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We moved to Sarasota from WNC three years ago. Warmer weather, the city’s beauty, a vast array of cultural activities, no state income tax, and the beaches drew us here. What we actually experienced is a climate that holds us hostage to the ac, city government controlled by real estate companies and developers, a high cost of living when you consider sales and property taxes and horrible insurance rates, just to name a few of the problems here. I won’t go into the craziness of the politics and the antics of the general populace. We have a beautiful condo on the bay, in walking distance of the opera house, theaters, and restaurants, but those things are not enough to make up for the drawbacks. We’re moving back to WNC in a few months.
We moved to Sarasota from WNC three years ago. Warmer weather, the city’s beauty, a vast array of cultural activities, no state income tax, and the beaches drew us here. What we actually experienced is a climate that holds us hostage to the ac, city government controlled by real estate companies and developers, a high cost of living when you consider sales and property taxes and horrible insurance rates, just to name a few of the problems here. I won’t go into the craziness of the politics and the antics of the general populace. We have a beautiful condo on the bay, in walking distance of the opera house, theaters, and restaurants, but those things are not enough to make up for the drawbacks. We’re moving back to WNC in a few months.
We are migrating out of Florida for the very reasons you cite, having even more reasons due to the particularly horrid traffic in Miami-Dade, monolithic political insanity (people who misinterpret their escape from authoritarianism as escape from communism and are willing to put us into a very similar situation - ignorance), and the general self-centeredness of the population - me, me, me, me - on steroids.
No place is near perfect nowadays, but the adverse winds in FL are mighty. And blowing in the wrong directions for human happiness. It can appear that FL citizens have gripes about so many things. I am becoming one of those And those who do not seem not to be paying attention.
We are migrating out of Florida for the very reasons you cite, having even more reasons due to the particularly horrid traffic in Miami-Dade, monolithic political insanity (people who misinterpret their escape from authoritarianism as escape from communism and are willing to put us into a very similar situation - ignorance), and the general self-centeredness of the population - me, me, me, me - on steroids.
No place is near perfect nowadays, but the adverse winds in FL are mighty. And blowing in the wrong directions for human happiness. It can appear that FL citizens have gripes about so many things. I am becoming one of those And those who do not seem not to be paying attention.
Interesting take on FL given how fast it's population is growing while other areas are shrinking. Asheville certainly is far from perfect and has gotten worse over the last two decades but maybe trading one kind of worse for another is better.
We moved to Sarasota from WNC three years ago. Warmer weather, the city’s beauty, a vast array of cultural activities, no state income tax, and the beaches drew us here. What we actually experienced is a climate that holds us hostage to the ac, city government controlled by real estate companies and developers, a high cost of living when you consider sales and property taxes and horrible insurance rates, just to name a few of the problems here. I won’t go into the craziness of the politics and the antics of the general populace. We have a beautiful condo on the bay, in walking distance of the opera house, theaters, and restaurants, but those things are not enough to make up for the drawbacks. We’re moving back to WNC in a few months.
I just returned to Sarasota from Brevard NC (~45 mins away from Asheville). I enjoyed the great weather & scenery for 5 weeks.
I spent just 2 days in Asheville. It was visually attractive, & interesting. I liked all the trees, & Mountain vistas. The Art Deco buildings, & eateries.
The only thing I didn't like was the homeless lying around in the parks, & so little police presence. I didn't see the homeless breaking any laws in the daytime, but they are scary to be around, & their appearence scares little kids.
If Asheville can re-establish their police force, & strictly enforce the laws, I think it will be fine.
Interesting take on FL given how fast it's population is growing while other areas are shrinking. Asheville certainly is far from perfect and has gotten worse over the last two decades but maybe trading one kind of worse for another is better.
I too, find this baffling. At this point I believe that many people are just fleeing their current situation because they believe it will be better at a new place. Truthfully I do not know how much research goes into the relocation project (for which this website is appreciated). Or perhaps they buy into a FOMO situation, which might become a pricey error, indeed.
Sell and move, I'm all for that. But rent on the FL end if at all possible. The state is undergoing massive growing pains and people are bringing their problems with them, which exacerbates the downsides of relocating to FL. Massive traffic. Incredible housing costs. Prohibitive insurance premiums, if you can get insurance. Staffing problems at service industries due to wage stagnation and workers being priced out of housing. Unusual increases in real estate taxes because of new market related assessments. Auto insurance premium hikes. Hotter summers. Warmer winters than we locals like. Weird weather events.
I am also not immune to the grumpies. I grump about FL all day/night long. Just today, I remarked to my husband about how amazing it's been that our mosquitoes seem to have fled! Come to find out that there's been enhanced mosquito control. Great. But no bees or butterflies, either. Maybe the birds will leave due to lack of insects. It's not an ideal nor natural cycle. Natural Florida is dying, replaced by selfish Baby Boomer priorities. Concrete. I'm a Boomer, too, so I'm calling myself out.
We are native Floridians, but bought a place in WNC a little over 2 years ago. Both places have their pros and cons and while you can argue that insurance is expensive in FL, I can argue having to pay state income tax in NC is expensive, property tax in general is less in WNC but you then have to pay property tax on your vehicles, which depending on what you drive, can be a lot. So to me it all basically about evens out in the end.
I'm not a huge fan of South Florida where our FL home is mainly because it's really not Florida IMO. It's more like South New Jersey. Plus with the influx of people after covid it's just become unbearably packed. It use to be that once summer came everything would empty out and you could get a break, but now it feels like winter crowds all the time. Personally I prefer the "Old Florida" type areas, but since all our family is in SFL I don't see us moving too far from that area anytime soon.
Since we have not spent a whole winter here I can't really compare the weather. Being from FL we are use to the heat. I can't really decided if I prefer to have 6 months of extreme heat and 6 months of nice weather or 4 months of heat, 4 months of nice weather and 4 months of freezing cold (for us anyways).
We are native Floridians, but bought a place in WNC a little over 2 years ago. Both places have their pros and cons and while you can argue that insurance is expensive in FL, I can argue having to pay state income tax in NC is expensive, property tax in general is less in WNC but you then have to pay property tax on your vehicles, which depending on what you drive, can be a lot. So to me it all basically about evens out in the end.
I'm not a huge fan of South Florida where our FL home is mainly because it's really not Florida IMO. It's more like South New Jersey. Plus with the influx of people after covid it's just become unbearably packed. It use to be that once summer came everything would empty out and you could get a break, but now it feels like winter crowds all the time. Personally I prefer the "Old Florida" type areas, but since all our family is in SFL I don't see us moving too far from that area anytime soon.
Since we have not spent a whole winter here I can't really compare the weather. Being from FL we are use to the heat. I can't really decided if I prefer to have 6 months of extreme heat and 6 months of nice weather or 4 months of heat, 4 months of nice weather and 4 months of freezing cold (for us anyways).
Lat winter, with the exception of two very cold snaps, we had a very mild winter. Hoping this year is the same..
Interesting take on FL given how fast it's population is growing while other areas are shrinking. Asheville certainly is far from perfect and has gotten worse over the last two decades but maybe trading one kind of worse for another is better.
It's not growing that fast any longer. FL's net migration numbers for 2022 was at 1.9%, the lowest number in decades. It's predicted to fall lower for this year and wouldn't bet against below 1%. Many are moving in but there's little conversation about the near equal numbers moving out.
Lat winter, with the exception of two very cold snaps, we had a very mild winter. Hoping this year is the same..
I dunno... anything below like 55F is freezing to us. The house we bought has a pool and even that we can only use like June to mid Sept and even then I'm always complaining how cold it is.
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Originally Posted by kyle19125
It's not growing that fast any longer. FL's net migration numbers for 2022 was at 1.9%, the lowest number in decades. It's predicted to fall lower for this year and wouldn't bet against below 1%. Many are moving in but there's little conversation about the near equal numbers moving out.
I guess the people where we live didn't get the memo.
In self-service to the idea of seeking the positive and not dwelling on the negative (which I am wont to do), I am going to pinpoint the reasons why WNC and Asheville specifically have checked off so many boxes for me.
1. changing seasons, which bring changing scenery and the full spectrum of temperatures. Makes me feel more in touch with the planet, less apt to travel from house to car to buildings with climate controlled environments. Definitely helps me realize that time is passing, sometimes swiftly, sometimes sweetly. Never panicked, as it's beautiful.
2. variety of wildlife, again reflecting the seasonality. In WNC they come, they go, they (hopefully) come again. This is in contrast to the constancy of fewer species I see as I look out my window in SoFL. I see...2 lifeforms. Many varieties of lizards, mostly invasive. Huge iguanas, who have brilliant green babies. And peacocks. Peacocks are beautiful but they call out incessantly at night during breeding season and they eat so many caterpillars, so no more butterflies. And in order to manage the mosquitoes, government is killing off more bees/butterflies. BIG PROBLEM in my book. *sigh*
3. communitarianism. There are so many groups to join in Buncombe County! And calls for volunteers brings...volunteers! Example: Miami's FB page for Habitat for Humanity has 61 measly followers. For a county population of >2.5M. Asheville's is >5K followers from a population around 270K. I don't think we have ONE ReStore in the whole county. And this is just one organization, of many, many, many!
4. skilled doers. Asheville & neighboring towns are FILLED with people who (yes, complain some) but DO THINGS ABOUT THINGS. Artists, craftspeople, musicians, actual builders, farmers. People who build and grow stuff and make stuff. Real folks doing real things on human scale, staying vibrant. Roll up their sleeves and look to get things done. I appreciate that.
5. when the pace is slower, the kindnesses start to build up. I, too, am distraught about the visible homeless but these more "progressive cities" recognize that each and every one of them has a very unfortunate reason why they're in that situation, and that the only way to "rid ourselves of this visual blight" is to actually address root causes like mental health, family disintegration, substance abuse, gentrification. Too tall an order to correct by flipping a switch. Or by corralling them by police, to...jail them? For existing? Work in progress, hopefully. With real answers to those real problems. These are problems which started at an individual level and needs to be addressed as such. Otherwise it's a hamster wheel, going nowhere.
6. there's still unpretentiousness in this place. It's an amalgam of mountain communities where deep roots will yield good fruit - where people appreciate traditions, and are rewarded for discovering them and maintaining them. Old timey and progressive can coexist in a place, sometimes awkwardly, sometimes smoothly, if we are doing the work on a personal level and not through that stoopid stoopid national political-infotainment level. I feel that that still matters to a good degree in Asheville.
7. there's conscientiousness in the community, and attempts to live within our means and within human scale. Unlike the "world domination", Lex Luthor aspirations of businesspeople in SoFL (where fake it till you make it MAY actually take you places - lots of really nice places before you run a risk of the prison places), Asheville shows constraint. Maybe because its people are very aware of what's going on, maybe because it matters to them, maybe because the money to be made gets pushback from people who will actually be affected. Buncombe Cty. seems to have citizens who believe that they have some power and they can group together and wield it! Maybe a tad naive to some degree, but that is some good, strong sauce, there, and should be supported.
Sorry if this was too long and too lecture-like, but I'm trying to analyze my reasons for the attraction I feel for the city and its environs. Maybe some of you share some of the above as reasons, or maybe you can disabuse me of some of them. Feel free to push back!
Last edited by investorscooter; 09-22-2023 at 04:48 AM..
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And those who do not seem not to be paying attention.
