End of an era for us, and a new beginning

[pb4uski]

You can buy a multi-pack of different colors of packing tape. It made my last move soooo easy. Yellow kitchen, orange living room, purple bedroom 1, etc. We even assigned a color for the garage. I also put a piece of colored tape on the door of each room in the new place so the movers knew where to put the boxes.

Great idea!

 

[Shanky]

Enjoy the the move. We moved from California (Bay Area) in late 2013. We did not have any issues changing our residency and had no follow-on tax issues with CA. The COL change was not as much as expected other than the Income Tax situation. Insurances (Heath, Car, Home) are more expensive in FL. Our Utilities are definitely higher in FL, but that is because we had no need for Air Conditioning in CA. Property tax is higher in Florida, but it was offset by a less expensive home.

Our CA house sold immediately also, but If we had a crystal ball, we would have held on to it and sold it this year. Florida Winter is the best but Summer takes an adjustment. Air Con is a great invention, and the pool is used frequently to quickly cool off after outdoor activity. At the end of the day, retirement is a bigger transition than a relocation. No regrets on the move.

 

[Scuba]

Enjoy the the move. We moved from California (Bay Area) in late 2013. We did not have any issues changing our residency and had no follow-on tax issues with CA. The COL change was not as much as expected other than the Income Tax situation. Insurances (Heath, Car, Home) are more expensive in FL. Our Utilities are definitely higher in FL, but that is because we had no need for Air Conditioning in CA. Property tax is higher in Florida, but it was offset by a less expensive home.



Our CA house sold immediately also, but If we had a crystal ball, we would have held on to it and sold it this year. Florida Winter is the best but Summer takes an adjustment. Air Con is a great invention, and the pool is used frequently to quickly cool off after outdoor activity. At the end of the day, retirement is a bigger transition than a relocation. No regrets on the move.

Thank you! What area of FL did you choose? And do you have a recommendation on a mover? We are interested in a full service move. Feel free to PM me if you prefer. We just spent 3 months there so you’re right, it’s an adjustment but we love spending time in the pool or at the beach in the summer.

 

[Koolau]

I moved from Palm Springs to FL 2 years ago next week. It's different (weather isn't nearly as hot here despite what people here think) but it's nice. There are good and bad both places.

I really like being close to cruise terminals as we cruise a lot more being so close. Also, I travel quite a bit so it's nice being able to fly places and not have it take the entire day to get there and get back. Weekend trips up and down the east coast are very doable. Downside is that the airport isn't 5 minutes away anymore.

The things that I've found quite a bit more expensive here are: home insurance, health insurance and property tax. Also, there are toll roads everywhere.

As far as hurricanes go, it's nice to get warning about them to be able to prepare.

Enjoy the move and welcome to FL.

Were you able to extricate yourself from the CA tax authorities? I've heard they really try to keep you on the rolls.

 

[Scuba]

Were you able to extricate yourself from the CA tax authorities? I've heard they really try to keep you on the rolls.

I’ve heard the same. That’s one reason we decided not to keep a property in CA. Time will tell but we plan to follow the guidelines on the CA FTB website and change our drivers licenses, voter registrations, vehicle registrations, healthcare providers, etc. as soon as possible.