 they had a klan march down the center of town. (they also had klan marches down the streets of Lawtey Florida in the mid-80s - which isn't all that far from Starke, the city you had previously asked about.) free speech is fine, this is america, but the klan is repulsive to me and those types of marches, especially in a small town in the south, did what they intended to do: served as "warnings" that the klan was still around and active. i was appalled. miami to small town n.c. was a shock, i must say.

that said, a larger city such as greensboro or winston, or raleigh-durham-chapel hill (research triangle) - charlotte - or even asheville (which i hear is very artist friendly) - or wilmington - might be better. i worked with like-minded, progressive people on my job in greensboro (not all but the majority). some were transplants from other states. greensboro has its own civil rights history, but i found the city to be diverse, friendly and open to new ideas.

these are based on mid-80s evaluations, so hopefully someone with more current views can help you out. but greensboro was a fairly bustling and diverse city. winston also was bustling but one gets a more elitist feel in winston - they have a bit more "cultural" things to do; nc school of the arts is also there.

and chapel hill is flat out gorgeous with the lovely UNC campus. duke campus, also, is lovely.

as for weather, nc likes to say it's a "temperate zone" - that may be true but it still gets freakin' cold and snows. i got tired of pumping gas in 9 degree weather. i will say that the sky is indeed a incredible carolina blue (as they like to say), the scenery is very pretty. since you are from NY, a more "moderate" weather area such as NC might be a relief. but for me, it was torture during winter.

i think the only thing i miss about NC is a regional soft drink soda pop called cheerwine and the chopped barbeque with slaw. it's a nice place to visit, i suppose, but not a state i'd consider moving back to.

we returned to florida - gainesville this time - and i stayed for 17 years. due to various reasons, i had to move to the pacific northwest and i've been here for three years. needless to say, i am eagerly awaiting my return to florida where i will NEVER but NEVER leave again! LOL.

[roaring-rox]

Hi,

I live in central Florida right now in a small town and also am considering North Carolina---most likely the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area.

I would pick old northeast St. Pete, or South Tampa to move to except for the problems we have because of hurricanes. Even if technically Tampa/St. Pete has not had a direct hit in a long time, we know it will be very bad if it does hit. The insurance companies sure are letting us know with the high rates and dropping policies.

Do like the artsy, creative areas and also like a vibrant city. Where I am now, a very small town with cookie-cutter subdivisions coming in from Tampa, Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill will probably look very good to me---as long as I am in a tree-lined neighborhood where I can walk to restaurants/coffee shops, etc. or take a short drive (in other words, not far out in a suburb).

NC's state tax is 7% (?) for everyone and believe it is 8.25% for interest/dividends of $100,000 or more, which would be $8,250 extra an individual would pay out to a gov't entity. If you are well-off and moving from Ft. Lauderdale or any coastal area of Florida where you are paying high homeowners insurance ($8,000 on up) and property taxes, then that state tax probably would not matter. Pasco County homeowners' insurance is high also, even on the east side of the county. I called State Farm about a 1988 wood frame house for $249,000 and they quoted me $4,300 for homeowners' insurance. And that was 5 months ago.

I think homeowners' insurance is much less in Jacksonville, Gainesville, and Tallahassee. But, for how long?

For various reasons, I don't think I want to live in any of those cities...actually, Tallahassee is looking better to me, but there are still reasons for me to not be so sure of it.

I guess my questions are---

Will the homeowners crisis probably take root in northern Florida, even inland, also and go up high? (probaby something we have to wait and see about).

Are property taxes and homeowners' insurance in North Carolina, even in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, much lower than Florida (even than Gainesville's, JAX's, and Tallahassee's)?

It wouldn't matter about the state tax in NC if I could get what I want in a city in NC that I want to relocate to, IF the property taxes/ho's up there would be low enough to offset the state taxes I would pay NC. Then FL's "no state income tax" would not be a factor.

[firemed]

I have a house in the upstate of South Carolina, 2400sq on two acres with two out buildings my insurance this year was 395.00. Now I don't live there full time so thats higher then if I did. All the bills there are much lower then Florida. I was there last week and gas was 2.05 a gal.

[pianogal]

Firemed, Please don't give the secret of upstate South Carolina away. It is still affordable - but getting bigger and more unaffordable every day. I remember a few years ago when Myrtle Beach was affordable - now the prices almost compare to Florida (not South Florida, yet).

If we can't afford to live in Florida when we retire (I will be so sad) upstate SC is our next choice. Don't ruin it before we get there..OK?