Who has made the move to FL?

[DarX]

Originally from Mass. Been in FL most my life now. 4 kids ranging from 4-14. We absolutely love the Tampa area. 1.5 hour drive to Disney. Busch Gardens is in Tampa. Low cost of living. No state income tax.

Depending on your industry, income is hit or miss.

Sports - you’ve got professional hockey, baseball, football, and soccer close by.

Good schools. Good night life scene.

Summers get hot. That’s why we have air conditioning. Beats dealing with snow.

We may consider a 2nd home in the Carolinas when we retire, but would never leave Florida.

 

[wendow]

Originally from Mass. Been in FL most my life now. 4 kids ranging from 4-14. We absolutely love the Tampa area. 1.5 hour drive to Disney. Busch Gardens is in Tampa. Low cost of living. No state income tax.

Depending on your industry, income is hit or miss.

Sports - you’ve got professional hockey, baseball, football, and soccer close by.

Good schools. Good night life scene.

Summers get hot. That’s why we have air conditioning. Beats dealing with snow.

We may consider a 2nd home in the Carolinas when we retire, but would never leave Florida.

When we visited FL to scout different cities, we definitely liked the Tampa area best. The job prospect my dh had did not pan out at the time but it's back on the table and could work out later.

Which parts of Tampa do you prefer? We didn't get to see nearly as much as we would have liked to.

 

[DarX]

When we visited FL to scout different cities, we definitely liked the Tampa area best. The job prospect my dh had did not pan out at the time but it's back on the table and could work out later.

Which parts of Tampa do you prefer? We didn't get to see nearly as much as we would have liked to.

Depends what you’re looking for. We are in an area called Wesley Chapel which is right over the county border, which has some tax advantages. It’s great for raising a family tons of shopping and dining, great schools, close to everything. My commute is longer than I’d like, but otherwise love it here. Lots of families.

Downtown Tampa is great if you have the money or don’t need a lot of space. Riverwalk area is very trendy. Excellent night life. Walkable to Lightning games.

St. Petersburg is south across the bridge. Lots of millennials making the move there. More liberal politically and socially. Great night life. Great beaches. Just be sure you don’t end up in the bad part of town.

South Tampa is amazing but expensive.

 

[wendow]

Depends what you’re looking for. We are in an area called Wesley Chapel which is right over the county border, which has some tax advantages. It’s great for raising a family tons of shopping and dining, great schools, close to everything. My commute is longer than I’d like, but otherwise love it here. Lots of families.

Downtown Tampa is great if you have the money or don’t need a lot of space. Riverwalk area is very trendy. Excellent night life. Walkable to Lightning games.

St. Petersburg is south across the bridge. Lots of millennials making the move there. More liberal politically and socially. Great night life. Great beaches. Just be sure you don’t end up in the bad part of town.

South Tampa is amazing but expensive.

Thanks for your thoughts! I think Wesley Chapel was on our list of places to check out but we never had time to visit that area. Sounds like a good fit for us!

 

[aml3679]

We moved from New Hampshire to Bradenton Florida in October of 2017. We moved because I have a severe form of psoriatic arthritis that hurt so bad in the winter. Also, to be closer to my father-in-law who is turning 90 this week.

Things we miss about New Hampshire:

-- Cooler weather in the seasons other than summer.

-- The Fall season and the changing of the leaves.

-- Seeing Blue Jays, Robbins, and Chick-a-dees.

-- Hills and mountains.

-- Most of all, our children and grandchildren.

-- Cooking with gas.

-- A basement to store stuff.

Things we love about Florida:

-- No snow.

-- Warm most of the year.

-- Winter.

-- Being less than 15 minute from the beautiful beaches.

-- New state to explore on weekends.

-- Being able to live cheaply. We sold a townhome in NH (with a $7K a year in property taxes) and bought an older modular home in a 55+ park for cash and put some money into it remodeling.

-- Being only 90 minutes from Walt Disney World, Seaworld, and Universal Studios.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We moved from New Hampshire to Bradenton Florida in October of 2017. We moved because I have a severe form of psoriatic arthritis that hurt so bad in the winter. Also, to be closer to my father-in-law who is turning 90 this week.

Things we miss about New Hampshire:

-- Cooler weather in the seasons other than summer.

-- The Fall season and the changing of the leaves.

-- Seeing Blue Jays, Robbins, and Chick-a-dees.

...

I live in SW Florida, about as south as you can go on the main peninsula and we have blue jays and even robins every so often. We also have Magnificent Frigatebirds fly over our house every day. They nest not too far from our home.

 

[DarX]

We moved from New Hampshire to Bradenton Florida in October of 2017. We moved because I have a severe form of psoriatic arthritis that hurt so bad in the winter. Also, to be closer to my father-in-law who is turning 90 this week.

Things we miss about New Hampshire:

-- Cooler weather in the seasons other than summer.

-- The Fall season and the changing of the leaves.

-- Seeing Blue Jays, Robbins, and Chick-a-dees.

-- Hills and mountains.

-- Most of all, our children and grandchildren.

-- Cooking with gas.

-- A basement to store stuff.

Things we love about Florida:

-- No snow.

-- Warm most of the year.

-- Winter.

-- Being less than 15 minute from the beautiful beaches.

-- New state to explore on weekends.

-- Being able to live cheaply. We sold a townhome in NH (with a $7K a year in property taxes) and bought an older modular home in a 55+ park for cash and put some money into it remodeling.

-- Being only 90 minutes from Walt Disney World, Seaworld, and Universal Studios.

Sarasota is nice but it depends on what you’re looking for. Job market isn’t that hot and there are a lot more retirees.

Hurricanes are something you have to deal with. I recommend a block home built within the last 20 years. Mobiles are usually mandatory evacuations.

 

[aml3679]

You are right about the job market not being that hot and the pay is terrible. My DH works from home. I decided to do travel nursing and currently work in Tampa until the beginning of February. Hoping to work another contract that will take me up to June. Thinking about going to New England in the summer for an assignment.

Hurricanes are something we have to deal with. But, until them we are staying put as it is affordable and the last 2 hurricanes, not a home in our park has been damaged.

 

[kathy884]

I have a cousin who moved from the Dearborn, Michigan area to Tampa Florida and bought a nice inland condo there. I have a nephew who moved from Idaho Falls, ID to Orlando after being in the Disney College program, decided he didn't want to move back, found full time employment in Orlando, and bought a cute small home in an ethnic neighborhood there (at age 21 after renting for about three years). Both are totally sold on Florida.

My cousin is really into church, bible studies, and things like that and that was a great route for him for making friendships. He has some great friends in Tampa now and doesn't miss cold Michigan winters at all. The heat and humidity, though, have been an adjustment in his schedule for getting exercise, etc. It's just so hot for so much of the year. He for example walks 5 miles with a buddy every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday all year round, but gets up really early and does that walk at 5 a.m.

My nephew is gregarious and a bit of an organizer. He makes friends easily, has his neighbors over a lot, and has so embraced the outdoor lifestyle of Florida. He is quite handy and built an amazing deck and gazebo for outdoor entertaining, picked up a great used hot tub for his back yard too. He loves all kinds of food and is really enjoying making new things and shopping at the nearest grocery store that has lots of ethnic offerings. He's gay and very much enjoys it that Orlando is more liberal socially than conservative Idaho Falls. ID where he grew up. He loves being in a larger city too with all the great cultural amenities Orlando has to offer - concerts and theatre in particular. He has really gotten into all of the outdoor nature opportunities nearby too (previous to moving out really just knew more about theme parks, etc.) and does quite a bit of kayaking (invested in a Kayak). For theme parks he gets a season pass at SeaWorld annually. Has sometimes has gotten a season pass at Universal -- I don't think he got that this year though. Disney passes are just way too expensive, but he has friends who work for Disney and if he goes there he usually goes with them.

I am actually surprised my nephew hasn't really missed mountain outdoor activities -- He used to work at outdoor camps in the summers outside of Jackson, WY -- They liked him so much there and he's such an organizer that they would tell him -- We want you back -- tell us what you want to do (cook, outdoor adventure outings, photography, lead theatre activities - he did all that stuff). His family did a lot of camping, boating, skiing (family season pass at the fabulous Grand Targhee ski resort) / so close to Grand Teton and Yellowstone and so many other lessor known outdoor areas, and he used to say when he grew up he'd like to move to Alaska. But then there was the Disney College program and he absolutely fell in love with Orlando and all it has to offer. He like my brother would be who I'd like to have around if I'm on an outdoor wilderness adventure -- my own mountain man who knows what to do it seems in every situation while we (although we have camped a few times) are more city slickers.

I think the hardest thing for my Nephew in Orlando is being farther away from family. But if you live in Orlando, everyone does come down and visit you a lot.

I don't stay with either my cousin or nephew when I come down (would work if I traveled solo, but for me I always come down with family), but they are two of my favorite relatives for sure, and since they have been in Florida, I've doing a mini budget trip annually -- combo of visiting them and doing a few theme parks (just a really fun get-a-way)

Please note that neither has children at this time.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

Allergy sufferers, did you improve with your move?

DD is 6 and is allergic to everything environmental. She tested positive to 53 of the 55 allergens they injected. She gets awful hives almost every day, even with zyrtec. The only grass she isn't allergic to is bermuda, which I know grows well in Fl. Our allergist said we could move near the coast or get allergy shots, and I really don't want to put a young kid through allergy shots. So, if you have bad allergies, did moving help them at all?

 

[DarX]

Allergy sufferers, did you improve with your move?

DD is 6 and is allergic to everything environmental. She tested positive to 53 of the 55 allergens they injected. She gets awful hives almost every day, even with zyrtec. The only grass she isn't allergic to is bermuda, which I know grows well in Fl. Our allergist said we could move near the coast or get allergy shots, and I really don't want to put a young kid through allergy shots. So, if you have bad allergies, did moving help them at all?

Depends what you’re allergic to. My allergies are horrible and I live in Florida - but I’m allergic to oak pollen which is a problem in any area.