Florida - you sure???

[Brianne]

I always thought due to tourism there were no property or state income taxes. What would a typical property tax bill be for an average 250,000 home?

Typical around the Tampa area is between $2500-$4500/yr it seems, but then you need to factor in the homestead exemption, which takes $25k off your total property value--it's for those who live here full-time as opposed to those who use a home as a vacation/2nd home. It depends on the sale price of your home, and there's a cap of 3% a year of how high it can go.

My personal opinion? There's no perfect place to live. And if there were, you could count on it being overcrowded due to everyone wanting to live there--and then it wouldn't be perfect anymore because it'd be too crowded.

Everyone has their opinions---I think the important thing is to respect others' decisions about where they want to live. I can understand why some prefer the north because it can be gorgeous, even the snow is. But there's pluses to the south as well. Not to mention the west coast, southwest, northeast. You name it, there'll be people who love it & others who hate it.

 

[kerrynic78]

Love, love, love it here

Left all of our friends and family in CT and moved down here when my DH got a job offer in IT. We are both in the same job fields as in CT and making much more then we were up there. We are building a house that we could never have afforded up north and love the lifestyle down here.

When my family called from CT last week to tell me about the 13 inches of snow they got, it just made me all the more glad to be down here!

 

[vivilasvegas]

and there is absolutely no corruption in Cook County or under mayor Dailey.

You can insult Daley all you want, just spell his name right.

 

[DisneyJules]

So glad I found this thread! I feel sort of relieved reading your post. I moved to florida this last summer, lasted a few months and decided to pack my bags and head back home. And I've been dealing with a little guilt, its so beautiful there, so warm, Disney World is so close. It had a lot going for it but in the end its a place I LOVE to visit and vacation in but not where I want to live. Then again, it was so incredibly different from where I'm from that I think I was in a bit of a culture shocked. That surprised me because I've been in Florida on vacation many times and never though it would feel that different. I still feel that I made the right decision, I do miss the friends I made though.

 

[ladycollector]

Love the area - moved away twice and ended up right back here. Personally can't think of a better place.

Hate the weather - Short sleeves in January? Come onnnnnn! Bleh.

I guess it's worth it.

 

[Zurealsoon]

My sister's family lived in North Orlando one year. Not WDW fans-went once.
The thing she hated most was the transient feel of her neighborhood-everyone was from somewhere else and some one was alwys moving in or away-she never felt close to anyone the whole time .They moved back to the East coast-same town they were from after one year.

 

[wilderness01]

Originally Posted by Bucs Fan
and there is absolutely no corruption in Cook County or under mayor Dailey.



You can insult Daley all you want, just spell his name right.

 

[nwdisgal]

why oh why did you post this, you are scary me! Lol

I am a California girl, I love my state, we are very liberal state, no smoking is allowed indoors, it's beautiful (where I live), I'm attached to my state.

Dear SO was born and raised for 13 years in IL and then moved to CA and her parents just purchased a home 4 months ago in Florida and they love it, she is very close to her parents and wants us to relocate and purchase a home in Florida (very affordable), I've never been to Florida and I am terrified, of course I will go before I move. But I hate humidity, the rain, i'm afraid of the south, the way of life and not being accepted.

From all that i've heard FL isn't a very gay friendly state, in addition to that, we're black, the reason I point out that we are black because i've heard that people are very prejudice in parts of Florida, (not trying to offend anyone, but if other races hate us, and our own race hates us because they call us "white washed", where will we fit in)

ETA: And I hate hate hate mosquitos, we don't have them where I live and whenever I go somewhere that does and I get bit, I break out in hives and that for DAYS.

You live in a neat area of California - I'd stay there.

 

[lillygator]

it's funny those that "don't like Florida" say they love where they moved back to, for example Chicago...well that is a city in a state - I am sure there are many parts of Illinois that are horrid.....if not in fact Chicago itself!

I find it hard to believe that nothing in between those WDW weekends was "no good"....


and please, Chinese food and pizza? That is such a reason to skip town!

 

[dvcgirl]

why oh why did you post this, you are scary me! Lol

I am a California girl, I love my state, we are very liberal state, no smoking is allowed indoors, it's beautiful (where I live), I'm attached to my state.

Dear SO was born and raised for 13 years in IL and then moved to CA and her parents just purchased a home 4 months ago in Florida and they love it, she is very close to her parents and wants us to relocate and purchase a home in Florida (very affordable), I've never been to Florida and I am terrified, of course I will go before I move. But I hate humidity, the rain, i'm afraid of the south, the way of life and not being accepted.

From all that i've heard FL isn't a very gay friendly state, in addition to that, we're black, the reason I point out that we are black because i've heard that people are very prejudice in parts of Florida, (not trying to offend anyone, but if other races hate us, and our own race hates us because they call us "white washed", where will we fit in)

ETA: And I hate hate hate mosquitos, we don't have them where I live and whenever I go somewhere that does and I get bit, I break out in hives and that for DAYS.

Well, you are from California, and so yes, Florida housing is more affordable (far more affordable) then what you are used to. But if you haven't been watching it lately, it has gone up considerably in the last two years. You'll read that the median house price in Orlando is $250,000 or so, but if you are looking for a house and not a condo/townhome, there aren't too many places where I'd want to live where the houses are priced less than say...$450,000-$500,000....at least not in southwest orange county.

As for your lifestyle, well, I'm from the NorthEast and have also lived in California for a few years and I will say that there is definitely a "good-ole boy/redneck feel" to some of the people here. There just is. However, there are also lots of very nice people....

The weather here is sooooo different from Florida and so I don't know if you'll ever get used to that. California has *by far* the best weather of any place I've ever lived. California is also a beautiful state. We lived in the Silicon Valley and just driving anywhere you had beautiful mountains to look at. Florida has a beautiful coastline, but here in the middle, well unless it's really developed and maintained, it's not beautiful here. Yes, the resorts and golf courses are beautiful with all sorts of tropical foliage planted. Some of the neighborhoods where people take care of their houses are very nice. But just driving around....most areas aren't all that nice to look at.

 

[dvcgirl]

it's funny those that "don't like Florida" say they love where they moved back to, for example Chicago...well that is a city in a state - I am sure there are many parts of Illinois that are horrid.....if not in fact Chicago itself!

I find it hard to believe that nothing in between those WDW weekends was "no good"....


and please, Chinese food and pizza? That is such a reason to skip town!

Well, I thought the same thing. And let me tell you, my DH is Italian and is very, very picky about his pizza and we found an awesome Pizza place about 2 minutes from out house. The people are from Brooklyn and their shop reminds me of about nine million pizza joints that we went into as kids. And, we also have the *best* chinese food place right near us. We joke that we could never move to another area of Central Florida because we could end up outside of their delivery area. And we lived out West and went into San Francisco lots where the chinese food is just outstanding.....

Is it different here than it is say in the mid-west or Northeast....yes, it absolutely is, but the pizza/good food thing is something that we found to be just the opposite. There are nine zillion great restaurants with 10 miles of my house....and even more if we count all the resort restaurants.

It is funny though...and to each his own, but having traveled extensively all over this country there is no way in the world I would ever live in the mid-west...especially a mid-west city. I just find it soooooo depressing. But again,....I lived most of my life in NJ and I don't know too many people itching to move there .

 

[vivilasvegas]

it's funny those that "don't like Florida" say they love where they moved back to, for example Chicago...well that is a city in a state - I am sure there are many parts of Illinois that are horrid.....if not in fact Chicago itself!

I find it hard to believe that nothing in between those WDW weekends was "no good"....


and please, Chinese food and pizza? That is such a reason to skip town!

I've never lived in Florida, so I won't comment about that. But I think the difference is if you like "big-city living" or more "suburban living". I live in Chicago, I could easily live in NYC, Boston, I like D.C., but I don't really like L.A. (sorry!). But I don't like the suburban feel. I need busy busy busy all around me!! Miami was nice, but it still wasn't the same.

 

[froglady]

It's interesting to note that most of the people responding are basing their impression of Florida on one or two areas, mostly Orlando. I'll be honest with you, if Orlando is all I had ever seen of Florida, I would never have moved here. Most of what you see, including WDW, was built on property where earlier residents DIDN'T want to live.

I live in an almost 100 year old house in an older neighborhood. I'm surrounded by large trees, parks, small shopping centers (built in the 20s & 30s) art galleries, a museum, etc all within walking distance. I can drive to the beach in 40 minutes, and WDW in 2&1/2 hours. One neighbor has been in her house almost 50 years; we've been in ours 25.

DH just walked by and said "Don't defend Florida! It's getting too crowded around here! Tell them we hate it and would move tommorrow if we could afford it!!"

 

[safetymom]

I agree with your husband. I was one of those many years before I moved here to FL that couldn't understand why anyone would want to live in FL.

Then I finally came here and understand why so many want to move to FL. I live southwest of Orlando and I love the area I live in. It is still like living in the country like I did in PA. But I am close to all the nightlife, culture, parks, etc. that I need to have. I have been here two years and there is so much more that I want to see and do here.

But I don't want FL to get too crowded. So if you are happy where you are at stay there.

 

[Poohnatic]

Froglady, at your DH.

We're recent transplants, 18 months here. I agree that if all I'd seen was Orlando, I wouldn't have moved here. A lot of why I decided to move was that I knew there was more. My mom lived in St. Pete Beach and I love it over there. Beautiful beaches, great restaurants, nice little touristy shops. Good friend lives up in Jacksonville. DH is a racing nut, so we'd stayed in Daytona a few times.

Since I've moved here, I've traveled for work a few times. Naples twice and Gainesville. Naples was the quintessential Florida sunshine town, Gainesville was wooded and nice. I'm looking forward to heading down to the Keys and we may do that next weekend. There's so much to see within a 3 to 4 hour drive. The icing on the cake is WDW is so close.

OTOH, the first few years after I moved to Maryland, I would have gone back to LI in a heartbeat. It wasn't until I interviewed with an employer on the eastern shore that I realized that I liked the mountain home I had. Several years later, when DH and I had to decide who was going to move (one of us had to), I didn't want to leave. It's funny, he commented recently that he misses Maryland more than he ever thought he would.

Suzanne

 

[What the Heck]

I think whether or not you will enjoy Florida will depend on a lot of issues (ok, where you put the pizza/chinese food issue is up to you). Where I live, it's a great town. Very beautiful, the people are great, close enough to do things if you want (1/2 hour to Gainesville for University of Florida games, 1 1/2 hour to Disney World, 2 hours to Cocoa Beach, 2 hours to Tampa/Clearwater, etc.). However, my skill level is such that there aren't any positions that match. I ended up taking almost a 50% cut in pay (42% to be exact), so I couldn't afford to go to any of those places. Here I was, within 100 miles of DisneyWorld, with an Annual Pass that I couldn't use because I couldn't afford to get there!

Time for me to go back. Plus, I do miss the 4 seasons. We are having a "cold spell" right now where it was 60 degrees this morning. I didn't even put on my jacket.

There is one more reason why this time around wasn't very good. I've been helping my dad out. He will be moving down near my sister when I move, so he'll be allright, I was actually living in the same house with him. Big mistake. There is a reason we leave the house around 18 or so.

Just my thoughts.

 

[callahanjulie10]

I would think it all depends on what area you move to in Florida if you liked it or not. I moved to FL from Missouri when I was 9. When we go back, I thank my parents for getting me out of there! Of course, we were from a rural area in the boothill. I have relatives who couldn't image leaving MO- which is fine for them.
We moved to the Panhandle of Florida and I have no complaints except for HUMIDITY. Hate the humidity but I am used to it for the most part.
The one thing I can say is that where I live in Florida, most people who live here are transplants. Very rarely do you find someone on the beach who was born and raised (my DH was though!).
We don't have a whole lot of traffic, except Spring Break, little crime- and that is usually tourists who have gone wild!, drugs aren't out of control, no inter-city schools that require metal detectors, etc. We are about 6 hours away from WDW which is really easy for a 4 day weekend.
I guess it is just like everything else, different strokes for different folks. We travel quite a bit and so far I haven't visited anywhere I hated yet! We love Chicago and Michigan this summer and tried to eat and go places that really took in the culture. I would suggest if you come to Florida, try Southern cooking, or at least more than 2 different restaurants before saying the food is horrible. There are horrible restaurants everywhere- we usually ask locals for their favorites and try there. You will get the best food and usually the best prices as well.

 

[Republican Rapper]

I'd like to move to Florida for a few reasons.

I'm very conservative, but I feel Virginia too regressive when it comes to progress. Richmond is turning down a $330,000,000 private baseball development downtown, VA turned down a Disney park, and anytime anyone wants to build something of significance in Richmond there is a huge fight and the developers go away.

The only things we're ok with building are Circuit Citys, Best Buys, and malls.

I also HATE the freezing weather during winter, I love heat, humidity, and WDW.

The only thing holding me back is that all of my friends and family are in Richmond. And also going to UVa football games in the fall. I'm 22, a senior in college, with no fiance or major g/f to hold me down, so if I move now would be the time.

 

[Pig Pen]

See my siggy!

I was born in VT, but grew up in Florida and have moved back and forth several times. While my kids were growing up we decided we could provide a better home life for them in VT...better schools, wholesome atmosphere, safety.....

However, as soon as DH hits 55 (2010) he can retire from government service and we are outta here! My parents have a winter home in Zephyrhills and my inlaws have a home in Venice and we love visiting them in the dead of winter. I crave a hibiscus plant in my front yard. We both plan to continue working for a few years (I am much younger than DH ) - maybe at WDW!

Anyway, this plan is what gets us thru the long cold winters...that, and our frequent WDW vacations.

 

[Virgo10]

Florida has a beautiful coastline, but here in the middle, well unless it's really developed and maintained, it's not beautiful here. Yes, the resorts and golf courses are beautiful with all sorts of tropical foliage planted. Some of the neighborhoods where people take care of their houses are very nice. But just driving around....most areas aren't all that nice to look at.

Wow, that's really painting the middle of the state with a wide brush. I live just north of Winter Haven and this is some of the prettiest country I've ever seen.

Right down the street from my house is Lake Arianna.

All around us are amazing sights if you just take the time to see them. From bald eagles to tiny anoles there is always something interesting to see here. I live in a real town and I've found it clean and well kept every day that I've lived here. Even the homes in the older sections are well taken care of. The surrounding areas that I've travelled to have appeared to be just about the same.

Maybe you'll come down this way sometime and check out our beautiful countryside.