Retirees to SoFL - anyone move back to former home? (Miami: health insurance, house) - Fort Lauderdale area - Florida -Broward County - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

sweepea · 02-19-2011, 05:31 AM

Loribell, it sounds like you gave it a good long try. I've heard about the bugs. They're really not so bad here on L.I. - maybe mosquitos once in a while in the summer, but they're manageable. What do you miss about Florida? Also - are you retirees or working? Thanks for your input, and I wish you the best with your future move!

rusty78 · 02-19-2011, 05:39 AM

Sweepea, yes they are...there is just tooooo much inventory down there...many places bought to flip are vacant...abandoned...or luckily rented...and then you have the chinese drywall problem that no one likes to admit exists...so before you leap...remember..."BUYER BEWARE"...

loribell38 · 02-20-2011, 08:01 AM

Do not work but not really retired. He does work and will likely go back to work where he worked when lived in Weston.

Basically for the most part I really do miss the lifestyle we were able to have when we lived in Florida. For us it was relaxing. While we both hated the heat we realize after this winter up here we hate the cold even more. Weston is really a great community to live in. We absolutely (even in the heat) loved the way it is laid out for bike riding. The lack of exercise we are getting here is having an effect on his health. We are outdoor people and do not like gyms at all. Nice restaurants and much more affordable for us as we do eat out almost every day. Loved going to lunch by myself in the area a few days a week.

Nolefan34 · 02-20-2011, 10:48 AM

Everyone is different and South FL is not for everyone. Some people move here and wind up hating it quickly. Others move here and wonder why they didn't come years ago. Everyone's experience is different. I will say this- South FL is NOTHING like New York. If you move here expecting it to be anything like NY, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

FL is very flat, hot and humid most of the year. We get 4-5 months of very mild weather in the winter which is perfect for northerners wanting relief from the cold. But then we get 7-8 months of brutally hot and humid, extreme weather with lots of thunderstorms, lightning, and in some cases hurricanes and tropical storms. The difference between FL summers and up north is that A), they last much much longer, and B) the humidity is much worse especially at night. It is typically 90+ degrees at 10pm at night in the summer and cools down maybe to 80 degrees around 5am, which is the most humid time. You'll be running your A/C all year around except maybe a few weeks in the winter.

Culture- cannot even compare FL culture to NY. Totally opposite. Fort Lauderdale and Miami have a decent amount of cultural events and activities, but nothing compared to NYC.

Food- we have a few great restaurants here, but nowhere near the amount of choices of outstanding cuisine. In NY, you can eat pretty much at any hole in the wall and expect to get A+ food. Here, the good restaurants are few and far between and are limited to certain genres. For instance, you cannot get great Chinese here in FL. Food in South FL is also very, very expensive compared to NY.

The positives of living in South FL are also the negatives. The weather being so hot and warm allows outdoorsy people to go to the beach all year around and do all sorts of water-related activities. Fishing is also big here as is boating and yachting. We have a number of fishing piers at various beaches that are cool. Also, the Keys are a short drive away. The traffic in Broward County is nowhere near as bad as NYC, and less congested than Long Island from my personal experience in L.I. The roads here are much more modern and the speed limits are greater here. The flaw with South FL is that everything is so spread out that it can take 45 minutes to drive from Coral Springs to Fort Lauderdale due to the number of traffic lights and overall distance mileage wise. In NY, everything seems bunched closer together, although driving from NYC to the tip of L.I. is pretty far. People in FL drive faster, but people in NY tailgate a lot worse. That has been my experience. You will see lots of aggressive driving here just like NY, but in NY the sheer number of aggressive drivers are far greater. But in FL you will see crazy suicidal drivers who do things you'd never see in NY.

sweepea · 02-21-2011, 05:22 AM

That's kind of what I'm weighing, how the temperature affects me. The two big problems that I have with cold winters is (1) the snow and ice (shoveling, walking on it, driving in it, freezing in it) and (2) the feeling of isolation and lack of sunlight I experience all winter. I tend to get cooped up and my life narrows down. I would hope just the extra sunlight, vitamin D, and ability to be outdoors - and among people - would be extremely helpful.

In all the times I've been to Florida, I have found that being outdoors helps my state of mind and just makes me feel more productive and satisfied overall. Up here on L.I., during heat waves in the summer, I complain like everyone does, but truthfully I enjoy those runs to the stores and movies, the trip to the library, local restaurant by the water, etc.

Today, for example, I woke up and it is snowing. We're only getting a couple inches, but man, is it depressing! I'm supposed to go to work today, but now I have to call in, because I won't drive in this stuff. It's too slippery and dangerous.

Quote:

Originally Posted by loribell38

While we both hated the heat we realize after this winter up here we hate the cold even more.

sweepea · 02-21-2011, 05:27 AM

Nolefan, thanks for your comparison list, it's very helpful. I'm not a city lover so I'm not looking for anything to be like NYC - in fact, if it were like that in Florida, I wouldn't consider moving there. As far as food, I do like a good pizza once in a while.

You're right about the suicidal drivers down there. I've seen them. Being used to driving on L.I. where we have a lot of people who are always in a hurry is probably good preparation for Florida driving. Last time I was down there, it seemed like somebody was always cutting in front of me without signaling. One must be on high alert!

Nolefan34 · 02-21-2011, 04:58 PM

sweepea-

I've been to NYC a lot and have spent some time on L.I. The pizza in NYC doesn't impress me that much. I keep hearing how you can't find pizza in FL like you find in New York. But whenever I visit and try pizza there, I'm unimpressed. Now Chinese food is another story. The Chinese in NY far exceeds the Chinese anywhere in FL. Its not even close.

As for the drivers in L.I. compared to South FL, the difference is that in L.I. everybody is in a hurry and is riding on your bumper. Down here, about half of the ppl are in a hurry and the other half are taking their sweet time. South FL has fewer aggressive drivers, but the aggressive ones here are a lot worse than the aggressive ones in NY. Also, the speed limits in L.I. are lower and people drive slower. In FL, people drive much faster due to newer highways and less congestion.

JimCali · 02-22-2011, 03:07 AM

Moved back to New York from Florida in 2008 as the housing was going belly-up. Fortunately I made it back but almost lost my shirt.
I'm a retired college professor and thought I did all my homework. However, I couldn't handle the heat and humidity! Yet, there are people from the Northeast who handle it just fine. I would suggest you don't buy a house, rent for a year to make sure it's the place for you. Florida is different things to different people.

sweepea · 02-22-2011, 09:57 AM

Thanks, Jim. In the last few days I've reached the same conclusion. It doesn't make sense to give up my home here before I spend a good amount of time in Florida during all seasons. I don't know if I can stay for a year all at once, but after I retire I can go for a month or two or three at a time and see how I do with the climate.

Are you spending any time in Florida now that you've moved back? Do you think you'll stay in New York for the foreseeable future, or move somewhere else?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimCali

Moved back to New York from Florida in 2008 as the housing was going belly-up. Fortunately I made it back but almost lost my shirt.
I'm a retired college professor and thought I did all my homework. However, I couldn't handle the heat and humidity! Yet, there are people from the Northeast who handle it just fine. I would suggest you don't buy a house, rent for a year to make sure it's the place for you. Florida is different things to different people.

Raffeer · 02-23-2011, 08:53 AM

We did it the opposite way. We bought the house shortly after we arrived (in a January). Good thing we did or after that first summer we would have been back North. Each summer since has been easier and I have become one of those nuts who gets "cold" when the temperature drops to the low 70's.

Yes it's hot and humid here in the summer but (I was a New Yorker) I don't wait out in the heat/humidity for a bus, I don't wait out in the heat/humidity for a taxi, I don't go down into the h/h of a subway station and I don't have to walk two or three "short" blocks in the h/h to the grocery. There is a tendency to forget that northern summers have some pretty miserably h/h days as well. Maybe not as many but they are definitely there.

In short my life style here is car based hence I am able to control how much time, and where, I spend in the h/h. There is rarely a day when I am not out side even if it it is merely to sit on the patio in the evening. I hated winter and all its miseries and am so grateful to have served my time.