What's with everyone running to Florida??

[meleana]

We retired to New Hampshire from NY. Never cared for Florida though we had a few nice vacations there. We don’t like extreme heat and humidity.

Seems people hate snow and colder weather for some reason. I mean, when you are retired you can stay home a day if it snows. They do clear the roads. And you can hire someone to clear your driveway. They make clothes that keep you warm. You have heat in your homes. It’s not a big deal.

Having 4 seasons and different landscapes ( lakes, ocean, mountains) breaks up the monotony.

Anyway, people like Fla not only due to weather and the beaches, but low cost of living overall. Politics might play into it a little bit also, but I don’t think that’s the biggest reason.

My neighbor moved from Massachusetts to Florida and hated it and moved here to NH. She had cancer and said the medical care was better. But that wasn’t the only reason.

This is what we see every day on our walks.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

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.

My brother lived in Windermere next to Orlando. South Florida is all year summer.

 

[Vinnygret]

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.

I have family that live there and love it. I rank Florida 50 on my list of states I'd want to live in. It has nothing to recommend itself to me. It's hot, it's overdeveloped, it's flat, it has hurricanes every year, it has gigantic spiders and roaches (you can call them something else, but they look like roaches to me). Personally, I like 4 seasons. If I miss warmth in the middle of winter, I can travel to a warm place. I like snow; some people do. But if it's for you, enjoy it.

 

[hotwired]

It took me reading half your post to realize you were being funny! Good job.

 

[Amethyst]

Yet, here you are, lol

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? .

The underlying message for such posts is usually "Could they know something I'm missing?"

 

[MichaelB]

<mod note> Let’s all please make an effort to keep politics out of the discussion.

 

[Kroeran]

I think for a certain portion of people, their emotions are profoundly affected by cloud cover and temperature, directly, and this affect is magnified during the idleness of retirement.

A sub group of this gets a further boost from the tropical environment of the South and the vast choice of water experiences and views versus the West.

There is also the unique social intensity of the gated sometimes plus 55 communities of desperately fun seeking compatriots.

If you don’t like humidity, adjust when you do stuff, adapt, live close to the coast, get a cabin in North Carolina or a cottage near your home town, friends, family or grandchildren and snowbird.

If you don’t like traffic, stay further north or in the interior.

If you like your northern social connections, have guest rooms. You will see more of them as guests in Florida than up North. Buy near a direct connection airport.

Homestead in Florida and save on property tax and State tax.

Afraid of hurricanes? Stay inland with good insurance on a power mainline with power generator on stilts and take a trip when spaghetti points at you.

<mod edit>

 

[Aerides]

Since this is (at least) the 4th "Florida?..." thread in 2021 alone, and has progressed, predictably, into state-bashing and politics, we're going to wrap this one here.

For those who somehow are not yet satiated on this topic, here are 3 others to peruse:

https://www.early-retirement.org/for...da-107686.html
https://www.early-retirement.org/for...nj-107661.html
https://www.early-retirement.org/for...on-107220.html

And the OP's remarkably similar thread from just 2019, all still relevant, likely repeating much of what is in this and all Florida threads:

https://www.early-retirement.org/for...ing-98871.html