Moving to Florida ~ Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington or Weston

[FromCTtoFL]

For us, the cost to stay in CT is just not worth it - we want a healthier life. We live 45 miles east of New York City, traffic is a nightmare (6th worst in the country, so our car insurance is very high now). The infrastructure here is falling apart - highways, bridges, roads are OLD and in disrepair. The heavily relied upon train system is constantly having issues. Its dirty, dingy and heavily polluted. (CT is #1 in U.S. for breast cancer incidences). Right now, as I am typing this, it is 9 degrees outside and 12 inches of snow fell since this morning. South Florida sounds like paradise right now!

Also...is it true that FL does NOT charge car taxes? or a state income tax? That would be great! CT taxes are a killer - good thing hubby and I quit smoking b/c taxes charged on cigarettes make 'em cost 10 bucks a pack.

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by FromCTtoFL

For us, the cost to stay in CT is just not worth it - we want a healthier life. We live 45 miles east of New York City, traffic is a nightmare (6th worst in the country, so our car insurance is very high now). The infrastructure here is falling apart - highways, bridges, roads are OLD and in disrepair. The heavily relied upon train system is constantly having issues. Its dirty, dingy and heavily polluted. (CT is #1 in U.S. for breast cancer incidences). Right now, as I am typing this, it is 9 degrees outside and 12 inches of snow fell since this morning. South Florida sounds like paradise right now!

Also...is it true that FL does NOT charge car taxes? or a state income tax? That would be great! CT taxes are a killer - good thing hubby and I quit smoking b/c taxes charged on cigarettes make 'em cost 10 bucks a pack.

Very expensive to register the cars we paid tax on all of them....no state income tax salary's not so hot depending on what one does...we have 14 inches here in central/south jersey....I am just informing you that South Florida is expensive and coming from Jersey the cost of living wasnt very different, thats all..our expenses here are the same as in South florida except my car insurance went down here 175.00 a month for 3 Cars and 3 drivers

[FromCTtoFL]

Swimmom32 - if you're in Jersey, you know exactly what it's like here in SW CT. We are looking to downsize to Florida, so in that regard, taxes and cost of living in general will be cheaper. Right now we have much more house than we need and we pay 12,000/ year in taxes. It costs nearly $1000/ month to heat the house (with oil) in the winter...Just time for a change for us - sick of snow, sick of everything.

Did you move back to NJ from FL? If so, what was it about FL that you did not like? Just curious...

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by FromCTtoFL

Swimmom32 - if you're in Jersey, you know exactly what it's like here in SW CT. We are looking to downsize to Florida, so in that regard, taxes and cost of living in general will be cheaper. Right now we have much more house than we need and we pay 12,000/ year in taxes. It costs nearly $1000/ month to heat the house (with oil) in the winter...Just time for a change for us - sick of snow, sick of everything.

Did you move back to NJ from FL? If so, what was it about FL that you did not like? Just curious...

We were in boca for 3 years, really liked it we moved back to nc actually because of my husbands company relocated their HQ to charlotte, however we were planning to move back to jersey wether or not we were still in florida...we would have left for a few different reasons...we are talking about eventually spending winters in florida, but we arent sure as we found quite a bit we didnt like....we paid 12,000 in taxes before we left NJ....again we rented in florida that was insane, food more than Jersey....for us as a family not much of a difference...our biggest motivator is my family, and what was important to us....2nd my husbands career and its here in Jersey/NYC....my parents are snow birds the stay in Delray, they could never do florida full time....lastly, the schools are better here..my daughter will be in HS my son 2nd semester College Freshman...this is home for us and the cousins are very close and we have missed out on Alot...Im not telling you not to move asthat is not my place, Im just telling you what we found with the cost of living....good luck to you

[El Arresmillao]

Originally Posted by WhatUpFLA

Well, regardless of whether northern Pinellas County is susceptible to massive sinkholes or not, it is still very close to the areas of the state most prone to massive, destructive sinkholes. There is absolutely no way of denying that.

The Tampa Bay area is far more susceptible to violent EF3-EF5 tornadoes than any part of South Florida.

Deadly lightening strikes are far more common in this area due to more frequent violent lightening storms, especially during the wet season.

The wildfire risk in Tampa is much greater than in most of South FL because this area is more forested overall and much drier during the dry season. Rain is a relatively infrequent occurrence in most parts of FL from November to April, except in South FL which is wet all year round. Additionally, South FL is less forested and far more developed than the Tampa Bay area, so wildfire risk is virtually non-existent down here. On the same note, water shortages seem to be more of an issue in Tampa than in most parts of FL. The area stretching from Tampa to Pensacola has been grappling with a dwindling drinking water supply for quite some time now. As more people populate this area, the water shortage is only going to get worse.

Hail is a more common occurrence in Tampa, as are hard freezes. Temperatures dip much lower in the Tampa Bay area than in South FL. Freezing temperatures always seem to have devastating affects across all of FL, as most parts of the state are improperly equipped to handle such low temperatures. Believe it or not, cold is the number one weather-related killer in FL. Loss of life seems inevitable every time temperatures flirt with or drop below freezing. Since Tampa is colder than South FL in the winter, this is clearly more of an issue there than here. Also, it can snow in Tampa because it has in the past. Just keep that in mind.

The air quality in the Tampa Bay area is horrendous and by far the worst of any major metro area in FL. South FL has some of the best air quality in the entire nation. There's no comparison, IMO.

Also, traffic in Tampa SUCKS. Traffic in Palm Beach County, especially north of Boca, is nothing by comparison.

And, please, don't make it seem as though the Tampa Bay area is immune from hurricanes because it's not. All coastal areas of FL are susceptible to hurricanes, dope.

Most places south of tampa bay are nicer, anything north of tampa is so hick sub-standard and filthy...