Is Florida Losing it's Retirement Appeal?

[Michael G.]

News Media is saying Florida is no longer the ideal state to retire in
with insurance prices and general expense.

Could they be referring to the coastal housing and their HMO expense?

Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi is where Floridians and northern
retires are moving to.

Your Thoughts

[HappyTraveler]

News Media is saying Florida is no longer the ideal state to retire in
with insurance prices and general expense.

Could they be referring to the coastal housing and their HMO expense?

Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi is where Floridians and northern
retires are moving to.

Your Thoughts
More media click bait hype. As per usual.

Florida shall remain The Sunshine State, quite literally and it has a well-developed infrastructure for active and social retirement.

The insurance thing is annoying but, it will ease at some point plus there are workarounds.

Lastly, Florida being the third most populated state in the USA with, by far, the least land mass of the top three -- it could use an easing of people influx.

[Stu from NYC]

The roofing scam causing housing insurance to skyrocket?

[New Englander]

The Media constantly lie.

[Normal]

The cause of our inventory problem is interest rates and insurance. I don’t think we are losing our appeal that much, it just costs too much for people to move here under the present economic conditions.

[billethkid]

NO!!

[vintageogauge]

Traffic is my number 1 concern.

[manaboutown]

Like Yogi Berra said "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."

[tophcfa]

The insurance thing is annoying but, it will ease at some point plus there are workarounds.

I’ll believe the insurance thing will ease when it actually happens, but unfortunately my intuition says it’s only getting worse. Can you elaborate on the referenced workarounds?

[bopat]

A lot of these things are AI generated click bait.

[Laker14]

IMO, there is no such thing as "ideal"...to paraphrase the cliche "perfect is the enemy of good", I would say "ideal is the enemy of something that's pretty darn nice and a whole lot better than what I have right now"...

I knew TV wasn't perfect. I did not foresee the roofing scam...I did expect hurricanes, and I did foresee an insurance "crisis" (for lack of a better word).... I came to The Villages for the lifestyle and to escape NY winters, not with the expectation of escaping reality.

[keepsake]

Why do the media lie ? -- Just look at who is funding the media. Morgan and Morgan, Roofing Firms, and Big Pharma.

[jimkerr]

Traffic is my number 1 concern.

I have yet to see traffic here. Try livining on Los Angeles, Atlanta or Miami. That’s traffic!

[Dahabs]

The Media constantly lie.

Yeah, sure. :icon_bored:

[Topspinmo]

I have yet to see traffic here. Try livining on Los Angeles, Atlanta or Miami. That’s traffic!


Or Tampa. As you say yet.

[dewilson58]

Wait five minutes, a new article will come out.

[MikeN]

Perfect

[opinionist]

Those three states have no obvious appeal to me.
If I were to pick two retirement states, they would be Florida and Arizona.
The home insurance problem was addressed with legislation.
Two hundred fifty thousand lawsuits were filed weeks before the legislation's start date.
Rates will go down or remain flat after the lawsuits have cleared through the legal system.

[vintageogauge]

I have yet to see traffic here. Try livining on Los Angeles, Atlanta or Miami. That’s traffic!

The topic is Florida not The Villages, Miami is in Florida.

[Rzepecki]

The roofing scam causing housing insurance to skyrocket?

No, the insurance company scam on homeowners caused prices to rise.

[Rzepecki]

I have yet to see traffic here. Try livining on Los Angeles, Atlanta or Miami. That’s traffic!

Exactly! Drive defensively and you’ll be okay.

[Ptmcbriz]

Definitely certain areas of Florida. Hurricanes are bad press. That will never change. What will change are interest rates which are affecting the housing market nationwide. Insurance rates will keep getting impacted with each destructive hurricane. Common sense. No destructive hurricanes, rates start easing with time. It’s not helping with the firing of the forecast modelers at NOAA, and the threat of closer. It’s questionable whether they still have enough trained personnel for flying into the hurricane eyes or the experts to analyze the data to give accurate predictions. We may be relying on the European models for the future.

[gighilton]

News Media is saying Florida is no longer the ideal state to retire in
with insurance prices and general expense.

Could they be referring to the coastal housing and their HMO expense?

Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi is where Floridians and northern
retires are moving to.

Your Thoughts

Ask who wrote or made the report what their criteria was. Depends on the weather you like, food, environment, taxes...or a litany of anything else.

[jsa]

I have yet to see traffic here. Try livining on Los Angeles, Atlanta or Miami. That’s traffic!

100% agree. Try Boston. There isn't real traffic in TV.

[Sparky99]

TV is a blast! Who cares what social media has to say...

Just like the stock market: ignore the noise!

[CybrSage]

We may be relying on the European models for the future.

Every hurricane they show several models, one of which is the European model.
None of the other models stop existing if one group that uses them stops; meteorologists are taught them all in school.

[G.R.I.T.S.]

Your first words say it all…”news media.”

[Ignatz]

I have yet to see traffic here. Try livining on Los Angeles, Atlanta or Miami. That’s traffic!

Truth! I haven’t seen any traffic in TV. Morse and 44 is a slight issue at some points of the day. It’s not traffic in the normal sense of the word.

[Lea N]

IMO, there is no such thing as "ideal"...to paraphrase the cliche "perfect is the enemy of good", I would say "ideal is the enemy of something that's pretty darn nice and a whole lot better than what I have right now"...

I knew TV wasn't perfect. I did not foresee the roofing scam...I did expect hurricanes, and I did foresee an insurance "crisis" (for lack of a better word).... I came to The Villages for the lifestyle and to escape NY winters, not with the expectation of escaping reality.

Very nicely said. I like this and will keep these wise words in mind for future reference.

[NavyVet]

No traffic?
Roads and traffic situation is crazier than ever this year. We left South Florida in 2003 to get away from impossible traffic. Due to poorly planned roads, overbuilding, long, terribly timed lights, and multiple light cycles to get through an intersection, TV is now JUST LIKE the traffic of Broward and Miami-Dade counties; horrible. It's a hassle to go anywhere. I am so over TV. I am planning my escape for when it becomes feasible.

[vintageogauge]

No traffic?
Roads and traffic situation is crazier than ever this year. We left South Florida in 2003 to get away from impossible traffic. Due to poorly planned roads, overbuilding, long, terribly timed lights, and multiple light cycles to get through an intersection, TV is now JUST LIKE the traffic of Broward and Miami-Dade counties; horrible. It's a hassle to go anywhere. I am so over TV. I am planning my escape for when it becomes feasible.

You are correct, 301 is a nightmare at times, every time there is a accident on I-75 south or north, and it happens quite frequently, it is detoured onto 301, same thing with the turnpike. Thankfully TV was smart enough to use turnabouts, could you imagine if there were stop lights or stop signs at all of those intersections, nothing would move. TV is not LA or NYC or even Miami but in comparison to what it was several years ago it is crazy busy now and even 3 years down the line when/if 301 is completed it still will be the main detour for I-75 and Turnpike accident closures.

[Michael G.]

You are correct, 301 is a nightmare at times, every time there is a accident on I-75 south or north, and it happens quite frequently, it is detoured onto 301, same thing with the turnpike. Thankfully TV was smart enough to use turnabouts, could you imagine if there were stop lights or stop signs at all of those intersections, nothing would move. TV is not LA or NYC or even Miami but in comparison to what it was several years ago it is crazy busy now and even 3 years down the line when/if 301 is completed it still will be the main detour for I-75 and Turnpike accident closures.

You mention I-75 above.
FYI I never ever travel that road unless I constantly check for accidents on my GPS
right up to entering the on ramp.

[village dreamer]

what will happen to real estate and to Florida ,if we don't have real estate taxes .if we are the first state with out taxes. the housing boom will be crazy. the population will shoot up.think about that.

[Laker14]

TV is a blast! Who cares what social media has to say...

Just like the stock market: ignore the noise!

Right on! I had a great time today. My golf game wasn't great but I shared a cart with a good friend, we had some giggles (in between profane laden rants) and the weather was incredible.

At no point did I wish I was back in Upstate NY waiting for the ground to thaw.

[CoachKandSportsguy]

News Media is saying Florida is no longer the ideal state to retire in
with insurance prices and general expense.

Could they be referring to the coastal housing and their HMO expense?

Virginia, Kentucky, and Mississippi is where Floridians and northern
retires are moving to.

Your Thoughts

So there are 50 choices of states to retire.
FL has been knocked off as #1, still probably in the top 5. . by a small margin from #1,
and sensationalism to get headlines gets your attention. .

So the data may be assumed from changes in state migration, but that doesn't mean anything if you love living here. Seriously ask yourself why does it matter what other people are doing if you love it here? Are you getting emotionally involved in other people's issues or choices? or is the data making you doubt your choice?

unless interested in a future choice, these headlines aren't worth reading.

now get back to enjoying your retirement while you have days left.

[Papa_lecki]

Retire in Virginia or Kentucky? It snows in those states.
If you retire in Mississippi, that means you need to live in Mississippi.

[asianthree]

You mention I-75 above.
FYI I never ever travel that road unless I constantly check for accidents on my GPS
right up to entering the on ramp.

Sadly an app is only good for 5 minutes then you are stopped for miles because of something just happened. Yesterday on the pike coming from Disney everything was clear, according to Alexa, and Onstar. 20 minutes later miles of backup.

Onstar advisor gave me exactly where the issue was, how many miles until traffic was moving, then advised to exit. Which we did, friends stuck it out, we were home 75 minutes, before they got to 301.

Not perfect but I do love the live conversation that they can scan all routes available

[Normal]

Truth! I haven’t seen any traffic in TV. Morse and 44 is a slight issue at some points of the day. It’s not traffic in the normal sense of the word.

I agree, but the circle there for Lake Deaton Plaza is a problem for the intersection of 44:and Morse. That thing needs to go and the roads need widened. Waited 3 lights yesterday for the opening to continue south.

Other parts of Florida certainly have it worse than we do though. Wesley Chapel right now is a nightmare.

[Nana2Teddy]

I have yet to see traffic here. Try livining on Los Angeles, Atlanta or Miami. That’s traffic!

Exactly! Having moved here from SoCal I honestly have no idea what villagers are talking about when complaining about traffic. It’s nothing here. We lived the exact same distance (60 miles) from Disneyland there as we do from Disney World here, but there it took us 2.5 hrs to drive to DL, and here we are at DW via the turnpike and 429 in no more than an hour.

[Michael 61]

Exactly! Having moved here from SoCal I honestly have no idea what villagers are talking about when complaining about traffic. It’s nothing here. We lived the exact same distance (60 miles) from Disneyland there as we do from Disney World here, but there it took us 2.5 hrs to drive to DL, and here we are at DW via the turnpike and 429 in no more than an hour.

Agree Nana - traffic is all relative. Prior to living in Colorado, I lived in San Francisco for many years. It could take two hours at times to cross the Bay Bridge from San Francisco to Oakland (a distance of about ten miles). Even at its worst, Florida traffic is nothing compared to California Bay Area or SoCal.

[rsmurano]

You think we are the only people with insurance prices going up? How about Californians that lost their insurance right before the fires. California caused this but insurance is a pain there too. Check the rates in other parts of the country. How about in Tornado alley for example!
You name me another state that has no income tax, warm weather, and has a place exactly like the villages! 60+ golf courses, 300 pickleball courts, 100 pools, 3000 clubs to join, etc..

I’ll wait for responses.

[Normal]

You think we are the only people with insurance prices going up? How about Californians that lost their insurance right before the fires. California caused this but insurance is a pain there too. Check the rates in other parts of the country. How about in Tornado alley for example!
You name me another state that has no income tax, warm weather, and has a place exactly like the villages! 60+ golf courses, 300 pickleball courts, 100 pools, 3000 clubs to join, etc..

I’ll wait for responses.

That question is easy to answer, Peach tree Georgia. Georgia does charge state income tax, but the scale does not kick in until a couple earns above 36 k a year. But then they are the largest golf cart community in the nation too.

Explore Peachtree City Georgia - 100 Miles of Cart Paths | Visit Peachtree City (https://visitpeachtreecity.com/explore-local-attractions/explore-100-miles-of-cart-paths/)

[Nana2Teddy]

That question is easy to answer, Peach tree Georgia. Georgia does charge state income tax, but the scale does not kick in until a couple earns above 36 k a year. But then they are the largest golf cart community in the nation too.

Explore Peachtree City Georgia - 100 Miles of Cart Paths | Visit Peachtree City (https://visitpeachtreecity.com/explore-local-attractions/explore-100-miles-of-cart-paths/)

The Villages is far beyond 100 miles of golf cart paths. It was more than 100 when we moved here in 2022 before all of the newest villages down south past Sawgrass Grove, and the most recent villages near Eastport with all of their new cart paths were built. We’re likely at 125+ miles by now. Not that it’s a competition or anything, lol. 😛

[JMintzer]

That question is easy to answer, Peach tree Georgia. Georgia does charge state income tax, but the scale does not kick in until a couple earns above 36 k a year. But then they are the largest golf cart community in the nation too.

Explore Peachtree City Georgia - 100 Miles of Cart Paths | Visit Peachtree City (https://visitpeachtreecity.com/explore-local-attractions/explore-100-miles-of-cart-paths/)

A high school buddy of mine lives there. He loves it, but he'll readily admit that it doesn't have anywhere near the amenities the TV has...

[Pballer]

what will happen to real estate and to Florida ,if we don't have real estate taxes .if we are the first state with out taxes. the housing boom will be crazy. the population will shoot up.think about that.

You will have a 15% sales tax to make up for it. There is a limit to how much money you can squeeze out of tourists and snowbirds who can't vote.

[cucaracha]

Yes. And all of a sudden too many people in the Villages and other places. Came here 10 yrs ago and it was great now too many cars, less parking spaces, long wait to see doctors and more difficult get restaurant reservations.