Moving advice from horse/animal people-MO to Brooksville, FL (Spring Hill: for sale, apartment)

[andolyn11]

Hello Floridians!
I am contemplating a move from North East MO to the North Brooksville/Hexam Rd area (have family there) and would love some input. I have horses, dogs and pet sheep & also am disabled from an auto accident, the old leg bones (and titanium) ache walking thru snow.The people here are lovely, but it may be time to warm up. I am 50, live on a fixed income, and do a bit of computer work on the side.
So here goes...
In MO, the horse flies are so enormous and vicious, riding in once they appear in late spring thru frost can be exciting.. how bad are the bugs on the animals? Here the horses can not stay out in pasture in the middle of the day without armor.
Hornets, same thing-only for humans.
I do understand that there are lots of "palmetto" bugs (cockroaches), does spraying the house eliminate them? I lived in PHX and Huston, hated them there too.
Hate tornadoes, how bad are they in Brooksville area? Here the suck up whole houses and send them to Canada.
How much does hay cost you on average?
Do I need to stop watching Python Hunters on Nat Geo Channel? Do they come up that far? Do they eat sheep? lol (kinda)
I have lived in Houston, Dallas, San Diego, Victorville CA, Napa CA-and now Madison MO. Any place relate?
Brooksville: Friendly?Horsie stuff to do?

Thanks in advance for the advice

[newenglanders2]

HI There, I don't have a lot of advice for you, but thought I'd mention that some horses can have a hard time moving from cooler climates to hot ones. Seems they can stop sweating. You might want to investigate that. My best friend lives in Brooksville, but I've not been down to visit in about 3 years. (I live in N.E.) but I did live in Florida many years ago for a brief time. I remember fleas, spiders (BIG spiders!) lots of bugs...armadillos...bloomin' hot in the summer! Sandy ground. Nasty lightning storms.
I did see a palmetto bug on our apartment stairs. Just the one. Do remember seeing cockroaches, and we lived in a nice apartment that sprayed monthly. Had one cat for 1 week, fleas for 3 weeks before they finally succumbed to the spraying.
Have you been to Brooksville? Any kids? I am assuming not. Schools are sketchy, I believe, but double check me on that. Getting busy down there, especially in the winter with snowbirds, but can depend on the town. Oh yes, lets not forget the sinkholes. My friend's former house is undergoing sinkhole investigation (Spring Hill), and the one they bought (Brooksville) is a sinkhole house (great deal on newer home, but still...), in which the former owner's did NOT put the insurance money into it to fix it. Be very careful of this, as once insurance has been paid out for this, future owner's can't get it. (double check me on that, but I'm pretty sure about this - it's either that, or it's costly to get extra)
I'm thinking land isn't going to be cheap there. They were looking for an acre or more, decent home, but few and far between. Have you checked housing costs?
We didn't like Florida (can you tell?) but we are used to cooler northern weather, and doing stuff in the summer that didn't require air conditioning. I hate sweating. I hate being indoors all summer because of the heat and humidity. They do stuff outside in the winter and cooler months.But having lived in warmer cities you are probably used to that.
Sorry for being so negative, but I would only be interested in Florida (maybe!) after I retire and just for a few winter months, like many of my relatives are doing.
PS: I used to live in Indiana. I had a horse - I remember the horse flies, dog flies, etc. I did spray her. Now I would use a face net, and be more careful with the spray (we are talking the 1970's here).
But I did ride all summer. She did stay outside too, with shelter from the heat and sun, and a barn in winter. I would imagine sheep would have their own special considerations in Florida, with their wool and all.
Wish I could help more. Good luck, and be sure to do plenty of research.

[Ken E]

I would look out in the Spring Lake area.I would think it would be impossible to have any pasture type area up in the Hexam RD area.I have a relative that has a 7 acre piece for sale out off Mondon Hill Rd. in horse country. PM me for details

[Mike1306]

There are some acreage parcels off Hexam and in that are. Spring Lake is nice also and will have more to choose from. The price will be similar for both areas.
The schools are fine for the Hexam area and closer to shopping than Spring Lake though I do like Spring Lake more for acreage.
Older homes will get you on insurance but newer homes are not terrible. I have a home built in 2005 with $300,000 in coverage for under $2000 a year premium.
Horse flies can get bad at times but the only place I have had them really dive bombing us was out in the preserve. Anyplace with cattle and horses will have them, I can't give a valid comparison to Mo though.
Pythons are definitely not an issue. For bugs I spray my house myself twice a year and don't have any bug problems. Tornadoes here are generally small water spouts and generally don't do damage inland, about once every 4-5 years there may be a bad one somewhere in the state but are not an issue really.

[andolyn11]

Thank you all for the feedback! You have really given me something to think about. I have contacted an insurance agent to find out the costs on that end, now I need to contact a feed store to find out prices on hay etc.