Mass FL exodus? (Knoxville, Pigeon Forge, Fairfield Glade: fit in, transplants, sales)

[Kitties of Domination]

I know that I am not the only person that now sees at least 5-6 cars w/ FL tags everyday in west Knoxville (not the same 5 cars either). Are there that many people leaving FL? Is Knoxville seeing a large percentage of FL transplants for its size? It appears so to me, but I was wondering if anyone has some numbers.

[jabogitlu]

I see a scary amount of FL tags even here in JC. I think that east TN is being marketed (where?) as "the" place to move to out of Florida.

Unfortunately.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by Kitties of Domination

I know that I am not the only person that now sees at least 5-6 cars w/ FL tags everyday in west Knoxville (not the same 5 cars either). Are there that many people leaving FL? Is Knoxville seeing a large percentage of FL transplants for its size? It appears so to me, but I was wondering if anyone has some numbers.

Are they on the highway? I see a lot of people with those tags going up and down, usually back and forth from The Midwest to Florida. I see a lot of transplants from everywhere to here at my work's parking lot.

[lochmoigh]

It is the holiday season as well, these may be people visitng our area and not neccesarily moving here .

[Tn405]

I moved here from Florida, not a bad thing. I love Tennessee and the people and the scenery, the life, hey I love it all.

[mbmouse]

I think it is both. If you have ever lived in FL (such as I have as well as I know several here have too.) you have heard the term "Snow Birds" in FL. There are thousands and thousands of retired people who have this type of schedule, my grandparents did it too.
People live in New England, own a home there, from March or April till October or November. They own a cottage, mobile home or travel trailer parked in FL and live there from October or November until March or April. They are called "snow birds". They go back "home" (New England) for the Christmas/New Years holidays and they go back to FL until it thaws out in New England. On their return trip to FL, they take "side trips" to destination places such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge,Cherokee casinos, Williamsburg, Shenandoah Valley and so forth that are not too far off their path back to FL. This year I think we are seeing more in this area because it is unusual for us to be having the warm weather we are having int he Smoky Mountain National Park. It is not every year the "snow birds" can drive through the park due to snow and ice.
Also, these people most times have FL tags because if you live at least 5 months in FL, you can get tags in that state and it is cheaper than getting them in New England states. So those tags might say FL, but they may not really be from FL...all the time any way.
I remember when I lived in CT, it was just normal to see FL tags all summer long there.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

I think it is both. If you have ever lived in FL (such as I have as well as I know several here have too.) you have heard the term "Snow Birds" in FL. There are thousands and thousands of retired people who have this type of schedule, my grandparents did it too.
People live in New England, own a home there, from March or April till October or November. They own a cottage, mobile home or travel trailer parked in FL and live there from October or November until March or April. They are called "snow birds". They go back "home" (New England) for the Christmas/New Years holidays and they go back to FL until it thaws out in New England. On their return trip to FL, they take "side trips" to destination places such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge,Cherokee casinos, Williamsburg, Shenandoah Valley and so forth that are not too far off their path back to FL. This year I think we are seeing more in this area because it is unusual for us to be having the warm weather we are having int he Smoky Mountain National Park. It is not every year the "snow birds" can drive through the park due to snow and ice.
Also, these people most times have FL tags because if you live at least 5 months in FL, you can get tags in that state and it is cheaper than getting them in New England states. So those tags might say FL, but they may not really be from FL...all the time any way.
I remember when I lived in CT, it was just normal to see FL tags all summer long there.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

The week before Christmas I was over in Waynesville NC which is about 30 minutes west of Asheville. Waynesville is a hot bed of Florida license plates in the summers, so I just assumed that in December the place would be barren, way too cold for all those snow birds.

WRONG.

I swear it was just as overrun with Florida license plates as in the summer, and 80% of the accents I heard were from the North. I was shocked. A sales clerk at Mast General Store told me that all those Florida cars reappear during the holidays then disappear again until March or April.

[William Sold]

There are a lot of Floridian transplants in the Tennessee area, and probably many more to come, as this area in condusive to their lifestyles. Golfing communities, fishing everywhere, relaxed lifestyles, etc. Most importantly, people moving moving out of Florida are used to having no state income tax, and of course Tennessee offers the same, and within a close proximity nationally speaking. For many similar reasons, Texas is seeing a large amount of Florida transplants as well. Roughly, in looking for a place to live or relocate, this is a their best and first option many times when looking north. Once they get here, they're hooked often. We would be seeing a large amount more, if the real estate market in Florida was better. People often have to sell their homes first, and we all know that property value in Florida has tanked. People just can't sell their homes for 20-30% less than they paid, or owe on it. There have been 100's of contingent offers in Knoxville made in the last year from Floridians, meaning the purchase of the new home is contingent upon the sale of their existing home, that have fallen through simply because they can't sell. We all know TN is a great place to live, and so does the rest of the country. Over the holiday season, there was as large amount of wishful "homeshoppers" in the area, simply due to having time off.

Jabogitlu was right on. TN is being heavily marketed to the Florida crowd as the place to relocate, and with all we have to offer, especially the no income taxes, no one can blame them.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by William Sold

Jabogitlu was right on. TN is being heavily marketed to the Florida crowd as the place to relocate, and with all we have to offer, especially the no income taxes, no one can blame them.

The thing that bugs me about that is that it seems to be the big developments that are being marketed to people in Florida. And so those Floridians (or those Half Backs) are heading up here looking for gated communities and developments with all kinds of silly covenants and restrictions just like they had in Florida.

The last thing I want is for The Villages, or Sun City Center, or Port Saint Lucie, or Sugarmill Woods, in other words those gigantic developments that cater to cranky old retirees to come invade Tennessee. Fairfield Glade and Tellico Village are bad enough, but I shudder to think what Tennessee will become if more of our beautiful countryside is taken over by such developments.

Not all Half Backs or Floridians are like that, of course. I'm a native Floridian myself (5th generation). I have a cousin in his 50s who retired with his wife and high-tailed it out of Tampa and now live very happily in a used trailer in the NC mountains far from any neighbors or civilization. I can respect that.

But I sit down and sob when I go back and see what those retirement developments have done to my beloved Florida, and I absolutely do not want to see the same landscape plundering take place in beautiful Tennessee.

[William Sold]

I agree JMT, I (or I think any) Knoxvillians don't want to see that, for many reasons. Aesthetics, extreme uniformity, higher house pricing (eventually), are all pitfalls on a mass introduction to a community. But, a few contentions.

1 - The big communities are the ones doing the brunt of the advertising, as they have the capital to do so. They need reimbursement from their initial investments, so Florida looks like the easy target. Sequoyah Hills, Forest Hills, Westmoreland, West Hills, all the older amd beautiful establishments have no need to market. Their capacity is always 95% plus, so they don't need to draw outsiders, there's usually plenty of locals looking for those. Floridians (and others) do move or seek homes here and have a grandiose vision of their new gated community. But once they arrive and see, what else, homes with actual land and grass and character and charm, a lot are changeing their criteria to fit what Knoxville is great for. So, major developments will always continue to advertise and research the top exiting markets, especially when local buyers are slowed to an extreme.

2 - The average age of Floridians moving out is much lower than people assume. The Florida retirement base has relatively stayed at a constant level, since a lot people have purchased their home outright from savings, or a large percentage of it, are at an age where moving again is out of the question, they simply don't want to fool with it, or nothing has what they have down there (large scale elderly communities geared to retirees, clubs and organizations with activities (bingo and shuffleboard!), etc. The large scale of transplants we've seen have been a much lower demographic, those with recently purchased homes on ARM's and balloon loans that have esclated and skyrocket payments impending. Also the rise in taxes and insurance is driving many working families out of the area. So, our hopes are that Knoxville will continue to do what it's always done best. Do not cater to the wants and needs of people looking to move, rather let them choose from the multiple styles of living we have here. Whether that be more developed and close living West Knox, historic and older living in South Knox, FC, and other areas, large scale developments on lakefronts, rural settings in take your pick.

Landscape plundering is a bad thing, but an evil that persists everywhere. Once developers realized is was cheaper to clear cut, and more homes could be squeezed on lot rules, the barn door opened for flat, bare, cookie cutter areas. But this works for some. Others not so much. That's the one thing I love about Knoxville, it does fit into so many various lifestyles and home living needs. I don't think we'll ever be a Sun City-esque level, and hope not as well as you.