Would you move to Florida ?

[billymach4]

"When we retire we will move to Florida"

This is what I heard and witnessed in the 70's, 80's, 90's, and 2000's.
Have many friends and relatives that transplanted to FL over the years. With Andrew in 92, the hurricanes of 2005, now IRMA... What would you think? What would you do?

Florida's population now rivals that of NY. Traffic, heat, humidity.... Don't get me wrong. I love Florida. But when I am 75, 80 yrs of age do I want to put up with the fear of these monster storms?

There are many Floridians here on Tug and my heart goes out to all of the FL residents that have endured this latest storm.

At this moment in time I have told DW that I will not permanently move to FL when we retire. Yes vacation there, but I could not permanently reside there.

What would you do?

 

[bogey21]

If I didn't live in Texas, I'd consider moving to Florida but I would probably want to rent, hopefully furnished.

George

 

[rapmarks]

I already moved there, I am staying

 

[bbodb1]

The oppressive humidity that defines Florida for more than half the year makes it unattractive to me. No way would I wanted to live there in that basis alone.

And there are no mountains there..

 

[billymach4]

The oppressive humidity that defines Florida for more than half the year makes it unattractive to me. No way would I wanted to live there in that basis alone.

And there are no mountains there..

True there is no contour to the landscape as you drive around FL. Again I love FL, South Beach, West Palm, the Keys. The Keys have been destroyed. They will be rebuilt, it may take years. But they are so fragile. It's really sad.

 

[jackio]

We hope to snowbird when we retire. I would not want to own - too many headaches. We would rent or even timeshare for a couple of months.

 

[billymach4]

We hope to snowbird when we retire. I would not want to own - too many headaches. We would rent or even timeshare for a couple of months.

I think that will be my plan as well. At least part time in the dead of winter

 

[Passepartout]

Well Bill, you KNOW I'm not going there! Maybe south coastal Oregon, but NEVER Florida. Too many bugs, too much humidity, too many storms and waaaay too many people.

 

[billymach4]

And they don't have Winco!

 

[Panina]

I love Florida and was thinking of moving there full time but decided not to due to the hurricane risks and high humity months. Instead I chose to move to upstate South Carolina inland. I do visit Florida twice a year for a string of weeks when the weather is colder to get my Florida fix.

 

[VacationForever]

When we were looking for a retirement home almost 4 years ago, my husband was looking at Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. I shot those locations down. I told him I could not tolerate humidity and did not want to be in hurricanes and tornadoes area. So we did not end up at those locations. My position remains as before. No to Florida, although being close to cruise ports of Miami and Ft Lauderdale is the most attractive part as there are alot of last minute deals to be had.

 

[geist1223]

I have lived in Florida both as a child and as an adult. I have traveled there several times for business reasons. Patti and I have traveled there a couple times to vacation with her sister and BIL. But probably never again. We don't like the heat, humidity, "No See'm" bugs, lizards big enough to eat your pets, etc.

 

[lizap]

We had seriously considered south FL, around north Naples, Bonita Springs, but Hurricane Irma was the 'nail in the coffin'. Having grown up on the gulf coast and lived here all my life, been to FL many, many times. Terrain-wise, IMO, FL really has no redeeming features other than the beach, and we prefer mountains. No state income tax is nice, but property taxes tend to be on the high side. We really like the west, specifically the Boulder area and the wine country in southern Oregon. Just wish housing prices weren't so high in these places. So, we are taking a serious look at Hendersonville, NC, 20 miles south of Asheville.

 

[Patri]

Nope. Have said for years I would not live in Florida because of the hurricanes, alligators and bugs. I have visited many times, but it is only a vacation site for me.

 

[WinniWoman]

The oppressive humidity that defines Florida for more than half the year makes it unattractive to me. No way would I wanted to live there in that basis alone.

And there are no mountains there..

Same here. I have thought about it but it always comes back to heat and humidity, no mountains and cool lakes, reptiles, and big bugs, traffic,- and, yes, there is the yearly threat of hurricanes.

 

[WinniWoman]

I love Florida and was thinking of moving there full time but decided not to due to the hurricane risks and high humity months. Instead I chose to move to upstate South Carolina inland. I do visit Florida twice a year for a string of weeks when the weather is colder to get my Florida fix.

It's cold in South Carolina?

 

[Bucky]

Since we live in NC right now, heat and humidity are not an issue for us. If our daughter and her family didn't live here close to my wife and I, we would give serious consideration to moving down to The Villages. But, since I now have this new medical equipment I have to be close to a hospital that can handle that and there aren't many. In NC there are only 5 that I know of.

 

[theo]

We enjoy a few annual winter weeks in Florida, but never in a million years would we want to live there year round. Heat, humidity, bugs, hurricanes, traffic and far too many people (many of whom should have stopped driving years ago) are all "features" we could not and would not willingly endure year round.
I also have no interest in having to scurry from one air conditioned venue to another just to survive the oppressive, stifling heat and humidity. No thank you.

For our few annual winter weeks, we are glad and very grateful to have an affordable warm weather respite from harsh New England winter but even then, when it's time for us to leave Florida and return to New England, we are frankly quite ready, willing and happy to do so. To each their own, of course. YMMV.

 

[Panina]

It's cold in South Carolina?

I am originally from New York City, cold winters. Where I live in South Carolina , the winters are mild. Average temperatures in the winter during the day are mid 50's, at night mid 30's, but feels warmer then if those temperatures were in New York City as it is inland, lower winds. I am here 5 years and many days warmer. It amazes me in February when I see trees and flowers budding. Snow/ice is minimal, sometimes a year without and if it does happen, all gone, melted within a day or so due to the warmer temperature. Great spring and fall weather, summers very warm.

This area has all the conveniences, great shopping, major transportation hub, affordable houses and low real estate taxes.

 

[remowidget]

When we were looking for a retirement home almost 4 years ago, my husband was looking at Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. I shot those locations down. I told him I could not tolerate humidity and did not want to be in hurricanes and tornadoes area. So we did not end up at those locations. My position remains as before. No to Florida, although being close to cruise ports of Miami and Ft Lauderdale is the most attractive part as there are alot of last minute deals to be had.

Where did you choose and why?

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

 

[Glynda]

I love Florida and was thinking of moving there full time but decided not to due to the hurricane risks and high humity months. Instead I chose to move to upstate South Carolina inland. I do visit Florida twice a year for a string of weeks when the weather is colder to get my Florida fix.

I love the upstate of SC! Have lived there three times over the years. Taught in Greenville. If we decide we have had enough of Charleston (where our only child and only grandchild also live) Greenville would be our second choice of all places in this country to live.

 

[Glynda]

Absolutely not! No way! Never! I was born and raised in Ft Myers, FL, at a time when it was a great place to be a kid. Free to roam the woods and streets, swim in swimming holes, drive down on the beach, no condos, no out of control city spread, and no traffic. We didn't even have air conditioning! But I have never once considered living there since I went off to college. I hate to see what has become of Florida and Ft Myers. I don't really like to even go back though I had to for many years while my mother still lived there, especially as she aged and couldn't come to us. However, I'll be taking her back for a week long visit in January. Unfortunately, the same thing is happening to Charleston too.

 

[ronparise]

To the objections in the original post

1)Florida's population now rivals that of NY.
There are small towns in Florida too, and where I live the snow birds go home in the summer and leave the place to us full timers.
But an increasing population means that there are lots of folks that think you are wrong about Florida, or at least that there are a lot of folks for whom your objections are hot their objections. That the population keeps growing means lots of people seem to like it here more than where they came from.

2)Traffic,
There are small towns in Florida too, but traffic isnt a big deal for us retired folk, we dont have to fight rush hour, and in a lot of communities there are more golf carts than cars, I dont notice the traffic because I tend to stay in my community, the older I get the smaller my world seems to get. and all the services I need and want are a bike ride away, and with Amazon, I dont need to go out anyway

3)heat, and humidity
I have air conditioning in my home and car and all of the places i visit have air conditioning too

5)when I am 75, 80 yrs of age do I want to put up with the fear of these monster storms?
Younger folks dont like them either,.. The monster storms are a problem.. and if we rule out places that might be affected by a monster storm we have to rule out Georgia, The Carolinas, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York; Mississippi, Alabama, Texas and Louisiana and Texas

I can write a list of objections for any place on earth, but just restricting it to the US I'd rule out Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico because the dry air, gives me nosebleeds. California because of earthquakes, and Alaska because Sara Palin lives there (and because it gets cold) Id rule out the pacific Northwest because it rains so much and every other state because it gets cold there. Im left with Hawaii, but not sure of that because of the Volcanoes. Perhaps Guam, but since I learned that Kim has his sights on Guam, I dont think I want to go their either

So I can find something wrong almost everywhere, But I can find something good everywhere too, which leaves me with having to become a nomad, moving from place to place, and as soon as it becomes uncomfortable, moving on...

 

[easyrider]

The things I really like about Florida are the fishing, scuba, Disney World and winter weather. Florida is too flat for us. We prefer a view with a few mountains to break up the horizon so I doubt that we would move to Florida for more than the winter.

Bill

 

[Phydeaux]

Never. We refer to it as Failorida in our home.