advice from people who have been to florida (Des Moines, Atlantic: real estate, vacation)

[Tek_Freek]

Not included in the criteria you set, but.

I've been to Jacksonville twice while my wife was taking CE courses. I spent a lot of time roaming all over the area and found the people, weather and general atmosphere to be nice. Nice enough that we seriously considered retiring there. Cost of living changed our minds.

One advantage to living in northern FL is the lack of hurricanes.

We were there in August and we got a laugh out of everyone complaining about the heat and humidity. It was beautiful there! Hotter and more humid in DSM than Jacksonville.

[Tek_Freek]

gvcop32

We just got back from our yearly trek to KC. Saw the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition. Really nice, as was the rest of Union Station. Found the Arboretum in Overland Park and spent time at our favorite park (Heritage on S. Pflumm Rd.) just reading. Windy Saturday!

Always enjoy coming to KC, but we always see bad weather (usually tornadoes!) when we are there. Doesn't stop us, though. The Drury Inn just off 435 at Metcalf has a parking garage so the rain, hail, etc is no biggie.

[jeremeyk482]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

I know a lot of people are moving out of Florida, so that makes you wonder if there is anything to that. From what I have heard, everything is overpriced, taxes are high, the real estate market is crashing, and it is overcrowded.

The people who are leaving FL are the longtime residents who can't stand the vacationers and who can't afford the rising cost of living. Stats show they're moving to places like NC, SC and GA.

As a 20 year old, FL is great. You'll love the beaches, the laid back lifestyle and the fair price of housing. I'd stop short of saying it's expensive.... expensive is Fairfield County CT where small homes start around $1m. So until FL becomes this way, nobody can call it expensive.

Good cities for a kid your age are Tampa, St Petersburg, or on the east coast, West Palm Beach or Boca Raton (Both being a little more pricey than Tampa/St Pete).

Good luck with your search. Now is the time to move, so do it!!! If you don't like it, move back.

[proud buckeye]

i have a condo in bradenton, fl and live in columbus ohio as well, i tell you what, florida is wide open for anything you want to do, i made my money during a very stong run in orlando, have also lived in miami and cape coral, i will tell you this, if you go to florida just to enjoy the whether and party in will become old real fast, if you have a good sense of balance and focus on the important thing in life, florida is wide open for sure, there still is great value and opportunity if you work hard, people succeed and fail very fast in florida, i've seen good people go down the drain very fast, retirement people are moving out of florida at rapid rates now because of insurance issues, its without a doubt a place where everyone wants to get in your pocket, shake someones hand you better check you get all your fingers back, the east coast and west coast are very different, the east is more hustle with the eastcoat flair and the west coast is more people from the midwest, hope this info helps.

[millyp]

"As a 20 year old, FL is great. You'll love the beaches, the laid back lifestyle and the fair price of housing. I'd stop short of saying it's expensive.... expensive is Fairfield County CT where small homes start around $1m. So until FL becomes this way, nobody can call it expensive"

thanks jeremyk!

[TeeJayMaJay]

We left IOWA in 1990 and the first thing that made me FALL IN LOVE WITH FL (where we reside now) are the MOST GORGEOUS BLUE SKIES - the deepest blue you have ever seen. Very rarely gray skies - never more than 3 days in a row (that is why we left FL - could not take those long gray cold winters -ugh!) Been here since '90 and I still have not taken FL for granted - everything is GREEN YEAR ROUND (another big plus) Sure FL is going a little nuts -oh right now, the GREAT FLORIDA secret got out but where isn't it growing??!!
We were told to always see a new area during it's worse month - so we came in AUGUST for 3 weeks. Brought our work with us so we could "see" what we thought, and yea it was hot but so is an IOWA AUGUST BUT THERE WERE NO hazy skies but gorgeous blue - even "puffy" clouds - wow! Like a picture! Yea the heat lasts longer here but WHO CARES? MONTHS OF HEAT OR COLD???? You have to decide that one. Hot? Go sit on the beach! AHH!! One other of the FIRST THINGS I noticed is how FRIENDLY everyone is in stores to us!! Even the big box companies! WOW! Sure we went in with a smile but I did that in IOWA and it was TOTALLY DIFFERENT HERE! Everyone is so friendly - at least the places where we have been in FL. My hubby and I figured out that they are just happy!! So perhaps we should move. We did and guess when? In AUGUST!! HA!!! I love JAX - lots to do - LOVE ORLANDO - same!! LOVE DAYTONA - and all the areas in between!!! Check them out. Always something to do year round - that is what we liked compared to Iowa. Nothing shuts down! We also enjoyed MELBOURNE but they ALWAYS seem to get the rain and wind when storms come. But check all the areas out!! I agree with Jeremy - NOW IS THE TIME TO START LOOKING!!

[Is that rain]

I am from the Midwest and moved to the Fort Meyers area for a year.
One thing that will immediately strike you in about
South Florida is all the Rednecks. You will be overwhelmed
I'm talking about people walking into stores with no shirt
and no shoes. Hardly any of the guys wear shirts down there.
It is redneck heaven, and that is no exageration. If you are prone to that type of people, then eventually you will become one of them, trust me.
Part of my family moved from the Midwest to South Florida 10 years
ago, and now they are all Rednecks. You go down to visit, and they're
all walking around barefoot and not wearing shirts. Aside from that,
another thing that will affect you is that you are so far South and
really have NO WAY to get out. If there is an emergency you will
feel stuck. Coming from the Midwest, and being surrounded by land
in all directions, the southern geography of Florida had a negative
psychological effect on me. I finallly had to high tail it back North
to my kind of people, and to a place where I could feel space around me.
A better alternative is Gainesville, Florida. It does not have the rednecks
like in Fort Meyers, and it is close enough to the North that you will feel
that you have space around you.

[angeredsmile]

Originally Posted by TommyG

We're in the process of moving from western IA to the Orlando area - we're hoping to be in, settled, and enjoying a warm fall/winter no later than Oct 1.

Hey where in western Iowa I am from Atlantic and my wife is a traveling nurse. We are going to the Orlando area in July for her job. I am planning on going to school down there also while we are there.

[pearlieBOBbieQ]

Originally Posted by Is that rain

I am from the Midwest and moved to the Fort Meyers area for a year.
One thing that will immediately strike you in about
South Florida is all the Rednecks. You will be overwhelmed
I'm talking about people walking into stores with no shirt
and no shoes. Hardly any of the guys wear shirts down there.
It is redneck heaven, and that is no exageration. If you are prone to that type of people, then eventually you will become one of them, trust me.
Part of my family moved from the Midwest to South Florida 10 years
ago, and now they are all Rednecks. You go down to visit, and they're
all walking around barefoot and not wearing shirts. Aside from that,
another thing that will affect you is that you are so far South and
really have NO WAY to get out. If there is an emergency you will
feel stuck. Coming from the Midwest, and being surrounded by land
in all directions, the southern geography of Florida had a negative
psychological effect on me. I finallly had to high tail it back North
to my kind of people, and to a place where I could feel space around me.
A better alternative is Gainesville, Florida. It does not have the rednecks
like in Fort Meyers, and it is close enough to the North that you will feel
that you have space around you.

Comparing Gainesville to Ft MYERS in terms of rednecks is NO comparison...lol...Gainesville is like southern Georgia ! I live in SW Florida and I can tell you that there are no rednecks anywhere NEAR my house ! ha !

[IowaCityKim]

My folks just moved out of the Gulf side of Florida to Tennessee after living there over 25 years. After yearly+ visits I understood their reasoning for moving. The gulf side of Florida is now closely resembling the eastern side. They moved to Cape Coral in 1980 when it was still fairly small and the residents were all snowbirds from other areas, but seemed to maintain a corresponding set of morals and values.

Now the area is being overcome with Miami (how shall I say this nicely?) ahhh...immigrants. It seems the gulf side has now become the drug sellers paradise of the south, bringing all the people and difficulties with it. I guess it would be fine if you can put up with that kind of thing and understand the Jamaican dialect.

Personally, I find northern and central parts much more appealing than the chaos farther south.