Quote:
Originally Posted by NHSUNLOVER
I am from NH and considering retirement ( in a few years) to Florida. I am curious as to why you are not happy in Florida. Thanks
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I am also currently living in Florida (25 years now) and am moving back up to NH after my daughter graduates next year. I can't wait to get out and I can't imagine retiring here. I am posting because relatively recently I had this heart-to-heart with myself about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and where I wanted to do it, and laid out my own pros and cons of staying versus going. You didn't specify what part of Florida you are considering so keep in mind my "expertise" is in the southeast Florida region. Things could be very different say in the panhandle or on the west coast. Reasons in no particular order:
1. No seasonal changes. No autumn leaves. You might occasionally get a "colder" winter that hits 40 for a few days but otherwise, not much changes. (Although, you probably would be amused to see "natives" bundle up like it's 40 below on those days.). Spring is about a day - blink and you'll miss it.
2. Christmas for that reason is horrible. You feel like you are on Candid Camera while you are digging out all of your Christmas decorations in 80+ degree weather in your tanktop and shorts and flip-flops. I actually have to reassure myself that my neighbors are decorating, too, even after 25 years.
3. Flat, flat, flat land. Roads are generally laid out in grid format, at least in my neck of the woods. I miss rivers, hills, mountains, forests, pretty scenic drives, curvy and hilly roads, etc. There also aren't many natural streams and rivers and lakes. Most are man-made canals and man-made "lakes", which everywhere else would be considered a puddle or a pond.
4. Houses are all generally either bland "older" 80's style ranches, or the new McMansion type house in every size imaginable. Within any given neighborhood, houses pretty much all look the same. Most newer neighborhoods all look the same. Land is only for the extremely wealthy unless you go to the middle of the state in swampland or no-man's land. My house is on a 1/3 acre and is considered to be huge for the typical suburban neighborhood. Most have zero lot lines. You can find the occasional street, generally in the heart of the cities, with older Spanish-style houses, which are very lovely, but then you have to worry about your surrounding streets.
5. No basements because the water table is about a foot below ground. Roads flood easily because of this, too. Most attics, if a house has one at all, is like a crawlspace deal. Storage is a problem and self-serve storage facilities are all over.
6. Most neighborhoods are run by HOA's. Really hard to avoid them, again unless you are out in no-man's land in the middle of the state.
7. After a while, the beach and Disney are old news.
8. Getting very crowded all year round. It used to be that it was quiet and peaceful in the summer and only got busy when the snowbirds came.
9. The people. Very self-centered, very demanding. Bad drivers. I-95 is a mainstay to get around north/south and it's crazy out there. And don't even get me started on the old drivers.
10. I have no intention of being lumped in with the stereotypical "Florida retirees" and older. I'd never in a million years move to a retiree community. To me, that's just a depressing thought. A huge proportion of of the population are in the over 65 crowd and while I have nothing against them, I don't want that to dominate my life. Even if you choose a regular community, the retirees dominate life here.
11. When it's hot, it's really hot. And humid. Really, really humid, which makes it feel even hotter.
12. Most family is up north. It gets tedious and expensive to see family, or entertain them for a week or two at a time. Family visits end up being such a big production and more stress than enjoyable.
13. Everyone always wants to come to your house for their vacation. Cool and fun at first but it also gets old really fast. As does the assumption that all you do with your life in Florida is go to Disney or the beach. "What do you mean you have to work?!"
14. Liberal creep. I'm in southern Palm Beach County, bordering on Broward County (west thank God), and the liberal creep of the cities, especially in the southeast like Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, just keeps spreading as more and more people come down from the northeast. Florida generally has decent laws for now but it's a struggle to keep them. I mean think about it: Debbie Wasserman-Schultz is one district over from me!
(Just tossing that out there, as I'm aware some people might find that a positive.
) **Disclaimer** This is not meant to be inflammatory or start an off-topic debate in this thread, but it is something that is happening down here and people like to know, whichever side of the fence they are on.
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I've been here (BACK here, I should say, since I went to high school and college in NH many many moons ago) for almost 14 years now. The time has flown.
My 10 Year Aniversary of Moving to New Hampshire
