Realistic Cost relocating from California to Florida (Baldwin: home, living)

[RobynCa]

Hi DancingK,
We moved to Maitland from the Bay Area almost 3 years ago. I found this forum so valuable with that move. Here is my comparison.


Home Insurance is way more expensive. Granted I was in a new home in CA and in a 45 year old home here, but things I was not aware of were wind mitigation reports for insurance. My roof, while brand new, had the lowest level of 'strapping' toe clips I think they are called, so that caused my insurance to be higher, also age of home so plumbing, electricity and AC all play a part (4 point inspection). I pay 4K here and paid ~1K in CA.


Car insurance is higher but only slightly.


License and registration for me was so much cheaper! I read where someone in this thread said it was higher?? And you can pay for 2 year tags which is really nice. Make an appt and it was so quick and you walk out with plates!


Electric is higher of course as your AC is always on, and we keep ours at 77. Two stories so we have 2. And for the last year everyone is home!! Yay, haha. Summers months its 400, but winter is 125. So it evens out. Try to get a gas stove, dryer and Water Heater.



We have 2 dogs who love to swim and we walk them in the evenings, it mostly cools off in the evenings.


The humidity stinks, I am on my 2nd summer, still not used to it but I still am happy to be here. The winters are great.
The only thing CA really has that I miss besides family and friends is the weather.



We have pest control, lawn care and pool services but my husband enjoys yard work so he does that, but dang things grow quickly here. I love all the rain and lightening, its beautiful.



Gas is way cheaper, people are friendlier, homes are less expensive, traffic is much better, I don't see graphetti, homelessness. I miss Mexican food and In and Out.



Good Luck I think you will love it!
Robyn

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by InterestingArm3750

This is wrong. Hurricanes weaken over land and Orlando likely will never see a category 4 or 5 storm. South Florida and other coastal areas are at significantly more risk of catastrophic hurricane damage. A category 5 would obliterate Tampa Bay, south Florida, Jacksonville etc but likely would weaken to a 3 or lower by the time it reached central Florida. There’s a good chance storm surge would not affect Orlando at all but it would devastate every other Florida coastal area. Not saying these other places are more hurricane-prone but the risk is far greater there. The insurance premiums and type of coverage required are proof enough.

But the tornadoes and flooding usually do a lot of damage if a cat 3 hits the coast. Look at damage from 2004 at Sea World, UCF, etc. and you will see the cat 1 storms do impact even that far in. Then the trees ya'll have in Central Florida scare me...so many just tip over and land on your houses and cars.

Our insurance on the coast definitely is 3-6 times greater than inland. Ours went up $1500 this year. Our house was built in 1984 and the insurance point blank added $500 for that reason even though we have a concrete block home with good roof clips, and shutters. Ugh. Looking for cheaper insurance. I noticed also that some of the companies that insure(not many of the big brand name insurance companies for the coastal counties) since 2004 have gotten into the drop you mode just like the big companies did after 2004.

[bmw335xi]

Many people flock to Orlando during a hurricane so that speaks volumes itself. You are not free of danger but hurricanes tend to turn and or weaken most of the time when they make landfall.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Many people flock to Orlando during a hurricane so that speaks volumes itself. You are not free of danger but hurricanes tend to turn and or weaken most of the time when they make landfall.

I'm not so certain that's a good thing given the damage sustained in Orlando during a number of hurricanes. Storms very rarely turn south again so going to the opposite coast farther south makes better sense. So if a CAT IV or V hurricane is forecasted to landfall in Vero Beach for instance head south toward Fort Myers-Naples.

[InterestingArm3750]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

But the tornadoes and flooding usually do a lot of damage if a cat 3 hits the coast. Look at damage from 2004 at Sea World, UCF, etc. and you will see the cat 1 storms do impact even that far in. Then the trees ya'll have in Central Florida scare me...so many just tip over and land on your houses and cars.

Our insurance on the coast definitely is 3-6 times greater than inland. Ours went up $1500 this year. Our house was built in 1984 and the insurance point blank added $500 for that reason even though we have a concrete block home with good roof clips, and shutters. Ugh. Looking for cheaper insurance. I noticed also that some of the companies that insure(not many of the big brand name insurance companies for the coastal counties) since 2004 have gotten into the drop you mode just like the big companies did after 2004.

Yeah, but what I’m saying is if Tampa Bay ever sustained a hit like Orlando got in 2004, the damage would be considerably worse. I lived in St. Pete for 2 years and it flooded almost every single day during the summer, even during light showers. A cat 1 or 2 storm hitting that area could devastate it, much more a category 3 or higher. People in TB are being lulled to sleep because a major hurricane hasn’t hit in almost 100 years. That’s dumb luck and mere chance. It doesn’t at all suggest Tampa Bay is somehow safer from hurricanes. Miami and Tampa are two of the most at-risk cities in the United States. When the big one hits (and with climate change, it will someday), those two areas could sustain a New Orleans/Katrina-like decline.

[InterestingArm3750]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

I'm not so certain that's a good thing given the damage sustained in Orlando during a number of hurricanes. Storms very rarely turn south again so going to the opposite coast farther south makes better sense. So if a CAT IV or V hurricane is forecasted to landfall in Vero Beach for instance head south toward Fort Myers-Naples.

Orlando is not immune to hurricane damage, everyone knows this. But the idea is that if a storm is heading toward a coastal area, it very obviously makes more sense to flee the area and head closer inland to the nearest large city. Common sense says go an hour and a half inland and be in a position to likely avoid catastrophe as opposed to driving 3 hours and a half hours from coast to coast during a storm to experience the same thing. Orlando probably will not have widespread calamity, and any damage that does occur likely won’t be to the property of the person fleeing, so I don’t understand the logic of this post.

Just because Orlando HAS sustained hurricane damage does not at all mean it suddenly become a less safe option if a storm is barreling toward a coastal area. I honestly don’t understand why this concept is so difficult to follow.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by InterestingArm3750

Orlando is not immune to hurricane damage, everyone knows this. But the idea is that if a storm is heading toward a coastal area, it very obviously makes more sense to flee the area and head closer inland to the nearest large city. Common sense says go an hour and a half inland and be in a position to likely avoid catastrophe as opposed to driving 3 hours and a half hours from coast to coast during a storm to experience the same thing. Orlando probably will not have widespread calamity, and any damage that does occur likely won’t be to the property of the person fleeing, so I don’t understand the logic of this post.

Just because Orlando HAS sustained hurricane damage does not at all mean it suddenly become a less safe option if a storm is barreling toward a coastal area. I honestly don’t understand why this concept is so difficult to follow.

Exactly, the next hurricane headed to FL Kyle will have open freeways as he races to Miami, thinking those idiots are all coming to Orlando lol.

[nick1218]

Originally Posted by KatieLA

Hi Nick,

Thanks for that tip, is there somewhere to see those costs in advance for reg and license switch?

sorry i just noticed I never answered you. In Florida they call the DMV the tax collector
I guess that helps explain why it costs more

https://www.octaxcol.com/

[StopThe Steel2024]

Originally Posted by DancingK

Hi!

With the help of this forum and many other sources, I'm leaning significantly to moving to Florida and buying a forever home.

That said, I wondered if others had made a similar move and what that really looks like? I understand the general cost of living, property etc is cheaper but are there costs involved that may not be considered?

Paper work changing from CA to FL, Car registration, insurances are the higher in FL given the difference in weather?

I'd appreciate any information around this or any stories you can tell.

In addition, it's understood Florida is a humid state Are there certain areas to avoid the higher heat (think palm springs vs Irvine the weather difference is significant. Trying to narrow down the best areas with my desired location being near to Kissimmee... not set in stone just to give an idea.

Finally, for those with dogs in Florida... what methods do you have in place to deal with the heat/humidity?
When I lived in the Inland Empire, CA and had temperatures sometimes reaching 110-125 F at times, I simply changed routines... walks were at 5am for example and again in the evenings when it was cooler, also a lot shorter... my assumption would be that I could implement this same system but would love to hear any other tips you use!

Thanks in advance for any advice, thoughts, stories

every cali transplant i have met that has moved to florida has hated it, except da ones that moved to miami. but even still, they have a hard time with the HEAT. they don't stay

even at 5 AM BRO, ITS STILL HOT AS ++++

[InterestingArm3750]

^ Ignore