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Watch the real estate and homeowner's insurance down there. Many homes were purchased to flip, and the market went bad. Get quotes on homeowner's insurance BEFORE going to contract. Many people in FL no where near the coast are paying 5K per year just in homeowner's insurance.
Also, property taxes are capped for current owners.(Called save our homes) When you buy a house, you will now be taxed at the uncapped rate....could be thousands of dollars per year extra for a new owner.
Basically, do your homework well before moving to FL, so you don't get hit with unexpected surprises.
Hi, just wondering if any Long Islanders have moved to Port Saint Lucie and if they l;iked it or hated it as my husband has a job offer for there.
Momix5,
I knew I would find you here. You asked about SC? Why would you consider that if your husband has a job offer in Pt St Lucie? Anyway regardless of where it is you "think" you want to go here is some advice.
Yes, when you live on LI and you were born and raised there (I don't know if you were or not) you become sick and tired of the rat race, trying to get ahead and stay ahead and of the constantly rising property taxes. But remember one thing - you may think you want to leave LI and I am not saying life can't be better outside of LI but it can be very difficult.
So, if you are able to sell your house and go make sure you have plenty of extra cash on hand. The ideal situation is to have a guaranteed income like a pension. If you can swing it maybe you should send your husband to Florida and let him see if that job opportunity is what it is cracked up to be. There are many stories here of people who move from other states for jobs and they either don't exist when they get here or they are not what they thought they would be. Whatever you do and I didn't listen to this advice either DO NOT BUY A HOUSE for a year RENT!!!!!!!!!! Make sure during that year if you can go back to LI to visit. The first year is like a big vacation - you want to see and do everything because everything is new and different and money is like someone elses money coming out of the ATM machine ! It is very easy to get trapped in Florida. It is a huge adjustment - the food that is another story, the heat wears on you and you better be prepared to be called a "Yankee" and remove NY from your resume !
If you decide to go anyway research, research, research !
Also if you are moving to any town go to the local police department and sheriff's department to ask about crime in that particular area - Florida has very open public records and you can find out anything about anyone pretty much. Talk to as many people as you can. It is easy to find NY'ers you will hear them and ask lots of questions. Also the local real estate market is very, very bad because so many people are bailing out of Florida. In the town I live in there are 700 homes for sale (population about 50,000) - that is a tremendous amount.
I am not telling you all of this to scare you or be negative but hopefully to help. There was so much I didn't know when I moved here and the few things that I was told I didn't listen to anyway.
The one thing I do know is that had I not moved away from Long Island and moved to Florida I don't think I would even be able to think of moving to yet another state. It is just time for me to leave Fla. I am tired of the heat, too hard to make a living - I had this big plan which turned to S*** and I am done. I don't want to be old and gray and deal with hurricanes. If I can't go back to LI, I want a place w/change of seasons with a nice quality of life affordable housing - you know the samething everyone else wants !
born and raised on LI ( massapequa) now in s/w fl. since 86 hate it since 87 can't aford taxes , insurance or move to smaller home trying to sell and move north (GA. Sc. Nc. son on east coast port St lucie moving to Ga. can't aford the east coast . comming to fl. best to rent a year don't cut connections to LI
My parents bought a condo in Stuart, FL a few years ago (we went every year to the same complex as we have family there and it is close to Port St. Lucie, the spring training home of the NY Mets) and it was amazing as a vacation spot. But they made the big move to FL last year and are miserable. If the real estate market was better, they would have sold already (the condo was up for months without a bite- very reasonably priced). They've given it over a year there and although the complex is beautiful and serene, they are miserable with FL in general. The job market is awful. It's a huge disappointment. They are up visiting for the summer / fall, to get away from hurricane season.
Think long and hard before making a move. They had researched it well, knew the area and they are not happy.
Thank you I here a lot of people are unhappy with Fla, I do not want to go from the frying pan into the fire financially, but there has to be a place that is affordable and we would do better financially than LI.
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Florida or not?
