Florida-to-GA...What's the deal??? (Atlanta, Alpharetta: homeowners insurance, crime rate, home)

[xxman777]

Florida's insurance premium increases don't have anything to do with illegal immigrants, they are the result of the state constantly being destroyed by hurricanes.

[eartheasy]

Originally Posted by InGA

Ok, I should have worded the original post better...I feel your pain, and understand why people want to get the hell out of Florida...What I don't understand is why you all want to go to GA? You have had it w/Florida, and think GA will be your paradise on earth?????

For myself and my hubby personally - we are native Georgians so there is one reason to come back. Another is that hubby still has his professional licensing in the state.

[notime362]

I have lived in Sebastian, Florida for 10+ years. I/ve seen quiote a few changes, and most of them were bad. With everyone moving to South Florida, most of the towns are filled to capacity. That only means that the crowd slowly swarms North, as in Florida. With the housing prices, taxes, gas, and not to mention the unavailibility of decent priced insurance, it is quite easy to understand why. Its not only Georgia, but any state that is a bargain is going to be invaded.

[moira1963]

Hi...I am doing the move..from Ft. Lauderdale! No Florida isn't bad at all...infact quite the opposite, alot of wealth and a freaking paradise. Problem here is not wanting to move....it is part of my job. I am getting relocated for 1 yr....But I am looking forward to georgia.

[sp1ke]

My wife & I are a couple of half-backs but the last thing we want to do is change anything. She moved to Florida from Minnesota in 1979 and I moved from Ohio in 1979. We both prefer small towns but settled in the Tampa Bay area because we still needed jobs.

We discovered NE Georgia by listening to a fellow firefighter who owned a house there and eventually retired there. I can assure all the locals we aren't moving there to change things bit hope they remain the same. This area still had a small town feel and we loved the Southern hospitality. It's become more like the mid west than Florida and we are just over it.

We have seen what happens to the Mom & Pop businesses when the big chains move in and sell items for more than the small stores can buy it for. Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, K Mart and all of the big chains are putting the small businesses that supply jobs for most of the workforce out of business.
I know how to plan ahead so I don't need a 24 hour convenience store on every corner. I don't mind driving 11 miles into town to the grocery store and only passing 10 cars enroute. I like it when someone in Georgia waves as we pass and has all of his fingers in the air unstead of just their middle one.

I must know 50 local cops & firefighters who are buying or own property in NE Georgia, NW North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky because they are tired of all the crap in Florida. On every visit to Georgia if I had on a hat or shirt that identified me as a firefighter I was approached by another firefighter or cop from somewhere in Florida who was retired or planning on retiring there. Like most FF's who work 24 on and 48 off I had part time jobs my entire 25 year career and averaged 65 - 80 hours a week between the jobs. The last thing on my mind is coming into the area and taking one of the local jobs. Retirement to me means not working. We will be bringing money into the area but not taking any away from someone else. My wife will continue to work for her current employer but will work from home.

We are moving to Union County and we like the fact that the smallest size lot you can have outside of Blairsville is 1 acre. We also like that half of the county is United States Forest Service property in trust and can't be developed and that Lake Nottely takes up another 1500 acres. The county I live in here in Florida has more than 1,000,000 people and is smaller than Union County which has 21,000 people.

We have owned our property and paid taxes for 7 years in Union County, we donate generously to the Volunteer Firefighters Drive each year and always spend a good amount of money when we visit the area a couple of weeks a year.

I guarantee after we move there you won't even know we are there unless you drive by our house and I wave to you as you pass. If you look closely as you pass you will notice that all of the fingers on my hand are extended not just my middle one.

Spike

[littledean77]

After reading your comment it just frustated me more. Im just looking for peace of mind and financial stability. My husband and I are leaving our kids and grandkids and parents hoping to buy a house cash with what we sell our home. We are not running from floridians we love our state unfortunately we can not afford it anymore. Our taxes and insurance are unbearable. We bought this home 10 years ago and I am making double on it. Crime is bad everywhere, but when you cant sleep at night not knowing how to make ends meet, it makes you wonder what the hell are you working for. So I hope to meet good people in Georgia make new friends and start a new life. Hopefully my children will follow.

[pickleswanson]

Well I'm glad that I finally had a chance to read this thread. I'm currently in Metro LA; moved there from Metro ATL; I find that many of the things I hear FL complaining about to be the same here. I find that things here are just as expensive as they were in GA, just the money is different spots and mostly tied up in real estate but for the most part things are basically a combination of what I hear between FL and GA. I was hoping to move to FL next but always wanted to reserve GA as my home and move there when ready to retire. Sounds to me though that FL may be more expensive than LA or ATL. I had looked things up for the approx. cost of living but nothing gives a better perspective than the ones who experience it first hand. I was really excited about my job offer in FL but now I think my jobs offers in NC, SC, MS and AL sound the best. I want to get close enough to my family that we can reasonably visit one another but still have to plan a visit instead of just popping in unannouced.

I read somewhere on this thread though that many Floridians weren't moving to the mountains or to the ATL area yet most of the post were people proving otherwise. Where are the Floridians moving to in South GA?

While I was living there I noticed mostly IN, IL and OH residents moving there and otherwise it was people from the area already just moving around and a few Alantians. Oh yeah we did get alot of Brits and Aussies. Most of these were only there for jobs though and it was about a 50/50 chance they stayed there after the job was finished.

Well anyway my job offer in FL is in Del Ray Beach; anybody got any specifics about the area?

[LAURIE BRANDI]

Wow.... Ready to Move you are right on the money. You must have read my mind as I truly feel EXACTLY like you do. I've been in So. Florida since 1981 and just loved it here. Now I actually hate it here. Every single word you wrote is the Identical thoughts that I have every day. If it didn't snow in Montana, that would be the up and coming place to live as there are not that many people there. The problem is that the United States actually became the United Countries. It is great to have different cultures but we have everyone moving to the United States and no one from the United States moving to other Countries. Florida has been hit the hardest because of the warm weather. And back in 1980 you could buy a 2000 sq ft home for $135,000. That same home is now $450,000-$500,000. And YES YES YES, the people are the rudest and meanest people I have ever been around. We have such road rage every day. Not from just the teenagers, but from the senior citizens. Everyone seems to be in a rush to go no where. The roads are new and wide and everyone thinks they are on a racetrack. We ARE the FAST and the FURIOUS for sure. Years ago you could walk into a restaurant and get a table....now you have to wait between 30-60 minutes. Years ago you could buy a brand new condo 1200 sq ft for under $60,000 and now that same condo goes for $250,000. How outrageous is that. And every single corner has a Wal-Greens, CVS or Super Wal-mart. Our poor Florida, land of the retiree's, has changed. We ruined it. Hardly any trees. Poor little animals are dead on the road because they have no place to hide anymore. Every single area that is vacant has been plowed down for a new development. UGH...it makes you want to scream. And in Coconut Creek Florida, they are building a HUGE little town called CREEK COMMONS, with hotels, stores, restaurants and homes, right next to their CASINO. Can they just STOP building and let the air we breath be clean from the trees that used to be here. So, this is why EVERYONE that moved here over 20 years ago now wants to move again. It is very unfortunate. And Again, thank you READY TO MOVE for saying what you did. Great job.

[ATLMom23]

We just moved from SoFlo as well.. been here about 2 years. My husband and I got married young and the way the market was at the time we could never catch up to the down payment we would need to get a decent mortgage rate, not to mention taxes! The property taxes and insurance are insane! Almost as insane as these past hurricane seasons! We left just after Charlie, Frances, Ivan, and Jean.. Just no fun living there anymore.. I do miss the beach but not the humidity. I don't miss all the elderly people driving around and the influx of "snowbirds" who also don't know how to drive. In short, we find Atlanta sooo much better than South Florida... at best it is a wonderful vacation spot.

[jsimms3]

I hate atlanta! No water anywhere! No palm trees! Too sprawled out...if you think so fl is bad, uhh when you encounter people 100 miles away commuting to the city you will know what I am talking about. I85 is 12 lanes wide 50 miles out! What to do around here, well there is the ABC i guess, and lots of mexican restaurants! Buckhead is really one of the only decent places here. My family moved up to jax from miami, and from the north before that, and i can tell you, atl is not my cup of tea at all and im dying to come back!