Reasons to say no

[Ladyandthepuppies]

This morning I showed DH a listing for a gorgeous home in Windermere, with more bedrooms and bathrooms and square feet than we currently have, plus a pool. The listing price is less than our current home is worth and showed lower taxes. For the first time, we started seriously asking ourselves, why don’t we move here?

It seems like there’s a real opportunity to get more value for less money than our current situation. We don’t have much family in our area, and DH’s job was wfh permanently even before the pandemic. We love Disney and it would be amazing to be annual passholders, and it would also be amazing to keep our lifestyle, possibly even upgrade it, for less.

So far, my reasons to say no are that I would miss the fall foliage, my friends in the area, and hurricanes. Is there anything major I’m missing? Giant killer iguanas or something?

 

[dclpluto]

This morning I showed DH a listing for a gorgeous home in Windermere, with more bedrooms and bathrooms and square feet than we currently have, plus a pool. The listing price is less than our current home is worth and showed lower taxes. For the first time, we started seriously asking ourselves, why don’t we move here?

It seems like there’s a real opportunity to get more value for less money than our current situation. We don’t have much family in our area, and DH’s job was wfh permanently even before the pandemic. We love Disney and it would be amazing to be annual passholders, and it would also be amazing to keep our lifestyle, possibly even upgrade it, for less.

So far, my reasons to say no are that I would miss the fall foliage, my friends in the area, and hurricanes. Is there anything major I’m missing? Giant killer iguanas or something?

don’t worry too much about hurricanes. It’s far inland. Just have good insurance. Philadelphia which is not brotherly love like the nickname or being close to wdw.

 

[jdb in AZ]

You wouldn't have to shovel snow in Florida, but how do you feel about the humidity?

 

[KittyKitty]

DH’s job was wfh

What does wfh mean?
What are the normal wages in case you want to get a job? Humidity, and creatures that can hurt you.

 

[gwynne]

What does wfh mean?
What are the normal wages in case you want to get a job? Humidity, and creatures that can hurt you.

I was curious too, so I looked it up.
The Google says it means work from home.

 

[JaxDad]

I think we may finally have the giant killer iguanas mostly under control.

 

[georgina]

I could never live in Florida for several reasons, but it sure is a nice place to visit in the winter. If you can deal with the climate, bugs, schools, and the politics, go for it!

 

[1GoldenSun]

Just go visit your friends when a hurricane comes. Hopefully it'll happen when the fall foliage is in full color so you can knock out two birds with one stone. Anyway, many people actually evacuate TO Disney so in Windermere you'd be pretty safe.

I moved to Florida 20 years ago full of trepidation about the critters and the hurricanes and the humidity; the humidity was the only thing that turned out to be a real issue.

You read/hear/see news stories about crazy Floridians and all the wild and stupid stuff that happens in Floriduh, but most of us Floridians are also reading/hearing/seeing it in the news; we're not experiencing it first-hand. Florida isn't that much different than anywhere else in the U.S.

 

[DLgal]

The politics would keep me away. My parents live there (retired there about 5 years ago) and they cannot STAND the way the state is run. It really bothers them a lot. Those decisions really do affect your life in several ways.

If you agree with the politics, go for it, but if not, stay away!

 

[Chrissy-Mickey]

Financially it's beneficial... one way. I know people who moved down to FL, but when they wanted to move back North (for climate/missing family/politics/cultural reasons) they didn't have the money anymore to buy a house and live there. Housing is 'affordable' here for a reason.

 

[tvguy]

Many I know who have made a major move like that have regretted it because of the difficulty finding new Doctors/Dentists they like that are accepting new patients, being away from family and long time friends, and in the case of moving to a resort area, being over run by tourists really sucks.

My only concerns would the paying all those real estate commissions and moving costs. I'm still trying to get over paying nearly $40,000 in real estate commissions and fees when I sold my parent's house 7 years ago, a house THEY paid $29,500 for.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Not great schools and not great politics.

 

[RamblingMad]

I would expect home maintenance would go up due to weather.

 

[belleatdisney]

Humidity humidity humidity

 

[JM23457]

I'm assuming you're either childless by choice or empty nesters? The public schools in Philadelphia are probably going to be better than Florida public schools. Unless you intend to pay for private school for any children you might have, keep that in mind.

Lol on people complaining about politics. If you're a liberal and need to be cocooned among people who mostly agree with you on everything, then stay where you are. But if you welcome getting to know different kinds of people with different perspectives, and can accept that you'll usually have a Republican governor, then you'll be fine. Florida is a conserative-leaning swing state, not a hotbed of right-wing extremism.

Not being able to afford to move back in years to come is a realistic concern, as your Florida home value won't increase at the same rate as the value of a Philadelphia home.

Potential hurricane damage to your home & community is also a serious consideration. Hurricanes are only going to get worse over time, due to global warming.

I hope you're not scared of cockroaches. Get a good exterminator if you move to Florida.

If you have or foresee any significant health issues, make sure you can find good replacement doctors & medical centers in or near your new community before committing to a move. I'll go out on a limb and assume that it's easier to obtain top-quality health care from medical specialists in Philadelphia than in Windermere.

 

[georgina]

I'm assuming you're either childless by choice or empty nesters? The public schools in New England are going to be better than Florida public schools. Unless you intend to pay for private school for any children you might have, keep that in mind.

Lol on people complaining about politics. If you're a liberal and need to be cocooned among people who mostly agree with you on everything, then stay where you are. But if you welcome getting to know different kinds of people with different perspectives, and can accept that you'll usually have a Republican governor, then you'll be fine. Florida is a swing state, not a hotbed of right-wing extremism.

Not being able to afford to move back in years to come is a realistic concern, as your Florida home value won't increase the way the value of a New England will.

It's not so much to do with living around different kinds of people, I usually can get along with almost anybody, but this Covid 19 thing has really opened my eyes to those who don't like to listen to health experts or scientists. I do not want to live somewhere a majority of people think their rights to infect others by not wearing a mask is more important than protecting others. It starts at the top though.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Many I know who have made a major move like that have regretted it because of the difficulty finding new Doctors/Dentists they like that are accepting new patients, being away from family and long time friends, and in the case of moving to a resort area, being over run by tourists really sucks.

My only concerns would the paying all those real estate commissions and moving costs. I'm still trying to get over paying nearly $40,000 in real estate commissions and fees when I sold my parent's house 7 years ago, a house THEY paid $29,500 for.

Those would be my main concerns about moving to a new area. You would have to establish all new medical/dental and other services. I would do some serious research into the area and spend time really looking into these things before making a decision. We moved to a smaller house last year, but only about 3 miles away so these weren't issues for us. It's also important to do a full cost analysis on selling your current home and buying a new one. Look at all of the fees that go into selling and see how much you would have left for a down payment. I won't even mention how much we had to pay in capital gains on our house. Let's just say it was painful.

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Lol on people complaining about politics. If you're a liberal and need to be cocooned among people who mostly agree with you on everything, then stay where you are. But if you welcome getting to know different kinds of people with different perspectives, and can accept that you'll usually have a Republican governor, then you'll be fine. Florida is a conserative-leaning swing state, not a hotbed of right-wing extremism.

As we've seen, it's not so much about getting to know different kinds of people, but having a governor who trusts science and implements a mask mandate.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

Lots of interesting perspectives, thank you! We think we might rent an Airbnb house for a month this fall/winter and stay in Windermere to get a feel for it. Obviously we wouldn’t be experiencing the insane summer humidity but at least we’re aware it exists and can mentally prepare ourselves.

I actually have 3 small children, so the schools do matter to us, but this COVID situation is changing so much about public education anyway. I had to homeschool for 3 months last year and will probably do it for all 9 months this year. So if we research it and the local schools are really dismal, homeschool / online charter schools / private online schools / private in-person schools could all be on the table.

The politics concern is interesting, as is knowing that FL home values don’t increase as much over time. Two very good things to consider if we are serious about moving!

 

[JimMIA]

One Floridian's point of view:

Pros:

• Great climate. Anywhere you go, weather happens -- but Florida's climate is wonderful 95% of the time.
  • In Central Florida, you will have beastly hot summers, but you'll also have nice cool weather in the winter.
  • In South Florida, we have milder summers because of the seabreeze. When temps plunge into the 60's in the winter, I send friends up north obnoxious emails.
• Lower cost of living generally, for several reasons
  • No winter heating costs to speak of (partially offset by AC costs in the summer)
  • Reasonable utility costs
  • Reasonable real estate prices in much of the state (NOT in South Florida)
  • Low property taxes -- constitutionally capped at 1% for local government, 1% for county government, and 1% for schools. If you live in an unincorporated area like I do, no more than 2% property tax per year.
  • NO state or local INCOME TAXES - Constitutionally prohibited
  • NO sales tax on groceries, prescriptions, or any services. There is also a limitation on sales tax on any item (like a car purchase), but I'm not sure what it is.
• NEWER everything. Often overlooked, but important benefit. Florida did not really start developing until the 1950's, so we don't have much old stuff falling apart.
• GREAT schools. Florida has some poor schools for lazy parents, but if you do your job you can easily find a great school for your children. People will post all sorts of BS statistics about how the state government expenditures per student rank, etc, etc -- but they conveniently neglect the fact that the vast majority of school costs are funded by county taxes.
  • We have fully-available, FREE pre-K, and then your child can go to public schools, private schools, or free publicly-funded charter schools.
  • Our DD went to an amazing all-magnet public high school where 99% of the seniors are going to college. We had 4-5 kids go in the military on graduation, but everyone else is college bound. And that's the norm for her school, not an unusual year.
• GREAT higher education choices AND SUPPORT. Students with good grades and test scores can receive 75% or 100% tuition and books for four years of college. And that Bright Futures scholarship money is just money in the bank -- it does not affect any other scholarships you might receive. Two of my DGD's graduated from FSU with zero debt and more than $10K in their bank accounts because of Bright Futures.
• GOOD state government. We don't have the drama that many states have at the state government level -- like New York, for example. Republicans and Democrats work cooperatively together in the state legislature, and have for many, many decades regardless of which party is in power. State agencies are well-established, professionally staffed, and render excellent service.
• Beaches -- you're never much more than an hour from a beach, no matter where you live.
• Tourism. Yeah, they drive funny, don't know where they are going, and whine a lot -- but they DO pay the bills. A LOT of our low-tax benefits come from the taxes paid by our beloved tourists.
• The Burbs -- Florida does not have the urban congestion and population density like many places in the US -- even in Miami. We are much more suburban, except for some gentrification in major cities.
• There are a lot more pros, but I want to keep this under one million words.

Cons:

• Fewer seasons. In Central and North Florida, you will have Fall and a semblance of Winter. In South Florida, we have only two seasons (seriously) -- wet and dry. We literally DO celebrate when temps plunge into the 60's.
• World-class medical care is limited. We have great medical care in Miami, Jacksonville, Tampa, Orlando, and Gainesville. Other than that, you're not going to have the world-class options you would have in major cities. We have plenty of hospitals, doctors, dentists, etc, but only a dozen or so really top-notch facilities.
• Critters. Killer iguanas are a joke, of course, although we certainly DO have an iguana problem. But there are other critters that you will need to get used to:
  • Snakes. Yep, snakes. I have four species of snakes (that I know of) in my yard -- none of them venomous. But we do have lots and lots of snakes. You won't see them often, but they are there. (WDW incidentally is literally crawling with snakes)
  • Alligators. Where there is water, there are alligators. They are everywhere.
    • They will not bother you if you don't bother them
    • Problem is, you don't necessarily know when you're bothering them
    • If you see an alligator, stay at least 15 feet (5 meters) away
    • Don't go anywhere near a Mom with babies, no matter how cute you think the babies are. Moms are very protective and they are much faster and much stronger than you are.
    • Pro tip -- do NOT walk a dog (or anything else) within 15 feet of the edge of any body of water.
  • Lizards. If I walk out my front door, I will immediately be greeted by 5-6 lizards. There is a gecko on my den window as I type this. They are everywhere. They won't hurt you, and some of them are kinda cute.
  • Mosquitoes. Nope, not the state bird (that's Alaska!). We have mosquitoes, worse in the summer unless you are in one specific area of Everglades National Park where they are worse 24/7/365. They bite and they can carry disease. But they don't all bite. "Dr. Mosquito" gave a talk during a training class at Everglades and told us that only the females of 13 of the 49 species of mosquitoes in the park bite humans. So there's that. But our stores sell mosquito spray, and it works.
  • Roaches and other bugs. Much of Florida is a sub-tropical climate and that equals bugs. As someone posted above, get an exterminator.
  • "Palmetto Bugs." There is a very special species of roach called the "Palmetto Bug." It has wings, and an exterminator cannot help you. They fly and they go where they want. Some of them are big enough to barbecue, but honestly they don't have much taste. The crunch they make when you squish them is kinda cool. You just have to get over Palmetto Bugs.
• Tourists. See above. You will quickly learn which license plates to avoid.
  • We have a bumper sticker that says, "We don't CARE how you do it up North!"
  • I don't personally own one, just sayin'...
• There are more things, I'm sure, but that's enough for now.

And if politics rule your life, please live somewhere else, LOL.