Don't move to Florida?

[Chuckanut]

It's not that the tides are rising. It's the combined weight of all those extra Yankees moving in that's pressing the state downward.

Good point. Look what might happen to Guam!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hank-johnson-worries-guam-could-capsize-after-marine-buildup/

Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) is raising some eyebrows with a comment he made about the U.S. territory of Guam during a House Armed Services Committee hearing last Thursday.
In a discussion regarding a planned military buildup on the Pacific island, Johnson expressed some concerns about the plans to Adm. Robert Willard, head of the U.S. Pacific fleet.
"My fear is that the whole island will become so overly populated that it will tip over and capsize," Johnson said.

 

[street]

One less person thinking about moving to Florida is good.
Plus let us know this winter how the wind chill factor is in Montana.

Love winter so many great outdoor activities to do. No people and hurricanes and the problems that they have in beautiful Florida. Lol Have a great hot humid summer.

 

[W2R]

I think it's wonderful that we don't all want to live in the same place. Keeps the cost of housing down in our chosen retirement locations.

 

[rayinpenn]

Ive written a florida winter home purchase off (still want to checkout coastal panhandle) because of the crowds. The locals know there are 2 seasons in parts of florida tourist and nice. The thing is it is growing at a staggering pace. Undoubtably the infrastructure will be taxed further..

 

[Breedlove]

Where are all of these people coming from ? We live in Texas 30 minutes from Houston and it seems every time we get on the freeways we see a new sub division and a new strip center . Austin used to be a great town , now sucks . Don't come to Texas just as bad !

 

[Andre1969]

When we bought our first Florida home in 2006, I remember someone showing me an article with “scientific research” being cited that the area my house was in would be under water within ten years. We did sell that house in 2016, but not because it was under water. We now have a condo on the water just north of Ft Lauderdale. Not worried one bit.

Many houses purchased in Florida, in 2006, were in fact under water by the time 2016 rolled around. But, not from any kind of scientific standpoint!

 

[Gumby]

Around here, all the malcontents regularly threaten to pull up stakes and move to Florida, because taxes, living expenses, government, crime, weather, blah, blah, blah ... I'm certain they think they'll create an absolute paradise wherever they end up. I think it far more likely they'll merely be a congregation of whiny old people who piss and moan about everything and make the locals wish they had never come.

 

[Andre1969]

Around here, all the malcontents regularly threaten to pull up stakes and move to Florida, because taxes, living expenses, government, crime, weather, blah, blah, blah ... I'm certain they think they'll create an absolute paradise wherever they end up. I think it far more likely they'll merely be a congregation of whiny old people who piss and moan about everything and make the locals wish they had never come.

Sounds like my Mom and stepdad you just described. They bought a second home in Florida back around 2002. It's inland, some place called Grand Island. I've never been to it, as the idea of spending a vacation with my Mom and stepdad is not high on my list of fun things to do. Anyway, their intention was to move down there, from Maryland, once they retired.


Well, they retired in 2011, and keep griping about Maryland, but haven't pulled the plug yet! And, they are turning into whiny old people...

 

[Dtail]

All the whining is relative.
The 2 biggest complaints around here is the traffic and the heat.
Well, the DGF and I love the heat, truly. Played 2 hours of competitive pickleball yesterday in 96 degree heat. As I am playing, I am thinking it is great to be able to do this sport in the middle of the weekday.
As for the traffic, it is much less than where I came from, plus being retired and not in a retirement hot spot, one can avoid most of the traffic issues.

 

[Scuba]

Where are all of these people coming from ? We live in Texas 30 minutes from Houston and it seems every time we get on the freeways we see a new sub division and a new strip center . Austin used to be a great town , now sucks . Don't come to Texas just as bad !

Probably California. The state is doing its best to drive out middle and upper middle class folks by taxing them to the point of no return. The very poor stay for all the free services, and the very rich stay because they can. The rest of us are like frogs in the pot of hot water. The heat gets turned up every year and more and more of us leave for lower tax environments with decent weather.

 

[Alan]

Even the gators are well educated in Florida and are laying out clever traps

 

[aja8888]

Where are all of these people coming from ? We live in Texas 30 minutes from Houston and it seems every time we get on the freeways we see a new sub division and a new strip center . Austin used to be a great town , now sucks . Don't come to Texas just as bad !

Some of our new neighbors in our 55+ community have moved here from Florida. Little do they know that it is not much better here. I think they came here to follow the grandkids which seems to be a driving force these days.

Oh, and between the 4,500 new homes going up in Willis, and the two planned subdivisions east of I-45 and south of Rt 242, there will be about 15,000 new single family homes being populated here (The Woodlands area) in the nest 5 years.

 

[brett]

We considered a home in Forida and some in surrounding states. Decided against it. It was down the list, below Costa Rica. IF we buy, it will probably be somewhere on Mexico's southern Pacific coast.

 

[Amethyst]

The Florida crowding surprised me, too. We are paying about 30% higher auto insurance rates because of it; whereas, when I moved from Florida to MD in 1980, my auto insurance was much higher in MD.

Anyway, I surmise that "They" are the gazillions of people, born in the 1950's, who are finally retiring. "They" went to high school on double sessions. "They" drove up housing prices in the 1980's. In a few years, "They" will overload the assisted living facilities. It is just demographics in action.

 

[timo2]

Sinkholes seem to be concentrated in certain regions of Florida, mid-state and northward.

From Florida Division of Emergency Management 2018 State Hazard Report, map of sinkhole hazards:
https://www.floridadisaster.org/con...d3b38f7122d334/appendix-h_sinkhole-report.pdf

omni

Thanks for posting that map. It is amazing how the sinkhole areas follow the county boundaries!!

But my sister lives in one of the high counties.

 

[Bestwifeever]

We’re in Florida right now for a week on the Atlantic north of Palm Beach. I could easily live here (but I could be just ad happy in many places) as I love the heat. It’s beautiful right now and not at all crowded.

The Netflix series “Bloodline” is set in the Keys and the gorgeous beach resort owned by the fictional family is fictionally worthless as the fictional real estate appraisal predicted it will be underwater in however many years. Clever subtext and nice plot point.

 

[MichaelB]

A comment about Florida population growth, tourism and its effects on traffic and such. Tourism is the backbone of. the Central and South Florida economy. Without it we would have a poor economy, few retail outlets and restaurants, falling property values, and widespread hardship. Having seen that elsewhere, tourism and population growth - and traffic - is better IMO.

What he actually said in his comparison was that banks continue to issue mortgages in earthquake zones, so he doesn't see why they wouldn't continue to issue them in FL.

His comment was mortgage lenders are highly exposed in California, because few mortgage holders have earthquake insurance, and Florida has a similar catastrophic exposure to mortgage lenders.

The risk to California mortgage lending, as expressed in the article, is exaggerated. Mortgages are securitized, so the ownership is highly diversified. While a loss might be large, it is spread over many investors. If anything, underwriters might be exposed, but they are (presumably) experts at risk assessment. In addition, even a catastrophic earthquake would not affect the entire state. Commercial real estate probably represents a greater financial risk, and there much ownership is also diversified using REITs. There are many serious risks in California, but IMO mortgage lending loss from earthquakes is not among the most serious.

The risk in Florida is much different. There already is a risk of catastrophic damage, caused by hurricanes, and this has not affected mortgage lending at all. Mortgage holders in flood zones are required to hold flood and wind insurance. The current flood policies would probably insure against the consequences of sea level rise, so this risk is in no way similar to that of California. What should happen if sea levels do begin to rise is premiums for flood insurance will rise as well.

Sea level rise is a slow, unstoppable process, not a sudden catastrophic event. Exodus from affected property areas will begin before the level of damage is significant, and property values will probably spiral down is a slow, torturous process. Property owners will lose, as will children of Florida coastal homeowners hoping for real estate based inheritance.

I think the thread topic is legitimate, and people need to think carefully before settling into some areas because of the ongoing risk of water damage, sea level rise, lack of infrastructure and awareness of community leaders.

 

[HFWR]

Around here, all the malcontents regularly threaten to pull up stakes and move to Florida, because taxes, living expenses, government, crime, weather, blah, blah, blah ... I'm certain they think they'll create an absolute paradise wherever they end up. I think it far more likely they'll merely be a congregation of whiny old people who piss and moan about everything and make the locals wish they had never come.

That pretty much describes, well, everywhere...

There are, seems to me, plenty of things we should be considering when designing the future...

 

[Chuckanut]

Where are all of these people coming from ? We live in Texas 30 minutes from Houston and it seems every time we get on the freeways we see a new sub division and a new strip center . Austin used to be a great town , now sucks . Don't come to Texas just as bad !

I thought most of that was due to the lack of or weak zoning laws in the Houston area.

 

[Amethyst]

LOL so true! Along with, the nicer it is, the more it seems to cost, once those pesky Other People find out about it.

That pretty much describes, well, everywhere...

..

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Houston RE Taxes are Brutal Also.

 

[Teacher Terry]

People are moving here like crazy and the roads haven’t kept up. I only get on the freeway between 10-3 now.

 

[NYEXPAT]

I think once "We" finish gentrifying Florida, it will be a pretty nice place to live!

 

[cyber888]

I believe in Climate Change .. but this current government doesn’t .. Insurance in the coastal area is getting more and more expensive, because the hurricanes and tornadoes and flooding are getting stronger

 

[RAE]

Sea level rise is a slow, unstoppable process, not a sudden catastrophic event. Exodus from affected property areas will begin before the level of damage is significant, and property values will probably spiral down is a slow, torturous process. Property owners will lose, as will children of Florida coastal homeowners hoping for real estate based inheritance.

I think the thread topic is legitimate, and people need to think carefully before settling into some areas because of the ongoing risk of water damage, sea level rise, lack of infrastructure and awareness of community leaders.

I agree that the thread topic is legitimate, and that climate change is very likely to result in an exodus from many flood-prone areas within the next 20-30 years or so. That said, however, we still recently decided to buy a small house in Florida, in a flood-prone area. Why, you ask? Because I'm 64 years old, and I wanted to have a warmer place to go to for about 5 months of the year (late Fall/Winter). We live in the Upper Midwest, and spending the whole winter here is just not something I want to do anymore. And we bought in a flood-prone area, because I love to fish the saltwater, and buying something far inland would make it inconvenient for me to do that. So we bought a small house that is up on stilts........12 feet off the ground, and we have no mortgage. I know that floods will happen, but our house can withstand most floods - it is hurricanes that I worry about. Hurricanes are getting stronger with climate change also, and a direct hit from a major hurricane is something our house (and virtually all houses in the area) could not withstand. If you drive through parts of the Florida Panhandle now and look at what Hurricane Michael did to some of those towns last October, you can see what a Cat. 4/5 hurricane can do. But the chance of a major hurricane making a direct hit on our area is not great either. If it happens, it happens, and I'm prepared to accept the loss of our house and move on. We did not buy the house with the intent of leaving it to our kids as an inheritance, and they know that.

So, although the risk from climate change is real, I've decided to accept that risk, as I'm not going to live forever, and the location we chose is where I want to spend my winters for the next decade or more (hopefully). I actually think that the thing that will eventually cause us to sell our house is the increasing development, traffic, and congestion that is creeping northward in Florida. We are on the edge of that right now, but in 10 years, my guess is that it will be all around us. But in the meantime, I intend to enjoy myself down there during the colder months, and not get too stressed about any of this.