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