Calling all Floridians...

[Moemg]

I never really picked Florida my late husband did . He had always wanted to live in Florida so he picked the state and I picked the town . I really enjoy the winters and tolerate the summers . The property taxes are bizarre but I am paying the same amount of property taxes on a large waterfront home as I was paying on a small older split level in New Jersey . The good part about living in Florida is the sunshine . When I travel the first thing that hits me are the gray skies . It's hard to be depressed in sunny weather . The other nice thing about Florida is there is a push for seniors to stay active . Every where you go people are walking ,biking playing sports or swimming . It is not uncommon to see 70 & 80 year old in tennis togs . The bad part is football . I'm sorry but to me sitting in a stadium fanning yourself is not football weather so I leave the football games to my SO .

 

[W2R]

It's hard to be depressed in sunny weather .

Maybe, as long as you are not having a drought like that in central Texas!

 

[utrecht]

Good point,heres a Google image search for Texas beaches,
texas beaches - Google Images
For this longtime Florida resident things are looking very similar.

How can you compare Texas and Florida beaches? I dont consider it a real beach if there arent any real waves. For me personally, just the fact that Im laying on sand doesnt cut it.

 

[Orchidflower]

If you moved from New Jersey to Florida, Moemg, you must think you are in tax heaven with New Jersey having the highest tax base in the nation (or darn close to it).
The only Texas beach I know is Galveston. It's not all that at all. Can't hold a candle to Florida beaches, that's for sure.

 

[freebird5825]

All states have them you just have pick one with foibles you can live with .

Foibles...my state has a few...

Snow and high taxes...

Other than that, where I live is really beautiful, with plenty of fresh air, natural lakes and streams all over, reasonable weather (no deadly hurricanes or tornadoes or car-killing hailstorms or mass flooding, low humidity), nobody waylaying you for loose change at every turn in public, low crime, very friendly folks once they get over the down-stater thing , peace and quiet...all in all the epitome of the simple life.

I've always wanted to live in the NY Finger Lakes region, where spring arrives a little sooner and the snowstorms aren't quite so bad. If we don't completely move out of NY, this would be where I would choose to end up, near Ithaca for some cultural exposure from Cornell University.

I lived in FL one summer when I was younger. The abundance of creepy crawly critters got to me. I'm sensitive to smells, so the pervasive pesticide smell made me a bit ill.
dh2b was stationed at Homestead before it got wiped away by the hurricane. He said it was OK.
I would consider FL if I felt like the Yankee and especially the NYer thing wasn't going to be ringing in my ears at every step. That got really old even in just the 3 months I was there. YMMV

 

[haha]

For me, in the US only California within a mile or two of the beach from Santa Barbara south has perfect weather. But weather is not everything. If I had never left SoCal beaches towns I would still be there. But one makes a life, and then has ties, in my case my children and a grandchild here.

Washington has very nice summers, and winters that are not really long and horrible like the midwest or northeast. Compared to extreme heat and humidity in Florida, or bone chilling cold in Montana or Minnesota or upstate NY or New England, clouds I can handle. It did take some getting used to though. For the first ten years I was not yet committed.

What Moe says is true, sun makes it easier for people to be cheerful. Even during the brutal heat we had a few weeks ago people were cheerful, not turned inward on themselves like we tend to be in cloudy drizzly weather.

I think many natives here don't really do cheerful. But Seattle has so many immigrants from other states and countries that the dour local character has been modified by admixture.

Ha

 

[heyduke]

Why would you move to Florida from Texas ? Same heat , higher real estate prices and high property taxes ?

well my current research tells me the real estate is the same there as where I live... taxes are nearly the same (a bit higher there), insurance a bit higher there... water much bluer there... beach sand much whiter there...

i live in an area the is an ecologically deprived area and a cultural desert...

time for a change... and I want to grow some citrus...

 

[heyduke]

now I know some are worried that this will become a thread of what's best about my retirement spot and what is worst about yours... but for those of us still searching for a sport to be it is discussions like these that may shed some light on the topic at hand...
i too was one that said I would never retire in Florida but things have changed and from my visits I like it there... I like SoCal much better but unfortunately my nest egg will not let me retire there unless I change the variable for longevity into single digits..

keep the discussion and comments flowing!

 

[utrecht]

well my current research tells me the real estate is the same there as where I live... taxes are nearly the same (a bit higher there), insurance a bit higher there... water much bluer there... beach sand much whiter there...

i live in an area the is an ecologically deprived area and a cultural desert...

time for a change... and I want to grow some citrus...

FWIW...Im also moving from Texas to retire in Florida. South Florida to be exact. Sure the cost of living is higher in South Florida than it is in Texas (Dallas). But theres a reason for that. Actually many many reasons. And they are reasons that Im willing to pay for.

 

[REWahoo]

i live in an area the is an ecologically deprived area and a cultural desert...

I'm shocked you'd say things like that about Aggieland...

 

[W2R]

I'm shocked you'd say things like that about Aggieland...

Ahem.... You know, I saw the Bolshoi ballet there. Well, my daughter did since her school class got in free, and I saw the local TV footage of the entire performance since the tickets for grownups did not fit into my budget.

As for ecologically deprived, well, other than the successful multi-million dollar class action lawsuit due to arsenic in the drinking water (left by the old cotton gin), Aggieland is just dandy. Lots of field mice, brown recluse spiders, scorpions, and fire ants.

 

[REWahoo]

As for ecologically deprived, well, other than the successful multi-million dollar class action lawsuit due to arsenic in the drinking water (left by the old cotton gin), Aggieland is just dandy. Lots of field mice, brown recluse spiders, scorpions, and fire ants.

W2R, I love it when you talk like that! If I weren't a married man I'd...uh...I'd be single.

 

[MichaelB]

well my current research tells me the real estate is the same there as where I live... taxes are nearly the same (a bit higher there), insurance a bit higher there... water much bluer there... beach sand much whiter there...

i live in an area the is an ecologically deprived area and a cultural desert...

time for a change... and I want to grow some citrus...

My knowledge of Texas is limited to 2 years grad school and 10 or so trips since but it was no cultural wasteland. Ecologically, if you choose south florida you’ll be trading rattlesnakes for burmese pythons, longhorns for iguanas and deserts for [-]swamps[/-] everglades. 'Course, there will be citrus.

Knowing what you want is the most important thing of all.

 

[Moemg]

.

keep the discussion and comments flowing!

Besides citrus growing ability what else are you looking for in a retirement destination ?

 

[heyduke]

Besides citrus growing ability what else are you looking for in a retirement destination ?

Moemg... surely you jest... citrus is one really small, abeit, nice thing that I would like to be able to do... I want to be able to walk to the beach or ride a bicycle to the beach for long walks or occasional fishing... My dw and I are nature enthusiasts so we love to bird watch and take nature hikes ... we love the blue waters and white sand that Florida has to offer.... all of which were unobtainable for us some time ago but the housing crisis has given us an opportuity..

and most of all we have lived in Texas for the past 30 years and are ready for a change to a tropical clime...

 

[heyduke]

Ahem.... You know, I saw the Bolshoi ballet there. Well, my daughter did since her school class got in free, and I saw the local TV footage of the entire performance since the tickets for grownups did not fit into my budget.

As for ecologically deprived, well, other than the successful multi-million dollar class action lawsuit due to arsenic in the drinking water (left by the old cotton gin), Aggieland is just dandy. Lots of field mice, brown recluse spiders, scorpions, and fire ants.

yes the University offers some culture here and the Bolshoi was one of those events... btw, the arsenic was left by a corporate production center not a cotton gin .. few scorpions here ... but I think you got the point I was making... however, this area was a really great place to raise kids!

 

[heyduke]

I'm shocked you'd say things like that about Aggieland...

... no you are not tell the truth you are a closet T-sip aren't you?

 

[W2R]

this area was a really great place to raise kids!

I raised my daughter in College Station from age 5 to college age and agree 100%. It was a wonderful place to raise a child. Not only were good values reinforced by the community, but also the public schools were unusually good in my opinion. She was in band at Consolidated and that was a wonderful experience for her.

few scorpions here

Well, we occasionally saw one in our back yard. You're right that there weren't a lot, but they did make an impression. We also had a possum nesting with her babies under our deck.

 

[heyduke]

I raised my daughter in College Station from age 5 to college age and agree 100%. It was a wonderful place to raise a child. Not only were good values reinforced by the community, but also the public schools were unusually good in my opinion. She was in band at Consolidated and that was a wonderful experience for her.


Well, we occasionally saw one in our back yard. You're right that there weren't a lot, but they did make an impression. We also had a possum nesting with her babies under our deck.

interesting my what year did your daughter graduate? both my kids graduated from Consolidated...

we too have had possums under our deck.

 

[heyduke]

Okay I know it is long... but can any of you Floridians shed any light on this...

"All property is taxable at 100% of its just valuation. In certain counties and cities, homeowners 65 and over can receive a homestead exemption from property tax of $25,000 if their household income, as defined by the federal tax code, is at or below $27,539 (single) or $30,917 (couples) per year (2008 figures). The income limitation is adjusted each year based on the cost of living index. In many instances the definition of household income excludes Social Security. Permanent residents may also be entitled to a homestead exemption regardless of age. Residents 65 and older are entitled to both exemptions ($50,000). The senior citizen's homestead exemption applies only to tax millage levied by the county or city, and does not apply to millage of school districts or other taxing authorities. The homestead exemption for all residents applies to all property taxes, not just city and county taxes. Annual increases in the assessment of homestead property are limited to 3% of the prior year’s assessed value, or if lower, the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the prior, as long as there was no change in ownership. A 2006 law provides a property tax discount on homestead property owned by eligible veterans. To be eligible, a veteran must have an honorable discharge from military service, be at least 65 years old, be partially disabled with a permanent service-connected disability, all or a portion of which must be combat-related, and must have been a Florida resident at the time of entering military service. This discount is in addition to any other exemptions veterans now receive. A 2007 law allows local governments to give those age 65 and above – with low incomes – an increased homestead exemption. Cities and counties have the option of doubling an existing homestead exemption on primary owner-occupied homes from $25,000 to $50,000. To qualify, taxpayers must have an annual income of $20,000 or less."

how the heck do you even know what you are being taxed on?

 

[73ss454]

I'll make it simple for you, you don't!!

Don't try asking any questions of the property appraiser because you'll never get a straight answer. I spent a 1/2 hour on the phone again today trying to get an answer that makes sense, not a chance.

If for some reason you complain and win (impossible) they'll just raise your millage rate and raise your taxes anyway. I don't normally quit when I get a bee in my bonnet but I'm just about ready to give up. Don't try to rationalize any of it as there's no answer and if there is they won't tell you.

 

[nachomama]

The 2001 Florida Building Code had major changes in regards to making structures better for being able to withstand hurricanes. This code did not go into effect until 2002 though. So a house that was build in 2001 is not a guarantee that it was built to the 2001 code. Most cities/counties have building drawings available for the asking which should state what code it was built to.

Another concern when looking at property is the flood plain. Once again, this info is available from the county/state. I know quite a few people who didn't think they needed flood insurance and got burned when one of these storms lingered and dropped a ton of rain. Unfortunately, these flood zone maps are pretty old. IT's also a good idea to check with neighbors in the area and find out about the water level when a major storm like Frances or Fay hit.

 

[MichaelB]

Okay I know it is long... but can any of you Floridians shed any light on this...

"All property is taxable at 100% of its just valuation. In certain counties and cities, homeowners 65 and over can receive a homestead exemption from property tax of $25,000 if their household income, as defined by the federal tax code, is at or below $27,539 (single) or $30,917 (couples) per year (2008 figures). The income limitation is adjusted each year based on the cost of living index. In many instances the definition of household income excludes Social Security. Permanent residents may also be entitled to a homestead exemption regardless of age. Residents 65 and older are entitled to both exemptions ($50,000). The senior citizen's homestead exemption applies only to tax millage levied by the county or city, and does not apply to millage of school districts or other taxing authorities. The homestead exemption for all residents applies to all property taxes, not just city and county taxes. Annual increases in the assessment of homestead property are limited to 3% of the prior year’s assessed value, or if lower, the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for the prior, as long as there was no change in ownership. A 2006 law provides a property tax discount on homestead property owned by eligible veterans. To be eligible, a veteran must have an honorable discharge from military service, be at least 65 years old, be partially disabled with a permanent service-connected disability, all or a portion of which must be combat-related, and must have been a Florida resident at the time of entering military service. This discount is in addition to any other exemptions veterans now receive. A 2007 law allows local governments to give those age 65 and above – with low incomes – an increased homestead exemption. Cities and counties have the option of doubling an existing homestead exemption on primary owner-occupied homes from $25,000 to $50,000. To qualify, taxpayers must have an annual income of $20,000 or less."

how the heck do you even know what you are being taxed on?

Ah, come'on. It's easy.

You buy your house. The price you pay is the new appraisal value. It also is the new tax basis.

Starting then, state law limits increasing the appraised value to no more than that year's CPI, max 3%.

Then you may get a reduction in taxable value based on stuff like over 65, low-income vet, etc. These are mostly county exemptions.

Then a tax rate is applied - and you get a bill. It is seriously unfair and totally inequitable, but it's not hard to understand.

 

[73ss454]

Yeah, it's real easy, let me know when you figure it out and get a straight answer.

The 3% is only if you homestead. Also if your neighbor paid 200K and you paid 400K your taxes will double his because the 3% of 400K is more than the 200K. Gook luck!

 

[MichaelB]

Yeah, it's real easy, let me know when you figure it out and get a straight answer.

The 3% is only if you homestead. Also if your neighbor paid 200K and you paid 400K your taxes will double his because the 3% of 400K is more than the 200K. Gook luck!

That's why it is seriously unfair and totally inequitable.

Of course, the current decline in property values is reducing the inequity. Most folks assessments and taxes owed are rising while newer property owners see their assessment values reset lower and their taxes fall. Schadenfreude, perhaps?