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Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,170
Registered: ‎11-15-2011

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

If you look at the National Reports online, Florida has many of the highest ranked hospitals in the Nation.

 

Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville
UF Health Shands Hospital
AdventHealth Orlando
Tampa General Hospital
Baptist Health Baptist Hospital
Cleveland Clinic Weston
Morton Plant Hospital
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Orlando Regional Medical Center
 
Over 40 are rated the highest ranking possible.
Valued Contributor
Posts: 503
Registered: ‎07-12-2020

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

There are pluses and minues to anything. I live in a big city in Texas and get execellent medical care because I pay for expensive health insurance. If you are regular Medicare, not Medicare Advantage, you will find almost every doctor takes it in Texas. We do live in a large metroplex which someone might not want. Housing costs are high here, but they are high in many many states. We do have crime and poverty. One can move to the outskirts or the less populated areas but you don't have the medical resources and mental health resources of the city center areas. Any state is going to be this way. People who do these jobs tend to go where they will make money and have good resources. Some practice in the country or less populated areas. Sometimes the worst doctors go to where no one is going to complain to the state medical board about them because they have no competition. My old knee orthopedist apparantly was kind of so so and not well liked. He was asked to leave the big practice so he moved out the the far northern edges of this metroplex. My excellent foot doctor is in the same practice and he is a chief at one of the local hospitals. We love Hawaii but we recognize that we are both high users of specialist medical care and so unless we go to Oahu where the population is much higher than the other islands, then we won't have the same kind of easy to get specialist care that we have here. So we paused on this idea. Housing is expensive there and the roads are congested and not the big highways we have here. While I love Hawaii, my point is no place is perfect. A big surgery I had at a hospital near my home here can only be done in Oahu. If I lived on the island of Hawaii, I'd have to fly to Oahu for the surgury and then fly home (we asked around about this and talked to lots of residents). It was terrible enough riding home in a car, so I can't imagine flying after this surgury and I guess one has to add hotel cost to one's medical bill. Make a list of your must haves, priorities and can't stands and seek a new place using that list. You might look at Tennessee or Utah or Nevada or New Mexico or Arizona or even Texas. Also look into state and local taxes, property taxes, cost of property insurance. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,561
Registered: ‎12-27-2010

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed


@homedecor1 wrote:

@LizzieInSRQ 

 

Its a year policy but they only write 6 months at a time🤷‍♀️meaning cards reflect only 6 month period.


Wow...policy dates are for a year and always have been i get a new policy just once a year. Nowadays, my Travelers  auto Insurance has an app I use on my smart phone so I dont have a paper card ( I dont have a printer)  Try Travelers or Nationwide maybe.

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,561
Registered: ‎12-27-2010

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed


@Zhills wrote:

If you look at the National Reports online, Florida has many of the highest ranked hospitals in the Nation.

 

Mayo Clinic-Jacksonville
UF Health Shands Hospital
AdventHealth Orlando
Tampa General Hospital
Baptist Health Baptist Hospital
Cleveland Clinic Weston
Morton Plant Hospital
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Orlando Regional Medical Center
 
Over 40 are rated the highest ranking possible.

@Zhills Thanks for posting this. I work for Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and the medical group owned by it and the post that was a egregious generalization about medical physicians on the Westcoast of Florida was absolutely riduculous. Perhaps the one they went to was like that but a REGION and its geography has zero to do with the kind of doctor they are. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,014
Registered: ‎02-24-2016

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

[ Edited ]

We lived in New England most of our lives. About 5 years ago we build a house in Naples Fl. We had vacationed there & loved it. We decided to make the move 2 yrs. ago after my parents passed & we have family from Ma. who visit in the winter months.

 

Our daughter & Family lives in Orlando which is about 4 hours away & I have brothers who live in Cape Coral which is close to us. I have to say I do not like at all those hot hummid days in the summers here but its a trade off the the long cold winters in NE.

 

The only place I can think of with a sense of community which your looking for is the Villages & its a over 55 community but not close to beaches. The other area near Orlando is Winter Park which I love that has a beautiful town center & the beaches are about an hour away. If I were to move again, I definitely would live in Winter Park. Good Luck! @elainemasey  As far as Doctors, I got referred to a excellent oncologist & primary care Physician from my Doctor at Mass. General that I had for 40  yrs. That of course was helpful & lessened my concerned with the move. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 2,561
Registered: ‎12-27-2010

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

@elainemasey I just saw an article on Twitter this morning from FarAndWidedotcom...mentions the best small town in each state. I thought of you so I wanted to post to you that they mention Sanibel Island for Florida. 

Respected Contributor
Posts: 3,327
Registered: ‎05-09-2016

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

My aunt is a (retired) RN/BSN/MBA who worked at several hospitals in Manatee and Sarasota county for at least 30 years. Although retired, she still holds her nursing license to do some consulting and private agency work. I asked her where I should go if I ever became sick enough to be hospitalized while in the area. Her answer was pretty blunt: HOME - find a way to get yourself home. Given her experience as both a nurse and long time resident, I'll go with that advice if ever needed. 

~The more someone needs to brag about how wonderful, special, successful, wealthy or important they are, the greater the likelihood that it isn't true. ~

Honored Contributor
Posts: 11,775
Registered: ‎03-11-2010

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

Freiends of ours would go to FLA. when it was cold here in MI. Loved the weather there in the cooler months in MI. When they retired they sold their custom made lovely home and moved to Florida, bought a home there. After a few months just hated it there. Moved back here. Loved in a trailer park.Missed their old home here and were never happy in the park.

 

When I lose the TV controller, it's always in some remote destination.
Esteemed Contributor
Posts: 7,170
Registered: ‎11-15-2011

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

[ Edited ]

@Kabella   You are right about Florida not having a "sense of community" but that is because almost everyone here is from "somewhere else."

 

Out of the 20,000,??? here only less than 8,000,??? were born her and a few more moved here early and grew up here. 

 

Some small towns are "community" oriented but not all.

 

My neighbors are from Maine, Morocco, Michigan and Iowa.  We have many from Canada.  One is "over the fence" friendly!

 

However, we live near several small towns that are very homey and always something going on!

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Frequent Contributor
Posts: 89
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Wanting to move to Florida- question/ disappointed

My cousin and her granddaughter live in Pensacola and they are always going to a festival, book reading, etc., every weekend. They love that area! They moved from West Virginia about 15 years ago. They love the Gulf’s beautiful white sand also.