relocating to florida

[lauraf]

I could really use some advice. I came back from my trip to Florida a few weeks ago, and I fell in love with it. It's so much more than WDW, the sunshine and heat was great and I plan to move there as soon as I can sell my house. I come from washington state and Florida is just the opposite. What I would like to know is I have been looking at Polk county and the houses seem to be very affordable for me, but some of them say pets are ok and others don't and I have 4 dogs so are there different rules there? Are there certain areas that have specific regulations, I just never have come across things like that before. I would also like to know if Polk county is a good area. I am a nurse so finding a job is not a problem. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Laura

 

[Muffy]

If you are looking for a rental, many will not allow dogs. If you looking to buy into a gated community, dogs are usually allowed but with a 50lb weight limit. You may find this varies between communities.

 

[safetymom]

I live in Polk county and it is a good place to live. Polk is a large county, where were you planning on moving?

 

[mrsdon]

Hiya safety
We jsut bought a home in Haines City
We are waiting for a clsoing date.
We are so excited to be relocating to FL
We looked all over Lakeland, Winter Haven and just fell into this bargin in haines City.
The builder was wanting to close out the development and we put in a low bid and it was accepted!!!!

 

[Virgo10]

I also live in Polk County. We are not in a "community" so there were no issues with my cats. Like another poster said, Polk county is HUGE (the biggest county in Florida) so there are lots of options.

Here's my town's website.
Auburndale, FL

It's a nice little town located between Winter Haven and Lakeland. We're 26 miles from WDW.

If you are buying a house, finding an area that will be OK for your dogs shouldn't be a problem.

 

[lauraf]

I have a german shepherd so a gated community is out of the question. I am looking for an area near a hospital. I want to buy a house a 3br 2ba with a pool. I want a house that I plan to live in for the rest of my life. I will look in the areas that you did mention and thank you everyone for the information and good luck to your new house.

 

[Mishetta]

lauraf ~ you sound just like me when I took my first trip to CA. I just fell in love! I mean, that's all I could think about was getting myself out there, as quickly as possible. I managed to get there within the year with all my belongings. Had some really good times, met my DH & never regretted moving (unfortunately, after 10 years, we had to move away) but that's another thread!

Anyway, I just wanted to wish you luck with your impending move. Are you checking out the realtor websites or having a realtor look for you? This forum will be a great place to get good advice too!

My DH wants to move to FL after he retires but I tell him that he can move there with his next wife since I have no desire to relocate to FL.

Wishing you lots of luck!

 

[lauraf]

Thank you very much, I did fall in love. On my first day there was a thunder storm, and I love those. We don't get that here in Washington. when it rains here it doesn't stop. The summers are pretty but thats the only thing I like. I haven't picked a realtor yet, I have to wait until my house is in the process of being sold, which I'm hoping for very soon. When I was at Disney, a bus driver that I was talking with was a realtor and gave me his card, he was a retired older gentleman who worked for Disney part time. I was planning on contacting him, and he said his wife does home loans. So thats what I plan on starting with. I have been to California and liked it very much but I couldn't afford to live there. But Florida has everything that I am looking for and I can afford what I am looking for. Houses in Washington are very expensive and even if I wanted to stay here I couldn't afford the kind of house that I want.

 

[Maggi May]

Hi Lauraf
My late father lived in Lakeland and really enjoyed it. He lived on the west side of the county, not far from Hillsborough, in a gated community off of the Polk Parkway and Harden Boulevard. There's a lot of development going on there - shops, restaurants, housing. The area is close to I-4 and Orlando and Tampa/St. Pete.

Of course, I-4 is always under construction so commuting can be difficult. However, Lakeland is within a reasonable driving distance of so many great things - the beaches at St. Pete and Sarasota, symphony performances, great shopping malls, museums, professional sports, concerts, and of course, Disney.

Moving to Florida can be a big change. Some folks are shocked at how much utilities, especially water, can cost. While there's no state income tax, local sa

 

[Maggi May]

Hi Lauraf
My late father lived in Lakeland and really enjoyed it. He lived on the west side of the county, not far from Hillsborough, in a gated community off of the Polk Parkway and Harden Boulevard. There's a lot of development going on there - shops, restaurants, housing. The area is close to I-4 and Orlando and Tampa/St. Pete.

Of course, I-4 is always under construction so commuting can be difficult. However, Lakeland is within a reasonable driving distance of so many great things - the beaches at St. Pete and Sarasota, symphony performances, great shopping malls, museums, professional sports, concerts, and of course, Disney.

Moving to Florida can be a big change. Some folks are shocked at how much utilities, especially water, can cost. While there's no state income tax, local sales and property taxes can be higher than other states. Still, all in all, as a near-Native Floridian, I have to say it's a great place to live.

Best of luck on your move.

 

[lauraf]

Thank you for the information, I will look in that area also. I do have to stay away from the gated communities because of my dogs. But I will keep looking so thanks again I do appreciate all the help I have gotten.

 

[PatriciaH]

Yes, please check the insurance rates and tax rates as well. There was a thread on the budget board the other day about insurance in FL right now. Some people's rates were through the roof. I know my parents taxes just jumped over 40% this year. They pay more than they did in NY city now. With all the dogs insurance may be hard to get as well. Certain breeds can be trouble.

 

[ducklite]

I'm one county north in Lake. My property taxes were almost $10K this year, going up to $12K next year. After that they will not be able to go up more than 3% a year. My homeowners is still affordable, my rate actually dropped a biot and I"m paying about $1400 a year. Polk county taxes are also skyrocketing. Do'nt believe the builder when they tell you what the taxes will be--ours are double what we were quoted because the builder has no way of really knowing how high they will jumpt the following year.

I live in a gated community. There is a pet restriction of two pets per household. No limit on size or breed. I believe the town also has restrictions, although I'm not sure as I've only got two ferrets, so it's not really an issue for me.

And I'd really like to suggest that before you jump headfirst into a cross country move, you look at the bad things about Florida. Traffic congestion, over development, limited and low paying jobs in many fields, hurricanes, bugs, snakes and gators, and while you might have enjoyed the heat, when you live through 30 days straight of temps over 90 with 99% humidity, you might think twice.

It would probably be a good idea to come visit a second time, maybe in late January when it's cool and there are no thunderstorms.

All that said, I love it here. I decided I wanted to move here in 1989. It took me about 15 years to do it. I visited a lot--over 60 times during that 15 years, during all times of the year and all over the state before finally deciding on where I wanted to live and buying a house. We made about half a dozen house buying expiditions before we found the right one. And I'll tell you, if you decide to build, building from across the country was an excruciatingly stressful thing to do, I'll never, ever do it again.

Anne

 

[Donalds_best_pal]

Good luck! Florida has some very nice areas and some not so nice areas. We lived north of Tampa and the schools were good. We probably would have lived somewhere else like in Pinellas County but we wanted to be really close to our family there. I have never heard of many communities that are gated having a weight limit on dogs. I wouldnt write off a gated community because I really havent heard of many that do restrict by weight and we have always lived in a gated community. BTW, we have a 65 lbs husky.

Enjoy Florida!

 

[Southern4sure]

I live in Pasco county (Land O Lakes) just over the county line of Hillsborough county. Im about 20 minutes north of Tampa. It really is beautiful here. Small country feeling (slower pace) but close to the city. There must not be a limit of the # of animals in my community because a neighbor has 4 med/large dogs. We are not "gated" but we do have a guard station at the entrance. My Taxes are $5600 which includes our CDD fees. Utilities to me are about the same as I was paying in AL with the exception of water. It is higher and my phone service is less with more options.

If you want more information about this area, just ask me.

 

[Virgo10]

Holy cow! I'm shocked at what some of you are paying in taxes. We paid just under $1300 last year and I don't expect them to go up much this year as we're under the homestead exemption.

 

[phillybeth]

I'm looking for info as well, as I might be relocating to the Tampa area for work. Pinellas county looks a little too rich for my blood! If this does happen, we are going to rent for at least a year before buying- I don't want to rush into buying a home not knowing what I'm getting into.

 

[ducklite]

Holy cow! I'm shocked at what some of you are paying in taxes. We paid just under $1300 last year and I don't expect them to go up much this year as we're under the homestead exemption.

That's because you got there before things went crazy. In Lake County a lot of it is to pay for new infrastructure--the hospital for example. I'm glad that I'm in and homesteaded before this Kaplan project starts building, because THOSE people are going to pay $20K a year for a $350K house at the rate things are going.

Anne

 

[lillygator]

Definitely check on homeowner's insurance...ours went up over 200% and many people are not writing new policies in this area. I was born and raised in Lakeland. It's a nice town, getting more and more built up

 

[lauraf]

Thank you for the additional information. I am shocked at the amount of taxes that you pay and I knew the insurance would be high. I will contact a realestate agent for more info. I don't want to build and I would like to rent but with my dogs it would be too difficult. I have 3 chinese cresteds and my one german shepherd. Two of the chinese cresteds are puppies and I could find them homes if I have to but not the other two, since they have been with me a long time. When I was searching for houses on line the taxes where less than 3 thousand, so maybe you own something way out of my price range? As for the winter there, I do plan on going to look at houses, but it can never be as cold as washington state. I have also lived in Hawaii where the weather is perfect and was also there through hurricane Iniki. Here in washington it gets very cold and dark in the winter and when it rains it never stops. I have bad allergies to the trees and molds and we like to be outdoors in the sun, which can only happen in the summer. It is pretty here and people do love it here and the price of houses has increased so much with many people moving here from out of state. I don't think Florida is perfect but the things that I want, thats where I can find it.