Hi everyone,

Well time has come for me to think about moving out of Ohio. I am thinking of moving to the state of Florida. Around the West Palm Beach, Boca Raton areas are of interest to me. I have a couple of questions for those who live there. I know the bugs are really big down there so I am thinking bug bombs in the house before I move in or build a house. Then spray both inside and outside with spray, and get the exterminator on a annual schedule. (I hate spiders I've go arachnaphobia (sp)) Along with keeping the bushes trimmed.....any other things to do about this? How is the insurance down there? Flood insurance? Homeowners? Vehicle? new business insurance? Is it a lot higher? What types of companies are good to work for?? Anyone have a direction to give me by any chance?? How are the personalities of people in the state? How really bad are the storms? How bad are the hurricanes????? That's what is really on my mind......I've done a lot of research on this topic. From what I understand the homes are built for this type of climate change. I have a '66 Corvette and a '99 Lincoln Continental in the family which mean the world to me!! How can I keep these vehicles safe and sound in the garage? If its all possible. I do plan on building a house down their with around 5 car garage space..I just hope it does not flood and their ruined.
I've also heard that if you are more inland from the beach hurricanes are not really to too bad given to the fact your not on/near the ocean..Is this true? I was also told that in the last ten years Fl has not had a bad hurricane and might be do for one! A person had explained that for 2 weeks the power was off and to plan on getting generators installed on your house and make sure they fire up when need be. I am just concerned about this whole hurricane thing, I've been to Fl from Nov-Mar and the season starts from May 30- Nov. 1 I know to stock up on supplies food water and such and fuel for gen sets, what else should I be concerned about? Or am I thinking to much?? If my business venture would have taken off as planned my life would be in a much better sense. Although being in a new area is very enticing and exciting.
Might and hope to see everyone down there! Sorry for all the questions!

I appreciate it a lot fellow F-150 owners!!!!

 

You're thinking too much. FL does not have an income tax, but they hit you a little more for other things (compared to NC). Hurricanes that hit the east coast hit Wilmington NC where I live most often. I worked in Homestead, FL for over 3 1/2 years and I loved the weather there, about 2 weeks of winter. One thing that might be an advantage is that if you live in FL, your home can not be lost in a law suit. That is why the Enron executives bought mansions in FL when the company crashed. As well as OJ Simpson. Someone who lives there will chime in soon and tell you about property taxes, etc.

 

I don't know why you would want to move south. With these warm -2* temps and 8" of snow we're suppose to get this week, I think I'd want to stay

Good luck with the move! I'd love to move somewhere that 40* is enough to give you frost bite

 

Since I moved to Houston (from Minneapolis) almost 20 years ago we have had a few hurricanes come through this part of the country. Where I am at we are about 65-miles off the coast, so the power of the storm has dissipated somewhat by the time it gets this far inland. Our biggest concern around here is localized flooding from all the rain and trees being knocked over onto your home or vehicles by the wind.

The flooding is generally avoidable if you are careful on where you build -- pick the highest general location in the subdivision versus a more low-lying area. Also take a quick glance at the general slope of the land around the area you're thinking of building in and use basic common sense to figure out where the water will go if there are copious amounts of rainfall.

The wind is more of a wildcard, as you can't really control that, but in most cases the really destructive wind damage is concentrated in a fairly narrow band along the coast. As you get further inland your wind issue is more flying debris or blown-off shingles than anything that is structural in nature. For a garage where you are storing valuable vehicles, they can put extra bracing on the overhead doors since these are usually the weakest portion of the building envelope. Lot's of people will also rig-up plywood cutouts for their windows that can be snapped in place quickly to prevent any broken glass from flying debris.

To be honest, the biggest PIA of a hurricane is the loss of electricity -- the last good one we had come through Houston put us out of power for over a week. When this happens, we usually just jump in the car and go stay with family in Dallas until the power comes back on -- no sense being miserable in the heat and humidity of Texas with no air conditioning!

Keep in mind that come June, July and August, you may very well miss the summers in Ohio -- Florida will have a level of heat and humidity you simply aren't used to! Of the places the wife and I have lived over the years (several job relocations) we felt Kansas City had the best climate -- four defined seasons with none of them so severe in nature that they became unbearable. Minnesota will always be "home" but the winters are just too long and harsh -- Houston will always be our "second home" but the summers are just too long and harsh.....

 

Most of the hurricanes that hit FL come from the gulf side, usually in the panhandle area. But if one does hit it can be severe, such as the one that leveled Homestead in 1992 I believe. A generator will take care of power outages. I have often thought about buying one for my home In Wilmington NC but it is so rarely needed and since I live in a high density area that has lots of stoplights, the power is usually back on within 18 hours. The folks living in the country can go a couple of weeks without power. Wilmington NC has been hit directly by 4 hurricanes (cat 1,2, &3) since I've been living here (1993)and others have come close. I've never filed an insurance claim and I'm about 2 miles from the coast. Building codes have come a long way in making homes that withstand high winds. So, if you buy a fairly new home or build, it will be stout. Just don't buy in a flood zone. If you do you will need flood insurance too.

 

I kind of figured I was thinking too much. The lawsuit is an interesting bit of info you had provided.

I'm still trying to figure the best option. Once an employer see's what I am capable of doing then I can make a sound decision.

 

Thanks Matt I appreciate it a lot!

You'll probably end up moving too, for the same reasons as myself! The weather!

 

Florida has a homestead program. I think the value of your home for tax purposes is established when you purchase and it can only be raised by a small amount in the future. So, some of the long time residents are paying low property taxes I think. I never knew all of the details but they are different from NC.

 

Any real estate person should be able to tell you if the property that you're looking at is in a designated flood zone. Personally I like my property high and dry so I make sure that I'm always in the highest point around. And any modern GPS will show your altitude as well as your location so it's easy to find out for yourself.

IF you sign up for the program, then the rate of increase in your accessed property VALUE is capped at around 11% IIRC annually but your rate can still go up as will the taxes that you pay. The cap also does not apply to charges from Fire and school districts, only county property tax.

Some areas are VERY restrictive about having old cars sitting around, regardless of their condition or drivablity. Florida HOAS are *****! Pure and simple! If you want to keep your cars then you need to find a house that is NOT in a HOA! I can't stress avoiding HOAs enough. Unless you LIKE living in a prison and having NO rights. Many HOA won't even allow you to have a truck in THEIR neighborhood!

Bugs should not be a problem unless you live in the woods or have pets that go in and out. This is Florida, you WILL have an occasional critter. They come in under doors, on mail, on clothing, especially on pets, also on and in packages and even in bags from grocery and other stores.

Re: hurricanes IMO any responsible person should ALWAYS be stocked up on enough food and water and essentials to survive a week or more ON THEIR ON.

I have 1 large and two small generators and plenty of fuel, a well and a septic tank,, food, water and medicine. Also a tent, several portable camp stoves and various cook ware. And enough guns and ammo to make sure that it STAYS mine! If you think I'm joking then go talk to anyone that was in south Miami or Homestead after hurricane Andrew! And here's a tip: Get a small window AC unit that your gene can run. You will thank me later! Immediately after a hurricane is always the most damp, humid and STILL weather that I've ever encountered. A working AC is worth it's weight in gold after a hurricane! The same gene can also power my well so I will have running water and a functioning sewage system and can keep my freezer and refrigerator running if I need to.

 

NC is full of half-backs, people who moved to Fl from the north and decided it was too hot for them and move half way back! A large percentage of my neighbors are from NY, PA, MD, etc.

I'm sure you can look up property flood zones on the internet. I do it all the time for property in my area on the NC coast.

 

My concerns about living in Florida, are the crime story headlines.

Floridians really find the most bizarro insane inventive ways to commit crimes, or snap and go crazy. Every time I check my news feed and something bat-poop-crazy pops up, I think to myself, "Gonna be from Florida..." and it always is.

But you gotta admit, it's good reading!

 

Crime is generally low in Florida, IF you stay out of the bad areas. For example, the west part of Orlando used to be called "Pine Hills", now it's simply called "Crime Hills". It's easy enough to get the police crime statistics but realtors often refuse to give them to prospective buyers and claim that they're "biased" or "profiling" or some other excuse but the truth is that they don't want you to know that you might be buying in a bad area. FWIW in my experience one of the best indicators of potential crime rate is the amount of rentals in a neighborhood.

But it's definitely true that Florida attracts some strange people!

 

I don't think the crime is that bad in most of FL. But the Miami area and south to Homestead the crime is high. I lived in Homestead and worked in the area for over 3 1/2 years in the 2010 through most of 2013 range and for the first time I decided to get a concealed carry permit. I never needed it but I thought I might on one occasion. I watched an interview with a Miami policeman on local tv and he said there were 58 gangs in Miami. He said the young guys from south of the border who belonged to gangs came and they continued the gangs there. During a celebration such as New Years, people come out of their homes in Miami and shoot their guns into the air instead of buying firecrackers. Occasionally someone is killed by the falling bullet. My friend and co-worker got a bullet hole in the hood of his car from a falling bullet when he left it parked outside close to the airport when he flew home over the holidays.
If you are ex-military like me, you don't have to take a firearms training class and I got my permit in less than 2 weeks.

In Homestead, you have to live in a gated subdivision or apt complex with security if you don't want your home burglarized on a regular basis. I also lived in the Crystal River Area on the Gulf side for a year and no such problems existed there.

 

Latest headline from Florida! LOL

http://www.freebeerandhotwings.com/b...649490431.html

 

Many drug dealers in Miami switched from smuggling and selling drugs to Medicare/Medicaid fraud because it paid as well and there was less chance of getting caught. Miami is the Medicare/Medicaid fraud capital.