I've already been called a liar for stating this but I'm paying more for 1 Florida home than I am 2 East TN homes, all 3 are similar size and quality (only the fl house has a pool). The guy that called me a liar failed to come back here and correct himself after he saw screen shots of the bills.

I believe Tennessee is less expensive than FLA.
Good tax structure too.

I'm sure it varies by state as well as county. My point was that for the article to say that FL automatically has higher insurance rates is ridiculous.

No.9 been here long enough time to move on. :evil6:

Now days Over 29. They Finally have move out….parents house…. :BigApplause:

In my opinion, numbers 1-7 on the list are no big deal, except for perhaps #4 (but that’s coming from someone who hates big cities and prefers a more rural area). Number 8 is a real concern/issue and, along with the wife’s need to be near the kids/grandkids, is the reason we will probably always continue to have two residences.

Articles, somebody has to type some words about something, on a rotating schedule of topics. . .

How was that Olympic ceremony?

Far too long.

PS. If I see another horse galloping up a river, I will shoot it!

You forgot to factor in heating expenses!

Not only Florida. Same things going on in VA., probably most of the country. Especially the small town loss.

Math, finance, and budgeting skills are essential.

We moved here from Oregon, and overall, our monthly expenses are much, much lower here.

The excess $$$ from our retirement funds and investments fund our worldwide and US travel.

I've read those articles, too. Those are not localized costs. High City and coastal costs are in the mix.

Here in Central Florida and The Villages, we have a great place to live out our sunset years.

I think you are right. For decades a significant percentage of people retiring to Florida have decided they made a mistake and left. Usually they move back to where they came from to be closer to their family and friends. That’s okay. That’s to be expected. The majority stay, and houses keep being built.

Florida is a huge state, and home insurance rates vary from place to place, depending on the risk of storm damage of various sorts. Insurance is a lot less here than in some areas of the state. In Sumter County, our electricity costs 11 cents per KWH. There are places where it is twice that. Our HOA fees in The Villages are wonderfully low, despite the complaints of those who are barely scraping by. There are trailer parks near here charging three times as much as we pay, even though they get much less. People complain about food costs even as they shop at Publix or Fresh Market, even though it’s much cheaper at Winn-Dixie or WalMart, so it’s hard to think they are serious. I worked in health care for a few years half a century ago at several highly rated hospitals. I go to AdventHealth Waterman for health care, which has an A rating, and while most of my doctors are foreign, they are doing a great job. Plus, with Medicare and my supplemental insurance, it is pretty much all covered. If you are going to get seriously ill, there has never been a better time in history to do it. Even at the hospital formerly known as The Villages Hospital, you can at best get much better treatment than at a great hospital fifty years ago.

So, yes, people are leaving. They have been for decades, but most stay.

No. 10, Grandkids.

I’m taking my chances in Florida. Anything’s better than shoveling snow combined with 8 months of grey sky’s in the north.

One of the reasons I look askance at such magazine articles is the subjectivity involved. Google up "ten best (or worst) cities/states/whatever and that becomes obvious. Such articles vary widely according to criteria used and magazine readership.

One thing rarely mentioned as an attractor (maybe no so much in other parts of Florida but for sure here in TV) is the quality of law enforcement. Many of hail from parts of this country where lawlessness is rampant, and growing. Here in TV, we read about police chases after people who have shoplifted maybe $50 worth of whatever. Back where I come from, such thefts aren't even ordinarily reported, let alone followed-up on, unless the value exceeds $1000, and even if a police report IS taken on such a theft, follow-up action is rare to nonexistent.

We moved here for several reasons: lower taxes, better weather, cheaper standard of living, lower housing costs, you name it. All are as true today as when we first moved here. One thing we DIDN'T expect, but which we appreciate more and more as the parts of the country sink ever-further into lawlessness, is the amount and quality of law enforcement. Back home, I rarely left the house without carrying a pistol. Here, I rarely do. Just haven't felt the need.

Villagers have it pretty good. Often for reasons we don't even much think about.