What's with the moving to Florida thing??

[bmcgonig]

For me I have lived and worked in florida for over 30 yrs. The heat does not bother me in fact I love it. The biggest thing for me is the sunshine. Constant gray sky's in the winter put me in a funk. Seeing and feeling the sunshine on my body and face makes me happy. Nothing better then sitting on my deck under my huge oak tree with my Alexa playing, holding an adult beverage, watching my dog chase after squirrels.

Exactly. For me it's the feeling of heat all over my skin and the sun shining all day. No matter how many sweaters I put in in winter I can't match the comfort of that. And it just feels infinitely better to be dressed in one layer rather than 3 or 4.

 

[Cassius King]

The wife and I have all intentions to move to Florida in the near future. For us it's to get away from the dismal cold weather and enjoy the outdoors more. Golfing, gardening, hiking, grilling. Just can't tolerate the cold and gloomy skies anymore.
In all honesty, the summers in Cincy are close in temp and humidity as Daytona in the height of summer. What we're gaining is the lack of below freezing temps in winter.

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

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.

Florida has a big reputation as being the place for retirees.

However, Florida does not have the highest percentage of retirees. Maine has that distinction.

It can get cold here in Maine.

 

[bloom2708]

We live in an area with some of the crappiest year round weather. You'd have to work hard to find worse weather. We are close to 50.

I am excited to "finish" with snowblowing, shoveling, blizzards, ice covered sidewalks, driveways, slush filled garages, cars covered with fender bergs and rusting out.

Walking is dangerous, driving is dangerous, 3-5 months of windchill, frost bite potential, slop, cold, wind, snow.

It is appealing to "finish" certain things. I am good at shoveling, snowblowing and the like. I just don't want to do it anymore. We can move to a condo/townhome/apartment or move to a place with better weather or do a combination.

I too pick AZ over FL, but there are attractive points to both and other locations.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Fun Facts about where folks over 65 are living.

City Data only shows 12.7% Retired persons in Jacksonville Florida. St. Johns County 11.1% So a t least in NE FLA it is not as densely populated with old farts as folks think.

Orange County California is 14.8%

Nevada is 15.7%

Arizona is 11%.

 

[Dawg52]

I can deal much better with cold than heat. So between Florida and Wisconsin I would choose Wisconsin.

I can work around the heat. For example....playing golf early or late in the day. When it's 20 below..... golf is out.

 

[samclem]

I'm glad Florida is an option for retirees who would like it. We lived in Tampa for 3 years, and I can see the attraction that FL has for many people. No state income tax, good food, lots of cultural activities, no snow. We knew within a year that it wasn't for us, but I'm glad we got a chance to experience it.

IMO, we're lucky to have a country big enough to offer lots of options. As far as cost of living goes, it's helpful if you can enjoy a place that isn't in huge demand.

 

[unclemick]

Pre Katrina thirty years in New Orleans. Now four season Kansas/Missouri. Join fellow Kansas City snowbirds 1/2 weeks in Florida in December and Texas Gulf in February.

heh heh heh - also visit outside New Orleans once or twice a year. 25 years ER. So far the weather hasn't gotten us down. If it happens I might opt for Dry/warm not humid.

 

[Walt34]

I can deal much better with cold than heat.

A lot depends on the individual and their tolerance for hot/cold weather. I loathe winter with a passion, and if I wasn't in love with my wife I'd be South in a heartbeat. I have a good friend who shares the same opinion of summer that I do of winter. He suffers in the heat; in the winter I go outside to go to the gym and buy food, and that's about it.

 

[Cut-Throat]

I'm a snowbird, but Florida has gotten to be a hassle to rent for the winter. In the Words of Yogi Berra "Nobody goes there anymore, it too crowded" - so,..... as soon as you leave the continental U.S. -- it's fairly easy... The West Indies this year.

 

[gerntz]

IMO there are 'two' Floridas. There's the one about 3-5 miles wide along the entire perimeter of the state. Then (Orlando area excluded) there's inland Florida which can get kind of sketchy; aforementioned meth heads, skeezoids etc.

The natural vegetation of FL is pretty ugly more than 100 yds from the sea imo. It's only the man-modified stuff that is attractive.

 

[LimaPop]

Cheap housing and low taxes


I lived there for 6 years and renamed it the redneck riveria

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Cheap housing and low taxes


I lived there for 6 years and renamed it the redneck riveria

You are confusing it with the Alabama Coast.

 

[RAE]

I am excited to "finish" with snowblowing, shoveling, blizzards, ice covered sidewalks, driveways, slush filled garages, cars covered with fender bergs and rusting out.

Walking is dangerous, driving is dangerous, 3-5 months of windchill, frost bite potential, slop, cold, wind, snow.

It is appealing to "finish" certain things. I am good at shoveling, snowblowing and the like. I just don't want to do it anymore.

+1, my sentiments exactly. I love our northern home from about May through October, but after that, I'm headed south for the winter, like the migratory birds

 

[Teacher Terry]

I just read that predictions are that 300k people will move to Florida every year from 2019-2022. Yikes!

 

[aja8888]

I just read that predictions are that 300k people will move to Florida every year from 2019-2022. Yikes!

We have them coming here to Texas like crazy too. This is in the face of REWahoo's list of reasons why it's advisable to stay away.

 

[Dtail]

You are confusing it with the Alabama Coast.

Haha, well it can be true with the Pensacola area.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Nevada has 30k people a year moving in but Florida seems crazy.

 

[RAE]

We have them coming here to Texas like crazy too. This is in the face of REWahoo's list of reasons why it's advisable to stay away.

I think winter weather and higher taxes in most northern states are driving a lot of new retirees to states like Texas, Arizona, and Florida these days, and I expect that will continue for a while longer. As you get older, moving snow around and dealing with ice, slush, the polar vortex, etc. is not all that much fun anymore, and of course people are always looking to lower their tax burden, if they can. I don't think this trend will continue indefinitely, because the SW doesn't have the water to support millions of new residents, and the SE is probably going to get too hot/humid eventually for a lot of people (in addition to the overcrowding). But, at least in my lifetime, I'm not expecting this trend to change too much.

 

[ejman]

I was surprised to see that Oregon is among the top 10 fastest growing states. It has about the highest income tax rate among all states, forest fires, weird politics, miserable weather - go figure.

 

[Scrapr]

I was surprised to see that Oregon is among the top 10 fastest growing states. It has about the highest income tax rate among all states, forest fires, weird politics, miserable weather - go figure.

no sales tax....plus the weed is legal

 

[ScottS]

Lived in Maine, Florida, Arizona, California, Minnesota, Michigan, Utah, etc., etc.

So, I guess I know the extremes of hot and cold climates.

Not to mention that Florida (and it's weather) also attracts all sorts of critters...Meth Heads, Homeless, and general Skeezoids.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, of course....

Don't forget the sportos, the motorheads, geeks, bloods, wastoids, dweebies.

 

[Elbata]

I live in SoCal and wish to move to FL. We'll be vacationing there next week.

Here's one of my biggest reasons of wanting to move to FL (besides the sunshine). In SoCal, we're secluded from the rest of the country. I'll fly to San Fran for lunch, but I'm not really a fan of San Fran, and Phoenix isn't especially a place on my wish list to visit.

Living in FL, in a few hours I could be in New Orleans, DC, NY and even NH. The east coast just oozes history and interesting places to visit. Also look on a map. The US is pretty much desert west of the Mississippi, and the eastern US is green. I like trees much more than desert.

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[atmsmshr]

Grew up in PA; lived in Chicago, upstate New York, and Connecticut.

Stay away from Florida unless you are vacationing and spending like Robbie - all the horror stories are true and more. (Someone forgot to mention that the mosquitoes can drain a Chihuahua in 5 minutes, the Mouse can drain your wallet in 15 minutes, pythons are grabbing cats each day, and to be very, very fearful of the crocs and alligators.)

Now get off my beach.

Atom

 

[joeea]

Florida has a big reputation as being the place for retirees.

However, Florida does not have the highest percentage of retirees. Maine has that distinction.

I've heard that stated before, but I haven't ever read anything definitive to that effect. Can you provide a link?

- a fellow Mainer