What's with everyone running to Florida??

[Lewis Clark]

Do you Floridians move north for the summer? I was in Florida in August once and thought I was going to keel over with the heat and humidity.

I've lived all over Florida, from Jacksonville and Pensacola in the north to Key West in the South. The most uncomfortably hot place I have lived was near Charleston, SC.

There are many summer days when the Upper Midwest or the middle states along the east coast are hotter than here.

 

[Lewis Clark]

I would like to know what is going on with Real Estate in Florida? Inventory seem very low in our area. Literally only three homes for sale now in our 600 home CC community, that is up from last week as there was only one then. And we are coming up to the "H" word Season. How about yours, please state your rough location?

We are in NE. Fla.

I have a friend who is a realtor in the Clearwater FL area. He told me a couple of weeks ago that inventory is very low and has been for a while. He said there are about 30,000 realtors in the Tampa Bay area, and on the day we spoke the number of homes for sale was much less than that.

 

[Koolau]

I have a friend who is a realtor in the Clearwater FL area. He told me a couple of weeks ago that inventory is very low and has been for a while. He said there are about 30,000 realtors in the Tampa Bay area, and on the day we spoke the number of homes for sale was much less than that.

Wow. Can you say "bidding war?" Has anyone suggested why inventory is so low? Is it that folks are staying put for the most part? Is it that things are finally opening up and the old days of rapid RE turnover is only half (demand) competed (supply AND demand)?

We're seeing bit of a bump in RE sales here, but nothing like I'm hearing of on the mainland. I guess we're a relatively special case - especially now that travel is (well, was) rather restricted. YMMV

 

[Souschef]

Full disclosure here-we live in Central Coast CA, and have a climate similar to Rodi.

I used to visit my mom near West Pam Beach every year on my birthday in May. Walking out of her condo was like getting hit with a hot wet sponge. The parking lot was almost empty.

 

[hotwired]

We would have moved there years ago if not for family and business responsibilities. I would say that weather is a huge huge factor for me. It affects my mood, health, motivation, everything. We absolutely intend to eventually with out of New England, somewhere tropical the majority of the winter.

 

[BoodaGazelle]

The demographics of places ER'ers might live are pretty good.

 

[dixter]

you know you like Florida when you don't mind your moist underwear between your crack...

 

[523HRR]

We moved to SW Florida in 2018 from Connecticut. Honestly, I can’t recommend it. Sure, sure the substantial financial benefits from zero income tax, zero estate tax, zero car tax, lower property tax, cheaper gas & electricity and lower prices on almost everything are fine and all, but life is more than having more money in my bank account. Sure the weather here is amazing, but 80s and sunny can be oppressively monotonous. Sometimes after four rounds of golf in one week, I am reluctant to accept an invite for a 5th round. In the summer it regularly can hit 92 degrees, and it can be exhausting to walk out and take a dip in my pool to cool off. And seriously, it can get old grabbing a bottle of wine and heading to the beach with friends to watch the sunset on the gulf...uggh. So think twice people before moving here.

 

[Kalm]

Running to FL

It was never my intention to settle in FL as a newly retired person. I had gotten the wrong impression that FL is the land of blue haired people ( and I don’t mean Smurfs either).
We ended up buying a place in the middle of the pandemic because our plans for international travel were derailed. We love the political climate (conservative attitudes), great weather; the beaches and our neighborhood! We bought on the gulf coast where it sees less hurricane activity than other parts of the state. Experiencing great weather to partake in any outdoor activity almost every day is what attracted us the most. There is something to be said when your friends up North are complaining about the bitter cold, and consecutive days of no sun during the winter and you are basking by the pool and can’t possibly relate! Florida isn’t for everyone but it was right for us!

 

[wyecrabber1]

My intention was to retire to SW Florida, but life sometimes throws you a curve. We moved from Maryland in March 2020 to the St. Augustine area and haven't looked back. You can be outside year-round. There are awesome beaches, fishing, crabbing, boating, golf... We moved into a very nice neighborhood at World Golf. We taken weekend getaways to the gulf. Cost of living is lower, FL is very retiree friendly. As other posters have mentioned, the political climate is more to our liking.

It does get warm, but there's the pool and the beach and AC.

 

[gooddog]

I have lived in the following states: CA,NV,WA,TX,MI,IL,KY,FL. Worked for the government, so got around a bit. The question about what Florida has to offer that these other states don't is really easy when you have been around the country.

It really comes down to the old saying about reinventing the wheel. Florida has weather that doesn't make your old bones ache. It has the types of doctors and medical facilities you will need as you get older. It has the low taxes like you mentioned. The 'culture' has been set up to cater to the retirees, since the retirees make up a large percentage of the population. You can't hardly throw a rock without hitting a golf course. Speaking of 'sports', pickelball is popular with the older crowd and there are courts everywhere. Don't want to take care of your house? Buy a condo on the ocean and let the HOA worry about it. Want to walk on the beach, go to Disney, or something else - you can do multiple things in one day.

<mod edit>

In my little town in Florida there is no graffiti, no vagrants, almost zero crime - that is a big draw.

Hope that is helpful as to why people are moving to Florida. I lived there back in the 1980's and the area I lived in back then (and have a condo in now) hasn't really changed much - and that is worth something in itself.

In the end you can spend you time trying to 'out smart' all of those who have retired before you, or you can accept that these people did their research and got it right.

 

[FIREarly]

The only things keeping us in NJ

IS THE NY METS AND GIANTS!!
It's ok to pick one of two if you don't like both

 

[FIREarly]

We moved to SW Florida in 2018 from Connecticut. Honestly, I can’t recommend it. Sure, sure the substantial financial benefits from zero income tax, zero estate tax, zero car tax, lower property tax, cheaper gas & electricity and lower prices on almost everything are fine and all, but life is more than having more money in my bank account. Sure the weather here is amazing, but 80s and sunny can be oppressively monotonous. Sometimes after four rounds of golf in one week, I am reluctant to accept an invite for a 5th round. In the summer it regularly can hit 92 degrees, and it can be exhausting to walk out and take a dip in my pool to cool off. And seriously, it can get old grabbing a bottle of wine and heading to the beach with friends to watch the sunset on the gulf...uggh. So think twice people before moving here.

Did not even read your post and believe it is great but saw your signature and thought, "Wow, you deserve a complement, great job!"

His signature: "FIREd 2012 at Age 49"

Maybe your FIRE plan is similar to the new documentary Playing with Fire

 

[Amethyst]

We were disappointed in the political climate, to tell the truth. I had expected more balance, more purple-ness.

But, I registered as an Independent as I usually do, voted all kinds of split ticket, as suited my conscience, and try not to show any interest in anybody else's politics even when they say goading things. (That is also how I would behave if the politics ran in the opposite direction).

 

[Dtail]

We were disappointed in the political climate, to tell the truth. I had expected more balance, more purple-ness.

But, I registered as an Independent as I usually do, voted all kinds of split ticket, as suited my conscience, and try not to show any interest in anybody else's politics even when they say goading things. (That is also how I would behave if the politics ran in the opposite direction).

We have friends on both sides of the aisle. Works for us, but it is clear on certain subjects how each group will likely respond.

 

[gooddog]

We were disappointed in the political climate, to tell the truth. I had expected more balance, more purple-ness.

That is actually considered a positive for a lot of people.

 

[FREE866]

The problem with moving to Florida is you then have to live in Florida

 

[disneysteve]

IS THE NY METS AND GIANTS!!
It's ok to pick one of two if you don't like both

Nah, we're in South Jersey, Philly suburbs, so folks around here are Eagles/Phillies/Sixers fans. I'm not a sports guy myself so I don't care either way.

 

[BarbH29]

I don't live in Florida yet but plan on being a snowbird with I'm guessing a full time resident at some point. I live in Mass and weather is a factor for sure! June - Oct are decent for weather, but ocean is cold, summers can be hot and humid as well. Snow is fun for Christmas but then its just dirty, it gets dark earlier.

We have friends that live in Florida so that helps and will for sure go to an over 55 community to stay active. I love palm trees, the theme parks, warm ocean water etc. Traffic is bad in my area so that isn't a factor.

I like California as well, but too far from Mass, and fires and earthquakes scare me more then hurricanes.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

You can get all 4 seasons in FL.

 

[disneysteve]

You can get all 4 seasons in FL.

We've been in Florida numerous times when it was in the 30s. And that was in the Disney area and as late as March.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

We've been in Florida numerous times when it was in the 30s. And that was in the Disney area and as late as March.

Orlando?

 

[stpenroute]

I am curious. I don't get it. It seems like the knee-jerk reaction of older retirees is to move to Florida.

Nothing against Florida but ... there are other states in the Union.

I talked with a friend of mine who just moved to Florida and asked him.
He couldn't give me a straight answer, besides warm weather and lower taxes.
Left his family, and all the friends he knew, behind.
Really??

Anyway, weather is low on my list of reasons to move somewhere.

Weather is LOW on your list? You're either a sadist or a masochist - either way you're into punishment!

Weather is the NUMBER ONE reason for me! Then comes very reasonable housing costs, ultra-reasonable property taxes with the homestead exemption, glass-smooth roads with minimal tolls and minimal traffic, less congestion, lower cost-of-living, good healthcare & doctors, nicer/less stressed people, and politics right in line with my own! Any other questions?

 

[GenXguy]

The only thing I don't get is why someone starts a thread on this wondering why other people have different desires than he does. Who cares where someone else wants to relocate to? Also, not all older retirees move to Florida. Don't paint all of them with the same brush.

 

[disneysteve]

Orlando?

Yes. We’ve been to Disney World a few times with temps in the 30s. It warms up by late morning but first thing and at nite after the sun goes down it can be pretty chilly.