Hurricanes - worth it? (Gainesville, Sarasota: insurance, school, tornadoes)

[Thundarr457]

Originally Posted by tackup3

I bought and read the guide, $14 for the PDF download.

Basic summary, it is written by a realtor who has seen many people sour on Florida and flee the state.

Major reasons:

1. Hurricanes and evacuations, and the stress this creates
2. Long Hot summers. Hot summers in Florida are 6-9 Months, while winters up North are generally 3 months.
3. Critters...spiders, termites, snakes, gators
4. Missing friends and family "up north"

There is more details, specific to condos, etc.

He said the happiest people are snowbirds, and some of the happiest are the ones who are here for 1 month (January). This would apply to retired people young and old. And not to people with kids.

I lived in Florida for 8 years previously (Miami/WPB) and saw this myself. I don't really remember the long hot summers. But I do remember missing Autumn, and being a bit jealous of people wearing long pants and sweaters. But that was a price I was willing to pay to live in FL.

1. I'll admit I was stressed to the max but we stayed with friends in Tallahassee and that made it much easier. I was also stressed by the constantly increasing taxes in NYS making it not affordable to retire there. Taxes on a 200k house 6300/yr WITH Star exemption plus 9.25 sales tax on everything except air
2. I don't mind the hot summer nearly as much as the cold and 4-5 month winters up North
3. Critters are no big deal, the mosquitoes up north were worse. I love all the wildlife here
4. My friends and family can come visit any time.

[tackup3]

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

1. I'll admit I was stressed to the max but we stayed with friends in Tallahassee and that made it much easier. I was also stressed by the constantly increasing taxes in NYS making it not affordable to retire there. Taxes on a 200k house 6300/yr WITH Star exemption plus 9.25 sales tax on everything except air
2. I don't mind the hot summer nearly as much as the cold and 4-5 month winters up North
3. Critters are no big deal, the mosquitoes up north were worse. I love all the wildlife here
4. My friends and family can come visit any time.

Don't forget the traffic up north. They say it's bad in Jax now. But I've been looking at google maps traffic feature during rush hour, and it's not even close to here in Chicago. I had a consulting client in the Northern Suburbs here, and if I wasn't on the road by 2pm to go home (30 miles), I would be sitting on I-294 for 2-3 hours inching along. So *every day* the traffic here is the same as the hurricane evacuation.

As far as weather, I plan on working my entire life. And my work is on the computer, so I'm inside working during the day. But I do like to put in 10,000 steps or more walking per day, and in the winter that is really difficult to do. In Florida, I can do this 12 months a year. In the hotter months I'll just walk either early in the morning or in the evening. In PVB that can be on the beach, or I noticed they have a lot of sidewalks and walkways which works for me.

State Taxes: In Illinois, the state will hound you to the ends of earth for taxes. The state of Illinois is actually out of money, so they are pushing their citizens to the limit to pay up for everything, in a very aggressive manner. And I'm getting tired of it. I also own my own online business, and Illinois is incredibly aggressive about tax collection for business, calling on cell phones etc. They even will recalculate for years ago, and "find" money you owe for state taxes and send a bill with a collection notice.

[843904]

The info provided in that "book" is anecdotal at best. Not quite sure why, as a FL realtor, he'd even print such a thing.

[Thundarr457]

NYS is no slouch in hounding you for taxes either. I am glad to be away from there. They tax utilities:

The hidden tax in New York’s energy bills

more current info:

https://www.eia.gov/electricity/mont...p?t=epmt_5_6_a

[FLmomof2]

Originally Posted by 843904

The info provided in that "book" is anecdotal at best. Not quite sure why, as a FL realtor, he'd even print such a thing.

What he mentioned on that website isn't what was depressing/scary it was the negative comments from all the people that got in my head.

[danielj72]

I am in Tennessee, never have lived in Florida so take this for what it is worth. I know tons of Florida transplants here, every day more arrive. They all say the same things about Florida, almost all of it negative. Many of them fear August and September citing hurricanes as one of the reasons they left along with oppressive heat and humidity. In all fairness most of these people are coming from south Florida, not Jacksonville where the climate is easier.

It's always surprising to see these ex Floridians welcome winter and cool weather. They LIKE seeing it. Of course we are still in the south and winter here is very mild compared to the cold brutalness of winter in somewhere like Wisconsin or Michigan.

Please don't take me wrong, I'm not Florida bashing in any way. Just interesting to see this thread because I've been wondering why so many people are coming here to escape Florida. We get a lot of transplants from up north too, I understand why they are leaving but it does surprise me how many in Florida are dissatisfied with living in the sunshine state.

[Florida2014]

I think a lot of people suffer from "the grass is greener" syndrome. You live up north and get sick and tired of cold and dreary winters so you move down to Florida. After a few years you grow tired of the long/hot summers and yearn for the 4 seasons. I've only lived in FL for 3 years and I still don't miss winters one bit. I'm watching NFL games now and seeing people bundled up in coats and winter hats already for night games and we're still in the upper 80s/low 90s and absolutely love it. I also don't miss that big chunk taken out of my paycheck for state income taxes, nor do I miss paying 10-30% more for everything under the sun.

No regrets, zero, none, nada, zilch. You can't possibly know how you will like a certain part of the US unless you pack up and move there. Personally, I think it would be an absolute travesty to live one place your entire life and not experience different places and cultures.

NE Florida isn't without it's faults, I have lived in the midwest, the Rocky Mountains and now here in FL and all have their positives and negatives. I'm just glad I decided to take the ride and check them out for myself vs. sitting back and always wondering "what if?".

[tackup3]

Originally Posted by FLmomof2

What he mentioned on that website isn't what was depressing/scary it was the negative comments from all the people that got in my head.

I read the comments too. But I took it with a grain of salt.

But I feel responsible that you read it and got scared, so I made some comments to balance things out...

I can make a list of negative things about EVERY STATE. Name me a state, I'd be able to craft an e-book running it down. California...Arizona...Nevada....where do I begin? You take somebody relatively happy living in Tampa, and move them to Syracuse, NY, and they will be very unhappy.....

There is a phenomenon on the internet I call the "pile on" effect. I see with Android Apps that I have (I have a software company). One person will post something negative in the comments, then the rest will "pile on". It's human nature. If someone says something positive, others tend to follow suit. But humans favor the negative when it comes to commenting stuff.

People writing comments good or bad are going to be the same whether they live in Florida or Alaska. You bring your attitude with you. I'm going to guess the same people complain when they return "home"

We are talking about Jacksonville here, not Miami. It is much hotter in Miami, and you get cool winters in Jacksonville. But I lived in Miami/WPB for 8 years and NEVER wanted to leave, I loved it. (left for money reasons...)

The schools in St. Johns county are excellent.

If you spend money for a good neighborhood, you will have a much better experience. No matter the state you live in. Take lots of time to pick a spot you love.

There are also websites on why Florida is great...
17 Reasons You Will Love Florida

Lots of people move here and they don't have flexible attitudes. It's an awesome adventure to move to another state, there are so many cool things to see. Embrace it all good and "bad". There is a reason you are leaving the North.

You have to do your research. Have an idea what it's going to be, and be super strategic about your move. Do the homework before you get to Florida.

Have fun!

[Jada_yel]

The first couple years of moving down here is challenging because of the weather, the culture, the pace of life etc, whether there are hurricanes or not... i feel like the hurricanes are the salt and pepper of Florida, without it, it would be too good to be true....

The only thing that concerns me is global warming and the horrible effects of polution on our earth.... If the hurricanes got bigger, more destructive and frequent, would we still wanna live here? It would feel like living right beside an active volcano lol.

Ohh btw
Climate change map: Much of coastal U.S. under water by 2100, estimates show - Sun Sentinel

Definitely something to think about...

I do like living here, i just wish that it was a bit easier at times

[chiluvr1228]

Originally Posted by Florida2014

I think a lot of people suffer from "the grass is greener" syndrome. You live up north and get sick and tired of cold and dreary winters so you move down to Florida. After a few years you grow tired of the long/hot summers and yearn for the 4 seasons. I've only lived in FL for 3 years and I still don't miss winters one bit. I'm watching NFL games now and seeing people bundled up in coats and winter hats already for night games and we're still in the upper 80s/low 90s and absolutely love it. I also don't miss that big chunk taken out of my paycheck for state income taxes, nor do I miss paying 10-30% more for everything under the sun.

Definitely. Sometimes I think about moving to other places so I can have the 4 seasons again but then I remember shoveling snow, trying to drive to work with icy roads, dealing with the dreariness, gray skies and trees devoid of any leaves. Then I also remember how it got dark at 4:30 p.m. in NY in the winter so you would rarely see the sun. There's few perfect places that are going to make everybody happy as far as weather.


Now if I could afford it I would definitely move to the mountains of NC or TN (no state tax) from June 1st through the end of October.