OT - moving to Florida or becoming a snowbird

[Teresa Pitman]

I'm seriously thinking about possibly moving to Florida, either full time or at least for the winter months. I don't have a clue where to start. I am self-employed (I'm a writer) and would need to continue working, but I can work from anywhere.

Anyone know about this kind of thing, or know where I could start looking for information? If I just went from, say, January to April - how do you find a place to rent for four months? What would it cost? What are the legal requirements to move permanently? Any tips would be appreciated!

Teresa

 

[SandraC]

Hi ~ My retired cousin has been a snowbird for years. He usually goes for a couple of months....Jan to March. He just returned last week.

We has a lovely trailer and stays in a campground near WDW....because he pays monthly, it works out to $9 a day!

When we stayed in Ormond Beach two weeks ago, the hotel did rent suites monthly but I didn't ask the cost....we stayed at Coral Beach Motel Resort. It had two rooms and a full kitchen overlooking the ocean plus an indoor and outdoor pool.

Blessings, Sandra

 

[mbb]

My parents have been snowbirding - in ever increasing amounts - for the last 3 years...

First year, they "mom and popped" it, in small motels around the St. Augustine area...and spent anywhere from $275-$350/week for clean, but VERY budget accomodations!...as in, no phone in their room

Then, they came with us for 3 weeks, and then stayed on in Florida doing timeshare rentals for 3 more weeks...

Then...I found them a 1 bdr condo through www.vrbo.com for Jan and Feb this year...$800/month in the Panhandle area.

It was nice, and they'd go back, but would like to go a little further south next winter. The days just didn't get quite warm enough for them.

Price was certainly right though!!

As I explained to them, the further south you go, the higher the $$$ goes.

So, they're looking at budgeting $1000-$1200/month, Jan/Feb/March next winter....and the condo won't be as spacious, or as close to the beach that the one this year was...and it'll probably be in a multi-story complex. They were on the first floor, across the street access to the beach this year.

And I think I'll have my work cut out for *me* to find that budget-friendly, not-already-booked snowbird home for them..LOL!!

Good luck!

 

[Northstar]

Just a warning on the permanent move... you would have to qualify for a permanent resident card and I don't know how that would work if you're self-employed... I would consult an immigration lawyer if you seriously want to emigrate to the States.

The snowbirding would be much easier. Make sure you meet residence requirements to keep your provincial medical alive. Technically, you are not supposed to work while you're in the U.S. but if you just keep paying taxes to Canada as if you were doing all your writing while here, I don't think anyone would much care where your word processor is when you write (best to use a "don't ask - don't tell" policy about it).

 

[A&CsMom]

My grandparents used to spend 6 months per year in FL until a couple years ago (due to declining health) and they even owned a home down there. I believe they said you can stay up to 6 months (maybe less a day?) at the most per calendar year in order to keep your OHIP, gov't pensions, etc. You can probably find out more info. on the internet. They also had increased health insurance costs during the last few years so cut down the number of months they stayed.