topic Re: Retirement in Florida in Community Chat

Retirement in Florida

Deb213 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:00:40 GMT

Hello all - I am looking for some help here. I am hoping to retire sometime next year, (can't wait!), and am interested in moving to Florida for a variety of reasons. There are so many retirement communities in Florida and I am trying to parse it all out. We are not opposed to a 55 and over community, but also could live in a regular all ages community, as long as there are amenities and some community activities. We are looking for a single family home, not a condo just yet.

For those of you who have retired to Florida, would you kindly provide some info as to why you like it or what you don't like? Were there mistakes you made that you wish you could take back? Maybe the names of your communities or city/town if you have recommendations?

We are currently living in the Northeast and will probably visit Florida to begin our retirement home search in the Spring of 2018.

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated! Such a big move and decison...

Thanks!

Re: Retirement in Florida

deedledeedeedle — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:12:41 GMT

Congratulations for being able to see the light at the end of your tunnel. You can find many resources on your retirement decisions, @Deb213. Your financial planner may be able to help.

The idea that stands out to me is to put your current house in mothballs and go live in your intended place of residence for a year if for nothing else than to experience the seasons in real time, not a two week vacation. Hopefully your home is paid for and you are able to pay a one year apartment lease in Fl. Whatever you do, best wishes to you, and by all means, enjoy!

dee

Re: Retirement in Florida

Laura14 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:15:04 GMT

No personal experience but my mother has bought two homes in The Villages near Ocala. I've only been once but if you want plenty to do and don't mind driving a golf cart everywhere, it's huge and never boring if you want entertainment and golf all around you. Her only mistake was not buying a big enough house for all the guests you get. Hence, the second home.

Good Luck with your search and congrats on retirement!

Re: Retirement in Florida

conlt — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:27:46 GMT

I am not retired yet but moved to Florida from Massachusetts in 1981. I live in North East Florida. I like that we still get a change in season, the winter being like fall in New England. October through May is really pretty, I like not having to deal with the snow and the ice, no state income tax, I love that I can get to the beach in 10 minutes, and that there is always plenty to do here. I don't love the heat in the summer months, although when the afternoon clouds roll in, as they usually do for the summer storms, the weather is tolerable. Last year, we experienced hurricane Matthew, which was as close as a hurricane has ever got to our town since I lived here. I have had to evacuate 4 times in all of these years, and I don't like that. I also love the people here, I have met many nice people from Florida and multiple other states. We also have the grocery store Publix which is very nice to shop in. I like NE Florida because of the change in seasons, any more south and the temperatures become warmer. I do not like the Orlando/Tampa area because it is very crowded. My town used to be small with little traffic but in the last few years it has started to get crowded to. I love visiting New England sometimes but because of the beautiful weather in Florida most of the time, I prefer to live here.

Re: Retirement in Florida

lrbrb — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:30:06 GMT

I live in a 55+ manufactured home community that boasts 2 championship golf courses, 2 clubhouses (one with a restaurant), tennis courts, bocci ball, a gym, and 2 pools. It's called Cypress Lakes and is located just north of Lakeland which is between Tampa and Orlando. We have an activities director and there's always something going on. The only drawback is that lot rents are fairly expensive. There are a couple of sections that are land owned but we do pay a monthly service fee. I agree with another poster who said that The Villages would be a good place to visit. You should live in Florida for at least one summer before deciding to sell your northern home. Summers in Florida are very hot! I lived there full time for 4 years before I finally talked my husband into coming north each summer. I just can't deal with the heat. I hope I've given you some information that will be helpful to you.

Re: Retirement in Florida

tansy — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:40:14 GMT

@Deb213 wrote:
Hello all - I am looking for some help here. I am hoping to retire sometime next year, (can't wait!), and am interested in moving to Florida for a variety of reasons. There are so many retirement communities in Florida and I am trying to parse it all out. We are not opposed to a 55 and over community, but also could live in a regular all ages community, as long as there are amenities and some community activities. We are looking for a single family home, not a condo just yet.

For those of you who have retired to Florida, would you kindly provide some info as to why you like it or what you don't like? Were there mistakes you made that you wish you could take back? Maybe the names of your communities or city/town if you have recommendations?

We are currently living in the Northeast and will probably visit Florida to begin our retirement home search in the Spring of 2018.

Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated! Such a big move and decison...

Thanks!

Have you checked out the City Data forums? Definitely do a search on the Florida forum and maybe in the Retirement forum.

Re: Retirement in Florida

brandiwine — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:41:56 GMT

Congratulations. Retirement is the best!!! D2 just gave you the best advice you will ever get. Live there a full year before you decide. We have friends there and the one huge negative for them is the bugs. Have to have a service to control them. They aren't crazy about the humidity either.

Re: Retirement in Florida

151949 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:43:23 GMT

I would highly suggest coming down and renting for a few winters in different areas to see what you like. There's every option one can think of somewhere in Florida. We live in Sarasota County , in a small beach community, which means we have the advantage of the gulf of Mexico near but the disadvantage of tourists and snowbirds and the crowds & traffic they bring with them.

Our biggest mistake was buying a villa (duplex) in a very small community. There are way too many people crowded into a very small area and we have found we don't like this much. We plan to sell this fall and build a single family home in a much less crowded plan.We do love our small town though,and want to stay in this town.

Since you seem to be interested in community activities I would suggest you look into the Villiages as they offer a lot of that sort of thing.

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. Good luck - have fun in your search.

Re: Retirement in Florida

151949 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 20:50:07 GMT

@brandiwine wrote:
Congratulations. Retirement is the best!!! D2 just gave you the best advice you will ever get. Live there a full year before you decide. We have friends there and the one huge negative for them is the bugs. Have to have a service to control them. They aren't crazy about the humidity either.

Not to be arguementative but every state has bugs. We are on vaca in Pa. and I was just sitting out enjoying the pretty day but after it rained here for 3 days - there are mosquitos everywhere - I had to come inside. I put Off on but they were biting me anyway.

Re: Retirement in Florida

Kachina624 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 21:27:54 GMT

@151949 wrote:
.
Not to be arguementative but every state has bugs. We are on vaca in Pa. and I was just sitting out enjoying the pretty day but after it rained here for 3 days - there are mosquitos everywhere - I had to come inside. I put Off on but they were biting me anyway.

@151949 @Deb213 True, every state has bugs but not like the Gulf Coast States and especially not like Florida. Also alligators and mutant boa constrictors, in addition to the native poisonous snakes.

Re: Retirement in Florida

Sweet_Serenity — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 21:44:48 GMT

Relocated last spring from NY to Boco Ratan. Retired 58 single and no regrets. Moved for several reasons. First! Tired traveling twice year see my Granddaughter, Turns 5 end of the month, Already want to stop the clock. Growing up in NYC my family purchased condo in Bal-Harbor Miami Beach...Best memories! Cabana at Doral along with Dancing my GrandFather Starlight Roof. Point is Florida is and has always been very dear to me. Lived in Hollywood traveled all over the country and abroad. Every place has positive and negative effects. Besides family love senior community and lifestyle. Many have given you excellent suggestions. Wish you happiness and joy.

Re: Retirement in Florida

software — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 21:52:46 GMT

I never saw a cockroach the size of my hand until I moved south.

They go by many different names but it's still a cockroach and they can fly.

Fireants - avoid them.

Yes, the bugs are bigger and more plentiful in the southeast.

You learn to accept it and control it.

I was born & raised in New England, moved south 40 years ago

The southeast is very different. I can't imagine anyone wanting to uproot and move without spending extended time in the south. The culture is different, food is different, weather, you name it.

Nothing inherently bad about it, just very different

Re: Retirement in Florida

Elom — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 22:00:47 GMT

I know a few people who live in Spanish lakes country club village in Ft Pierce FL

my family also has a long history in that particular community. The Wynne developers have a few of them but our fondness was the country club village. There is more there to do and activities scheduled every month than you can imagine. You can get involved as much or as little as you desire. They have block homes as well as Mobile homes. For as old as it is it is very well maintained. I am partial to the SE coast of Florida. I do have family that live in Lake City Fl and that is a very nice area also and not as busy. I stayed with my daughter in the Orlando area and glad I did as it is not for me. Lake city is more my liking.

Re: Retirement in Florida

Deb213 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 22:11:21 GMT

Thanks to everyone for responding - that is really good advice! I will miss the Northeast and the seasons for sure so the Northeast part of Florida might be best for us. It will be cool in the Winter, but without the snow and ice. I do want to rent and get a feel for what life is really like down there over the long haul before we sell. I just need to narrow it down to a specific place.

Also, I should have mentioned in my first post that airports, hospitals, and general infrastructure are important to us as well. We currently live just outside of a major city so we dont want to get too rural.

If anyone else has any input, please feel free to contribute!

Re: Retirement in Florida

Lorik62 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 22:22:46 GMT

@Deb213 We have friends that lived in upstate NY all their lives. They are in their 60's and decided to retire and move to a retirement community in Tampa 7 years ago. They were miserable there, especially with the drastic change in temperature. They just sold their place and are moving to Maine in the fall. Good luck with your decision!!

Re: Retirement in Florida

Group 5 minus 1 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 22:26:57 GMT

Before you make the big move I will tell you about friends of ours. They wanted to retire and move to Florida. Had always taken a winter vacation there. When they did retire they sold their house which was a beautiful home and moved. Did not realize how very hot it was in the summer. Moved back here but had to buy a home not at all like their former home and were very unhappy.My advice is this: live in Florida in the summer to see if you like it.

Re: Retirement in Florida

Deb213 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 22:28:34 GMT

@Lorik62

Oh dear! That is my worst fear! I have been so happy in our home for 25 plus years. I would hate to get down there and realize that I was happier up here! But I also accept that we are getting older and eventually, this house will be too much for us. Especially the stairs! We have a very large home. But thank you for letting me know that even if I do make a mistake, we can always move back up North!

Re: Retirement in Florida

Ocalagala — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 22:59:30 GMT

Having lived in Florida for 24 years I feel more than qualified to answer your question. You really need more than a 2 week visit to decide where you want to live. And you need to decide if you want to be close to the coast or live inland. It's more humid on the coast and you have to deal with hurricanes. It's hot inland, but not as humid. And in north central Florida, the weather starts to cool down by the end of September. They also get 3 seasons, so much cooler than being on the coast in South Florida, which has one season...summer.

We first moved to Miami from Ohio for my husband's job. We bought a house a few blocks from the ocean. But the windstorm insurance and property taxes were very high. Almost $6,000 a year for each. We had a tree fall on our house in one hurricane and we lost our screened in birdcage in another. When it was time to retire, we knew we wanted to stay in Florida, but also knew we didn't want to be on the coast anymore, so we started looking inland.

We started with The Villages in Lady Lake. A community of 11,000 homes and still growing. Way too large & too busy for us. In season the roads are like parking lots and you cannot get into a restaurant. After checking around the center of the state for around 2 years, we wound up purchasing in a Del Webb community in Ocala. It's an over-55, gated community and we love it. You can be as busy as you want to be. Tons of activities. A beautiful gym, 2 pools, exercise classes, etc. Also a large clubhouse with all sorts of clubs and groups to join. If we want to deal with the big city we are an hour or so away from Tampa and Orlando.

Yes there are bugs in Florida, but if you have your house treated monthly by a licensed exterminator, you will almost never see any. I won't lie to you, the weather is hot. It's not as humid as south Florida, because we aren't near the ocean. We are 1 1/2 hours from the Atlantic & the Gulf of Mexico. We get storms, but by the time a hurricane gets to the center of the state it's considerably weakened and usually a large rain event. In north central Florida we also get 3 seasons. It actually can go into the 20s in the winter. South of Orlando, it's summer all year long.

Some things to consider: Your retirement dollar will go much farther if you don't live on either coast. The cost of taxes and insurances are very high. Also, restaurants and entertainment are more expensive in the beach communities. We didn't realize this until after we moved here.

Moving here from out of state is a big move. I would definitely rent during the summer or visit for an extended period to see if you can tolerate the heat.

Someone gave us some advice when we left Ohio for Florida. They said pretend your seasons are reversed. You have your New Year's Eve party on the lanai and your July 4th barbeque indoors.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Re: Retirement in Florida

Zhills — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 23:28:55 GMT

You learn to schedule around the heat just like they do around snow days up North. How many things just have to be done between 12 and 5?

You use an exterminator for bugs. We PAY if we want to see boas and gators. You see them on TV, not in real life. We got a small one in our pond a d peel would stop beside the road to see him. They are rare and fascinating!

Do check out all areas. They are different! Central Florida is beautiful and a lovely place to live. Pasco, Polk, Osceola and Hillsborough are active places. Lots of things to do! From old cars to corn Festival..

Re: Retirement in Florida

DianeJ2 — Sat, 08 Jul 2017 23:44:34 GMT

I'm from New England and I moved to Ponte Vedra Beach (northern fl) for a year. I always knew I had the option to come back to CT and I did after a year. That really takes the finality stress away! If you don't like it, you're not stuck.

I really liked Ponte Vedra, there's expensive homes and moderately priced there too. As some posters have said, it's just a different experience. I loved the town, the weather did get hot in the spring/summer but the fall/winter saw cooler temperatures being northern Florida. I wasn't comfortable walking my small dog, had to pick him up constantly between the fire ants and alligators (I did see them on the sidewalks). My mom retired to North Carolina and loved it. Best to you on your decision...