Anyone live in Florida know any mildly affordable towns to move to?

[Augie]

6 minutes ago, T&C said:

The heat is oppressive along with the humidity. I won't play golf in the summer... and getting into a parked car is like getting into an oven. Darting from AC to AC isn't my cup of meat but some people seem to like it. The fishing is pretty good though. 

 

Georgia/SC/NC is where I'm looking at... maybe even the very north of PA. 

 

I’ve got to tell you, I lived In Hilton Head, SC and work took me to Charleston and Columbia regularly. It was WAY hotter there than Sarasota. I promise! It NEVER hit 100 in Sarasota (the weatherman even said it, get past 95 and you get a thunderstorm. BOOM, back to 75), but did regularly in HHI. Like 3 straight weeks when I worked construction there during a summer in college. 

 

Funny story, I was nervous about SW FL after a dozen years in HHI. Moved to Sarasota in 1993, before everyone had a computer and printer in every room, and I went into a place to get resumes’ printed. The ladies in there were in a back room and didn’t here me come in. I heard one say “I just came back from the hottest two %$^ $%#^ weeks of my life in %^%^$#% Hilton Head!” That gave me hope! 

[That's No Moon]

3 hours ago, T&C said:

The heat is oppressive along with the humidity. I won't play golf in the summer... and getting into a parked car is like getting into an oven. Darting from AC to AC isn't my cup of meat but some people seem to like it. The fishing is pretty good though. 

 

Georgia/SC/NC is where I'm looking at... maybe even the very north of PA. 

The very north of PA would love to have you. Nobody lives there and the population is shrinking all the time. All of Potter County has less than 17k people and has a population density of 16 people per square mile. Erie County, NY is over 900/square mile

 

I live in SEPA now and I generally like it. It's far enough north that it doesn't get blazing hot and it's far enough south and close enough to the ocean that it doesn't get super cold either. I'm in Southern Chester County about 45 miles from Philly and if you go a little further out towards Maryland it gets cheaper. There are lots of retirees in this part of PA and the tax structure is favorable for retirees.

 

Southern Delaware is pretty cheap and is fairly close to the beach. It's very rural, lots and lots of farms and not a lot else but if that's what you are looking for then the weather is generally pretty good and the overall DE tax situation is generally more favorable than NY. But it's worse for retirees than PA and the state income tax is the highest in the country. Property taxes are low.

 

I guess it depends on what you want and why you are leaving NY. I wouldn't live in Florida for free and the parts of GA and NC I'd want to live in aren't cheap. My wife's company is based in Toombs County, GA and it's also super rural. Houses I'd want to live in if we moved there aren't a whole lot cheaper than the houses in my current area. Taxes are considerably less but there is also a distinct difference in what you get from the area.  Where we live now is moderately rural but there are enough people with enough money around that there are quite a lot of good restaurants to eat at and a lot of things to do.  In that part of GA, the restaurant situation is bleak and there isn't even a decent grocery store, just the Wal-Mart.  For quality of life that would be important to me. I like to have a good meal at a good restaurant or be able to cook a good meal at my house with good ingredients. I like to be able to choose from multiple kinds of food. I like to have the option to do a multitude of things in a relatively short drive from my house. From Toombs County, to get a decent meal, you need to drive to Savannah which is 90 minutes away.

 

Where I live now I have all of that at my fingertips and I don't have to deal with a city unless I want to.  For me, that's perfect.  It's dark and quiet where I live, my kids go to a good school, my property taxes are tolerable, I can have a peaceful day every day if I want to or I can be anywhere from NY to Washington, I can be at the beach in either NJ, DE or MD, or I can be in the mountains all under 2.5 hours depending on which direction I choose to drive. We've talked about relocating several times and lord knows the company would like us to move to GA.  While the taxes would be less, we'd have to pay for private school because those cheaper taxes very much come at the expense of the local school district and there are a host of other lifestyle and quality of life issues that would crop up if we moved there. All added together it's not worth it so we stay where we are and my wife works remotely and flies down there 5 or 6 weeks a year.

 

I guess what I'm saying is the places in this country that are cheap are cheap for a reason.  Find out what that reason is and make sure you can tolerate it before you commit yourself to living there.

[The Poojer]

4 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

The very north of PA would love to have you. Nobody lives there and the population is shrinking all the time. All of Potter County has less than 17k people and has a population density of 16 people per square mile. Erie County, NY is over 900/square mile

 

I live in SEPA now and I generally like it. It's far enough north that it doesn't get blazing hot and it's far enough south and close enough to the ocean that it doesn't get super cold either. I'm in Southern Chester County about 45 miles from Philly and if you go a little further out towards Maryland it gets cheaper. There are lots of retirees in this part of PA and the tax structure is favorable for retirees.

 

Southern Delaware is pretty cheap and is fairly close to the beach. It's very rural, lots and lots of farms and not a lot else but if that's what you are looking for then the weather is generally pretty good and the overall DE tax situation is generally more favorable than NY. But it's worse for retirees than PA and the state income tax is the highest in the country. Property taxes are low.

 

I guess it depends on what you want and why you are leaving NY. I wouldn't live in Florida for free and the parts of GA and NC I'd want to live in aren't cheap. My wife's company is based in Toombs County, GA and it's also super rural. Houses I'd want to live in if we moved there aren't a whole lot cheaper than the houses in my current area. Taxes are considerably less but there is also a distinct difference in what you get from the area.  Where we live now is moderately rural but there are enough people with enough money around that there are quite a lot of good restaurants to eat at and a lot of things to do.  In that part of GA, the restaurant situation is bleak and there isn't even a decent grocery store, just the Wal-Mart.  For quality of life that would be important to me. I like to have a good meal at a good restaurant or be able to cook a good meal at my house with good ingredients. I like to be able to choose from multiple kinds of food. I like to have the option to do a multitude of things in a relatively short drive from my house. From Toombs County, to get a decent meal, you need to drive to Savannah which is 90 minutes away.

 

Where I live now I have all of that at my fingertips and I don't have to deal with a city unless I want to.  For me, that's perfect.  It's dark and quiet where I live, my kids go to a good school, my property taxes are tolerable, I can have a peaceful day every day if I want to or I can be anywhere from NY to Washington, I can be at the beach in either NJ, DE or MD, or I can be in the mountains all under 2.5 hours depending on which direction I choose to drive. We've talked about relocating several times and lord knows the company would like us to move to GA.  While the taxes would be less, we'd have to pay for private school because those cheaper taxes very much come at the expense of the local school district and there are a host of other lifestyle and quality of life issues that would crop up if we moved there. All added together it's not worth it so we stay where we are and my wife works remotely and flies down there 5 or 6 weeks a year.

 

I guess what I'm saying is the places in this country that are cheap are cheap for a reason.  Find out what that reason is and make sure you can tolerate it before you commit yourself to living there.

I'm in Chester county also and agree 100% with what you said about the SEPA/MD/DE area

[mead107]

Sister Inlaw and husband moved to Delaware. They love it. Lived in pa before the move. 
 

near Lewis beach. 

Edited December 29, 2021 by mead107

[BuffaloBill]

Why Florida? My wife and I are in Tennessee (Knoxville specifically) as it is her hometown. We love it. Four seasons and the winter is very mild. (Yesterday in an admittedly unusual December the AC actually briefly kicked in while I was running errands in my Jeep - I have it set to “auto” temp at 70). 

 

There are no State income taxes, the job market is very hot, utilities are very affordable and people are nice. A downside right now is that real estate has really shot up as many people are coming in from elsewhere and snapping up the limited number of homes for sale. That situation will probably improve some as builders get busy again.

 

Traffic has also become a bit of an issue depending on where you live and work.

 

Take a look.

 

 

[BuffaloBud]

Sister / BIL live in Jacksonville Beach FL.  I can't believe the prices.  😲

 

Parents live in The Villages (just south of Ocala).  Hotter than Hades from July through September.  They usally take some sort of vacation in Aug / Sept time frame.

 

I'll take Ohio any time.

[That's No Moon]

4 hours ago, mead107 said:

Sister Inlaw and husband moved to Delaware. They love it. Lived in pa before the move. 
 

near Lewis beach. 

Lewes is nice. That part of Delaware is fine if you dont have school age kids. When you are near the shore in Lewes or Dewey or Rehoboth it's pricier than it is more inland in the more rural less beachy part near Georgetown for example.

[T&C]

10 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

The very north of PA would love to have you. Nobody lives there and the population is shrinking all the time. All of Potter County has less than 17k people and has a population density of 16 people per square mile. Erie County, NY is over 900/square mile

 

That's an area I like for several reasons.

 

I have a ton of relatives and friends back in WNY... my Mom was 1 of 13 and my Dad 1 of 4 so you can imagine.

 

Its close enough to be a decent ride back to the homelands but Not in NYS... so not the horrible taxes.

 

We'd be able to buy season tickets for the Bills and go to which games we want.

 

Close enough to hit places like Watkins Glen, Letchworth, wine country, etc. and not too bad of a ride to Allegany, the lakes.

 

Here's another reason... not high on the list but certainly worth noting... if you look at the 506 maps for Bills tv coverage the northern part, for around 100 miles, always has the game on OTA.

 

I like to be out of town but near the town if that makes any sense. Not the boonies but if it takes 20 minutes to drive to a grocery store I'm good with that.

 

All said, NPA is just one place I've been looking at. Wherever we wind up it has to have some hills, mountains, contour to the land... Florida is flat as *****.

[TBBills]

Everyone thinks the grass is greener in other states... guess what it's same shade of ***** color run by garbage government officials. You think b.c of your political view you would enjoy Florida which is the running theme for some reason, but you will find its all the same.

Edited December 29, 2021 by TBBills

[goldenboy81]

Too bad you didn't move before covid. Since then everything has doubled in prices in my area.

Even rent is out of control down here. 

I'm on east coast Daytona area

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

13 hours ago, That's No Moon said:

The very north of PA would love to have you. Nobody lives there and the population is shrinking all the time. All of Potter County has less than 17k people and has a population density of 16 people per square mile. Erie County, NY is over 900/square mile

 

 

Or how about Tioga County? Wellsboro, PA is one of the nicest towns I have been to. Quaint town,

and you are right in the “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.”

[T&C]

49 minutes ago, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

Or how about Tioga County? Wellsboro, PA is one of the nicest towns I have been to. Quaint town,

and you are right in the “Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania.”

I just took a look at Wellsboro... exactly the kind of place I'd like to live in or around. Perfect location.

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

1 minute ago, T&C said:

I just took a look at Wellsboro... exactly the kind of place I'd like to live in or around. Perfect location.

we went camping in the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania about 10 years ago. It rained the first night, so we headed into the nearby town of Wellsboro. I was just struck at how nice it was. Old Victorian homes; wide streets and sidewalks; gas lamps down the streets; quaint shops and restaurants. I am not sure how a neat little affluent quaint town is out there (maybe old

timber money and tourism?), but it was such a gem. You can probably live

right in the town, or in a number of woodsy areas outside of there. 
 

Then, in the area, you have these beautiful mountains, gorge, and like 100 miles of rail trails. 
 

you are also less than an hour to Watkins Glenn And that area of southern NY.
 

I think the only downside is that it is remote— I am not sure what the nearest airport is. Probably a regional one? 

[Nextmanup]

On 12/29/2021 at 4:55 PM, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

we went camping in the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania about 10 years ago. It rained the first night, so we headed into the nearby town of Wellsboro. I was just struck at how nice it was. Old Victorian homes; wide streets and sidewalks; gas lamps down the streets; quaint shops and restaurants. I am not sure how a neat little affluent quaint town is out there (maybe old

timber money and tourism?), but it was such a gem. You can probably live

right in the town, or in a number of woodsy areas outside of there. 
 

Then, in the area, you have these beautiful mountains, gorge, and like 100 miles of rail trails. 
 

you are also less than an hour to Watkins Glenn And that area of southern NY.
 

I think the only downside is that it is remote— I am not sure what the nearest airport is. Probably a regional one? 

Your description of this quaint little town reminds me of Middleburg, Virginia...which Washington DC people will probably know, only Middleburg is incredibly expensive! 

 

But Middleburg is probably the quaintest little town I've ever seen in America.

 

Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital" for its foxhunting, steeplechases, and large estates.

 

LOL

 

 

 

 

Edited December 31, 2021 by Nextmanup

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

5 minutes ago, Nextmanup said:

Your description of this quaint little town reminds me of Middleburg, Virginia...which Washington DC people will probably know, only Middleburg is incredibly expensive! 

 

But Middleburg is probably the quaintest little town I've ever seen in America.

 

Middleburg is known as the "Nation's Horse and Hunt Capital" for its foxhunting, steeplechases, and large estates.

 

LOL

 

 

 

 

That town looks great! Straight out of a Hallmark Christmas movie! 

[Seventeen]

On 12/28/2021 at 7:23 PM, Miyagi-Do Karate said:

i remember a friend of my brother in law in the Ohio snow belt bolted for St. Petersburg.

Said it was super affordable— like decent houses close to the beach for $200’s. It’s been a few years, so I am not sure if much has changed.

 

Don't think you can find a decent house in the 200s now close to St Pete Beach ...

[TBBills]

Housing market in florida is outrageous  right now.

[Helpmenow]

Older brother just sold his house in Port Charlotte. Laughing all the way to the bank

[Jauronimo]

17 hours ago, Helpmenow said:

Older brother just sold his house in Port Charlotte. Laughing all the way to the bank

Selling your house at the top of the market is awesome. Until you remember you need a place to live and have to buy a house during peak market.

[LabattBlue]

6 hours ago, Jauronimo said:

Selling your house at the top of the market is awesome. Until you remember you need a place to live and have to buy a house during peak market.

...unless you are done with home ownership, and are downsizing to an apartment.