I’m surprised the article didn’t mention the fake “don’t say gay” bill.
I moved to Clearwater 12 years ago for work so I’m practically a native.
It is hot, hot, hot here. Don’t think if you can withstand a couple of 99 degree days up north you can tolerate it down here. The heat here is relentless and lasts about 9 months of the year.
It is far from the rest of the US. A car trip back to see family takes 2 days of serious driving each way.
No income taxes is very nice. Real estate taxes can be high, especially if you have more than one home and don’t qualify for a homestead exemption.
Insurance is a nightmare and going to get worse. Auto is high, and many major insurance companies don’t sell homeowners insurance here.
Schools are iffy. Teacher pay is kind of low so in a lot of places you get what you pay for. A lot of other salaries are also on the lower end.
Real estate costs are exploding. My house value has increased about 40% since 2021. I couldn’t afford to by in my neighborhood now. Rents are very high as well.
Traffic is horrible, especially I4 in Orlando and I95 in the Miami area.
A lot of public money is spent on senior projects, so if y.ou have a younger family you might feel short changed.
Utility bills are very high, especially electric, and going higher (Duke energy are the biggest bunch of thieves) My electric bill is about 500 a month in summer. I try to keep costs low with a thermostat at 78 and a variable speed pool pump
College is excellent. One kid graduated UF and I have one in FSU. Thanks to bright futures scholarships provided by state, tuition for four years is ZERO. These are top rated public colleges.
I would never live on East coast due to hurricanes. The looming threat of them can really be mentally taxing. We get some on the West coast, but for them to hit us, they have to make a serious right turn and that’s uncommon, but did occur for Irma in 2017.
If you move here, try (if you can find one) to get a house without a pool. They require a lot of maintenance and most people I know rarely use them.(I just noticed my pool pump is not working so that will be $$$ to fix I’m sure) If you like golf, there are courses EVERYWHERE and pretty cheap. Tons of pickleball if you like that.
Because of the weather, home and yard maintenance is a pretty strenuous year your activity, it’s relentless. Stuff never dies off and is always growing.
I find that the air here is really bad all year with pollen, etc. I breathe and sleep much better in Pennsylvania.
In hindsight, I probably would not have moved here had I known had hot it is here.