What's with the moving to Florida thing??

[Caskem]

It's the activities!

It seems the knee-jerk plan for retirees is to move to Fla.
Why?
Sure it is warmer, no snow, etc. but, what's so scary about cold weather?
Throw a sweater on. Hire someone else to do your driveway.

I've lived in Fla a bit and a lot of folks hide indoors in AC.
I don't get the attraction. It must be me.

We will head south from Ohio when we retire because at present our hobbies are outdoor ones not suitable for cold weather. If that changes, then the plan may change.

 

[Jkstrudwick]

Moving to Florida

Of course, the weather is generally warm and sunny but a better attribute is no income tax and favorable property taxes.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Of course, the weather is generally warm and sunny but a better attribute is no income tax and favorable property taxes.

If this were true, this thread would be about Alaska, which has the lowest tax burden of any state in the union or Delaware which has the 2nd lowest. As I said before, I'd definitely consider moving to Florida, and the Tax Attribute would not even make my Top 10 reasons why.

 

[Accidental Retiree]

Where else but Florida do you run into 80 year olds in tennis outfits and they look pretty good ?

Parts of SoCal.

 

[pb4uski]

I worked so I could enjoy NJ in the summer and FL in the winter. We follow the sun and don't worry about slipping on the ice unless we've dropped a drink :=)

+1 we snowbird too... I refer to it as "perpetual summer".

 

[VaVet96]

We get a lot of "half-backs" here in coastal Virginia and NC as well. Folks from up North flock to Florida and then when the heat gets to them, they move halfway back for some moderate seasons. If it snows here in the winter, it's played up as Armageddon on TV. After all 2" of the mighty snowfall melts, schools resume a couple of days later!

 

[JJpop]

Arizona

I live in northern Wisconsin. I absolutely have had my fill of freezing cold cold cold weather, shoveling snow, driving in the snow and ice....and now have arthritis in my fingers. I’m not moving to Florida as I am also not a fan of humidity. Arizona is in my plan. It’s hot in the summers, but at least I won’t have to shovel sunshine. Not sure the attraction to Florida for many retirees. I’m guessing they haven’t been to Arizona. lol. They have they fair share of snowbirds too.

I also prefer Az.The humidity and bugs in Florida are not great.
Arizona is very hot in the summer but it is dry heat and you get relief simply by being in the shade.It also has arguably the best weather in the country for about 8 months of the year.The one negative is there is no ocean,but no hurricanes either.I have lived in California my entire life except for a 3 year period where we moved to Az to try something different.I liked Az and the heat was easy for us to adjust to.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I also prefer Az.The humidity and bugs in Florida are not great.
Arizona is very hot in the summer but it is dry heat and you get relief simply by being in the shade.It also has arguably the best weather in the country for about 8 months of the year.The one negative is there is no ocean,but no hurricanes either.I have lived in California my entire life except for a 3 year period where we moved to Az to try something different.I liked Az and the heat was easy for us to adjust to.

Wouldn't this be the same for Nevada also?

 

[Teacher Terry]

Nevada is similar but Northern Nevada is cooler.

 

[JJpop]

No

Wouldn't this be the same for Nevada also?

The weather in Nevada is not identical to Arizona.The two states are also very different.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

The weather in Nevada is not identical to Arizona.The two states are also very different.

Other than weather, how so? I know that NV does not have a state income tax and AZ does not tax SS, but SS is only a small part of most folks ER Income if any at all.

 

[meleana]

It seems the knee-jerk plan for retirees is to move to Fla.
Why?
Sure it is warmer, no snow, etc. but, what's so scary about cold weather?
Throw a sweater on. Hire someone else to do your driveway.

I've lived in Fla a bit and a lot of folks hide indoors in AC.
I don't get the attraction. It must be me.

I don't get it either. I always say that.



We are going to move north to NH. If it wasn't NH it would have been Vermont or even Maine.


You would think snow was the plague! LOL! Get someone to clean it up for you and wear a coat.



And there is something to be said for cozying up by a warm fire as the snow falls.

 

[Kim451]

I thought I’d move to FL - warm weather and no taxes - but after visiting this summer and not enjoying the humidity, then coming back to Hawaii with trade winds blowing and the beautiful mountains.... FL really moved down on the list. And now I’ve just ordered Kalua pork and chocolate/coconut bread pudding to be delivered to my door for dinner - I think it’s the clincher for staying here!

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We would be in Hawaii if property prices and home sizes were sensible. But 1,000 sqft and very old homes is a show stopper for us. We need at least 2,500sqft so as not to tread on each others toes. The HCOL of the Islands is not an issue at all for us. QOL trumps HCOL in our books.

 

[Cessna152]

“Why do people move to Florida? For the weather.
Why do people move out of Florida? The weather (and other things)”

Stolen from:
“Could a Cold Snowy State Be a Better Place to Retire Than Florida?”

The author of that article is just trying to make a point (and sell his book,) not bash Florida as a place to retire. I came across the article only after Rapid City SD had made our short list of places to check out.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

“Why do people move to Florida? For the weather.
Why do people move out of Florida? The weather (and other things)”

Stolen from:
“Could a Cold Snowy State Be a Better Place to Retire Than Florida?”

The author of that article is just trying to make a point (and sell his book,) not bash Florida as a place to retire. I came across the article only after Rapid City SD had made our short list of places to check out.

If I were to make that decision, we would rather go to Canada. May as well be SD.

 

[Dtail]

“Why do people move to Florida? For the weather.
Why do people move out of Florida? The weather (and other things)”

Stolen from:
“Could a Cold Snowy State Be a Better Place to Retire Than Florida?”

The author of that article is just trying to make a point (and sell his book,) not bash Florida as a place to retire. I came across the article only after Rapid City SD had made our short list of places to check out.

Ron Stack has always been anti Florida.
How many members of this site retired to SD? This is an intelligent subset of retirees. Wouldn't have they discovered the next great place to retire on their own??

 

[CHBinFL]

The humidity and bugs in Florida are not great.

Not great? Are you kidding? Our bugs are tremendous! Our humidity is unbelievable!

 

[RAE]

“Why do people move to Florida? For the weather.
Why do people move out of Florida? The weather (and other things)”

Stolen from:
“Could a Cold Snowy State Be a Better Place to Retire Than Florida?”

Solution: snowbird (Florida in the winter, somewhere in the North in the summer), as several of us have said in this thread already......

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Solution: snowbird (Florida in the winter, somewhere in the North in the summer), as several of us have said in this thread already......

Not an option for those who do not want to maintain 2 homes or do not like renting for long periods with other people's stuff.

 

[RAE]

Not an option for those who do not want to maintain 2 homes or do not like renting for long periods with outer people's stuff.

Yes, I understand that. We all make our choices based on what we think is best for us. But for those of us that don't like/can't tolerate either cold, snowy weather or extreme heat/humidity, it is certainly something worth considering (assuming one has the resources to do it).

 

[HadEnuff]

I love the four seasons, however here in Upstate NY, the winter part just lasts too long. Way to long for me. I grew up in Cincinnati, and we had a winter, and some years a week or so of sub-zero nights, usually in January, but by late Feb, early March, you had some nice days.

Here in The Finger Lakes area, winter can start around mid-November and hang on until mid April, followed by the rainy season. Weeks on end of gray, 40-50 degree days...

I'm much happier snowbirding to Florida now, than I was having to endure the endless months of winter-like weather that I endured during my working years.

 

[DisneyDreamer]

I've lived in all four continental time zones in the US, Europe, and Asia...and I'm moving to central Florida from rural Southern Oregon when I retire.

Why?

Loved it the last two times. (Yes, I've lived there already and loved it. I know what to expect. Been returning there for vacations...in the heat of summer...since I left.)

Disney. (There. I said it. I am a Disney Park fan and simply must have one closer. So close I can go there for lunch and be back home for dinner.)

I'm tired of the snow and cold in Oregon. (I can't picture shoveling/driving in snow or slipping on ice when I'm elderly.)

Taxes. (No income tax. I plan to live simply and not buy much, so the sale tax increase...from Oregon's zero percent...shouldn't matter much. This is a big reason I am not considering a similar move to be close to the Disney Park in CA. My Oregon town is loaded with CA Retirees who escaped the taxes down south.)

Excellent healthcare with an abundance of geriatric specialists. (I'm tired of driving hours now to find a provider in rural Oregon.)

Return to East Coast. (Easier to visit and host my family and relatives from my native New England.)

Major international airport access. (Direct flights to many destinations on my bucket list.)

I could go on, but those are the major reasons. YMMV.

 

[Floridatennisplayer]

Look! Seriously, look!











It’s another Florida bashing thread! Cool! I love these!

 

[CHBinFL]

Disney. (There. I said it. I am a Disney Park fan and simply must have one closer. So close I can go there for lunch and be back home for dinner.)

I get a Disney annual pass every other year. The off years I'll go to Universal once or twice.

This last time, I downgraded to the pass just good for weekdays (- some other blackout dates) and it worked out good. It's a lot cheaper and it blocks out the busiest dates which are the days you don't want to be at the parks anyway.