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Would you move to Florida ?

theo

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Sorry Wacky, don't take this personally. I have lived and worked in NJ on and off over my lifetime. Not sure if this is accurate.

I too lived and worked in (southern) NJ (via involuntary assignment early in my career) for a few years. Enjoyed my time there and made some great friends, but I nonetheless cannot comprehend or imagine how NJ could possibly appear in any "top ten" ranking. :confused::shrug::confused:
 
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WalnutBaron

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I find it interesting that no one thus far has put in a plug for California, the most populous state of all. Although I am a 4th generation native Californian, I've lived in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, and Arizona during my "corporate America" years before returning to my roots about fifteen years ago. There are aspects of California that, frankly, drive me crazy: brutally high taxes, a bloated and inefficient state government, intrusive regulatory agencies, to name a few. But the things that bring millions here are also the things that vacationers find so attractive--spectacular natural beauty, a 600-mile long coastline, the ability to easily visit places that tourists travel around the world to see and which take me 1-3 hours in the car to go see, the dynamism of the corporate culture and the creativity of world-class companies producing incredible advances in technology all around us.

There aren't too many places in the U.S.--or in the world, for that matter--where you can be skiing in the morning and surfing before sunset, but you can do that in California. California has the lowest place (Death Valley) in the continental U.S. and the highest (Mt. Whitney). It has some of the most iconic National Parks in the country, headlined by Yosemite, one of the jewels of the National Park system. It has great cities--San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It has Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, Carmel and Monterey, the Mendocino Coast, Highway 1, and Disneyland.

Yes, it also has brutal traffic in the Bay Area and the L.A. Basin, a large homeless population due to its mild climate, and it's got Berkeley--to some, the wackiest place in the country.

But if you can afford to live here and are willing to put up with the downsides, it's pretty great.
 

wackymother

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Virginia is #12. Lived here in this area all my life. Close to the beach, not too far from the mountains. Fairly mild winters. Probably will be right here the rest of my life.

I do like Virginia. We've thought about retiring there. Which part of the state are you in?
 

lizap

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I find it interesting that no one thus far has put in a plug for California, the most populous state of all. Although I am a 4th generation native Californian, I've lived in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, and Arizona during my "corporate America" years before returning to my roots about fifteen years ago. There are aspects of California that, frankly, drive me crazy: brutally high taxes, a bloated and inefficient state government, intrusive regulatory agencies, to name a few. But the things that bring millions here are also the things that vacationers find so attractive--spectacular natural beauty, a 600-mile long coastline, the ability to easily visit places that tourists travel around the world to see and which take me 1-3 hours in the car to go see, the dynamism of the corporate culture and the creativity of world-class companies producing incredible advances in technology all around us.

There aren't too many places in the U.S.--or in the world, for that matter--where you can be skiing in the morning and surfing before sunset, but you can do that in California. California has the lowest place (Death Valley) in the continental U.S. and the highest (Mt. Whitney). It has some of the most iconic National Parks in the country, headlined by Yosemite, one of the jewels of the National Park system. It has great cities--San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It has Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, Carmel and Monterey, the Mendocino Coast, Highway 1, and Disneyland.

Yes, it also has brutal traffic in the Bay Area and the L.A. Basin, a large homeless population due to its mild climate, and it's got Berkeley--to some, the wackiest place in the country.

But if you can afford to live here and are willing to put up with the downsides, it's pretty great.


I like northern CA, southern, not so much. The things that would keep us from retiring there are very high income and property taxes; and the price of real estate.
 

WinniWoman

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Blues

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Every year as the tornadoes hit the mid-west or hurricanes ravage Florida and the Gulf states, we opine that we'd rather live with the occasional earthquake.

I totally agree. Perceptions are interesting. I'm always somewhat baffled when people quote earthquakes as a reason to avoid California. I've lived in California for 40 years. Yes, I experienced the 1989 Loma Prieta quake. We lost power for a few days, but had no damage at our home. And we didn't have to flee for our lives. Other than that, nothing but the occasional foot massage ;-)

How many people have lived multiple decades along the Florida coast, or anywhere along the Gulf coast for that matter, who haven't had to flee a hurricane multiple times, or hunker down in fear, in those decades? To my mind, the hurricane risk in those areas positively dwarfs any earthquake risk here.

Yes, perceptions are an interesting thing.
 

LannyPC

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To answer the original question "Would you move to Florida?", my answer would be only if we absolutely had to. And even then, I would look for an alternative.

I'm not bashing FL (we like to vacation there occasionally) and, like the OP, my thoughts and heart go out to the FL residents who are dealing with these hurricanes. But it's not somewhere I would like to live year-round. JMHO.
 

pedro47

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Yes! I would follow Walt Disney and moved to Central Florida.
 

ronparise

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I find it interesting that no one thus far has put in a plug for California, the most populous state of all. Although I am a 4th generation native Californian, I've lived in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio, Oregon, and Arizona during my "corporate America" years before returning to my roots about fifteen years ago. There are aspects of California that, frankly, drive me crazy: brutally high taxes, a bloated and inefficient state government, intrusive regulatory agencies, to name a few. But the things that bring millions here are also the things that vacationers find so attractive--spectacular natural beauty, a 600-mile long coastline, the ability to easily visit places that tourists travel around the world to see and which take me 1-3 hours in the car to go see, the dynamism of the corporate culture and the creativity of world-class companies producing incredible advances in technology all around us.

There aren't too many places in the U.S.--or in the world, for that matter--where you can be skiing in the morning and surfing before sunset, but you can do that in California. California has the lowest place (Death Valley) in the continental U.S. and the highest (Mt. Whitney). It has some of the most iconic National Parks in the country, headlined by Yosemite, one of the jewels of the National Park system. It has great cities--San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego. It has Napa Valley, Lake Tahoe, Palm Springs, Carmel and Monterey, the Mendocino Coast, Highway 1, and Disneyland.

Yes, it also has brutal traffic in the Bay Area and the L.A. Basin, a large homeless population due to its mild climate, and it's got Berkeley--to some, the wackiest place in the country.

But if you can afford to live here and are willing to put up with the downsides, it's pretty great.

My kids are in california and I agree there is something for everyone in california. I dock my boat in Sandiego and live on it when we are there. We are looking for a bigger boat or a house in what they call the "Inland Empire" (I can't afford the coast and don't like the desert)

By the way Maryland is another place where you can be skiing in the morning and at the Beach in the evening (but the water will be too cold)
 

ronparise

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I think a condo or an apartment in a big city is the best place for retirement living
Services, including doctors and hospitals, good restaurants, entertainment, sports events all a subway ride,( or bus, or trolley or Uber) away
 

wackymother

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I live in the Hampton Roads area; near Virginia Beach, close to Williamsburg and about a three-hour drive up to the mountains.

Oh, we would be neighbors, kind of. We've thought about Williamsburg for part of the year. We like that there's so much to do there.
 

silentg

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We have been living in Florida since 1987. It's easy to say "I don't want to move here "during a hurricane. Same can be said of Massachusetts during a blizzard. Weather extremes are very stressful and I understand The reluctance to move here in retirement years is understandable. If we hadn't moved here in our 30's we may not have moved. But we have enjoyed so much of what Florida offers on the best days. Our adult kids live in Florida so that is a bonus for us. We have 6 timeshare weeks, that in retirement, will stay other places during the summer. There are more pluses in Florida for us we are here to stay.
Silentg
 

lizap

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I must say I'm quite surprised at the number of people here who don't want to live in Florida..
 

bbodb1

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You guys are getting me to second guess my decision to move to Florida 22 years ago

......... thinking.......

Nope still the best place I can think of.
The weather is great 3 months of the year and good another 6 months. Taxes are good housing prices good

Sandiego has better weather, but I can't afford the housing and taxes are outrageous

Western North Carolina deserves a look but I can't think of anyplace else that would please me

Certainly not the Pacific Northwest with all the rain

That is an area of the country on my radar for now as well.
 

taffy19

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I like northern CA, southern, not so much. The things that would keep us from retiring there are very high income and property taxes; and the price of real estate.
I agree with you and once you leave California, you can no longer afford to come back and buy real estate again or even rent a house.

We prefer Southern California because the climate is milder. San Diego has the best climate of all and next best is Laguna Beach, IMO. :cool: It has a micro climate of its own so you see lots of Bougainvillea bushes in all colors plus the most beautiful sunsets that you can see here daily taken by anyone or local photographers too. We also have the Sierra Nevada mountain range with the most beautiful scenery that you can imagine plus our desert landscape and National Parks with coastal Redwoods or the Sequoias. We are really spoiled with our diverse scenery.

I also agree that Northern California has much nicer scenery because it is more green plus it has San Francisco that is quite unique, interesting and picturesque but it can be freezing even in the summer when the wind is strong.
 

klpca

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My kids are in california and I agree there is something for everyone in california. I dock my boat in Sandiego and live on it when we are there. We are looking for a bigger boat or a house in what they call the "Inland Empire" (I can't afford the coast and don't like the desert)

By the way Maryland is another place where you can be skiing in the morning and at the Beach in the evening (but the water will be too cold)
I would look in Temecula or Murrieta Ron.

To my mind, fires are a much bigger issue than earthquakes here in CA. We live on a canyon preserve and I worry about it every fall. Our area has been hit by fire twice in the last 15 years.

And to the OP's question, I have never been in Florida so I couldn't say. But I would never criticize someone's home. But we will probably be staying in CA to be near family.
 

WalnutBaron

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I also agree that Northern California has much nicer scenery because it is more green plus it has San Francisco that is quite unique, interesting and picturesque but it can be freezing even in the summer when the wind is strong.
As Mark Twain famously said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".
 

jackio

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As Mark Twain famously said, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco".
Weren't we surprised when we went there in July and had to buy heavy hooded sweatshirts from a street vendor. That guy was making a killing off tourists who, like us, assumed that summer in California would be hot.
 

Phydeaux

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I must say I'm quite surprised at the number of people here who don't want to live in Florida..

Interesting. I thought there'd be a lot more.
 

ronparise

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I would look in Temecula or Murrieta Ron.

To my mind, fires are a much bigger issue than earthquakes here in CA. We live on a canyon preserve and I worry about it every fall. Our area has been hit by fire twice in the last 15 years.

And to the OP's question, I have never been in Florida so I couldn't say. But I would never criticize someone's home. But we will probably be staying in CA to be near family.
I found a place called Canyon Lake just west of Murrieta That I like.. no, different than florida in the summer, but close to san diego and the boat
 

ronparise

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Interesting. I thought there'd be a lot more.
as someone else here said, its all a matter of perception.. I hear some say that the traffic is bad... Not where I am, at least not compared to the DC Beltway that I used to drive everyday. and some object to the humidity. Its no different than where I came from (DC) at least its not a "dry heat" and the hurricanes? this is the first Ive run from in 22 years, , I didnt run very far, I ran to Orlando, and and as it turns out I could have stayed home. Im gonna get a generator for next time, and i wont even be tempted to leave next time Earthquakes and tornados, dont give enough warning to run at all

Nothing is perfect; everything in life is a compromise. At least thats been my experience. I have learned not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good, Florida has worked for me, and Ill miss it when I leave.
 
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