Debating between Nevada or Florida to retire

[Cassius King]

Intriguing conversation about Florida. My initial plans are to buy a house in or around the New Smyrna/Cape Canaveral area. Interesting to hear everybody's opinions on the area.

 

[braumeister]

I love threads like this, just for the entertainment value. I've lived pretty much everywhere in the US, although in some cases only for a month or two at a time. So I have an extremely good idea of what I like and what I don't like.

In general, I would much rather be cold than hot. You can always put something else on, but you can only take so much off.

Right now, I'm in a pretty good climate area, except for a month or so in the summer. Since DW has lived here all her life and has a zillion friends, we're not likely to ever move away. But the big advantage of FIRE is that we can travel when and where we want.

 

[meierlde]

Me neither. There is a reason Disney was able to buy those thousands of acres very cheaply way back when....very soggy and humid. Although we were in Disney World last February, and it was beautiful. Not humid at all. Probably landed on the 3 best days they had

Plus they were swamps and full of alligators as was shown last year at a Disney Hotel. Got to stay away from lakes.

 

[Rustic23]

CaliKid, FlaGator hit it on the head with the bases we were at. 3 years Nellis, 3 years Hurlburt, and 4 years Patrick.

You have all four seasons on the Emerald coast. Good places to eat, and the best beaches in the U.S. I would pick the Central East Coast next. Can't comment on the West Coast. I would stay out of Central FL. and Southern FL. simply because of the crowds. However, it is what you make it.

The Destin area will also have tourist and it may be getting worse. It has been a while since we were there.

Note: Never thought the bugs were that bad. Yea, they have bugs, but so does just about every other place we lived. Never heard of bugs in ones ear unless you include Iphones.

 

[brucethebroker]

1. Before moving to Orlando or Daytona, check out the crime stats-scared us!
2. Find an inexpensive 2nd home/condo. Best of both worlds: nice spring/summer up north, great fall/winter in FL (or AZ).

 

[IMATERP]

Those two choices are hard to separate (both positives and negatives)...

Many moons ago, I would take 5 day jaunts out to Laughlin/Bullhead City, Az. It was a "sleepy" area back then. I'm sure that it has grown significantly.

Florida is awfully muggy. Have you tried going a bit north to Beaufort, S.C. My wife and go to Savannah pretty often and the weather seems a bit
better.

Now, if you still have an "active" sex life - you might want to Google "The Villages." Different strokes for different folks.

Michael

 

[Doc0]

I went with FL because water and power is plentiful, and I'm not sure where you can get a drink of water in NV that isn't somehow leveraged. You can't live without water.

Best

 

[JPatrick]

Florida is probably the only place where you will see women in their 90's shopping in their tennis outfit and they look pretty good.

Pictures??

 

[flyingaway]

I went with FL because water and power is plentiful, and I'm not sure where you can get a drink of water in NV that isn't somehow leveraged. You can't live without water.

Best

Florida has plenty of salt water.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We are coming up to our best time of year.

One of the other benefits of Florida, or at least where live is we trip over doctors and specialists. Never had to wait for anything.

 

[aja8888]

CaliKid, FlaGator hit it on the head with the bases we were at. 3 years Nellis, 3 years Hurlburt, and 4 years Patrick.

I was stationed at Orlando Air Force base in the mid-1960's. Anyone guess what happened to it (it's no longer there BTW)?

 

[Fermion]

Pictures??

:

 

[MichaelB]

I was stationed at Orlando Air Force base in the mid-1960's. Anyone guess what happened to it (it's no longer there BTW)?

Mouse infestation? The entire Orlando Metro area is overrun by them - you see them everywhere. Especially the hotels and theme parks.

I hear they were first bred in Anaheim and are slowly making their way around the world. They even have names. Minnie, Mickey ...

 

[REWahoo]

I was stationed at Orlando Air Force base in the mid-1960's. Anyone guess what happened to it (it's no longer there BTW)?

You mean McCoy (formerly Pinecastle) AFB in Orlando?

I was stationed there when it closed in the early 70's. It's now Orlando International Airport as the old Orlando-McCoy Jetport took over the adjoining AFB runway to accommodate the growing air traffic from all those who wanted to visit the newly-opened Disney World just down the road. I think base housing was transferred to the city and the individual houses were sold to the public.

 

[aja8888]

Mouse infestation? The entire Orlando Metro area is overrun by them - you see them everywhere. Especially the hotels and theme parks.

I hear they were first bred in Anaheim and are slowly making their way around the world. They even have names. Minnie, Mickey ...

No, the base was shut down and became the Orlando International Airport.

I remember the ants, zillions of them, and the snakes. This was pre-Disney when you could have bought most any property in the area for a song. I was a poor Airman at the time and was glad to be out of there after 6 months of training.

 

[imoldernu]

can't body surf in Nevada

Take a look at Leesburg, Central Florida.
Less traffic. Almost smack dab in the middle of the state. 405 miles to Pensacola (north), Key West (south), and about 65 miles from Daytona (east), and Crystal River (west). 15 miles to The Villages and 40 miles to Orlando.

Centered on the Chain of Lakes, five large lakes with 212 miles of shoreline. If you like boats, our community on Lake Griffin has 55 slips, and you could travel the Ocklawaha River north , to the St. Johns, and then to Jacksonville... and the Atlantic Ocean.

Many, many over 55 communities in the area with every possible combination of amenities, and about 50% less than coastal communities. Lower taxes, lower cost of living.

On the other hand... if you prefer bumper to bumper stalled traffic, a one hour restaurant wait and want to show off your new Bugatti... the coasts are the place to be.

Just sayin'

 

[Katsmeow]

I have spent quite a bit of time looking at the Nevada possibility. DH and I plan to move in 2 or 3 years. One option is staying in the same general area. Another is to move somewhere else within the state (Texas). The final is to move some place else. Nevada is on our list. Florida is not.

Why not Florida? If we wanted humid and hurricane risk, we would stay where we are. Plus, Florida comes with a huge side of gators.

For Nevada - we would consider Henderson. The reason for not considering other places in Nevada is because (1) I am a big city girl and (2) I like the amenities that are available in Las Vegas. Honestly, Las Vegas is barely large enough for me but the amenities push it over the edge. Being close to amenities (restaurants, stores, entertainment) is a huge draw to me. While I am not a huge gambler in terms of what I will invest in that entertainment, I do enjoy it and having easy access would be fun.

The other pros of Nevada:

Not humid - Yes, I know it is really hot during the day. But, the humidity bothers me more than the heat. Yes, it would nice if Nevada had mild winters and mild summers. DH moved around as a child (he dad was in the Navy) but he spent the most time in the San Diego area. That climate would be great. But, I don't want to spend what we need to spend to afford housing there. So, anywhere we live is going to have some downside on whether and the one I would most tolerate is heat.

Low property taxes (coupled with no income tax) - I have calculated that if we bought a similar home in Nevada (even if more expensive there to get the same thing in Texas), our costs would still go down because the property taxes would be lower. One of the serious negatives of Texas is property taxes.

Small lots/no grass - I've spent a lot of time looking online on houses for sale to get an idea of the market. Most houses have small lots and no (or very little) grass. That has a lot of appeal for maintenance particularly years from now.

Location - Fairly close to a lot of other places we could make short trips to - Only a few hours drive to Los Angeles and not a long flight. Arizona is close (Arizona is also on our list of places to consider). While we have no family in Nevada, there is a good chance that our son will eventually end up on the west coast (he is in computer science grad school right now and thinks it likely that is where he will eventually end up). We wouldn't make the decision just based on that -- kids can always move -- but it would be a possible plus if it worked out that way.

There are some negatives. One way I've checked out negatives is to go to the relevant city-data forum and just read them. No matter what locale I've considered I've always found a lot there. Bear in mind that if you read a forum like that you will undoubtedly end up thinking the place in question is terrible. I guess the nature of forums about a specific locale is that people are more motivated to post about negative things. I've tested this but going and reading the forum for the Houston area. There are areas I've literally lived in for years and that are fine that are presented as being terrible and crime ridden, etc. That said, you do get a feel from that as to what potential negatives are. They are often things that you don't read about elsewhere.

For Henderson, I have 3 primary concerns:

1. Medical care - Pretty much everyone agrees that medical care in the Las Vegas area (well, the state as a whole) is not very good. It is fine for the routine stuff, but not for very difficult stuff. If you need a heart transplant, you are flying to LA or somewhere else. This does seem to be getting ready to be improved. The situation as I understand it is that there wasn't much med school education in Nevada. The university in Reno had a med school that did some training in Las Vegas. But, there aren't hospitals with a lot of high level residencies. So new doctors tended to leave the state. However, UNLV is now opening a medical school so this may get better in the long term. What a lot of people have indicated in the forum I read was that they basically fly to LA (or other places) for ongoing care for anything serious. So, if they need treatment for serious heart disease or cancer, they go to UCLA (or wherever). I could see that working. And, then just doing routine stuff in Nevada. Right now, neither DH or I have any serious medical concerns. The difficult possible situation is emergency care for something really serious and that requires specialized care. I'm not sure how comfortable I would be with Nevada for that.

2. Pets - Clark County (and the towns within it) have limit of 3 cats and 3 dogs and 3 ferrets per household. And, no, it can't be 4 cats and 0 dogs and 0 ferrets. Right now we have 3 dogs and 3 cats. We wouldn't move there until we had 0 dogs (all of our dogs are getting on in years). But, we might want to have 4 cats some day (or might not) and that isn't an option there if you want to be legal. Theoretically you can get a fancier's license that lets you have more. I gather it is relatively easy to get in the unincorporated area but not in the towns. I don't like the idea of it because you have to renew it each year and I would worry about a change in leadership that would make it harder to get it.

3. Housing is more expensive - Henderson has a reputation of affordable housing. And, I'm sure that to people in California it is. However, our house that we have now cost a lot more there even if I was on a small lot and not the 1 acre we are on now. Now, we plan to buy a smaller house. But, even a smaller house there with similar quality/features would cost more than we could sell this house for. So we would either have to pay more than we get for this house or we would have to give up a lot of the higher end features of our current house.

All of that said, the economic trade off probably still works simply due to the reduction in property taxes.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Hoping to hear from some folks in Nevada (thinking Vegas, Henderson, or possibly Laughlin) Florida (Orlando to Daytona). I know for tax purposes these states make the most sense including weather. Just unsure either would be a big move and would appreciate input.

Let me know where you decide to move to, the last time I was considering moving to Florida or Las Vegas the housing bubble burst. Ill start looking again and you will get a bargain.

 

[kimcdougc]

But then: why you ever want to leave WA? (I'd love to go back...)

+1

 

[BeachOrCity]

When people constantly discuss weather in the absence of the context of where their friends and family are..... i wonder.
Stick with your tribe!

 

[Katsmeow]

When people constantly discuss weather in the absence of the context of where their friends and family are..... i wonder.
Stick with your tribe!

Obviously family and friends are a concern. But, whether that is dispositive depends on a lot of things. Bear in mind that for many people family may be non-existent or may be spread out to different locales. There may be no one central locale. I mentioned to my son about considering moving to Nevada and he encouraged me, saying I would probably get more family visitors there than I get where I am now.

In the modern world if all kids end up in one location that is unusual. Even if they are all in one location now that doesn't mean they won't move later.

And, then there is the factor of happiness. If I am unhappy living in a particular location do I stay there just because I have family 250 miles away? (or wherever). Is there ever a point in my life where I get to live where I want to live?

Like I say, we have not yet decided if we will move. It is very possible that we will stay in the same area we are in now. Even so, not all of the combined kids of DH and I are in this area. Some are, some aren't. Our youngest son is currently in grad school near here but he is highly likely to end up somewhere not close to here There is literally no way to be close to everyone...

 

[HadEnuff]

No, the base was shut down and became the Orlando International Airport.

I remember the ants, zillions of them, and the snakes. This was pre-Disney when you could have bought most any property in the area for a song. I was a poor Airman at the time and was glad to be out of there after 6 months of training.

I did not know that.

Someone told me that the Sanford airport used to be a military base as well. Anyone know if that's true?

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Why not Florida? Florida comes with a huge side of gators.

Ha ha, love it. You can't make this stuff up. BTW Scorpions and poisonous spiders will get you in Nevada and Arizona. At least you can see a gator coming....

Yes we have them at the back door every day, they beg for scraps and the odd cat, small dog or unattended child. You need to watch leaving the garage door open as you will not be able to get into the car in the morning either.

You have to make sure you wear chain mail every time you go out. Combined with the heat, chain mail makes you very hot, uncomfortable and sweaty......

 

[imoldernu]

Ha ha, love it. You can't make this stuff up. BTW Scorpions and poisonous spiders will get you in Nevada and Arizona. At least you can see a gaiter coming....

Yes we have them at the back door every day, they beg for scraps and the odd cat, small dog or unattended child. You need to watch leaving the garage door open as you will not be able to get into the car in the morning either.

You have to make sure you wear chain mail every time you go out. Combined with the heat, chain mail makes you very hot, uncomfortable and sweaty......

More people killed by their pet dogs in one year than all of the people believed to have been killed by alligators in the past 50 years (32), and almost all of those came from people being in places where warnings existed, or from doing things like swimming in gator waters.

After having lived in a community on a lake with gators, my greater fear was about a Zombie Apocalypse.

 

[Huston55]

We all hate paying taxes, that's for sure!

However, when looking for a retirement location, it is probably wise to compare ALL costs, not just state taxes. If other costs are higher, then even states with no state income taxes can be relatively expensive.

+1

Consider Eastern Tennessee or S. Carolina; both are inexpensive when total taxes are considered. And, mild weather, great outdoor recreation, and fewer critters than FL or NV.