Moving to Florida

[Elbata]

Flew into Fort Lauderdale, visited family in Hollywood and Hollandale, then took the A1A up north to Palm Beach. From there, went through Alabama, and Tennesee. Flew out of Nashville this AM, oh boy, was it cold.

So back now in So Cal. The two places I liked most were Deerfield Beach and Huntsville AL.

A lot of people don't like FL for the hurricanes. I've never been in one, but I would think if I'm in a "hurricane-proof" building, for the most part, I'm safe. Not sure about that, would appreciate any comments. Also, there's something about the FL weather (maybe not summer) that I find magical. I love how the storms roll in, and soon after, you'd never know there was a storm.

Deerfield I liked because it had a good vibe to me. Hollywood, while I like it a lot, is just too dense. Another ER poster mentioned Sebastian Beach and I went there to check it out. Too sparse for me. I like more city and access to restaurants and such.

The little bit we visited Huntsville, we liked it. Especially around the high-tech/NASA area. Homes were super reasonable with low property taxes and association fees. I was disappointed with the Nashville area, we looked at homes in Franklin, Brentwood and Murfreesboro. I guess Nashville is becoming a victim of its success, prices are relatively high and there's lots more building going on in the downtown area.

The reason I like the Huntsville/Nashville area is the location and airport. Not sure about Huntsville, but with Nashville, could fly out and be in any east coast city within a few hours. I like that. Here in SoCal, I feel we're in a bit of a pocket. Lots of cool places to go (Big Bear, Catalina, Vegas, Palm Springs) but to go anywhere, it's a long flight. In Nashville, I like the idea of being in Boston, NH, New Orleans, practically anywhere in the eastern US in a short time. Doesn't take the whole day flying.

 

[Cut-Throat]

That's Nice.

 

[MichaelB]

Even if your building has been built to the latest code you have two other risks. One is flooding. The other is the surface infrastructure in South Florida is not “hurricane proof” and a bad storm will knock out the power grid. No electricity for up to 2 weeks, which means local businesses cannot operate. You cannot get gasoline, groceries, medications, or even fresh water. It’s happened twice in the past 10 years.

A lot of people don't like FL for the hurricanes. I've never been in one, but I would think if I'm in a "hurricane-proof" building, for the most part, I'm safe. Not sure about that, would appreciate any comments. Also, there's something about the FL weather (maybe not summer) that I find magical. I love how the storms roll in, and soon after, you'd never know there was a storm.

 

[Rianne]

DB lived in Florida for over 30 years. First 10 years in Boca Raton, then Fort Lauderdale. I love to visit but not sure I'd want to live there. Maybe northern east coast. I don't like the summer humidity in southern Florida. A1A is a fun drive, especially Palm Beach. We get a look at the houses of the 1%.

 

[Amethyst]

I spent my adolescence (16.5 to 23) in South Florida; enjoyed it, but I was a kid in college much of that time. The constant 88-92 degrees and 90-100% humidity gets to be a drag, as an adult.

Worse than the climate is the traffic. It can take an hour to go 12 miles. OTOH, the southern tip of the state is so built-up, you can probably do all your errands within 2 miles of your development.

A bit farther north, the climate evens out a bit. But on the west coast, beware the Red Tide, which (probably due to climate change) is getting worse and worse, and even starting to show up on the east coast now.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Even if your building has been built to the latest code you have two other risks. One is flooding. The other is the surface infrastructure in South Florida is not “hurricane proof” and a bad storm will knock out the power grid. No electricity for up to 2 weeks, which means local businesses cannot operate. You cannot get gasoline, groceries, medications, or even fresh water. It’s happened twice in the past 10 years.

We live near a hospital, Never in 10 years have we lost power for more than 24 hours. (Touch Desk)

 

[MichaelB]

We live near a hospital, Never in 10 years have we lost power for more than 24 hours. (Touch Desk)

My comment was specific to South Florida. Broward, Miami Dade and the Keys, and some of Palm Beach county. With Hurricane Wilma most of this area spent two weeks without power, and it was a real tough time.

Florida Power just completed an expensive, multi-year program to replace wood electric poles with taller concrete stands, which would (theoretically) minimize outages due to downed lines. Hurricane Irma caused just as many outages.

 

[Nick12]

I spent my adolescence (16.5 to 23) in South Florida; enjoyed it, but I was a kid in college much of that time. The constant 88-92 degrees and 90-100% humidity gets to be a drag, as an adult.

Worse than the climate is the traffic. It can take an hour to go 12 miles. OTOH, the southern tip of the state is so built-up, you can probably do all your errands within 2 miles of your development.

A bit farther north, the climate evens out a bit. But on the west coast, beware the Red Tide, which (probably due to climate change) is getting worse and worse, and even starting to show up on the east coast now.

Don't forget police curfews after hurricane where if residents venture out I have seen them get arrested. Price gauge of contractors to fix your roofs or if he impacted areas of your home. It happens and many residents including myself sucked it up and paid a premium. Got tired living under a blue tarp which used to be my roof for several weeks after the hurrucane. If you are an adventure seeker perhaps you should fly to Florida, ride out the hurricane in a hotel if you can find any vacancy and see what it is like to live through a hurricane. That's the only way to see what hurricanes are all about. And don't forget all aspects of Florida wildlife that get displaced during hurricanes and find their way to local streets or by your front door. The price to live in paradise (FL) but it sure beats living up North.

 

[gstillson]

I suggest you try Florida out during June through August before making a decision.

Or go into your bathroom and put two 3000 watt heaters on, then turn on the shower as hot as it will go. If you can stay in there for a few days it would give you the best analog.

 

[Nick12]

I suggest you try Florida out during June through August before making a decision.

Or go into your bathroom and put two 3000 watt heaters on, then turn on the shower as hot as it will go. If you can stay in there for a few days it would give you the best analog.

+1/ and that's a normal hot steamy night in Central and South Florida during the summer. But at least the drinks are ice cold!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I suggest you try Florida out during June through August before making a decision.

Or go into your bathroom and put two 3000 watt heaters on, then turn on the shower as hot as it will go. If you can stay in there for a few days it would give you the best analog.

That is what AC is for...……

We go here when that is the case. There is always a nice breeze by the beach. Now inland is another story. But hey, we would rather be hot than cold.... It is 50*F today, Brrrrrrrrr.

 

[gerntz]

Saving on state income taxes is a good idea imo.

 

[Aerides]

A lot of people don't like FL for the hurricanes. I've never been in one, but I would think if I'm in a "hurricane-proof" building, for the most part, I'm safe. Not sure about that, would appreciate any comments.

No building in SE Florida has been tested above a Cat3 direct hit since Andrew, in 1992 which was a fast, small Cat5. Building codes have been upgraded, and you could be in a "hurricane proof" building, but all bets are off in a Cat5. Storm rated windows don't get tested beyond 150mph. Gusts are a whole other category. That metal chair your twit neighbor left on their patio getting caught in a 175gust? Yeah there's no hurricane protection rating for that if it hits your impact windows. I would not stay in place - despite my hurricane upgrades - for a Cat4 or higher. Even a graze of a cat1, (irma was only a bad TS for me) means being held hostage inside for up to a day while it rages outside, wrecks your garden, trees, fencing. Blew our outside AC unit, lost 3 trees and had to replace half our fence. Only lost power for a day as we're on a grid with the fire station. Many waited longer. So you always have to prep like you're going camping for a week.

Wilma ('05) wrecked SFL for a week or two. It was a Cat1 here and the eye went over my house. Irma was mostly a TS for broward/palm beach and still a mess for a lot of folks.

But that's only been once every 10+ years. Of course no predictor of the future, if anything it will get worse!

Also, there's something about the FL weather (maybe not summer) that I find magical. I love how the storms roll in, and soon after, you'd never know there was a storm.

You haven't been here in the summer. You know there was a storm lol. The street literally steams, if it's not flooded badly. Your sunglasses are fogged. You sweat from just breathing outside. Whole streets get blocked. Some summers come with dry months at the beginning and the everglades burn, and you have ash on your car, and best not have asthma!

Been here since 82 and no plans to leave. But it did take me a long time to acclimate (like 15 years).

Without the issues above, it would be perfect, but then it would be far to expensive to live here.

 

[Nick12]

Cat 3 there are no hurricane proof roofs. Roof shingles, parts of your roof and your entire roof blows away and interior of home gets soaked by frequent Florida rains. Cat 4/5 - I agree will wipe out entire structures of buildings. When the hurricanes gather strength in the Gulf of Mexico and the cone of uncertainty is across half or the entire state of Florida it’s a very stressful time for us.

 

[Carpediem]

Are your insurance costs through the roof?

(A bit of pun intended but a serious question nonetheless.)

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Are your insurance costs through the roof?

(A bit of pun intended but a serious question nonetheless.)

Ours averaged about $1200 a year for home and $440 for flood (Last 10 years) in North East Florida. 3200sqft concrete block 2 miles from the beach.

 

[Nick12]

Are your insurance costs through the roof?

(A bit of pun intended but a serious question nonetheless.)

Yes and yes. When a major hurricane wrecks an area quite a few insurance companies go bankrupt as they are also victims of these natural disasters. Could not get hold of my insurance company for a while since the phone lines were down, and insurance company locations were impacted by the hurricanes including the agents and adjusters homes.

 

[MRG]

My FIL had a place on Marathon key when Andrew was coming. Although he suffered no damage, they left the keys. They couldn't get out of their neighborhood, let alone to the highway.

My parents lived around Stuart and they did like it there. I'd go absolutely crazy from traffic and tourists.

Never been in a hurricane in FL, but I did see the remains of 2 in PA,NY. More flooding and destruction than anyone could possibly imagine.

 

[Amethyst]

For now, anyway.

Florida's sales tax has crept up over the years; depending on the legislature's perception of state needs, they could decide to impose an income tax at some point.

Saving on state income taxes is a good idea imo.

 

[Dtail]

That is what AC is for...……

We go here when that is the case. There is always a nice breeze by the beach. Now inland is another story. But hey, we would rather be hot than cold.... It is 50*F today, Brrrrrrrrr.

Exactly.
Unless one has a reverse snowbird scenario, if one doesn't like the heat which does last at least 6 months, then FLA is not the right place to move to.
We do everything in 90 degrees that we would do in 60 degrees.

 

[Bamaman]

South Florida's asset is the weather. Otherwise, real estate prices, utilities, insurance, HOA fees and especially property taxes are out of sight.

I always wondered where Floridians went on vacation. Go to the North Georgia Mountains and a third of the cars have Florida license plates. They seem to yearn for elevations and a real 4 seasons of the year.

We live an hour west of Huntsville, and I would say the city is highly underrated. First of all, it's maybe as smart as any city with thousands of engineers and PhD's. Warfare is the city's main business which includes rockets, missiles, think tanks on warfare, THAD defensive systems, FBI's bomb laboratories, Army's business center. They've got a new 4000 employee Mazda/Toyota factory being built. The city has both the mountains and the Tennessee River--absolutely beautiful terrain with a high standard of life.

Nashville's grown so fast that it's quickly become unaffordable to live in. But we fly out of their airport--least expensive in the South.

 

[Amethyst]

+1 on your description.

S. Fla climate is tropical; the more northerly parts of Florida are considered subtropical. So you can look up the characteristics of those climates, and see what you'll be getting.

Not everybody hates it, though; I knew native S. Florida families who only had a window AC, and mostly left the windows open, even in the summer. This was in Broward County.

I can't stand to be out in full hot sun (anywhere), but don't really mind humidity. My hair swells to 3 times its size, which is not necessarily bad. Most women wish for some miracle to thicken their hair Humidity is also good for my skin. I lose 5 years off my looks when in Florida, or maybe that's just because I start looking "young" next to all the elderly people, lol

N
You haven't been here in the summer. You know there was a storm lol. The street literally steams, if it's not flooded badly. Your sunglasses are fogged. You sweat from just breathing outside. Whole streets get blocked. Some summers come with dry months at the beginning and the everglades burn, and you have ash on your car, and best not have asthma!

.

 

[misshathaway]

The price to live in paradise (FL) but it sure beats living up North.

I'm in the northeast investigating a move to central FL. The way I am looking at it is winter comes EVERY year. Hurricanes don't. I start getting depressed in the fall anticipating winter here.

The thing I fear, aside from power outages and roofs flying off, is evacuation with a cat. How much notice do you get and what do you do with your pets? What if you leave them home and you can't get back to feed them?

 

[Nick12]

I'm in the northeast investigating a move to central FL. The way I am looking at it is winter comes EVERY year. Hurricanes don't. I start getting depressed in the fall anticipating winter here.

The thing I fear, aside from power outages and roofs flying off, is evacuation with a cat. How much notice do you get and what do you do with your pets? What if you leave them home and you can't get back to feed them?

. Hurricanes we get the warning and then the general panic sets in. Evacuation is usually in coastal areas, sometimes it is inland. Usually the evac warning is given a few days prior. Roads are clogged with cars, gas stations run out of gas and I have seen people fight each other at Home Depot and Wal Mart getting supplies. There are evac shelters and I believe they accept pets too. Many residents check into hotels. Definitely for sure the many residents are mandatory evac out of their mobile homes. When a hurricane wrecks an area it can take a long time to get back since the National Guard and local sheriff take control of the area and have curfews. I would not leave your pet in your home alone. During the hurricane which usually happens at night we all hide in the walk in closet and pray and ride out the storm. Governor Scott of Florida once said if you are in a mandatory evac area and you choose to remain, to " write your SS# on your arm in case we need to identify your body after the storm".

 

[JoeWras]

I lived in S. Florida and found that just when I loved the weather, all the places to enjoy it (beach, golf course) were too crowded! Darn.

Summers were wide open at both places, with golf courses having massive discounts. Although I didn't like the heat, I liked living during off season. Real neighbors, open spaces.

My suggestion to anyone moving to the subtropical area of Florida is to visit around August 1 just to see if that is acceptable to you. One of my neighbors moved full time based on her winter visits and couldn't take it. She put the place up for sale that September (owned it 9 months.)

Hurricanes are another matter but affect much more than FL. It is an issue from Brownsville, TX to Portland, ME. The unique thing about hurricanes down the peninsula of FL is that you are very far away from help by land. Logistics tend to be a bit slower than say, Pensacola.