considering Florida and the Panhandle area (Jacksonville, Tampa: transplants, for sale, homeowners insurance)

[ret-esc]

Greetings,

This is really a shot in the dark. I have some familiarity with Florida as I lived very briefly in Clearwater area some decades ago.

Since we are from CT (and I from LI until a decade ago) numerous suggestions have been to consider Florida as a retirement target. We have relatively modest income.

The idea of the panhandle is good as it puts me just a few hours away from a relative and its close enough to New Orleans which we have fallen in love with.

The weather is an important consideration. Obviously because we are FED UP with the cold and SNOW of the northeast. (bad time to be commenting on that, I guess seeing what happened with weather down south :-) )

Considering Florida coast of course our main concern is hurricane. Don't want to deal with that. Its very humid down there as i remember and I didn't care for that but probably can live with it. Louisiana would be the same I think

cost of housing - not considering a house, considering a condo. Taxes. Property taxes Sales tax may not be a big deal. I remember that in Clearwater it was take-out city- lots of inexpensive take-out food.

We have been looking relatively closely to Mid-Tennessee particularly Nashville area upon many suggestions and much of it looks good.

We are not religious and that area of course is in the bible belt but i suppose we could work around that.

Some have suggested Florida because being Northeasterners there are more of "our kind" in Florida.

What appeals to me is a place where the weather is liveable, relatively safe, not too city, not too country or isolated. We are people watchers although we tend to stay by ourselves a lot but like people around. amenities should be accessible. Of course what appeals to me in TN is the music resource.

Anyway i am trying to get a feel for the Panhandle area of Florida as a consideration. And of course any other parts of Florida suggestions are welcome

[southernnaturelover]

Some have suggested Florida because being Northeasterners there are more of "our kind" in Florida.

Not in the panhandle. There's not many transplants here compared to central Florida, and the ones that are here tend to be from the Midwest (or here due to military).

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by ret-esc

Greetings,

This is really a shot in the dark. I have some familiarity with Florida as I lived very briefly in Clearwater area some decades ago.

Since we are from CT (and I from LI until a decade ago) numerous suggestions have been to consider Florida as a retirement target. We have relatively modest income.

The idea of the panhandle is good as it puts me just a few hours away from a relative and its close enough to New Orleans which we have fallen in love with.

The weather is an important consideration. Obviously because we are FED UP with the cold and SNOW of the northeast. (bad time to be commenting on that, I guess seeing what happened with weather down south :-) )

Considering Florida coast of course our main concern is hurricane. Don't want to deal with that. Its very humid down there as i remember and I didn't care for that but probably can live with it. Louisiana would be the same I think

cost of housing - not considering a house, considering a condo. Taxes. Property taxes Sales tax may not be a big deal. I remember that in Clearwater it was take-out city- lots of inexpensive take-out food.

We have been looking relatively closely to Mid-Tennessee particularly Nashville area upon many suggestions and much of it looks good.

We are not religious and that area of course is in the bible belt but i suppose we could work around that.

Some have suggested Florida because being Northeasterners there are more of "our kind" in Florida.

What appeals to me is a place where the weather is liveable, relatively safe, not too city, not too country or isolated. We are people watchers although we tend to stay by ourselves a lot but like people around. amenities should be accessible. Of course what appeals to me in TN is the music resource.

Anyway i am trying to get a feel for the Panhandle area of Florida as a consideration. And of course any other parts of Florida suggestions are welcome

If you absolutely "don't want to deal with" hurricanes, as in never, then moving to the Florida coast doesn't sound like a very good idea. If you live there long enough, you will have to deal with it, at least to some degree, and the Panhandle is by no means exempt. Jacksonville is reportedly the least hit area of the Florida coast, and has only been directly hit by one major hurricane since they started keeping records back in 1851.

Hurricane Dora Hits Jacksonville

Being prepared for hurricanes is part of living in coastal Florida.

If you are already stating that you "suppose you could work around" the centuries old, intrinsic culture of a place you are considering moving to, that might be a bit of a red flag that you wouldn't ultimately be happy there in the long term. Of course, you also mentioned the Nashville area, and that is about as Bible Belt as it gets. A tour guide there told us that Nashville is considered the "Buckle of the Bible Belt" and has the most Christian publishing houses of any city in the country. There are also Baptist churches seemingly on every other corner. You will either have to accept graciously that you have moved into an area where the majority don't agree with you philosophically and work hard to have a "live and let live" attitude, or move on to a more religiously neutral area.

The Atlantic Coast of Florida is filled with transplants from the Northeast and is no doubt a lot less religious than the Panhandle, so it might be a better choice for you if you have your heart set on Florida. You will have to deal with the potential for a hurricane anywhere in Florida, even central Florida. My dh has an uncle who lives in Orlando and pays a very high homeowners insurance premium on his home there, partly because one of the more recent hurricanes retained so much force as it raced inland that it ripped the roof off of his house and carried away the screening around his previously screened-in patio. Nowhere in Florida is truly safe from hurricane damage.

Honestly, it sounds like you would be happier in the New Orleans area, just based on your post. Have you considered it? It can't possibly be more humid than Florida!

[ret-esc]

Thanks so much for your insights. Yes, New Orleans area is under consideration.

[MAniacTHW]

I'll add in here, Tampa is full of north eastern transplants. I'll also throw in, that Tampa is NOT a friendly drive to NO. Trust me, I just made that trip. I thought getting to Pensacola meant we were almost there. Joke was on me.

[moondoggy51]

Originally Posted by ret-esc

We have been looking relatively closely to Mid-Tennessee particularly Nashville area upon many suggestions and much of it looks good.

We are not religious and that area of course is in the bible belt but i suppose we could work around that.

Some have suggested Florida because being Northeasterners there are more of "our kind" in Florida.

What appeals to me is a place where the weather is liveable, relatively safe, not too city, not too country or isolated. We are people watchers although we tend to stay by ourselves a lot but like people around. amenities should be accessible. Of course what appeals to me in TN is the music resource.

Was reading your post and thinking at you're a bit "ify" about Florida and was wondering if you have thought about western South Carolina?

I currently live in Seneca, SC which is located in Oconee County and my wife and I are moving to the Pensacola area as my wife considers this area too rural but retirees are flocking to this area and most of them are from the northeast (i.e. NY, NJ, CT, MA). People in the northeast love this area because when they sell their property up there the money buys them a nice home here that they can afford. Cost of living is low, property taxes are very low, gas is cheap, etc., and everyone loves the nearby lakes, the waterfalls and the Blue Ridge mountains in the distance. Clemson University is only 7 miles away so you get the culture and sports of a big time university as well. It is a bit religious around as many places close on Sunday but otherwise you're not going to feel any pressure to participate if that's your choice. It is a bit sparse on shopping but if you're willing to drive there are malls in Anderson and Greenville. Climate-wise, Seneca had 2 days where we were "snowed" as they don't have salt or snow removal equipment down here. People from the north wouldn't think twice about driving on this stuff but the locals just stay put and wait a day for the thaw. For the most part, except for days when it rained, I played golf every Monday morning all winter long so you don't have to have a snow blower or a heavy coat. If you want to go to the big city, Atlanta is about 2 hours south and Charlotte is about 2 hours north. If you want to go to the beach it's not that long a trip either.

So if SC is that good, then why are we moving to Florida? Well, for us we wanted to be closer to family and my wife's a "city" girl and could not adapt to the not having the amenities of the city close by. She missed having an airport in town, missed having a mall and missed the big chain restaurants and other amenities you find in a big city. So what we had in Illinois, we'll also have in Pensacola and we decided that we needed to move..

Now if you're really interested I have a lot for sale in a very nice subdivision that we no longer need. If you have any interest in a 0.6 acre wooded lot, let me know.

[m1a1mg]

moondoggy51, you should have moved near Landrum. Loads of retirees and just a short trip down the interstate to Spartanburg or Greenville. My Dad lives there.