Explain the appeal of retiring in Florida

Aren't the elderly cold all of the time? I figured that was part of the appeal. Also surely it used to be heavily marketed as a retirement destination.

No taxes on Social Security, pensions, IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement income.

check out THE VILLAGES FLORIDA NEWCOMERS on Youtube. They are actually pretty clear-eyed about the pros and cons of retiring to Florida.

The very low cost of living in Florida is a tremendous draw for retired folks.

hmm.. usually Datalounge won't allow a link in the posted by box.

R2 That's just the state taxes, you still have to pay the federal taxes regardless of what state you are a resident in. I couldn't deal with the oppressive humidity of Florida. But it's the growing culture of backward thinking and conservatism of the last 20 plus years that would make retiring to Florida a deal breaker for me.

No state taxes, good weather 90% of the year? My mom's there now and she loves it (aside from politics). She was born, raised, and spent her entire life in Connecticut, so she's in paradise now compared to that.

R6, many Floridians escape to Western NC during the hottest and most humid parts of the summer. Not to mention the added income from renting your condo to French Canadians who seem to love heat and humidity.

Yes I am in Asheville now and the Floridians swarm up here in the warmer months.

I asked this a few years ago, but things have likely changes since - but, are there any parts of Florida that lean Democrat or even Liberal?

No.

R10 My mom is in west palm area, which is heavily blue. I think Tampa area is also.

R9, I did summer theater in Boone and I have never seen so many FL license plates outside of FL itself.

The keys - Monroe County - are pretty much half R and half D. They are incredibly expensive now as well. None of the brown and black people toiling in hospitality there can afford to live there.

Florida has hot guys and they're down for anything.

At one time it was relatively cheap to retire to Florida My mother and aunt did it, bought a condo for 60K, and moved to Ft. Myers. After a few years, they decided to move back to Ohio. They said Ft. Myers was getting too busy and the spring break crowd has migrated there too. Now if they want to go to Florida they just rent a beach condo for a few months.

I've asked people who winter in Florida why and they all said it's cheap.

Retirees go there because it’s filled with people exactly like THEM Op. Duh. Why the fuck do gay men to Provincetown, Fire Island or Palm Springs? Same reason.

It's cheap on the panhandle, and cheap in the interior. No longer cheap anywhere southern Florida close to any coast.

Florida is a very sunny place with a lot of shady people.

That's because they need to say out of the sun.

Get it?

The keys used to be rife with drug drop offs and major drug dealing in the 1970s and 80s. I have a friend in Key West whose dad was a dealer and got murdered by other dealers 30 years ago.

Now it is a wealthy enclave/tourist destination, heavily policed and even the occasional Cuban trying to sneak in is quickly caught and shipped back.

To live out your twilight years just like a Golden Girl, duh.

Wouldn't Arizona/New Mexico/Nevada be better, climate-wise?

And the cost of living is cheap in those places, too.

OP, I never understood the appeal, either. I’d never relocate to that cesspool.

[quote] The culture shock of moving to Florida from an urban area would seem like a difficult transition.

It is Florida not Alaska. There are areas of Florida, such as Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, etc... for those wanting a more urban lifestyle.

A picture's worth a thousand words.

Bad parents fleeing their damaged children.

R24 Hardly - only if you want to fry your ass off there

I shovel sand not snow.

^^you shovel DeSantis shit, not snow^^

Florida is cheap, stupid and warm...

... and that's all anyone cares about

Or is it the cheap crocks and jocks. You all make it sound so appealing.

R28 there is definitely some truth to that characterization.

R10, yes. Pinellas County where I live has lots of blue going on, particularly St. Petersburg, but also little towns like Dunedin, Gulfport, Tarpon Springs, and Safety Harbor.

Apparently the Tallahassee and Orlando areas are also Democratic, as is Miami.

FL is not nearly as cheap as it once was. Home and rent prices have skyrocketed due to all the New Yorkers moving down because of Covid.

They have that sexy, big chested, muscular, strong stud of a governor...the handsome Ronny DeSantis! He is physically stronger than any Dem.

^ Doublewides in retirement trailer parks are still cheap

Elderly folk who can't generate body heat anymore and have diminished senses overall. Seinfeld explained this years ago when he and Elaine visited his folks in Florida and the AC was off. I always think of that episode when I think of Florida. Now they have condo collapses to worry about too.

^Lot rents for trailer parks have also skyrocketed. That is if they haven't evicted the residents to sell the property to developers.

I'm in my 40's and want to move to Florida because I feel like it's a good place for the next phase of my life. I lived in LA in my early 20's, and I wouldn't go back to California now. Unfortunately FL isn't "cheap" anymore, but still seems more affordable than CA. I want new places, experiences, a new coast, and warmth. After living in Minnesota any weather has to be better, even humidity. I'm miserable where I am and want a fresh start.

R35 pretty sure that Miami Dade overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2020.

R36, NYers have been moving down there forever.

The real problem is big corporations getting heavily into the residential real estate game.

Wrong r42, Biden won Miami Dade but he didn’t win by enough to offset the deplorable votes elsewhere.

I'd be worried about the frequency of hurricanes and flooding from tropical storms, especially as they increase in frequency from climate change. FL seems quite unappealing to me.

County breakdown for the 2020 election

I am also under 40 OP, and while I personally might not want to move there, I can see the appeal.

• South Florida, especially Palm Beach and Broward counties, is almost an extension of the Tri-State area and are blue not red. Lots of other older Jews and Italians. All the same types of stores--bagels and pizza and all that.

• Most of the retirees are leaving suburbia, not Manhattan, so not much of a shock. There are museums and theaters and sports venues too. Not the Met or MOMA, but there is Art Basel.

• Real estate is very cheap. You can sell your four-bedroom in Larchmont and for half the price get a house in a country-club type development with golf courses, spas, restaurants and shopping for half the price. Like living on the grounds of Ritz Carlton for the upper end developments

• No shoveling snow or worrying about breaking a hip falling on ice

• Kids are grown, friends from Larchmont have all moved away, more of them are in Florida than elsewhere

• New York is also hot, humid and unpleasant in summer. In Florida everything is air-conditioned so you are not outside very long, and there are swimming pools everywhere, plus the beach

• Many retirees are "snowbirds" --they live in Florida from Thanksgiving through Passover and then head back to the Northeast for the summer--either to their home suburb or to a house in the mountains or by the beach.

Old people hate the cold and it is virtually never cold in Florida. It might dip down into the low 50s two or three days in the dead of winter if you're in south Florida.

It's cheap compared to New York City and Toronto, which is where most of the southeastern coast (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach) people flock from.

There are tons of retiree-only housing and condo developments and seniors can also audit university courses very cheaply. Early bird dinner specials at restaurants, etc. The whole area is geared towards retirees.

You will be surrounded by other people your age and even from the same area where you grew up and raised a family, since people generally move to a certain part of Florida based on where they're from originally.

I will move there when I retire in about 15 years. My mother is there, and I'd like to be closer (currently in DC). I actually love it, outside the politics. I hate cold weather where I am. If my mother croaks before I can retire, then I'll just head somewhere a little bit further south.

[quote] If my mother croaks before I can retire, then I'll just head somewhere a little bit further south.

Further south than Florida?

I assume he means a little further south than where he currently lives, R50.

R12 I'm planning to visit West palm beach so im glad to hear it's blue. What are the attractions there? I'm not into sex clubs and baths.

[quote] The heat, humidity, hurricanes, bugs and mosquitoes, alligators,

Alligators? Lol.

"The very low cost of living in Florida is a tremendous draw for retired folks."

As someone who lives here and is not yet of retirement age, I have to take issue with the "very low cost of living" belief that people have. I used to live in the New York/New Jersey area and having moved to Florida, I have found that (especially recently) the cost of food, shelter, utilities, gasoline, etc., are all as expensive or more expensive in Florida. (I'm not including NYC apartment costs in this comparison, of course. They're insane.) Apart from having no state tax, it's just as expensive to live down here.

I love all these posters on this thread who imagine they are qualified to speak on the appeal of Florida when they obviously have little to no experience of it beyond third-hand “information” like what they heard that one time, or who just want to make stupid blanket statements and/or besmirch for their own trolling amusement.

Yes, it absolutely DOES get cold throughout most of Florida in the winter. You can count on some nights in the 20s and 30s north of Orlando due in part to the water. The same climate balance fuels the summer. Regarding the oppressive heat/humidity, to paraphrase someone I know, if we didn’t have the weather we have from June through September, we’d be another California in population and expense.

Yes, there are many Democrats and Independents registered here all over the state. Like most places, you’ll probably find a greater concentration of them in or near the larger cities, but they are certainly in smaller enclaves. That said, are some of you like r52 really so scared to come to an area that might not be all “blue” in demographic? Stay away, then. Your fears will materialize when the evil Republican boogeyman brushes your elbow at the bar. People like this sound as closed-minded as those they fear. I mostly run into people who are pleasant and kind, which I attribute in part to my attitude of accepting people where they are mentally and emotionally regardless of political registration.

Florida has everything other places have and in some cases less expensively. In the end, I’d suggest disregarding online advice, even mine if you like. The only way to know if you’ll enjoy what’s here is to come and see for yourselves.

R54, you're doing a price comparison with NYC, yet you're "not including NYC apartment costs" nor "state taxes". So what's the point?

R55, I think the problem people have with Florida re red vs. blue is that it’s trending red if you look at the latest elections. Also, Ron DeSantis and the idiotic state health Secretary are both horrible stupid people. I come from Pennsylvania, which has more than its share of red areas, but our governor and one senator are Dems, so that makes it a bit easier.

[Quote]good weather 90% of the year

Thus is just false. From like May through August, Florida is very hot and humid and it unpleasant to be outside. Just because it isn't cold doesn't mean it is good weather.

Lots of meth, cheap used-up porn star hookers.

I'm not going to get into a fight with you, R56. I'm just saying that anyone who moves down here thinking it's inexpensive is in for a shock.

The usual thing is lower taxes, but that's just state taxes. Property costs are no longer the bargain they once were. The climate is horrible, the water table is disappearing, the ocean is coming and most of it is a cultural wasteland. I've never gotten the point. Have been there several times, in different places. Never gave me the sense of someplace to stay.

Arizona, NM, etc, almost make less sense. Hotter, water-bereft, lost of flat ugly landscapes.

OP what part of Florida are you describing. Naples, Vero Beach, Key West, Miami, . . .? Have you actually ever been there?

Should also point out that Florida is not a monolithic place, that South Florida and the Panhandle might as well be on different planets and that the areas around Orlando, Tampa, Naples and Jacksonville all have their own unique vibes

So FL, both east and west coasts, is extraordinarily expensive. People are moving north of St. Lucie.

Jacksonville has a vibe, R63. Not my vibe.

Mount Dora (The highest point in Florida, but barely above sea level!) in Central Florida is popular--it's meant to look like the suburbs many retirees are leaving, so it doesn't look "cheap". The Jacksonville area also seems increasingly popular because it's cheaper and has even less to do than other parts of the state.

I lived in Chelsea for 35 years. I retired to Dunedin, just north of Clearwater, in 2014. While it has become more expensive, it's still vastly cheaper.

Two for lunch at a good restaurant with drinks? $60. Property tax? $475...a year. Condo HOA? $375/month.

Number 1 on our town's mission statement: inclusivity. The Pride flag goes up at City Hall on June 1 and appears everywhere in town.

Yeah it gets hot, but I don't mind.

My Canadian parents have a place just outside Sarasota, which I feel really hangs its hat on being the most “cultured” part of the gulf coast. It does feel like the whole vibe of the place is geared towards prosperous retirees from Michigan. I find it less relentlessly “stuff your Republican uncle likes” feeling than the Naples area, though.

Dunedin is a really fun, artsy community. I’ve considered retiring there. I might retire in Florida but only to areas where I’m not surrounded by deplorables.

OP it's not NYC. So many New Yorkers have moved here since 2020.

[quote] are there any parts of Florida that lean Democrat or even Liberal?

St. Petersburg.

Robbie Rist recently moved to that area in Florida.

Doesn't the cost of 24/7 air conditioning and maintaining + heating a pool (for night swims) cancel out any savings from having no state income tax?

It makes you more comfortable with approaching death.

Maybe if you are really poor R72

But even if you are spending $400/month on all that, it's still only $4800/year. Much cheaper than Northeast state income tax.

I was in Soutwest Florida for a month recently. Yes, the state is strip-mall hell, you do have to drive almost everywhere, and the Let's Go Bandon asthetic adopted by this part of Florida is really tacky.

Yet, I never saw a single homeless person (and only one panhandler), eating out was much cheaper, the weather was great, the people nice, and the local news wasn't 25 minutes of crime reports about random attacks and carjackings. Walking on Estero and Sanibel Islands I think I saw one or two national chains (Dairy Queen?). It wasn't all Wallgreens, CVS, McDonalds and Duan Reades occupying every other storefront. On Ft Myers Beach (awful traffic) it was like I had been dumped into the 1970s. Mask wearing at the airport was universal which was also shocking.

Any of you Gay guys who are considering moving to Florida, just remember Florida is on the verge of taking away any rights that you've worked pretty hard to get. If you don't mind the closet Florida welcomes you... Not really, just your money

Like what, R76?

I think for many retired heteros, the fact that Florida is in the same time zone as the Northeast where their kids and grandkids are likely living matters too, it somehow makes it seem much less far away than California, Arizona or other warm weather locations

I see zero appeal.

Too hot, too muggy, too flat, buggy.

Sink holes and hurricanes and gators.

Culturally bereft...it's all strip malls and chainstores.

A truly moronic state government.

Trump.

Full of:

Old people (yuck...I hate old people even though I'm almost one. I don't really have a need to be around them, even when I'm old)

Right wing Cubans

Grumpy Old Jews from the NE

Stupid Rednecks

Ghetto Trash

People who love the Florida Lifestyle

Golfers

Yes, r43, New Yorkers have been moving here forever. The last 18 months, though, have seen a virtual tidal wave of them. Huge numbers in a short amount of time, resulting in significant increases in rents/home prices/development/traffic, etc...

R72, my monthly electric bill averages $120, so no for the AC. Pool is a community pool. 1050 square feet condo.

@r77, "Like what, [R76]?"

It's a short leap from, "Don't Say Gay" to "Don't Hire Gay", to "Don't Marry Gay"

R82, so you care as a senior citizen that they can't read "I Am Jazz" in school to a first grader?

R83, there is a move to make Gay Marriage a state issue, which means that your marriage in NY might not be recognized in FL.

@r83, I care about a lot of things, would you like a list? I can tell you right now that a lot of things I care about, Florida doesn't and that's why I no longer live in Florida

R85 you and this kid's fundamentalist mom probably have a lot in common.

^ You and a tree stump have a lot in common, would you like another list?

Florida used to make sense years ago when it was much cheaper and less populated.

^ And way more politically neutral. A lot has changed

I can't deal with the humidity. I would take the cold over that.

R72 another idiot who knows nothing about Florida.

^ I'm from Florida... It SUCKS!

R92 where in Florida and why remain?

And cue the 15 thousand threads

@r93, The sucky part and I'm out

Low taxes and lots of other old farts so you don't feel so self-conscious. Why is this a mystery? Also, beaches. Hurricanes are just storms, anyone old enough to retire has been through worse.

"Low taxes ", Not if you have a nice house

"Hurricanes are just storms", Not if you lost a nice house

"anyone old enough to retire has been through worse", Not me

Now, let's add Nazi politics to the mix

Fuck Florida

R97 you sound angry and bitter. Are you a New Yorker?

^ No

A Floridian R97?

^ Former, obviously

I like cold climates. I keep better.

No subways

Jewish people from the the northeast and midwest like to retire to south Florida because of 2 things, the warm weather and the large Jewish population already down there. Old Gentiles from the same areas like it primarily for the weather and the amenities.

Florida is so corrupt and detached from the rest of the US. I’m surprised more buildings haven’t collapsed. Doesn anyone recall the collapsed pedestrian bridge? Another example of Wild West corruption.

Remember, this is the state that had a rouge AG before it was cool. That was a radical departure from even the corruption in Louisiana and Illinois.

And it’s only gotten worse. They don’t answer to federal law anymore. It’s going to get even worse over the next decade.

Have you pre-paid for your final expenses?

We just visited a couple of old lesbian friends in Delray Beach. It was nice.

"Have you pre-paid for your final expenses? "

Ha, just try and collect 😛

[quote] We just visited a couple of old lesbian friends in Delray Beach.

Leslie and Sheena, with that big house on the beach?

You mean from your next of kin4108?

Op explain the appeal to the millions who visit every year and the 'snowbirds' who stay there Dec-April

^ Visiting and living in Florida are two different worlds

Living there for almost half a year is hardly "visiting", R117.

^ Unless you own property, work, send your kids to school and vote in Florida, yes it is exactly "visiting". Visitors aren't personally invested in the places they visit. They're only there for the good stuff

Most retirees go to Florida to escape the winter weather. The older you get the colder you get. My mother used to get hot and sweat all the time. Now in her 80's she's the exact opposite. She prefers warmer weather and rarely needs air conditioning.

Other than the political atmosphere, Florida is wonderful. if they could get rid of most of the crazy right wingers it would be paradise.

I lived here in St. Pete from 1997-2012. I went "back up home" for four years, and then I moved back to FL . For the sake of my newly (greatly) reduced retiree budget, I settled in Deplorable Haven, Marion County, FL in 2016. So I've been living here in FL for over 20 years.

People are right when they say that FL varies greatly by location. The Panhandle is "south Georgia." Orlando is Tourist Central, and Kissimmee is where all the (generally poor and Hispanic) hospitality employees who work there live. Tampa/St. Pete is great, if you can handle the ridiculous traffic, 70mph from one light to the next, and the Interstates remind me of when I was stationed in Germany and drove on the Autobahn. Dunedin is nice, kind of upscale, as is Palm Harbor. Wish I could afford to live there! Gulfport is really the "Gay Central" of the Gulf Coast, and of course the southeast coast is where the NYers and the rich gays end up. If you can afford it, Boca Raton has the most beautiful beaches in FL (because there's no parking, only the locals can go there). If you're thinking of moving to FL, the "Nature Coast" (Hernando, Citrus, Levy counties) on the Gulf is starting to get more developed. Now would be the time to get in there if you can. Jacksonville reminds me of Philly but more spread out and with beaches. The Keys are pretty scummy with a nice but pricey tourist area. Driving to Key West from the mainland is half the fun! The beaches there are not that good in that rocky-European way. Nice white sand beaches in Siesta Key/Sarasota though, but it's too crowded on the weekends to enjoy it. Go during the week. Sarasota is also a great place to live if you have enough money. St. Cloud was a cute little town, but is now so overdeveloped the traffic is deadly (just like Kissimmee). Sorry -- after 20 years, I could go on and on.

One thing not mentioned was the Homestead Exemption. You do pay property taxes here, but you get an exemption for some of your property's value if you live in FL all year. In other words, you get a break on your property taxes if you live in your home all year long. In addition, even if you claim bankruptcy, no one can take your "homestead" property from you -- hence folks like OJ moving here and buying very expensive homes.

I've traveled extensively all over the state, so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

The reason is so the family visits.

R59 " Lots of meth, cheap used-up porn star hookers."

and that's the Legislature.

Threw a dart at a map on the wall and it landed in the trash.

Some of my favorite cities and places have history and architecture and culture that draws tourists but also visitors who love the place enough to become residents, whose love of a beautiful and interesting place means they've found a home where they feel they belong and can contribute.

Florida, on the other hand, gets explanations like: it's in the same time zone as our children we left behind; low taxes; old people like us with whom we can talk about what color pills we take; it's not NYC; it's better than Phoenix; early bird specials; we don't have to shovel snow; did I mention the taxes? It's a spreadsheet generated decision and no one's passion.

Thank you R117 -- that was very helpful

I know I'm getting old b/c increasingly I cannot abide the winter up north. I'm already escaping for 3-4 weeks. Not long until I'll be another snowbird serving tuna sandwiches like Mrs Hyman Roth.

R117: Lots of places have homestead exemptions for property taxes--I have one in DC. My dad had one as a retiree in Ohio. You don't make Florida sound that attractive, but neither have my relatives who wound up there. My impression is that a sizable fraction who retire there go back where they came from--they miss friends, they can't bear the summers, they just find it boring. The need to make it more than it really is (people who moved to southern California used to do this more than they do now) makes me think there's oftena good deal of regret.

[quote] this is the state that had a rouge AG before it was cool.

Oh, dear!

Lack of taxes and lack of cold weather.

Those two things are good enough for a lot of people.

Not for me, but...

R124? I don't regret moving to FL -- although frankly, I would much rather live in some other part of FL or in CA (if I could afford it). I always joke that FL is CA for poor people.

But I could never live anywhere else at the standard of living I currently enjoy (so to speak) on the money I'm receiving from a small retirement pension and my SS (which I started collecting at 62). Honestly, I was just done with working, and I couldn't make myself GAF anymore. So I retired.

Sometimes the bottom line really is the bottom line.

the pythons are huge there and i'm not into snakes at all.

R54, that makes me sad. I still think it's better and less expensive in general than Southern California. What area do you live? I'm trying to plan a future move.

R129 If you don't need to live in or near a larger city in Florida, it is affordable. Obviously avoid the Tampa area, the Keys, Orlando and Miami/Fort Lauderdale.

R127 Fratello e bracchi under palm tree.

In a lot of areas it just seems cheaper since the only place to shop is Dollar General!

R129 check out the Naples area, just look at least 1 mile from the beach. All those golf course condos will go down in price because Gen X doesn't play golf.

R130, so avoid the liberal areas.

It's cheap here, and I live in the Tampa, St. Pete, Clearwater area. Lunch for two today: 2 drinks each, lobster roll for me, drunken shrimp for him - $75.00. And that is at a higher priced restaurant.

Just one example. Then again we lived in Chelsea for 35 years before moving here in 2014.

A gay married couple I know, both 83, sold their house and moved back to New York after 12 years. There was nothing do in Lauderdale except go to lunch, dinner and walk on the beach. One said Florida the state's slogan should be changed to "God's Waiting Room."

Remember the Surfside condo collapse?

In the nine months since 98 people died in the collapse of a Surfside, Florida, condominium, state lawmakers have pledged to pass measures that could help avoid a similar disaster. They failed.

The usual corruption.

Many people love to be part of a community of stupid, uncultured, rude and entitled folks.

Too much crime and troublesome people.

I love heat and humidity.

If you think you're going to hell after you die, it might serve as a good introduction.

You might wake up at the bottom of a sinkhole. You will never be found.

A lot of right wing Northeast/Indiana fools love Florida. They think it’s a red state paradise

The cost of living is no longer a draw unless you want to live in some redneck backwoods shit hole - in a recent Bloomberg article, all the major cities in Florida had cost of living increases 35%+ in the last year alone.

Speedos, speedos, speedos

Big roaches, plenty of roaches.

Interesting thread, since I’ve been singing Bowie’s Golden Years in my head for the last few days.

I don’t think he had Florida in mind when he wrote that song.

Listen, what matters is access to food, clean water, up to code housing, safety, and in FL., an air conditioner.

If it makes seniors happy? Great. Oldsters should live wherever the fuck they want and can afford. It’s a shame so many assholes retire there, because it sucks to have barely anything in common with your neighbors.

A lot of young, dumb, hot redneck dick.

R148, Poor you, having to deal with such low lifes. Bet you life is just full of friends.

R148, you don’t have to talk to yourself on DL.

Just grab a mirror and go for it.

They come for the abundance of large uncircumcised pingas hanging from the loins of the Cuban, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, Colombian, etc., men who inhabit the state. Said pingas can be had for much more cheaply than similar pingas in the northeast. Supply and demand my friends.

My husband's sister owns a condo in one of the new luxury buildings off Las Olas in downtown Fort Lauderdale, so we go for a quick getaway from NYC occasionally when she isn't using it.

For the the wretched food alone, I could never live there. We've been to all the big restaurants on the strip and some of the smaller places that are supposed to be less touristy. Everything was garbage for what we were paying. One place was actually very good - a restaurant called Heritage - but then we found out that the owner is a lunatic QAnon Trump fanatic and that it's Roger Stone's favorite restaurant. They even had QR codes on the wall that would take you to weird conspiracy theory websites.

You also can't get decent coffee. Starbucks is considered the "craft" coffee place.

We go because the building is super-fancy and has a pool, jacuzzi, sauna, etc., and we like running over to Wilton Manors, and plane tickets are cheap. But holy hell there is NO culture to be found. It's a total vacuum. I can only imagine what other areas are like. (I know Miami is a cluster fuck, expensive and has gotten way trashy).

Wish I had better things to say. The beach is crazy-fun and the weather is gorgeous. But the place gives me nightmares. When it's time to retire we will gladly move upstate or stay in our rent controlled apartment in NYC, rather than subject ourselves to that world just for milder temps and a nominally less expensive life.

A trillion mosquitoes can't be wrong!

JFC, R151. That sounds awful.

Native Floridian here. Born and bred in Jax,but Ive lived all over the state . It was almost a paradise here when I grew up in the 60s-70s ,but that Florida has been long gone. One of my favorite places during the 70s-80s was St Pete. Its nickname was in fact "gods waiting room" as Id venture to say at one point the population was 70% elderly folks. It was such a charming place then. I used to love walking around downtown and seeing the old ladies in their hats and gloves and the old gents in their seersucker suits. The old hotels that used to be there were full of retirees ,all suffering a slight case of genteel poverty . But they were lovely people,so gracious. There was an air of faded grandeur ,as most of the older buildings were still glorious but tattered around the edges. I found it all very romantic ! Friends used to tease me about my love of the place and living with the walking dead but I wouldnt have traded my time there for the world. It was a glimpse of a vanishing world . Now I dont even recognize St Pete. The last time I was there it had changed completely . I will always miss what once was. I guess I could say that about most of florida now.

Las Olas/Fort Lauderdale is awful. There are many better places to be in Florida. Try the Keys, I like Key Largo and have lived there.

The Keys are hurricane season's #1 target year after year and it's only going to get worse.

R154 I was in Sarasota for work a few years back and "faded grandeur" is a great way to describe that Old Florida vibe.

I will clear up one misconception: alligators don't usually bother people, especially adult humans. You might have to be careful if you're, say, hiking near water with a small child or small dog and I don't recommend swimming in lakes or canals, but they are mostly harmless to humans. Bears, on the other hand...

R156 There are always hurricanes. There is a huge development boom in the keys, and real estate is very hot there, so there are plenty of people with plenty of money who are willing to risk hurricanes to live there.

Also, Florida lakes have that brain-eating amoeba, so plug up your nose.

[quote] Explain the appeal of retiring in Florida

A never ending supply of insatiable bottoms. But unfortunately most are blown out and busted.

[quote] A gay married couple I know, both 83, sold their house and moved back to New York after 12 years. There was nothing do in Lauderdale except go to lunch, dinner and walk on the beach.

What else would they be doing at age 83?

Thanks for your detailed report, R117. You intrigued me with the "Nature Coast" (Hernando, Citrus, Levy counties). Can you tell me about Cedar Key, which looks to be the only town actually on the coast in that area.

R145...Huge roaches! You turn on a light, they all scatter. You can hear their little feet on the floor. No thanks. One of many reasons Florida has no appeal for me.

r161 ^There don't seem to be many beaches in that part of the state. Cedar Key (from a google tour) looks kind of cute, but also trashy and like it'd be underwater in a hurricane.

R161? Cedar Key has a beautiful beach, a nice boardwalk, and great fishing, but it literally has only four restaurants, a smattering of homes on stilts and townhouses, a Native American arrowhead mound, and nothing else. Well, practically nothing: touristy gift shops and a few cheesy motels.

OTOH, the drive to get there is pretty.

Unless you're prepared to drive a long way to do almost anything, don't move there.

I can grow grapefruit in my backyard.

Also it's precariously close to Rosewood, so I know the vibes are off.

It's the weather. It's warm all the time. Old people hate the cold weather; it makes their creaky old joints ache. That's the appeal of Florida; no cold winter months.

It's decidedly NOT "warm all the time" here in FL. Like I said, FL is a big state, so like everything else, the climate from one area to another varies widely. I even saw snow flurries in Daytona Beach in February back in the early 00s!

Where I live here in Marion County, it is decidedly cool in the winter. Since I've lived in this county (5 years), it's gone down into the low 30s as late as mid-March, and there are always a handful of days in the winter when my windshield (and yard) is covered with frost. Not to mention that the air (even inland, where I live) is so humid in the winter that in order to ride my motorcycle in 50 degree weather I have to put on at least one (and usually two) more layers than I would have to wear "up North" in the same temperature. The air is saturated with humidity even in the dead of winter. When people come down here, they are shocked at how cold it feels at 45 degrees just because of that.

If you really want to live somewhere in FL where it is warm all year, try Miami, Naples, or the Keys, although, to my mind, the best weather in all of Florida is in Pinellas County. Tampa Bay on one side and the Gulf on the other moderates the temperature there and it never gets ridiculously hot (which it really does, inland and/or in South FL) or outrageously cold for FL (which it can get in JAX and the Panhandle).

Alligators

you dont retire to a state, you retire to a small community. and there are many nice small communities down in florida for people with money

I grew up in the suburbs of DC. There’s this weird thing with east coasters where they all think that Florida is heaven for some reason. I guess because it’s warm. Never mind the fact that it’s humid and disgusting and is full of conservatives and wackos. Here in California the weather is much nicer with low humidity. Yea we have wildfires, but at least most of our wackos just have blue hair and a nose ring.

But people can’t afford the cost of living in California. Taxes are high. Real estate is expensive. It would be a financial for most people to move to California.

Good point OP. But as you age, sometimes life is just life wherever you are. Think of all the elderly living in depressing sterile nursing homes. Somehow you try to find happiness despite your environment.

With that said, I can’t imagine ever choosing to live there - except for the aforementioned Hispanic pinga. I do love Wilton Manors for a long weekend of drinking and dancing - without feeling I’m too old for it - because everyone else is older. Though the quiet desperation of the eldergay retirees is a little depressing - it beats many of the nursing homes I’ve been in.

I honestly think most people who go to Florida haven't seriously explored other options. I defaulted into a "well, I guess this is where I should go for nice weather" and spent a lot of trips to Ft. Lauderdale and dated someone down there. After 3 years of constant visits and constantly trying to balance out the pros and cons, I finally said to myself - "THIS SHOULDN'T BE THIS HARD!" I don't LOVE it and I couldn't will myself into loving the place.

Trashy people, humidity that will soak your clothes before you get into your car, annoying afternoon showers every day, constant smell of mold and old sulferous water, bad traffic, BUGS EVERYWHERE, and the feeling like you had to watch yourself because ne'er-do-wells were around the corner everywhere you went. And hurricanes - I'm sorry, that's more of an existential threat than earthquakes or fires.

I moved to SoCal (NOT Los Angeles) and have never been happier. I don't have to 'force' my happiness here. Better weather than Florida, people are nicer, there's a LOT more culture, much better political climate, access to the beach, mountains or desert within a short drive. You don't have to be a millionaire to live in SoCal - but you better have some money. Happiness for me just comes naturally here - weather is usually your friend almost every day.

I shudder to think what my life would have been like in Florida. And yes - I've been all over the state - Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, Clearwater, W Palm, Miami, Sarasota, FtL and the upper and lower Keys. There are a couple of interesting spots but it's like enjoying one course of a 4 course meal - it doesn't make it worth it. Unfortunately, my stepson and his wife live in Orlando - so we're already on the hook for visiting them and the grandbaby once or twice a year.

Agree with R174. Living in CA it’s s much easier to be happy. And I say that as a NYer. (And despite all the challenges of NYC, I always feel happier and more optimistic and more enthused about life in NYC than FL)

R154 That was a lovely post, I really enjoyed reading it.

After touring South Florida starting at Key West and going north, we decided on Naples.

I'm a SCUBA nut and I enjoy the Caribbean area. The water at the shore last night was 79.7 in Naples. California has significantly cooler water. I certified in 55 degree water off the California coast. Love the Pacific waves for surfing, but the rest is great here in Naples.

I guess because I'm a pretty moderate person politically, I don't consider the political environment when determining where to visit/live. I can be happy in a red or blue area, as long as neither are to the extremes. I wouldn't want to live in any place as blue as Berkeley, or as red as The Woodlands.

R178 - if you think there is a 'moderate' red/Republican position, then you're not following politics closely. Just say you're apolitical, because what you said was garbage. Pay attention to what Republicans are doing and proposing. You may not even be able to vote if they have any say about it.

Fabulous thread. Full of crazy, utterly mis-informed opinions.

Good,. It's absolutely brilliant here where I live, and it doesn't need to get more crowded.

R114 you seem to know so much about Florida Ever been there? Many people I know relatives included own property there even if they do not live there year-round and list it as their primary residence for all the tax breaks including no inheritance tax. Just like many people especially foreigners own expensive property in NYC even though they may live there a few months a year or less.

It's the glamour...

OT, but -- R174, where can I live in CA on $2000/mo.? I could probably sell my current place for 100K.

R183 On your budget you will need to live in the Inland Empire - yes our friend at R174 has no clue about how expensive it is to live in west LA or DTLA (surely R174 rarely ventures further east than downtown). If he did, he would know that 2 bedroom bungalows go for $500 - 700K in EAST LA for heavens sake. Yes you can pay half a million to live in the 18th Street gang HQ!

Yes California is so great - please check out Victorville and San Bernardino for affordable housing. Crime, gang violence - who cares! YOU ARE BLESSED TO LIVE IN CALIFORNIA so STFU.

LA is only fun if you make plenty of money.

R184 - believe it or not, Los Angeles does not equal Southern California. It is a part of SoCal, but not all of it. I hate LA. To you, it's either west LA or the Inland Empire, which just shows how fucking ridiculous and small minded you are.

You can get small 1 Br and studios in SoCal for $2000 or less.

And I just looked up rental prices in Wilton Manors/Ft. Lauderdale. It's not exactly 'cheap'.

I hate Florida, but all my doctors are here.

Elle McPherson lives there. That says a lot. The bitchiest, most ambitious and greediest supermodel of the 80s. Would we know her name but for her failed marriage to Gil Bensimon and his many photos of her covering US Elle?

Also, are there sharks and stingers in the beaches? The picture emerging from this thread is that it's a bit like the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. But for older people who don't surf, drink themselves stupid, go to theme parks or party. The GC isn't known for its culture either. Unless you're into theme park rides called the Vomitron.

the company of other tax scofflaws, deadbeat dads, alimony dodgers, crooks on the lam, ex-cons, conspiracy nut cases, and fellow racists

[quote]fellow racists[/quote]

Oh, so that's where they're keeping them, R188. I keep hearing about how racist America is by people who have a much better life than I do, because there are apparently so many racists. I don't see them, though I'm doing the work and looking for racists everywhere. Now I know. They're in Florida!

The main thing I much prefer about Fla. over Ca. is that Florida is very tropical along the coasts. It may get hot, but you have those delicious tropical breezes coming in most of the time. California, even though it has the Pacific ocean and palm trees, has no tropical feeling about it at all.

I took early retirement about 6 months and was considering moving to Florida for at least part of the year. After being bored for the last few months I used this thread has inspiration for a (hiking) road trip. From CT I went to Shenandoah National Park, Smokey Mountains, Amicalola Falls (AT Approach trail), Cedar Key and now in Dunedin.

Cedar Key is small and there’s not much to do except renting a golf cart for a couple of hours. I walked from downtown to the State park at the northern end and back to the motel in two hours. In Dunedin I got a bite at Olde Bay Cafe and walked about 9 miles of the Pinnelas Trail to Hammock Park.

I was thinking one more stop and then drive down to Key West before heading back up the east coast even though I’m reconsidering Key West because it’s a long drive and hotels were expensive last time I looked.

Any suggestion for the next stop? I was looking at Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach and Naples.

Also, going on a road trip and staying a couple of nights probably isn’t the best way to get familiar with an area although Cedar Key only needed one night.

I grew up in Miami. You could t pay me enough to end up there.

Florida has Cubans but California has Mexicans. And as everyone knows, Mexicans are way hotter and their food is way better.

I’ll stay in the northeast, where it’s cold. I keep better. Seriously.

The Florida GOP considers LGBT people as “groomers”. If you want that target on your back, go to Florida. It will only get worse.

well, when you're old, really old you gravitate towards sea level living...that way, no one can pitch you off a cliff...

I’m very happy in the northeast. Being in 4 seasons - with snow maybe 4 times a winter - is something I need. Florida for a few weeks in winter at best. But absolutely zero desire to live there. Such a depressing, desperate vibe. CA I get - FL I don’t.

R191? If you're driving, drive from Dunedin down 19, make a right on 22nd Ave S., go left at 58th St S., and go to the end. You'll be on the beach in Gulfport, a mostly gay little town on the Gulf. Check out the "pink hotel" (the Don Cesar), Pass-a-Grille Beach and Ft. DeSoto. Then drive further south on I-275 over the Skyway Bridge -- it's an incredible view; you won't regret it. Merge onto I-75 and exit at Sarasota. Make sure you see the Ringling Museum and buy something touristy (but nice) in St. Armand's Circle. There are some great galleries there. And Siesta Key routinely wins "best white sand beach" awards.

Then if you want to hit Ft. Myers and Naples, go south from there on I-75. And you'd go south from there to go to Key West. But honestly, I wouldn't bother stopping at any of those places. I'd head west on the infamous "Alligator Alley" (still I-75) and stop in Lauderdale (just to say you did) and Boca Raton (again, just to say you did). The beaches in Boca are incredible. Make friends with a resident and get them to take you. BTW, the last time I was in Boca (admittedly, a long time ago) they had an ordinance that all the business signs had the be green, white, and black -- including the fast food joints. It was bizarre.

As far as I'm concerned, the one last place you really should see is St. Augustine. The history is really worth seeing, even though the parking situation is awful. But don't leave FL without visiting there. And St. Augustine Beach is great and not usually crowded.

Hope I gave you some ideas! Safe and happy travels!

I was recently in Florida for work/vacation. You put aside all of the media version of "Florida" and "Florida man" and politics and all of that stuff, you find a very laid back, chill place with sort of an island vibe. The weather was nice and the people were nice and I drove through Wilton Manors just to see what DL has been talkin about all these years and found it charming. I could totally see living there and not having to deal with the cold in winter and a less stressful lifestyle. If that makes me trash, then so be it.

Please don't move here.

My property insurance has more than tripled over the past five years, and it's going to get much worse as climate change (hurricanes and rising seas) continue. If I didn't have family here, I would leave.

Also, if you're looking at Miami, rent goes up 50% a year.

Interestingly, Florida real estate is getting expensive. I wonder what will that do to the retiree flow

My mother in law lives in florida. Granted, a lot of things are cheap but not property taxes. They have to get money somewhere

Prop taxes depend on the county.

That's why I live in Marion County, just a few miles west of the Ocala National Forest. My neighborhood is chock full of people on SSI, junkies, trailer trash, and deplorables who vote reliably Republican even though they can barely read and write and barely subsist on various and sundry government programs... But! My place was cheap, on almost a half an acre, and I was able to buy it for cash. My property taxes are $300/yr. And truly, it is a beautiful geographic area. I have a waterfront view.

Right now I'm just biding my time until November; that election will be what helps me decide if I want to move to a better part of FL or rent this place out and move to Spain.

Only time will tell.

Because the Miami Beach audience is the greatest audience in the world!

the allure of joining the collective of "Florida man"?

R204, at least you're close to Gainesville.

Point to R205 for historical accuracy.

R198, we live in Dunedin, and we're heading to Gulfport for lunch. Hi, sort of neighbor.

R209, I live in Marion County "out in the Forest" (the Ocala National Forest, that is), but I lived in NE St. Pete for 13 years. In many ways I really miss it, but at this point in my life (on my SS and a small pension), it would be prohibitively expensive to move (unless there's a GQP coup in November, in which case, all bets are off). But Dunedin is a great town, and I've spent a lot of time in Gulfport as well since my godparents lived there.

BTW, R207, while I initially thought some university types would live in my area and commute to Gainesville, no one actually does. And frankly, I hate driving there, although I have to due to my VA health care appointments. The parking is horrible, and the UF students on their little scooters are like a swarm of hornets on the roads (and I've ridden a motorcycle for 40 years!), cutting in and out of lanes and making it dangerous for everyone. I am always terrified I'll hit one of them and their parents will sue me for everything I have or ever will have.

But yes, I know -- the traffic in Miami is worse. I've driven through it more than once, and hopefully, never again!

R59 That all sounds good, but what are the downsides of living in Florida?

R191, we live in Dunedin and love it. The trail is marvelous, and the food is terrific. Beat of all it's full of lovely people. Pride week starts 6/11.

I second a trip to Gulfport. Great quirky town, both bohemian and gay.

Best...

R174? I too would like you to elaborate. Where are these affordable towns in SoCal?

Shuffleboard!

low taxes, no subways, clean air as Florida is not filled with pollution spewing factories, sunshine year-round, gay hotspots like Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, no income tax or inheritance tax, little traffic or over crowdedness, beaches galore . . .

R204 doesn't sound like a full-blown bigot at all...

The retirees are the only reason floriduh is at all competitive for democrats, so don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.

Stephen King lives in Florida because the warm weather is better for his bones after that accident.

Thanks, R198. I’m currently sitting at O'Maddy's Bar & Grille having a couple beers. Going to try and visit the Ringling Brothers museum next if I don’t have another beer. My next stop is Fort Myers ( not the beach) for two nights then probably Boca Raton. I think Key West is out due to drive, cost of hotel, lack of parking and I’m trying to get home by the 23rd for a doctor appointment even though I could probably change it.

I’ve been on the road since May 1st. Part of me wants to go home and sit in my recliner and other part is trying to remind myself it’s adventure enjoy it.

Gosh, I would criss-cross the state just to see Boca.

^^I would NOT criss-cross the state to see Boca.

I’m open to suggestions R222. I’ve planning my next stop a day in advance. I don’t have hotel booked after the 15th.

R281 you might be surprised at the number of non-retired people from the Northeast who have relocated to Florida in the last few years as well as the businesses that moved South

My mother loves Mount Dora and goes there all the time.

If you're still on the west coast, the Edison Museum (Thomas Edison's House). On the east coast, the Flagler Museum in West Palm. Flagler was important, in both good ways and bad, in Fla's history.

Are you going to St. Augustine? Ferdinanda Beach is to the north (close to Jax) and has cute Victorian houses. If you're looking at the mid-east coast, Hutchinson Island is a beautiful nature preserve.

Have you been to the springs in central Florida? Homasassa and others. You can sit in a tube and float down. It's very beautiful.

(Mt. Dora is supposed to be a cute antique-ing town, and I think my mother had told me that they have a community of psychics there. She loves going there for some reason.)

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

R220, I came looking for you. We were down the street at Neptune. Too many possible folks.

Hi R220, I moved on to the Ringling Museum. I started to get a buzz from the two beers and decided to quit while I was ahead. Also, not used to the roads and having cars cut in front of me as they cross three lanes of traffic including one person on foot.

I would have been easy to spot. I’m wearing an Amicalola Falls T-shirt with a picture backpackers/hikers on the back.

Perhaps another time.

Yes many non retirees wanted to escape strict Covid restrictions in the NE for Florida, where the weather is good and many dining places are outdoors.

^ as do many restauranteurs who can serve outdoors year-round without and don stru't need to put structures

^and restaurateurs who can use outdoor space year-round without need for sheds out on the street

ctures up in the street

R230 restaurants in the Sunshine State operate outdoors all year without need of putting dining sheds out on the street near traffic which is enticing to restaurateurs

Sorry to break it to you, r210, but your wonderful Governor has appointed a crony of his to run your elections. There is no possible way DeSantis can lose now. If the Democrat gets more votes, they will simply be thrown out.

Florida is a post-democracy. But it’s cheap, so I guess that makes it OK.

tax dodging, racism, golf, loons

OP. ask New Yorkers, who seem to be the majority of transplants in Fla.