Question for the FL, GA and Carolina coast retirees

[Charlotte]

We spent about 4 years in coastal Carolina....in between Myrtle Beach and Wilmington....about a mile to the coast as the crow flies. We moved this past year, and one of the primary reasons was the incidence of hurricanes. In the three years we were there, we had to bug out twice for nearby Category 2+ storms, and we stayed for a Category 1 storm that was a direct hit. No major property damage for us, but plenty of people did not fare so well. Frankly, most people seemed perfect ok living there...just a fact of life that had to be dealt with. We couldn’t stand it, and moved inland.

We have a second home / beach house on one of the islands in this same area, and I can confirm that about once a year we have to run down to close the hurricane shutters, secure all the porch furniture, and close up. Then make a second trip down to undo all that and fix whatever was damaged. It just comes with the territory, I’m afraid.

 

[NateW]

I was and it was the last hurricane we stayed at home. Blew out windows in our house and completely uprooted a huge china ball tree in our backyard. Thankfully the tree missed our house. At the time we lived south of Lake Ponchartrain between Williams Blvd. and Roosevelt Blvd. Great place to grow up! I left when I got married in 1989. Still miss the food

The house my parents rented was on Catina (sp?) street, I believe. In the mid 1990s I went by the place when I was on a business trip in New Orleans. Then after Catrina hit there was nothing but a vacant lot there per Google Maps Satellite View.

 

[indiajust]

Having seen it all, new england winters are at least as destructive as hurricanes. And they come every year.
There are lightning intensity maps. Orlando is a peak, as is the high mountains in AZ, NM.

 

[msanniee]

I moved from the SF Bay Area to South Carolina when I retired. I was tired of drought, wild fires, and earthquakes.

South Carolina had weather, property values, tax bases, etc that worked well for me.

However, I overlooked one issue - politics. I propose living where your political views are compatible with others in the area is a must ch bigger issue than most realize.

Just food for thought.

 

[JJpop]

I have been giving serious thought to the coastal areas of the southeast because they offer two things that are very important to me: beaches and lots of tennis options. But I keep going back to hurricanes, terrible storms, and flooding. I am petrified of lightning, but I could install a lightning protection system for peace of mind. I can’t control hurricanes. And so much of the land in these areas is prone to flooding.

How worried are you about hurricanes where you live? Are hurricanes and/or flooding something you took into consideration before moving there? I’m trying to convince myself that hurricane risk isn’t all that bad but the articles I have read indicate otherwise.

So you buy your dream place by the water. Move your entire life there. Three months later you get hit by a big one with a lot of damage to the community. Your house is damaged and you are trying to find a contractor while you live, where?
Sounds great, especially worrying about when it will happen. No thanks.

 

[Music Lover]

So you buy your dream place by the water. Move your entire life there. Three months later you get hit by a big one with a lot of damage to the community. Your house is damaged and you are trying to find a contractor while you live, where?
Sounds great, especially worrying about when it will happen. No thanks.

Move to a lake area. They have beaches too and many of them don't get hit by hurricanes.

 

[gooddog]

I for a place right on the beach about 12 miles south of NASA in Florida and I'm not concerned at all. Got a place right on the beach in California - more worried about that one (tidal waves & earthquakes). If you pick the right spot in Florida, you cut your risk a lot. There are condos that feel like houses because they are so large, and garages and everything else you wold expect of a house. This type of setup means a storm isn't your problem (for the most part). The metal shutters, and concrete got you covered.

 

[JJpop]

I have been giving serious thought to the coastal areas of the southeast because they offer two things that are very important to me: beaches and lots of tennis options. But I keep going back to hurricanes, terrible storms, and flooding. I am petrified of lightning, but I could install a lightning protection system for peace of mind. I can’t control hurricanes. And so much of the land in these areas is prone to flooding.

How worried are you about hurricanes where you live? Are hurricanes and/or flooding something you took into consideration before moving there? I’m trying to convince myself that hurricane risk isn’t all that bad but the articles I have read indicate otherwise.

You could move to California at 5 times the cost, but don’t read about earthquakes

 

[2retireearly]

I know you aren't asking about Virginia...But I grew up on the ocean in Virginia Beach. Hurricanes are scary, and getting insurance if you live within 2 miles of ocean is tricky..but doable. But, my reason for piping in, is I've been in Richmond for years and years...My parents, living in VaBeach, many times, evacuated to Richmond, with a threat of hurricane, and each time, the hurricane hit Richmond much worst than on the coast! Richmond is 109 miles from coast...but the hurricanes have traveled right through to us. So, just being on the ocean, is not the only risk. But the extreme southern states, like Florida, really do get hit terribly with the hurricanes, on or off the shores.

 

[Dtail]

Hurricanes can hit anywhere in FLA, but as one example there has not been a direct hit to Tampa of a Category 1 hurricane since the 1920's.

 

[Leo1277]

Hurricanes can hit anywhere in FLA, but as one example there has not been a direct hit to Tampa of a Category 1 hurricane since the 1920's.

I suppose you mean "Category 1 or higher"?

 

[kbst]

We’ve owned a condo right on the beach at Kure Beach right beside Fort Fisher since 1998. Retired at 50, 10+ years ago. We also have access to a family home on Beech mountain and we live in Chapel Hill.
So we have the best of all worlds in NC.
We use our beach place about 10 days a month from September to May and rent it out to rednecks over the summer. Works great for us.

 

[Old Microbiologist]

It is a serious question with serious consequences. We (third and current wife) bought a house on Hilton Head Island and kept it as a rental with the ultimate plan to retire there. Then Katrina happened and shortly thereafter the economic downturn of 2007-08. Because of Katrina our hurricane insurance went to ~$7000 a year and our property tax also went up to ~$8000 a year. Add in the Homeowners association dues of ~$6000 a year (it was on a golf course but doesn't include golf fees) and it was getting extremely expensive for a house that rented for $1400 a month. We were in essence paying people to live in our house. We sold and moved to Europe in 2009 where it is a lot less expensive and here in Hungary, our property (3 acres with a pool) insurance is roughly $200 a year and zero property tax. Our climate is excellent and we live in a destination resort and only 5 hours drive from Venice or Munich and 2 hours to Budapest or Vienna. I lost badly on that property as we had purchased it for $680k and sold for ~$240k and happy to have gotten that much.

I also had 75 acres up near Boone North Carolina but it was a 45-minute drive to anything so not practical. On the other hand, it rose in value 500% (it had virgin trees). It was sold by my second wife who forged my signature just prior to our divorce. I used my half to buy the house in Hilton Head free and clear. She was stupid as I had the trees appraised and they were worth $7 million but she sold for $750k. She, being a junkyard dog lawyer, who also became lesbian (the reason for divorce) and had access to a hoard of lesbian sister lawyers in DC who would work for free, made that it a tough divorce and not worth getting wrapped up in legal prosecutions etc. My lawyer estimated fighting them would cost a minimum of $500k (required deposit of that amount before he would take the case) and even then poor probability of success. I was happy to get out of there intact. I really loved the Boone place and had plans to build a large dome home up there. It had unbelievable views and a small 5-acre lake. She sold it out of spite.

 

[Dtail]

I suppose you mean "Category 1 or higher"?

Yes.

 

[harllee]

We’ve owned a condo right on the beach at Kure Beach right beside Fort Fisher since 1998. Retired at 50, 10+ years ago. We also have access to a family home on Beech mountain and we live in Chapel Hill.
So we have the best of all worlds in NC.
We use our beach place about 10 days a month from September to May and rent it out to rednecks over the summer. Works great for us.

Hello fellow Chapel Hill resident. I don't have a beach place but have a place at Sugar Mountain! I love the mountains in the hot weather and CH the rest of the time. I also retired at 50--19 years ago, I am now 69! I hear what you say about rednecks, plenty of those in NC but CH is an oasis. I hated the Tar Heel loss last night.

 

[dixonge]

I have been giving serious thought to the coastal areas of the southeast because they offer two things that are very important to me: beaches and lots of tennis options. But I keep going back to hurricanes, terrible storms, and flooding. I am petrified of lightning, but I could install a lightning protection system for peace of mind. I can’t control hurricanes. And so much of the land in these areas is prone to flooding.

How worried are you about hurricanes where you live? Are hurricanes and/or flooding something you took into consideration before moving there? I’m trying to convince myself that hurricane risk isn’t all that bad but the articles I have read indicate otherwise.

We've just spent Jan. 1 until now along the gulf and Atlantic coasts. Just a few days in LA and AL, 4-6 weeks in Florida, a few weeks in GA and now SC. High humidity has been the major negative for me so far, having grown up in a relatively humid part of Texas (D/FW - 60-70% avg). But it took me all of one day to start hating the coast from northern Florida and points north up to here (SC, just north of Savannah, GA). The no-see-ums or whatever it is are like the chiggers of my childhood but different. Chiggers produce larger spots of irritation and itch like fire, but are almost always limited to the lower leg. No-see-ums also attack the arms, but are not quite as itchy. But they itch for days! To make matters worse, in a sense, not one of them has bitten my wife.


So going into this leg of our RV journey, we already knew we weren't 'beach people' but just in case we thought we might change our minds, this part of the country has taken care of that. NOT beach people!


Any way, if you *are* into beaches, keep the biting midges in mind.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Hurricanes can hit anywhere in FLA, but as one example there has not been a direct hit to Tampa of a Category 1 hurricane since the 1920's.

Sequence of returns risk as related to meteorology! True our expected rate of return is less than New Orleans, but the average is still above 0%! We got lucky with Charley and Irma... if she tracked just a little west and stayed centered just offshore to maintain her strength Tampa Bay would have really taken a serious blow. As it was, as a weakening TS, Irma caused many to be without power for a long time (I never lost power but I was surrounded by darkness while my neighbor across the street was out for 2.5 weeks!) and there was widespread, but non-catastrophic, damage.



I agree that our odds of being hit by a powerful storm are a bit lower than other cities but our number will come up one day. The actuaries know it and our insurance rates (and dearth of companies that want the exposure) show it! A strong storm offshore or making landfall just north of us (I think Tarpon Springs is about the target to maximize flooding) will push a lot of water into Tampa Bay and a lot of people that think they are "far from water" will realize just how close they are. At 70', my home will blow apart before I flood at least.


I don't worry about storms but every year is a roll of the dice and I respect their power. While I absolutely do not want to get hit; I still have a weird sort of excitement and almost feel let down when the miss me.... I'm sure there is a German word for that emotion!


FLSunFIRE

 

[calnomore]

We couldn’t stand it, and moved inland.

What area did you move to?

 

[frank]

to the folks who live in hungary. how did you find out about or make you decide to go there?

 

[Richard4444]

I have lived on the east coast of Florida for 24 years full time and have been through all of the hurricanes. The odds of a hurricane causing severe damage that can not be remedied or is physically hurtful to you is low - yes, it happens, but I'm talking of the odds. My personal experiences to damage have been trees falling down, roads blocked afterwards and the biggest problems that I have experienced result from no electricity afterwards which means no air conditioning, which isn't just uncomfortable, but with added water can result in damaging mold, and once the pumping stations were inoperable which caused toilet backup. Once. And then the city added generators so that shouldn't happen again.
The anxiety of an impending hurricane is real, so we protect our home best we can with hurricane impact windows and our residence being up tp hurricane code and take our chances.
No regrets.

Rich

 

[gman1234]

GA is great!

My wife and I are 'beach' people as well and were looking to move about a year and 1/2 ago. We were planning on FL but someone mentioned a lake in GA and we thought we'd check it out. Flew out and bought a house!

But not at the beach - on a lake! Not the same as the ocean but pretty awesome - something to consider - learning to drive a boat! We're in north east GA, on lake Lanier - about an hour from the Atlanta airport. A 2000 sqft house on 1/2 acre on the lake with a dock and such is ~400K. Not even 1/2 of what I paid in San Diego or Denver (which we're glad we escaped from!).

The people here are nicer than anywhere I've ever lived! I've learned GA is not a redneck haven as most people from the 'cities' believe. My entire life (I'm 59), I've lived in Denver and San Diego - always in the downtown or beach areas - so it was definitely a change.

I will tell you though (sad that this is even relevant) but it is very conservative here if that bothers you...

 

[CSdot]

I also had 75 acres up near Boone North Carolina but it was a 45-minute drive to anything so not practical. On the other hand, it rose in value 500% (it had virgin trees). It was sold by my second wife who forged my signature just prior to our divorce. I used my half to buy the house in Hilton Head free and clear. She was stupid as I had the trees appraised and they were worth $7 million but she sold for $750k. She, being a junkyard dog lawyer, who also became lesbian (the reason for divorce) and had access to a hoard of lesbian sister lawyers in DC who would work for free, made that it a tough divorce and not worth getting wrapped up in legal prosecutions etc. My lawyer estimated fighting them would cost a minimum of $500k (required deposit of that amount before he would take the case) and even then poor probability of success. I was happy to get out of there intact. I really loved the Boone place and had plans to build a large dome home up there. It had unbelievable views and a small 5-acre lake. She sold it out of spite.

This has to be one fascinating story.

 

[RAE]

Hurricanes can hit anywhere in FLA, but as one example there has not been a direct hit to Tampa of a Category 1 hurricane since the 1920's.

Right. And the stretch north of Tampa (for maybe 70-90 miles or so) has had fewer hurricanes historically than many other parts Florida, also. That's not to say it won't happen, but the risk seems to be a little lower. We live in that area, in a stilt house, during the winter months. In the summer months (much of the hurricane season) we are back up north. I do worry about hurricanes, and I watch the weather reports closely from up north. And I have someone lined up to help protect our house if a storm is headed our way. I think we would be okay in most flooding events, since our house is up high on stilts, but the wind damage from a direct hurricane hit would of course do a lot of damage. I do love living here during the winter, and we love owning a house, so we accept the risk. I have no desire to spend the winters in the snow and ice anymore........been there, done that for most of my life.

 

[Beachcomber]

I lived on the water outside Wrightsville Beach for 20 years. Just moved to Myrtle Beach last June.

As long as you are not in a flood plain, hurricanes aren't that bad. Just need a generator and hurricane shutters.

Myrtle Beach had a hurricane 2 weeks after we moved here. No damage except new trees in new house were knocked over. Just had to stand them back up.

I am also looking to buy a house near Boone or Banner Elk to get out of the summer heat.

Good luck!

 

[Leo1277]

Let's bring some life back into this thread - who says lightning or hurricanes are the greatest danger in Florida?