Florida living

ShokWaveRider said:
One of the main reasons we live ~2 miles from the beach. Ocean Breezes all year round.
Click to expand...

Yep! I was jealous of my friends who got the sea breeze while I sweat it out on the edge of the Everglades.
 
JoeWras said:
Yep! I was jealous of my friends who got the sea breeze while I sweat it out on the edge of the Everglades.
Click to expand...

The edge of the Everglades is a lovely place and has everything you need to be one with nature and commune with the local wildlife.

You have gators, pythons, venomous snakes, iguanas, bobcats, panthers, mosquitoes, gnats, love bugs, and birds galore.
 
Here's your main problem living in South Florida:
 

Attachments

  • Rock Reef Pass.jpg
    Rock Reef Pass.jpg
    995.4 KB · Views: 44
Last edited:
As compared to this in Wyoming:
 

Attachments

  • Beartooth Pass.jpg
    Beartooth Pass.jpg
    182.7 KB · Views: 37
Last edited:
Scuba said:
the humidity which we’ve actually been fine with
Click to expand...

oh you haven't had it yet. It's muggy sure, but wait till after Jul 4 to judge the humidity.
 
Gumby said:
Here's your main problem living in South Florida:
Click to expand...

Ha ha. Been there! Don't have a picture though.

A pass is a pass, right? Some are at 11,000ft, some are at 3 ft. LOL.

Back in the day the airboat operators made sure to take the pass.
 
JoeWras said:
Just be aware, it isn't summer yet. July through September are different than May, especially this particular May which has been cool in the deep southeast.

Also, don't fret about it too much. Most visitors from CA are ready to turn around the moment they get off the plane and the humidity hits them, any month of the year. If you can handle May humidity after living in CA, you can handle it any time. It will just be a bit worse so you seek the A/C out more.

I always had problems with late September. I just couldn't believe I was waking up to 80 degrees with 98% humidity. That caused me to get homesick for the Midwest.
Click to expand...

+10
I have lived in Florida since 1962. The first 4 years I lived in Orlando (before Disney when it was a small town) and for the rest of the years in NE Fl 2 short blocks to the ocean. Humidity + heat can get thick enough at times to make it a challenge to breath. I don't think anyone gets used to it but it is a trade-off for "living the life" here.
If you live from central Florida and further south just be aware of some of the large events in beach towns like Daytona Beach (Daytona 500, Bike Week in March, Biktoberfest in October, Spring Break, etc.). If you like the crowds it can be fun otherwise maybe not so much. And remember that Florida is a tourist state and certain times of the year especially if you live at the beach you will experience an influx of a lot of tourists and the inevitable problems that result.

Cheers!
 
JoeWras said:
Just be aware, it isn't summer yet. July through September are different than May, especially this particular May which has been cool in the deep southeast.



Also, don't fret about it too much. Most visitors from CA are ready to turn around the moment they get off the plane and the humidity hits them, any month of the year. If you can handle May humidity after living in CA, you can handle it any time. It will just be a bit worse so you seek the A/C out more.



I always had problems with late September. I just couldn't believe I was waking up to 80 degrees with 98% humidity. That caused me to get homesick for the Midwest.
Click to expand...



It helps that I grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and lived in Houston for 10 years before moving to CA.
 
Aerides said:
oh you haven't had it yet. It's muggy sure, but wait till after Jul 4 to judge the humidity.
Click to expand...



I know it will get a lot worse. I spent the first 30 years of my life on the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas.
 
Badger said:
+10

I have lived in Florida since 1962. The first 4 years I lived in Orlando (before Disney when it was a small town) and for the rest of the years in NE Fl 2 short blocks to the ocean. Humidity + heat can get thick enough at times to make it a challenge to breath. I don't think anyone gets used to it but it is a trade-off for "living the life" here.

If you live from central Florida and further south just be aware of some of the large events in beach towns like Daytona Beach (Daytona 500, Bike Week in March, Biktoberfest in October, Spring Break, etc.). If you like the crowds it can be fun otherwise maybe not so much. And remember that Florida is a tourist state and certain times of the year especially if you live at the beach you will experience an influx of a lot of tourists and the inevitable problems that result.



Cheers!
Click to expand...



Yes, good point re tourists. One of the things we are staying away from is non-HOA neighborhoods. So many of the homes we are seeing listed are marketed as successful AirBnb’s. That would be a bummer for us to live next door to that. Even though HOA’s have their issues, at least they prevent the neighborhood from turning into party central for visitors.
 
ShokWaveRider said:
I hope you have fun. I would avoid the Daytona area also. We want to downsize our home and did what you are doing some 3 years ago. We went all over the East and West Coast. We like being close to a beach and in a beachy type town, so looking inland was not an option. We have lived in Florida for long enough to know better. Unfortunately, we could not find anywhere we liked better than where we are. Perhaps we are just set in our ways. We liked the amenities on the 55+ communities and that is really the only thing we lack (by choice) in our community as club membership is optional and we would not use it enough. We live in a Private Golf Club Community. The few times we have gone there, we found the food nothing to scream about, and the people were not the type we would choose to socialize with long term.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the info. We are having fun, even though it is raining for a lot bigger part of the day than we expected. We definitely appreciate ocean breezes. We were in Port St. Lucie the other day and we’re surprised at the breezes there given that it’s a good 10+ miles from the beach.
 
Thought I would post an update on our exploration so far. We were in SE FL for 3 weeks. Arrived yesterday at the SW FL Coast. Our impressions of SE/Central East Coast Florida are:

- Surprisingly, the only thing that seems cheaper vs So CA is gasoline, which is about $1.50/gallon less. Since we don’t typically drive a lot, that isn’t too relevant for our cost of living. Housing, food at grocery stores, and dining out are all about the same. Homeowners insurance and property taxes are higher. Net, we believe our COL would be about a wash vs So CA.

- We actually like the humidity (might feel differently in August), and bugs haven’t been a major issue.

- East Coast beaches are very different than West Coast. The water isn’t as clear, and the surf can be pretty strong. We went to Siesta Key beach yesterday. Stunning! Clear, warm water with light surf. Enough surf to hear waves lapping but not strong.

- There are some very nice towns (we liked Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Stuart) as well as some fabulous 55+ communities being constructed. They seem to be selling very briskly.

- Buying an upgraded SFR of around 2K-2.5K sq ft with a pool will cost upwards of $1M. This was true in Viera, Port St. Lucie, and Boynton Beach. They advertise base prices much lower, but that is if you don’t want an upgraded lot, are happy with the basic finishes with no optional structural or cosmetic changes, and you don’t want a pool or spa.

We’ll be exploring the West Coast next from Sarasota/Bradenton to Naples.
 
Scuba said:
- Surprisingly, the only thing that seems cheaper vs So CA is gasoline, which is about $1.50/gallon less. Since we don’t typically drive a lot, that isn’t too relevant for our cost of living. Housing, food at grocery stores, and dining out are all about the same. Homeowners insurance and property taxes are higher. Net, we believe our COL would be about a wash vs So CA.
Click to expand...

Not taking into account no State Income Taxes and Cheaper Electricity. The West coast has warmer waters as you noted but are more prone to destructive hurricanes as a result. The clear waters are nice, ours are always a bit cloudy until you get out of the shallows then they clear up nicely.

We came from SoCAL as you have and found overall what we liked was the lack of people compared to SoCAL, ease of getting to an airport as I was working from home at the time and travelled regularly, not having to line up for e everything and acceptable traffic. That was in 2005 and we preferred the Northeast coast for those reasons. A lot has changed since then. The further south one goes the more crowded it gets. We put up with a cooler winter (All 2 - 3 weeks of it :) ) as a result.

Good luck with your search. Check if a home you are interested in insurable before you consider buying. There are a lot that are not, or are prohibitively costly.
 
Last edited:
ShokWaveRider said:
How long ago? What about the most recent? Regardless your point is moot. My point was the West Coast is "more" prone to them, not that the East coast never experienced them.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a jerk. It perhaps came across that way. My apologies.

Over long periods of time, the southern part of FL (approx below the lake) are equally vulnerable from any angle. The northern parts of FL on both coasts have a unique sort of protection. On the east coast, the angle of attack helps the JAX area. On the West coast, frictional effects from the shape of the coast help lessen the impact (not necessarily stop them).

Impacts tend to be periodic. The two SE FL hits I mention (probably both Cat 5) were within years of each other. There have been other decades where SE FL had zero hits. Researchers are still working on the reasons. It is complex and includes what is happening in Africa and South America.

One cannot assume the experience of the last 10 years will persist. There are periods and fluctuations.
 
ShokWaveRider said:
How long ago? What about the most recent? Regardless your point is moot. My point was the West Coast is "more" prone to them, not that the East coast never experienced them.
Click to expand...

Eh the idea that the last 20 or 40 years might predict the next 20+ is a bit useless. Sure, the SE coast hasn't seen much since the 2004/05 season (harvey, 2017 , but that took the whole state and was not actually a hurricane for much of it).

Meanwhile the SW>I4 route was popular last year, and others have swiped the NE and the panhandle.

If you're in Florida, the only benefit to being 2+ miles inland is less storm surge risk, and less mandatory evacuations. Big storms that squat on the state are a mess for everyone, even when they just threaten, as most of your prep and decision making needs to be 72-48 hours out.
 
Learn about red tide before you fall in love with the Gulf coast.
 
Aerides said:
Eh the idea that the last 20 or 40 years might predict the next 20+ is a bit useless. Sure, the SE coast hasn't seen much since the 2004/05 season (harvey, 2017 , but that took the whole state and was not actually a hurricane for much of it).

Meanwhile the SW>I4 route was popular last year, and others have swiped the NE and the panhandle.

If you're in Florida, the only benefit to being 2+ miles inland is less storm surge risk, and less mandatory evacuations. Big storms that squat on the state are a mess for everyone, even when they just threaten, as most of your prep and decision making needs to be 72-48 hours out.
Click to expand...

+1 If you live anywhere below Daytona and don't start leaving at least 2 days in advance of the predicted landfall for a large hurricane there is the likelihood having to ride out 140+ mph winds in gridlock on I95/I75 (they get really crowded) or having a difficult time finding gas to get to a safe motel.

Cheers!
 
Scuba said:
Thought I would post an update on our exploration so far. We were in SE FL for 3 weeks. Arrived yesterday at the SW FL Coast. Our impressions of SE/Central East Coast Florida are:

- Surprisingly, the only thing that seems cheaper vs So CA is gasoline, which is about $1.50/gallon less. Since we don’t typically drive a lot, that isn’t too relevant for our cost of living. Housing, food at grocery stores, and dining out are all about the same. Homeowners insurance and property taxes are higher. Net, we believe our COL would be about a wash vs So CA.


- There are some very nice towns (we liked Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Stuart) as well as some fabulous 55+ communities being constructed. They seem to be selling very briskly.

- Buying an upgraded SFR of around 2K-2.5K sq ft with a pool will cost upwards of $1M. This was true in Viera, Port St. Lucie, and Boynton Beach. They advertise base prices much lower, but that is if you don’t want an upgraded lot, are happy with the basic finishes with no optional structural or cosmetic changes, and you don’t want a pool or spa.

We’ll be exploring the West Coast next from Sarasota/Bradenton to Naples.
Click to expand...


Scuba --
I'm curious about your impressions of the Stuart/Saint Lucie area. Did that area seem to be getting too crowded or over-built??

Our Dear Daughter has settled in Coral Springs down by Ft Lauderdale, but that area is way too busy for our liking. We'd like to be a little north of that area, and wondering just how far up the FL Turnpike you have to go to get a little elbow room. Ocean Beaches are not important to us at this stage of life.

We've been looking at the Active 55 communities in PSL or even Melbourne. There are some nice homes in our price point.

I will say that on our last drive thru FLA, we were impressed by how CLEAN it is. We drove the length of the state.....300 miles and not a scrap of litter anywhere !! These people in CHS will throw everything out of their cars.....the junkiest vehicles will toss fast food wrappers out the window.
 
Scuba said:
Yes, good point re tourists. One of the things we are staying away from is non-HOA neighborhoods. So many of the homes we are seeing listed are marketed as successful AirBnb’s. That would be a bummer for us to live next door to that. Even though HOA’s have their issues, at least they prevent the neighborhood from turning into party central for visitors.
Click to expand...
Scuba,
I have mixed feelings about HOAs. I looked at a community of side by side twin homes in Minnesota yesterday. No HOA.
It was a nice community, in a desirable area, but 2-3 of the units weren't being maintained on the exterior, including the one next to the place for sale.
One was nicely painted with new roof and driveway. The other one needed paint and driveway replacement, and was very run down looking. The guy also had a huge boat trailer next to his garage, so I'm assuming the boat will sit there all winter.
I passed on buying that place. I feel bad for the owners.
 
I think we all suffer from "Where we live is the best place syndrome" me included. We all have our own requirements. Southwest dwellers put up with a higher-than-normal hurricane devastation potential and high season congestion, Northeast dwellers put up with no Coconut trees, a cooler winter and moderate devastation potential. Bottom line is that we all make our own decisions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
What do we need to know or to buy that is somewhat unique to FL?
2
Replies
43
Views
4K
JoeWras
JoeWras
M
Our First Year of Retirement!
2
Replies
44
Views
3K
Time2
T
T
Retired 10 years today!
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
Patience
P
Aramis
The Day Has Finally Come.....
Replies
22
Views
1K
NeilDH
N
F
One Year Anniversary
Replies
9
Views
536
NeilDH
N

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom