Posted on 07/10/2016 2:46:43 AM PDT by freepertoo
Mods, this is such a vanity! Please move or remove as you see fit, if necessary. Could use some moving to Florida advice. Retiring in a few years from the DC, Maryland area. Have looked at Ocala because of the cool 55+ communities there, but the crime rate is scary. Also looking at Lake Mary and surrounding area. Costs are a lot less than in Maryland, and I admit to being a pathetic Disney junky. Advice, Floridians?
Good thread you’ve started. Bookmarked for later reference.
Native Floridian here.
Before I could even begin to offer advice about moving to Florida, I would ask, first, why do you want to move to Florida? What do you want to do here? What kind of lifestyle are you looking for? What kind of people do you want to be surrounded by? What kind of community do you want to live in? And what kind of budget do you have?
Do you want to spend your days playing golf? Boating and/or fishing? Relaxing by a pool? Going to the beach? Shopping & dining in upscale retail centers? Hiking & camping? Do you want city lights & nightlife, or would you prefer someplace where the whole town is buttoned up by 9pm? Urban or rural? Acreage? Single-family home on a suburban 1/4-acre lot? A low-maintenance condo? A gated community with strict HOA rules, or someplace where you can do your own thing and your neighbors do their own thing and everyone leaves everyone else alone to do their own thing?
Do you object to bugs? Do alligators terrify you? Can you stand to be outdoors when it’s 96° in the shade with 95% humidity?
There are places like Naples: overwhelmingly white, rich and conservative. Places like Miami, where, when you see “help wanted” signs that say “bilingual preferred,” it means that it would be nice if you also speak English. The Redneck Riviera in the panhandle — more like Alabama. You got your touristy Orlando. Boca Raton, filled with rich old ladies from NYC. Horsey Ocala. College town Gainesville. Tallahassee, filled with cockroaches of the legislative kind. St. Augustine, the oldest continuously populated city in the U.S. Key West, filled with gay people and old-Florida descendants of the early settlers.
Florida is a large and very diverse state. I can almost guarantee that there are communities where you’ll be happy, and I can guarantee there are communities where you’ll be miserable. But you need to be more specific than just “Florida.”
Palm Coast. It’s located between St. Augustine and Daytona. Very nice area. Just off of I-95 on the Intracoastal Waterway and the A1A.
Hurricanes aren’t much better inland than on the coast.
As to Ocala, I’ve lived here fifteen years in a gated community. I’m surprised Ocala has a high crime rate, though. Maybe it’s centered on Brown Town, ie, the city proper. Out in the communities, the +55 estates, there is virtually zero crime. Mine is about fifteen miles from the city itself.
Ocala traffic is awful, as there are no freeways. The poster who said there is nothing to do here is correct. It is a cultural wasteland. Mostly horses and golf courses. The cost of living is very low, too. Another benefit is lack of illness. I’ve not been sick since I’ve been here. It’s amazing what not being around kids can do for your health.
I have lived in lake mary and can tell you we moved due to heavy traffic to volusia county . There is not much to do at all in Lake Mary, nice overpriced homes , you can do a lot better .
My favorite place by far is New Smyrna Beach , Small town that is ocean front with lots to do , art festivals n such almost every weekend , lots of riverfront , nice gym on main drag canal st . little to no crime , nice place centrally located to disney about an hour away , google dolphin view restruant and art show new smyrna beach ,,, lots of active retired people , weather is usually more sunny right along the coast than it is inland like lake mary
“”look only from us1 east to the ocean” prices are higher but the neighborhood is real nice , beach side 32169 if you got the money for that 300k buys a home that you can walk 2 blocks to ocean “
good luck NC
I moved to Vero Beach last December and so far I love it. I had thought I wanted to move to Charleston. But then I found the flood insurance rates have gone astronomical. I discovered a cost of living site and started comparing cost of living in various areas. I found Vero Beach to be 94% of national average. Most other places on the cost were 107% or more. It seems if you’re retiring you would like fairly low cost of living, along with safety. You can live on the ocean or the river or a bit inland and find a safe community with sea breezes. Of course you’ll pay more for the ocean.
I’m a bridge player and Vero has one of the best and biggest bridge clubs in the country. It also has 2 Anglican churches, and as a former Episcopalian that was also a big inticement for me.
So think about your interests and the type of community and cost of living you can afford.
Port Charlotte has no downtown, but Punta Gorda is right across the bridge and is quaint and pretty quiet. I like the Celtic Ray pub, an authentic Irish pub. The tiki bar by the bridge is a bit more upscale. The Ice House is an authentic British pub, just down the street. Laisley Crab house is an open air restaurant and bar overlooking the harbor from an upstairs level. There are lots of dumps for lower class guys like me too.
Venice is 20 miles north and is a slightly younger, more upscale community with all sorts of restaurants and bars in the downtown walking area. It is closer to Sarasota and very close to the beach.
Did I mention that it's hot in the summer?
I agree on Brevard. It, along with Martin and Indian River counties are the three places I would look. Personally, I think the retirement communities are hellholes, and the last time I went to a central Florida theme park was grad night in high school. Manufactured homes, manufactured entertainment...when you could be surfing, fishing, kayaking, cycling or floating over a reef? Please.
It’s Florida. Go coastal. That doesn’t mean you live on the beach...it means live in a coastal county. Stay west of Federal Hwy and your insurance rates and maintenance expenses go down significantly.
If you like to get up early, go east coast. Cup of coffee, watch the sun come up over the horizon, do a thirty minute open ocean swim. If you want a sunset every day, go west coast. I’m not a fan of the interior of the state. Hunted north of the lake every year with my father, but since they shut down the Old South BBQ in Clewiston, not much reason to go. The deer are smaller than PA, CO,WY or Canada. And when they remodelled The Orbit bar at the Okeechobee bowling alley— think it’s called “8 Seconds” now, can’t tell if they mean rodeo or sexual dysfunction— well, no reason to stop off there on a Saturday night.
I-60 @ Vero Beach is there for a reason. It’s a climate zone marker. South of I-60 is subtropical. North of that is sinkholes and tornadoes in the springtime, if you live in the interior.
Someone posted above about condos and HOAs.This really adds a layer of complexity to living in Florida. Take your time, do the AirBNB thing for the first year...stay for a month or two at a time in various places...and always ask for a set of financials. If you can’t interpret an accrual based financial statement, please have a friend who can. Florida has a lot of natural beauty, but it also has a lot of BS artists, and they can sniff out a transplant with a good pension.
That’s got nothing to do with people.
I’d recommend the Outer Banks, NC for retirement. In particular, locales ranging from Topsail Island (Topsail Beach, Surf City, Ocean City, North Topsail Beach) through Swansboro to the northeast to Emerald Isle (Emerald Isle City, Indian Beach, Salter Path, Pine Knoll Shores and Atlantic Beach) and further beyond to Beaufort (pronounced “BOW-fort in NC). These beaches are absolutely gorgeous! Great shopping in Jacksonville, Morehead City, New Bern. If you happen to be retired military, Camp Lejuene, NC and MCAS Cherry Point, NC are nearby these areas. Keep away from Wilmington, Carolina Beach, Wrightsville Beach Kure Beach... too crowed... traffic is horrendous. Added benefit, the beautiful NC mountains are five hours away.
Lived here for 30+ years, Tampa Bay. My sister and husband were planning to move down. Started on the west coast south in Venice. They came down from Maryland several times and finally settled on the Villages (that is what I suggested on the first visit, LOL).
When you have the means to by a decent house in FL, it is like shooting fish in a barrel, hundreds of fish of every shape and size. Anyhow, for my sister and hubbie, it was all the activities, clubs and convenience that the Villages offer. The variety of places to live there numerous and it spreads around 3 counties.
The drawback with moving to a rural area is lack of medical access when, as we will, get older. My MIL and hubbie live in the mountains of N Georgia and an ambulance can not get to their house in the winter, for instance.
The entire Florida peninsula is actually resting on Swiss cheese.
On your next drive down to Florida, stop in the Hilton Head area of South Carolina. If you can, spend a day or two around the area; Hilton Head Island, Beaufort, SC, Savannah, GA, Charleston SC.
You might find that everything you wanted in Florida is here and it’s generally less expensive and more comfortable. The sunrises and sunsets will knock you over. We love the area and we are from Florida.
BKM for later
Actuarial tables indicate you will live 20-30 years longer than your parents.
Tax consideration is as important in relocating as well as current tax policy.
Geographic relocation will affect which activities you may participate in; I fish only freshwater when at home in the north, and fish only saltwater when in Florida.
Evaluate your current health needs, be honest about yourself and your companion, and your family health history will determine you need to be in proximity to hospitals.
Housing depends on what you can afford, and what your future needs may be (condo with elevator, multiplex with activities, single floor residence, healthcare facility, etc.).
If your interest is only taxation, look and see where the retired military folks retire..
but plan based upon what your current and future needs may be since you may live beyond your retirement money and income.
Spoken as only a Texan can about Florida.
Any County assessor will have a Plat map of any sinkholes that may be known - it will affect your residential insurance rates.
Fly to Jacksonville, a pleasant airport and visit the beaches east of the city, which are towns somewhat managed by the city. Atlantic Beach and Neptune have no high rise buildings. Jacksonville Beach is more congested and all three have modest, some racially mixed neighborhoods walking distance from beautiful wide sand beaches. AB has NS Mayport on the north. I love it here. I don’t own a home anymore and I hear prop taxes are high.
Are you in OTOTW?
I sincerely want to thank everyone.
The appeal for me is no taxation of pensions or ss, lower housing costs, weather(I work in DC, so am no stranger to high heat and humidity), I love The Mouse’s House. Downside for me would be sinkholes, hurricanes, big bugs. I’m too dumb to be scared of alligators, have never even seen one.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.