Is "people moving out of Florida" becoming a trend?

[raccoon]

This is anecdotal, but in one week I've met two people who've moved from Florida to SC. Both retirees. I know you can't extrapolate from that, but I wonder.

Any thoughts, esp. from Floridians and realtors?

[tyedyeto]

1. After the 'year of the hurricanes'

Arizona saw a number of people who moved here from Florida. Mainly retirees.

[cobalt1999]

2. I wish!

Actually, in some areas in SE Florida, there has been a net migration out. Primarily due to insurance costs, tax costs, and some folks that sold out during the real estate boom.

Overall though, the state is still adding people. I wish we could ban Air Conditioning in the state and get rid of all these people!

[Warpy]

4. I'm old enough to remember Florida without air conditioning

and you're right. Orlando would still be a cow town and the only real settlement would have been along the length of the coast.

[cobalt1999]

10. me too.

I didn't have A/C growing up or while in college. People used to retreat to their porches or go for a walk after dinner and let the house cool off. Now, neighborhoods look like ghost towns with everyone locked inside. It's sad.

[raccoon]

22. Me three. I didn't have AC growing up or in college either.

Not until I was in the working world.

It's nice having AC, but sometimes I sort of miss sitting on the porch or in bed with the windows open, hearing the cicadas and other insects, and the frogs.

[donsu]

43. me four - when I first came to Key West most everything was open air

very little ac

now everything is behind ac and all you hear is the roar of the motors.

[JANdad]

7. Thank you for making me feel welcome!

Just moved here back in Nov from Texas...

Appreciate your comments




Edit for Sp

[flvegan]

8. Welcome to Tampa.

I hope you like Republican bumperstickers. We'll be seeing a lot of them here soon.

[cobalt1999]

11. At this point, welcome one and all.

Just try not to bitch too much that it's not like home...we don't care.

[flvegan]

3. There have been numerous stories about that here, recently

Housing prices, insurance and taxes are driving folks to consider living elsewhere. The projections for the hurricane season aren't good, and if we get any significant damage, insurance costs will only get worse.

[Tennessee Gal]

5. Seems to be a trend in my area.

I work in real estate and we have people in our parking lot with out-of-state tags every day, many from Florida. Also a lot from Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Getting away from hurricanes.

[peacebuzzard]

15. Knoxville is under explosive growth

from out of state new residents. Just met a couple the other day doing the same thing I was, trying to hook up to free wireless. I had a couple of hours to spare, since I missed a flight and drove to the Starbucks across from the airport. I exchanged small talk about the wireless service at Starbucks and they mentioned that they had just relocated to Sevierville, which is a new boom town (foothills of the Smoky Mts) from Orlando. They were lamenting the lack of expedited services however. Apparently the local cable co. was overwhelmed with the new coverage areas and their new residence was without access to high speed. They were frustrated with their loss in business transactions.

The non stop construction and complete devastation of the local green habitat is a daily activity around my particular neighborhood in West Knoxville.
They have blown away so many hilltops of the topsoil, not to mention the trees and wildlife, and have thrown down gravel and grated and cleared the land for the soon to be "new construction" of expansive stick homes with a thin layer of brick on the outside. These homes will then be sold as new construction "brick" sticker price of half a mil. Quite a bargain for someone to relocate to a state with no income tax. Knoxville is becoming quite a congested urban area and the construction, plumbers, builders, electricians are all having a hay day.

I, personally am thinking of moving. But, to where? No place to hide anymore.

[lectrobyte]

19. Sorry to hear that. I grew up in TN, but left due to the job situation,

and hoped to move back for retirement. I guess the Eagles were right -- you call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.

[peacebuzzard]

54. If you haven't been in TN for sometime, you will not recognize the place.

I thought I would retire in my hometown as well but I need to really think that one out.

[Clark2008]

61. Howdy neighbor!!

I live in Knoxville. I'm from here, though. However, my husband and his family are "transplants," but they moved here more than 20 years ago.

I live in Fountain City, which is where I grew up. I couldn't imagine living in West Knoxville. We did, actually, live out there for about five years when I was little, but ours, back then, was one of a few small neighborhoods in the middle of cow pastures. Nothing like the over-paved, over-populated area that side of town has become.

When my husband, who lived in the Bearden/Farragut area upon moving here, and I decided to marry and purchase a house, I talked him into staying in Fountain City where I had my own house because we got twice the house for half the price just by staying on this side of town. Amazing the price differences.

And, we've talked about moving, too, but, with an 8-year-old and a newborn, the only way I'd move to another city now is if I could take my mother. She watches my babies for me while I work. There's no way I'd voluntarily give up "Grandma-care" for daycare. Maybe when the kids get older we'll look at moving, but not now.

[peacebuzzard]

66. Fountain City is like it's own town.

But really, after living here for 18.5 years, it is hard to find anything else in the country that would replace my home. Not so much the house (which needs updating) but I live on just shy of two acres on a hillside, and I could never really purchase that amount of land anywhere else, after suffering the cutbacks at work I just went through.

I have seen your posts before in the Tennessee forum (I haven't been there for awhile!)

[Ganja Ninja]

6. No it's not a trend.

I work in commercial construction and we're going full tilt right now. A lot of people move down here to an area they like and over a few years it grows around them so much that it's not the same. Traffic gets bad, stores get crowded and they decide that it's not laid back enough for them so they move. But the general trend is people are moving into Florida.

[ChiciB1]

56. I've Lived In Florida Since 1971... Moved Here From Tex-ASS...

Traffic is still going "gung ho" where I am, of course they're fixing the roads around me, but this is the "off season" and I commented to my husband the other day that I really don't want to get out and wade through the throngs of people unless I HAVE to!

I live in the Sarasota area, and while real estate has slowed in the past year, I've been here long enough to know that it will return. I have 5-acres for sale now and it's been on the market for a year now. Since I just paid my taxes I will hold out for a couple of years and my home in Nokomis just got bumped up on the appraisal value. I tell my kids, one day this place will be worth close to a million. Bought it back in '84 and it's about a mile from the the beach and very laid back! I like where I live here on the west coast, but would LOVE SOME RAIN!! And since this was a community that was pretty well established we got a "great" deal when we bought back then. Since then the value has gone way way up! In a slump right now, but Florida really never dies!

I will agree it's pretty hot, no winters to speak of, basically only 2 seasons for the most part... Spring & Summer! But I have great access to the Interstate, live just south of Sarasota and north of Venice and can't complain about my region, a small town in Nokomis and most of the growth is on the east side of 41. I live on the west side and even though my home isn't high end, we have a very large lot and houses aren't too close together.

Now if I could just sell my 5-acres I would be in hog-heaven. I figure I can hold out for another 5 years because we bought the land at and extremely low price back in '89 and it's paid for! Just have to pay the inflated taxes, and I will say many of us are raising our deductibles on our homes and cutting back on the coverage of what assets we have in our houses. We only owe about 8 more years on our mortgage, but the taxes and insurance are a really pain. I think that more and more, my area will attract more high end buyers, but it always has. Many movie stars have homes here and my son works for Martina Navratilova and she has 10 homes here now!

I'm not in a panic as long as I can pay the taxes, but would love to sell my investment in North Port! But it's not cheap! I think in time many of the middle class will be pushed to a breaking point though!

The WORST thing about Florida is it's POLITICS and that really gets my goat... very very little turn out on any action groups and I don't like that. Usually I end up attending them by myself because most of the Democratic Associations do a lot of "talking" or refer you to yet another group who wants to talk some more or refer you to yet another group. THIS does piss me off a LOT!!

[Ganja Ninja]

59. I moved down from Michigan back in 88.

The growth since that time has been phenomenal. I remember how you would have to drive for miles in from I75 to get to Ft. Myers and there was nothing but forest. Now it's all developed and even going east of I75. A good friend of mine bought a house down there about 3 years ago and can't stand the traffic. He's selling and moving up to the Dunellon/Crystal River area.

[ChiciB1]

64. It's Growing Up There Too! My Mother-in-Law's Place Is Right

outside of Inverness and that place has really grown. That's where I lived when I first moved here. She now has severe Alzheimer's and has been living with us for 8 years now, but when she passes I myself want to sell her place... unfortunately my husband doesn't! I'm not very crazy about that place, lots and lots of old folks and a little too "country" for me. Her place is on the Psala Apopka River, which right now seems to be drying around her sea wall!

Lots of gators in that place, but I've spent many many days water skiing, and lots of other water sports. I know one thing for sure... unless one of the THREE places is sold, we AREN'T going to be able to afford them! He says he won't sell her place, I say I'm NOT moving there... sooooooo wonder what THAT means???

Ha! Ha! But not so funny in reality!

[bluedog]

9. yes,"Sunshine doesn't pay the bills"

SUNSHINE DOESN'T PAY THE BILLS




St. Petersburg Times - St. Petersburg, Fla.
Author: DAN DEWITT
Date: Jun 11, 2007


The bottom line

Whatever the extent of the shifting migration, the root cause is money, most analysts and demographers say: Florida didn't lose its allure; it became too expensive to compete with other Southern states.So it is across the state. Squeezed by rising property taxes and homeowners insurance rates, and frustrated by crowded roads and schools, increasing numbers of residents are moving from Florida, which since World War II has been one of America's favorite states to move to. To be sure, Florida remains a strong lure, particularly for retirees, but evidence is mounting that the migration boom it experienced in the first half of the decade is over:

- Public school enrollment, expected to climb by nearly 49,000 students last school year, dropped by 3,571, the first decline in 24 years.

- The number of Florida drivers seeking licenses in other states has increased since 2005, while the number of out-of-state drivers moving to Florida has fallen.

- Three of the nation's largest van lines moved more customers out of the state than into it last year, reversing a decades-long trend.


more
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/sptimes/access/1286034301.html?dids=1286034301:1286034301&FMT=FT&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jun+11%2C+2007&author=DAN+DEWITT&pub=St.+Petersburg+Times&edition=&startpage=1.A&desc=SUNSHINE+DOESN%27T+PAY+THE+BILLS

[Freddie Stubbs]

12. Last year there were more people moving to other states from Florida than

moving from other states to Florida. But the population still increased significantly due to foreign immigration and the birth rate.

[graywarrior]

13. We're leaving in droves.

I've talked to more people who "hate fucking Florida."

[wakeme2008]

16. Soon to be one of them

:)

[graywarrior]

21. I can't wait. I'm leaving a long trail of dust....kinda like Roadrunner.

[wakeme2008]

14. I am moving to mid-state California after my railroad contract in Va

I have not worked much in Tampa area in 20 years. It does not pay IT people. No longer have relatives there so, I am moving to a state I can work in and not spend my life flying "home".

[Malikshah]

17. Rising COL, Stagnant wages, Backward thinking, Banana Republic

What's not to love?

Wish my partner and I could leave...

[lectrobyte]

18. I would say so -- my brother in law had retired there from the Northeast,

and has now moved to one of the inbetween states due to the inability to get insurance on his place after the hurricanes. Another friend's father had retired to Boca, but has now just moved to the N. Georgia mountains. Anecdotal, but seems to be happening in at least two cases. If I'm able to retire ever, I hope to be in KY or TN myself.

[Samurai_Writer]

20. I moved from Florida about 18 months ago

Between dealing with 8 hurricanes in one year, the ultra-conservative area I was in which was filled with shallow, materialistic people, bigots, racists, and homophobes, the fact that the only thing to do was go to the beach (that got old real fast), and that I had no family or friends nearby, I was determined to get out of that hellhole (Saint Lucie County).

I am SO much better off in Boulder, Colorado. I'm healthier, happier, financially in better shape, and close to family, and have made some great friends. I hopefully will live here the rest of my life!

[teenagebambam]

23. Am considering a move right now

after only a year. The final straw was when I was offered a position as A DIRECTOR OF A MUSEUM for $7.00 an hour. What someone said above about stagnant wages is no joke. There are lots of fancy houses where I live (Jacksonville), I'd love to know what people do to be able to afford them.

[raccoon]

25. I am shocked--shocked--

"as A DIRECTOR OF A MUSEUM for $7.00 an hour. "

I'd heard the pay was low there, but c'mon...

[ChiciB1]

57. Pay IS Low Here, Better In S. Pete... But The Rich LIKE to Keep Their

money and don't like to pay out on labor. When we had those 5 back in 2005, they came close to my place, but we seem to have some sort of buffer. There's the Gulf of Mexico, and then it has to travel across the Intra-coastal for a major hit. We were supposed to get hit by Charlie, but it ran further south into Port Charlotte. I don't want to jinx myself, but I have yet to see any major hit in all the years I've lived in my area!

Just power outages, and high winds that throw debris all around, clean-up is a bitch but it's great for landscapers! And very little rain when this area has a hurricane and I've NEVER been flooded in ANY way!

So, now that I said that... 2007 may prove me wrong and put the super JINX on me!!

My husband is a native and I doubt I will ever leave! But I do want to travel and see some COLD weather sometime!

[ellenfl]

36. "I'd love to know what people do to be able to afford them."

they get bush tax cuts. i am a real estate paralegal and have been amazed at the multi-million dollar second homes that have been purchased here, for cash, since the bonehead (and his brother) took office.

i doubt if i will die here, even though i have lived in florida for 40+ years, off and on. it's too friggin' hot.

ellen fl

[RaleighNCDUer]

42. As a museum employee, I have to ask --

what was it? International Museum of Roller Skates? $7.00/hr???

[july302001]

55. That's a JOKE

That offer was truly a JOKE. "Director" of the museum at $7.00/h??!

I don't earn THAT much more than $7.00/h (I earn between $9 and $10) but I don't "direct" ANYTHING. I'm in the Southeast and I do blue-collar work with no clients or customer service presentation required.

[William769]

24. My house is up for sale in S.W. Florida.

When it's sold, I'm outta here!

[InvisibleTouch]

34. Check your PM.

I'm looking to move there.

I'd be thrilled and delighted to trade 9 months of cold weather for the occasional hurricane watch.

[mnhtnbb]

37. Foreclosures are WAY up in FL. You may want to look at lists of foreclosure properties

[InvisibleTouch]

44. Good idea, thanks! n/t

[TwilightGardener]

26. I lived there for two years (Tampa)--

couldn't wait to leave. Hated it. The new "in" place for Yankees to relocate seems to be North Carolina or Tennessee--a little more moderate temps, not yet as crowded.

[mnhtnbb]

40. I'll verify that. We're getting a fair number of retirees to NC from FL

[raccoon]

45. Is this in western NC? nt

[mnhtnbb]

53. All over NC from articles I've seen. Here's one about the effect on Raleigh

which cites transplants from New York, New Jersey, Florida , California and mid-Atlantic states.


http://www.newsobserver.com/news/wake/story/452983.html

[raccoon]

58. This paragraph sounds like Greenville, SC,

"Raleigh's hot spots of growth, spurred by jobs and an influx of young families and retirees, cluster around massive subdivisions at the city's expanding edges. Thousands of single-family homes and townhouses have added to the population.."

I don't know about all the jobs being created in Greenville, but somebody must be buying all these houses/townhomes.

[mnhtnbb]

65. Job market has been excellent in Raleigh. Real estate market

has slowed some, added some inventory, but not depressed with huge price
declines like some areas of the country.

[glowing]

27. I think so... I'm hoping to get a house out of this mass exodous...

Unfortunately, because of my step-son, we can't move...at least not yet anyway. So, I'll have to appreciate, 60hr weeks and nothing to show for it.

I wonder too, how those fancy, nice homes are paid for. They seem really wasteful. Big large windows... 1/2 the time I close the blinds in the summer to save on electric, I couldn't imagine the electric bill in those mini-mansions.

[rox63]

28. I know our weather sucks compared to Florida

But the bluest state in the country (Massachusetts, where I live) needs people to move here. We are losing population, and we may end up losing congressional seats because of it. We have an all-Dem congressional delegation, and our state legislature is 85% Dem. And at least for now, same-sex marriage is legal here.

With global warming on the rise, our winters are starting to get milder. Yeah, we get some snow, but it's not nearly as bad as it was when I was growing up. And even though housing prices are high, so is the wage scale. So maybe some of the refugees from other parts of the country should consider moving to the liberal oasis that is the northeast.

[zanne]

29. We need you in New Hampshire!

Cold winters, but hey, we have to stop NH from becoming a Libertarian refuge. If you live in Manchester and surroundings, you can commute to Boston!

[Silent3]

33. Manchester to Boston commute!?

I live in NH, and work in NH. The idea of commuting from Manchester to Boston sends chills down my spine. I just don't know how people live like that. I can't see spending 4-5 hours a day, day after day, commuting to work. That's the equivalent of sitting behind the wheel in traffic for one and half months of 24 hour days every year.

I've worked in MA before, but during the longest stretch -- seven years working in Cambridge -- I telecommuted most of the time, while living in Nashua.

[zanne]

35. I know people who've been doing it for years.

It's only 60 miles.

[Silent3]

47. Oh, I know lots of people do it...

...I just plain don't understand it.

"Only" 60 miles? Even under optimum driving conditions, that's more than one hour each way -- and commute-time driving into the Boston area seldom anywhere close to optimal. Even two hours, and more like four hours with typical bad traffic, is way too much of your day, way too much of your life to give up. I can understand it as something to put up with for a brief transitional time, for some special opportunity, but simply accepting that as normal and settling into as an ongoing way of life escapes me.

I could only have that forced upon me by pressing economic circumstances, and I'd be constantly searching for an escape.

[zanne]

51. I guess the job would have to be worth it. nt

[raccoon]

50. Any commuter trains these people can take?

I knew people when I was a kid who would drive 60 miles to work. Most of them carpooled. But this was 60 miles over mostly country roads. Over roads that were heavily congested, that would be rough.

[rox63]

52. I live in MA and work in MA

My commute is less than 4 miles each way. :)

[AspenRose]

46. My FIL used to commute from Manchester to Lawrence MA

before he moved to Concord.

[windbreeze]

63. Cold? you say cold??...Visited NH in January 2004....temp....-16 going down to -20 at night

Loved it...your state motto...."Live Free or Die"...it is all over my refrigerator at home in Wash state...I could move there in a heartbeat, and love every minute of it...all the snow was beautiful to me(I was born & raised in Pa)
windbreeze

[ellenfl]

39. i plan to retire in mass. my bf owns his family home (with

his siblings) and i told him we would sell my condo and go live with his sister in worcester. he wanted to know how i would deal with shoveling snow and i told him that i wouldn't have to . . . i'd be retired! ;-)

ellen fl

[rox63]

48. Update: Same-sex marriage ban defeated in Mass today!

So gay marriage will remain legal here for the forseeable future:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/city_region/breaking_news/2007/06/legislators_vot.html

:D :party: :toast: :bounce: :woohoo:

[watercolors]

30. Insurance rates have many leaving

Also taxes. I think Gov. Grist has taken on the wrong battle, it should be insurance rates that need to be changed. When you have your rates doubled or tripled, we went from $1200 to over $3000 and have never had a claim, and a relatively new house, not on the coast, its a huge jump! Many people are retired and cannot afford this type of increase. We have thought about a move also!

[NewJeffCT]

60. My parents have a condo in SW Florida and are having trouble even finding insurance

They've had the condo for over 10 years now... it's fully paid off. But, the woman that owned the condo above them did not replace her hot water heater when recommended - the thing broke and it flooded my parents' condo and caused a good $10K in damages. Their insurance dropped them, even though it was not their fault. And, now they are having problems even finding insurance.

[AllexxisF1]

31. Take it from me...

I live in beautiful Palm City on the Treasure Coast of Florida and I work as the I.T. Administrator for a large cement tile roof manufacturer. So believe me when I say that more people have moved out of Florida than are currently moving in. For the first time in this state's history that has ever happened. What really is driving people not to move here or force them out is the insurance and property taxes.

Homeowners insurance has literally tripled for everyone here to the point where you pay more a month for insurance than what actually go's toward your principle on the mortgage.

The property taxes where really just a miscalculation to which the State Government just frankly went overboard and they know it. That is why we should be seeing tax relief literally any day now when the measure is past.

As for the Hurricane's, I moved to the Treasure Coast in 2004 and have been through 5 hurricanes in my life. The first real one was in Northern Virginia a few months before I moved to Florida lol. Yes the damage from Francis was bad, but in all honesty half the crap that fell should have not been up in the first place. Anything a catagory 3 or below really is'nt that big of deal because the people here know how to deal with it.

But at the same time people moving to Tennessee and such are getting a rude awakening when they realize that Tornado's don't have a 5 day warnings. Like a friend of mine who moved to Tennesse instead of Florida to retire. Only to find his wife and himself stuck underneath the rubble of his new estate ranch home for three days before being rescued. Yea they promptly moved to Florida because you can at least see a Hurricane coming.

Right now the Treasure Coast is just like Fairfax Virginia in the early 1990's, on the cusp of some really great growth. It's beautiful here and I love it.

[never_get_over_it]

67. I moved from Fairlax County

in Fall of 2004 - so tell me how are the people and the politics down in Palm City because up here in Brevard they suck and I wouldn't compare this place to Fairfax County under any circumstances - people here are racist, stupid, unfriendly and did I mention STUPID

My home insurance has doubled to $3,600 and I have never made a claim - my property tax is way up - I love being near the ocean, love my house actually do love the weather - but other than that this place SUCKS.....

[lies and propaganda]

32. i hear theyre all running from droves in Ohio too...

living with Election Fraud aint easy !

[gollygee]

38. My parents say one more year like last year and they're outta there

Homeowners insurance is really expensive, in addition to the more direct problems of hurricanes.

[WinkyDink]

41. Anybody know anything about Cape Coral?

[karlrschneider]

49. My partner and I moved away 10 years ago. I lived in Tampa for 16 years

and he was born & raised there. I don't hate FL or anything but have to say there isn't much that we miss.

[conspirator]

62. everything is cyclic. Florida will come back in the future nt