Please provide opinions on relocation to Florida

[hiknapster]

riko: Sorry about that! Now that I look at it, she does look like me! (I'm kidding. Check out my homepage! )

nhkev: That is great to hear. I think that the economy turned the corner in March (I called it, too!) and having young families down there is going to spur that local economy in a big way. Things are going back to the way they used to be, which is a fabulous thing, but it would be nice to see the area be less seasonal. If you all get younger folks then that will change.

[totsuka]

I like Florida but it has some problems. Hurricanes drive the price of home insurance. You can't really consider moving to South Florida and expect to find "affordable" home insurance. It has got better, but sooner or later Florida will get hit again.
Jobs - The state still has not done a good job establishing a sound job base. NASA is cutting back, Disney pay little, so it's still a "service economy.
Taxes - Property taxes vary, cheaper than CA and North East USA, but they are going up. The days of cheap homes and cheap property taxes are going away.
Homes - You can find a nice home, but you really have to check the build quality, location, taxes, SCHOOLS and think ahead 15-20 years. Will this area still be good?. After you children are out of school and move away do you want to stay?.
If I had my choice I would like to live in San Diego, CA but it's just not affordable anymore. Florida will still get a large share of retired people in the next 20 years, which will drive it's service economy too.

[RUGoofy38]

I made the decision three years ago to move from the Chicago suburbs to SW Florida. Since I had vacationed here in the winter a number of times, I had a rosy preconceived notion of what to expect that did not match reality. I don't regret my decision, the Pro's still outway the Con's, but I think anyone considering the move needs to think long and hard about it, and as everyone here mentions, do lots of exploring and planning before making the jump. Here are my list of some Pro's and Con's to consider(the bad first):
CONS
(1) Summer Heat. You think you know summer? Try five months of 95 degrees and high humidity. It rains every day. Although you do get acclimated, that first summer will be oppressive.
(2) Love Bugs. In May and June you will be spending every other day at the car wash cleaning the carcasses of dead bugs off your car grille.
(3) Ethics. I know it sounds cliche, and it may be midwestern naivete, but you need to be careful dealing with Florida business people. I have had dealings with questionable characters from realtors to HVAC techs...for some reason, ripping people off seems more permissible in Florida, there is definitely more of a dog eat dog mentality.
(4) Culture/Entertainment. I moved first to Tampa, then to Fort Myers, and now live in Punta Gorda, and the lack of a variety of things to do was disappointing.
(5) Food. Florida is the home of quality seafood, and not much else. Moving from a big metro area like Chicago, where any imaginable type of cuisine or dining experience was just a few miles away to SWFL...was an adjustment.
(6) People. So many of the people down here are from somewhere else, and lots of them are here because they were running away from something; a failed business, a divorce, personal problems. Just about everyone has a soap opera or a sob story. Kinda like living in on ongoing version of Jerry Springer. Drama lives in SWFL.

PROS
(A) Winter weather. I do not shovel snow or scrap ice. Ever. You can't underestimate how much of a positive it is to wake up every morning to bright sunshine. I played 18 holes of golf on Christmas day. It really is paraside-like here in the winter.
(B) Standard of Living. I am an accountant. Although I did well in Chicago, I raised my standard of living 30-40% by moving to SWFL. In the last year I absolutely STOLE a beautiful 2 year old house in a great little town, and live very comfortably. Although everyone here gripes about their taxes, they are comparatively quite low.
(C) People. I know I said some bad things about the people who live here; there is also lots of good things to say about them. Most are very friendly. It's good to drive down the street and wave to your neighbors and have them wave back. Because of the reasons mentioned above, there are lots of interesting people to meet and stories to hear.
(D) Ocean and Beaches. Wanna catch some sun? The beach is only minutes away from just about everywhere. The women are beautiful. The fishing is great and nothing beats a day on the water!
(E) Atmosphere. Florida is laid back. I mean, really laid back. You gain an appreciation for not having to rush through your day or your week. Because you aren't consumed by the hustle-bustle of everyday life, you do get to stop and appreciate things more.
(F) Thunderstorms. If you are a weather geek like me, you will love the thunderstorms in summer. The lightning is spectacular. Many a night I have sat on the lanai with some cold beer and watched the show. It never gets old.
(G). Wildlife. As I type some white egrets are walking through my front yard. From the gulf to the everglades, if you want some nature, come to SWFL. Gators, dolphins, eagles, you name it, SWFL has it.

[hiknapster]

RU Goofy. Fox should take note. That was fair and balanced.

Note to Fox lovers: I am being cute-by-half. I'm not looking for a political diatribe.

It's interested how where you come from will make a difference. I'm from a small town in Mass., so I thought there were many more food choices (only thing that comes close to Chicago is NYC). I thought the people were very unfriendly. But I got the same slimeball feel that you did. Far too many con artists.

Having said that, I went back for a visit a month ago and the folks were as friendly as in the deep south. So very, very nice folks are coming in and a boatload of jerks must have moved away.

But you didn't mention jobs. Are you retired or did you have a job already lined up when you got down there?

Either way, the economy is picking up. SwFlorida may one of the last to feel it, but it will pick up.

Right now, there is still a lot of inventory in homes. I don't expect that to last forever, though.

But jobs is really the key. If you can get a job and a cheap home, you have hit the magic zone. And of course, retiring there is a good bet.

And I read on the forum, last night, about Oasis Charter in Cape Coral. It's elementary all the way through high school. On paper, it looks really good, and all facets were just declared "A" schools. Wow.

[RMD3819]

I agree. Goofy's post is fair and balanced.

I especially liked the first line where he stated he had preconceived notions from vacationing here.