Advantage of being a Florida Resident?
 

I have been a Virginian all my life. My Florida friends have told me I should become a Florida resident. Is it really worth the change?

I can come up with three advantages, no state income taxes, homestead exemption on property taxes, and your vote in a national election might actually matter (depending on previous state). In general, substandard health care in Florida (at least the greater Villages area) is a big disadvantage.

Taxes

Virginia partially taxes withdrawals from qualified retirement accounts, Florida does not. There are other tax considerations which, on average, work against a Virginian retiree.

Political

This could be positive or negative depending upon your views. Your taxes, whatever they are, support the overall political landscape of the state that you claim residence to. Moreso than the state that you are a seasonal resident of.

The advantage of knowing that you are a resident of a great state !

We lived in Va for 30 years and move here 2 years ago and so happy we did.

Our decision was based on two of those three - we didn't know about the homestead exemption until we got here.

We'll be expanding out to Ocala, Gainesville, and Orlando in our quest for health care comparable to what we had in Md.

An additional consideration for the OP is whether they will keep their home in Va. There could be a Va equivalent to the homestead exemption that is more beneficial than the Fl version. (of course, this isn't an issue if you will only own one home}

There is no Va equivalent to the Florida homestead exemption.

Florida is GREAT if the folks that migrate here from the North will just quit trying to make it into the state they left.
Personally, I did not move here just because it is Florida. I moved to The Villages because it is a great place for my very social spouse, and there is plenty for anyone to do. There is no Florida income tax, but I didn't pay state income tax where I lived previously anyway. The weather is great if you enjoy warm weather....I do. The crime rate IN The Villages is very low, but that doesn't count if you are deciding to live elsewhere in Florida. Seafood is great, but you can get seafood in many other coastal states.
It does not matter what is appealing to others, it is what is important to you. I don't allow anyone else decide how I should feel (other than my spouse). They may have reasons that do not matter to you. Figure it out for yourself.

No state income tax, no estate tax, no inheritance tax, homestead exemption, lower car insurance. What else do you want?

I was a resident of New York, and now am a proud resident of Florida. I don't recall ever saying I was a proud resident of New York.

like you, we had two homes and went back and forth

I finally got tired of opening and closing 2 houses and we became Florida residents, which eliminated the state income tax that we were paying

We were concerned about health care at first, however we have found some excellent doctors in FL....we traveled to Tampa last year for major surgery....Tampa General is an excellent hospital

Good luck

Your real estate taxes will probably be lower but your home owners insurance more expensive. If costs are important Fl will save you money. If cost do not matter it is your life style and only you can answer that.
Consider renting for 6 months to a year and look at the various parts of Fl.

It's flat.

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Saving $$ at our other residence by not becoming Florida resident. It’s all about money in my pocket

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Wow! Homestead is saving you 50%?
We’ve been here 5 years and the way I’m reading my tax bill the homestead exemption drops our assessed value about 16%. I’m not complaining but it’s not that big a deal.

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There are two parts to the Homestead Exemption:
1. $25,000 or $50,000 exemption on part of your tax bill. In Sumter County this would have saved anyone who had the exemption about $450 last year.

2. Cap on assessment increases. The cap rate changes every year; it has been as low as 0.1% and as high as 3.0% this year. My assessed value did not increase at all from 2020 to 2021. Any increase from 2021 to 2022 will be capped at 3% due to the exemption.

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I modified my post to reflect the changes in the cap; I didn't realize the cap could be less than the 3% maximum. I'm looking forward to some of those 0.1% and 0.3% years.

florida vs virginia
 

Then financials aside, it depends on where you think your vote will count more

Easy answer but might get me in trouble here so I will not.

I would never consider a vote when deciding on where to live. So far down the list that I would never get to it.

One downfall of Florida is that no businesses seem to offer Senior citizen discounts : (

Very nicely put.

i/m with you Stu
 

Which is why i tempered my response the way i did

I dont think you are looking in the right spot
The Complete List of Senior Discounts for 2022

I expect that is here around TV, since there are spots many of us. I know in N. Florida they do offer senior discounts, and many combine/stack senior and military.

That statement assumes one bothers to vote. I don’t vote, not worth the trouble. I also don’t complain about politics, not worth the trouble. I happily live in Florida and ignore it all.

Another perk to being a Florida resident is discounts at Disney World. That's a big deal if you/your family go there often, or want to go there often but couldn't otherwise afford it.

And straight, that just sucks!! That’s why I leave my motorcycles in East Tennessee……….

I guess missed the part where OP said he has 2 homes.

Ambulance is for the agressor
 

the criminal element knows that under the stand your ground law they may never have their day in court

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Another great reason is that there is no personal property tax on cars, boats, riding lawn mowers, etc. One of the worst taxes ever. Also, no state income tax. The one thing I miss is Kroger. More reasonable grocery prices than Publix or Winn Dixie and discounts for gas.

I was a resident of Virginia Beach for over 50 years and became a resident here upon retirement. Best bang for the buck

No.

I was a resident of NY State until 2012. I wish I would have left earlier!!

I too am an ex-New Yorker. My view you can be happy, or not, anywhere. New York like Florida is a big varied state. Many people confuse New York State with New York Metropolitan area, ie New York City. I am retired in Florida. I was never retired in New York. Snow? Snow is pretty. I left it behind. Where can you find a snow blower in Florida? Shoveling snow? Our nutty neighbor used to serve hot cocoa as we shoveled.
Yes, taxes were higher but, we did not have a bond to pay. Bike riding? We had a great bike path that went to Jones Beach. Every place has things to offer. My garden?
Northern birds at least wait for the fruit to ripen. Southern birds will eat it green.

DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY.