I have to consider leaving NJ and I need the PF hive mind's input...

[RJ]

Wow! Thank you so much for this detail. I will be digging in and sending questions back or pm'n you if that's okay. TUVM!

Absolutely.

Questions in this thread might be preferable since others in FL can chime in. Of course if there’s something you rather PM about, no problem at all.

We spent 2016 to 2018 touring the US in an RV looking for a place to live and came back to FL, so that says something I guess lol. Texas was my pick; my psyche strongly resonates with story of Tejas’ independence. Plus BBQ of course. . But in the end it ended up being the warmer consistent year round FL weather for us (less the odd hurricane, obviously) and zero State income tax, being retirees on a fixed income.

[JTQ]

I live in Pensacola, retired USAF, and my oldest daughter lives in St. Petersburg, and my father-in-law lives in Naples and we've made the trip to visit both many times. It could be because we are used to it, but I much prefer where I am to the Tampa/St. Pete/Ft. Myers/Naples area. Man, there are a lot of people and cars down there. Pretty much anything south of Gainesville on I-75 always feels like an unregulated NASCAR event to me. Lots of drafting, passing, and lane changing. If you're leaving NJ that may not be a big deal for you, and I'm not trying to start a business where I need to have a bunch of customers, but it's not my cup of tea, anymore at least.

The Panhandle fun fact is most of it is in Central Time Zone, and with all the military and rural voters, is a pretty solid conservative stronghold. We arrived here in 2000, just in time for Bush v Gore. Watching the national news experts call the race for Gore and seeing nearly all of them had no understanding of the time zone and polling hour differences and the electoral make-up of the Panhandle was quite interesting.

Winter is much cooler on the Panhandle than down south, though. In the winter, it usually doesn't snow, but it does often get into the 20's and has been into the teen's since we've been here, though normal winter cold is in the 40's. We get a lot of hurricane action, just like the rest of the state. I-10 runs through the Panhandle and most of the area north of I-10 is rural farm land, while south of I-10, at least the most western portion in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton counties is military/beach communities. The area east of Walton County to Tallahassee is covered mostly by pine forests.

[HCM]

OP is making the move just in time:

https://midjersey.news/2020/09/06/nj...7MqT7EMaRyJP0Q

WOODBRIDGE – SEWAREN, NJ (MIDDLESEX)–The New Jersey Turnpike Authority has removed American Flags from bridges along the highway recently. The flags were replaced with signage that reads, “Placement of signage or items of any nature on this structure is strictly prohibited.” Many American Flags have been placed on bridges after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Many people including veterans, police and other organizations have been maintaining these flags on bridges since the attacks.

[BaiHu]

OP is making the move just in time:

https://midjersey.news/2020/09/06/nj...7MqT7EMaRyJP0Q

Note: I mean to reply to your post
I'm not even sure if I can move yet, but I need to get as much info as possible so when I do need to go, then I can run like Harriet Tubman to a safe haven I've already set up ahead of time.

[Paul D]

Some of my patients have told me they had to pay some type of "exit tax" when they moved from NJ to AZ. Is that a real tax?

[TGS]

Some of my patients have told me they had to pay some type of "exit tax" when they moved from NJ to AZ. Is that a real tax?

Kind of yes, kind of no. It's a pre-payment on the tax of selling your home prior to moving out of state, if you owned one.

https://www.nj.com/advice/2019/10/se...tax-works.html