Why do most older people retire to Florida and not the RGV? (Houston: sales, camping)

[KerrTown]

Originally Posted by CLR210

You’d actually be surprised by how many Texans retire to FL. We did last summer and our friends just did last month. The beaches are much nicer

Never been to Corpus or South Padre, but they are said to be the nice beaches in Texas. Probably comparably as blue as I saw around Florida.

Never liked the cul-de-sac feeling of Peninsular Florida, especially when a hurricane threatens (e.g. Irma). It's great for a visit to the beach or outdoor/natural activities, but the man-made things to do there are sub-par. Theme parks (especially WDW) are the bane of any visit because of the expenses and having to take a shower/laundry after visiting on a hot day is not my idea of fun!

The state is overpriced. Food/groceries are expensive and produce is low quality when it arrives from California. The Kennedy Space Center visitor center is almost twice the price as Space Center Houston.

Didn't find any decent MFAH-level museums in Miami. The most widely known museum was the Vizcaya, which is more of a historical home like the MFAH-owned Bayou Bend or Rienzi than an art gallery.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by CLR210

Except for the property taxes, you are correct. Our property taxes went up in FL compared to TX

It wouldn't surprise me if people have higher property tax burdens in some local muncipalities in Florida than some local municipalities in Texas.

That said, how I reached my conclusion is when you divide the median real estate tax payment with the median home price, Florida has a statewide rate of 0.89% (ranked 24th) and Texas has a statewide rate of 1.80% (ranked 45th).

[CLR210]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Never been to Corpus or South Padre, but they are said to be the nice beaches in Texas. Probably comparably as blue as I saw around Florida.

Never liked the cul-de-sac feeling of Peninsular Florida, especially when a hurricane threatens (e.g. Irma). It's great for a visit to the beach or outdoor/natural activities, but the man-made things to do there are sub-par. Theme parks (especially WDW) are the bane of any visit because of the expenses and having to take a shower/laundry after visiting on a hot day is not my idea of fun!

The state is overpriced. Food/groceries are expensive and produce is low quality when it arrives from California. The Kennedy Space Center visitor center is almost twice the price as Space Center Houston.

Didn't find any decent MFAH-level museums in Miami. The most widely known museum was the Vizcaya, which is more of a historical home like the MFAH-owned Bayou Bend or Rienzi than an art gallery.

I’ve been to Corpus, Port A, Galveston, Rockport and S Padre. S Padre is seriously the only TX beach that comes even close to FL beaches. The food prices are more expensive in FL and we have nothing that comes close to HEB. We do have farmer’s markets that has high quality produce

[CLR210]

Originally Posted by citidata18

It wouldn't surprise me if people have higher property tax burdens in some local muncipalities in Florida than some local municipalities in Texas.

That said, how I reached my conclusion is when you divide the median real estate tax payment with the median home price, Florida has a statewide rate of 0.89% (ranked 24th) and Texas has a statewide rate of 1.80% (ranked 45th).

I was really surprised at how high the property taxes are in FL. Our house is valued at 35k LESS than our TX house but our taxes are higher. They should go down this year since we'll get to homestead it now so who knows what they will look like. One of the reasons overall taxes in FL is cheaper is because FL has all of these weird exemptions where some folks can deduct up to 100k from their appraised value so they aren't taxed on the whole value. Unfortunately we do not qualify for those exemptions. The homestead exemption is pretty good though as we'll get to deduct 50k off of our appraised value so that should bring our taxes down.

The other thing to consider are the things that we are taxed for i.e. mosquito abatement, city garbage and recycle programs, etc. Electricity is cheaper here but water is ridiculously expensive. Our water bill is higher than our electric. I guess you could say there are pros and cons but we think the weather and beaches are well worth the expense.

[texasdiver]

This article was in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Perhaps Florida will be less popular in the near future if no one can afford insurance:

Insurance Costs Threaten Florida Real-Estate Boom
In the most expensive state for home insurance, carriers seek to curb litigation and limit payouts on roof claims

https://www.wsj.com/articles/insuran...om-11619343002

By Leslie Scism and Arian Campo-Flores | Photographs by Alfonso Duran for The Wall Street Journal
Updated April 25, 2021 5:07 pm ET

MIAMI—Florida’s property-insurance market is in trouble, as mounting carrier losses and rising premiums threaten the state’s booming real-estate market, according to insurance executives and industry analysts.

Longtime homeowners are getting socked with double-digit rate increases or notices that their policies won’t be renewed. Out-of-state home buyers who have flocked to Florida during the pandemic are experiencing sticker shock. Insurers that are swimming in red ink are cutting back coverage in certain geographic areas to shore up their finances.

Various factors are at play, insurance executives and analysts say. Two hurricanes that slammed the state—Irma in 2017 and Michael in 2018—generated claims with an estimated cost of about $30 billion. The cost of reinsurance, which insurers take out to cover some of the risk in the policies they sell, is swelling. Of particular concern, executives say, are excessive litigation over insurance claims and a proliferation of what insurers see as sham roof-related claims.

A large group of Florida homeowner insurers tracked by Marsh McLennan’s Guy Carpenter business had $1.58 billion in underwriting losses in 2020, more than double the $664 million loss in 2019.

“The industry is in a panic because it is losing so much,” said Barry Gilway, chief executive of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., a state-backed insurer of last resort that is growing rapidly as private-sector insurers retrench. Barring changes, he said, “rates will continue to skyrocket and it absolutely will have an impact on the real-estate market.”

Eric Firestone, a 37-year-old teacher who lives with his wife in the Miami area, received a letter from their insurance company in February saying their policy wouldn’t be renewed because the carrier was no longer servicing their area. When their insurance agent shopped for an alternative, the cheapest one she could find had a $9,644 annual premium—an 85% increase over their most recent premium of $5,205.

“Where am I going to get the extra $4,000?” Mr. Firestone said. “Worst-case scenario, I will have to go into credit-card debt.”

Florida is the most expensive state in the U.S. for home insurance. Residents are projected to pay on average $2,380 in premiums this year, a 21% increase over the $1,960 paid in 2018, according to estimates by trade group Insurance Information Institute. By contrast, the average American homeowner is expected to pay $1,297 this year, up 4% from $1,249 in 2018.

Out of 105 rate increases for multi-peril homeowners policies approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation last year, more than half exceeded 10%, compared with six of 64 in 2016, state Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier informed lawmakers.

Ana Regina Myrrha, an insurance agent in the Orlando area, said she hired three more employees because clients’ policies that used to automatically renew now require “re-quoting,” or finding cheaper alternatives. Her office used to tell clients to expect a single-digit rate increase upon renewal, she said, but “we now tell them that a 20% increase is a gift.”

. . . the article continues...

[jackalope48]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

This article was in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Perhaps Florida will be less popular in the near future if no one can afford insurance:



. . . the article continues...

That article is deceptive. Coastal homeowners insurance in Florida is cheaper than Texas. Texas screwed coastal homeowners by creating a separate insurance class for hurricanes(but not hail and tornados) so you have to buy a second policy. My windstorm policy is 4 times my homeowners policy. In Florida the windstorm is included in the homeowner's policy statewide.

[texasdiver]

Originally Posted by jackalope48

That article is deceptive. Coastal homeowners insurance in Florida is cheaper than Texas. Texas screwed coastal homeowners by creating a separate insurance class for hurricanes(but not hail and tornados) so you have to buy a second policy. My windstorm policy is 4 times my homeowners policy. In Florida the windstorm is included in the homeowner's policy statewide.

I wouldn't know. My homeowners policy in Waco was pretty cheap though. About $1,000/yr. for complete coverage on a home that was worth about $350,000 when we sold it 5 years ago.

[jackalope48]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

I wouldn't know. My homeowners policy in Waco was pretty cheap though. About $1,000/yr. for complete coverage on a home that was worth about $350,000 when we sold it 5 years ago.

Windstorm is about $850 a year per 100k of value on top of homeowners with a 2% deductible on insured value.

[Redlionjr]

Is this a troll thread?

[Redlionjr]

Originally Posted by KerrTown

Never been to Corpus or South Padre, but they are said to be the nice beaches in Texas. Probably comparably as blue as I saw around Florida.

Never liked the cul-de-sac feeling of Peninsular Florida, especially when a hurricane threatens (e.g. Irma). It's great for a visit to the beach or outdoor/natural activities, but the man-made things to do there are sub-par. Theme parks (especially WDW) are the bane of any visit because of the expenses and having to take a shower/laundry after visiting on a hot day is not my idea of fun!

The state is overpriced. Food/groceries are expensive and produce is low quality when it arrives from California. The Kennedy Space Center visitor center is almost twice the price as Space Center Houston.

Didn't find any decent MFAH-level museums in Miami. The most widely known museum was the Vizcaya, which is more of a historical home like the MFAH-owned Bayou Bend or Rienzi than an art gallery.

Who wants to retire in Houston though? I can always visit MFAH but that's not gonna be the biggest draw for me when I'm in my retirement stage.

Also Corpus as a city isn't really the best or charming and South Padre is built truly as a resort town. Not really a functional living place. Plus you share a metro with Brownsville and Harlingen. I'm good on that area.

Also Miami is not the top destination for retirees in Miami. There's so many other small nicer cities to retire in in Florida that Texas just can't compete. Houston's bad traffic, rising cost, faster pace would seem less than ideal for someone looking for retirement. I rather take Sarasota at that age than a big metropolitan area.