RFI: Moving to Florida ?

[Andy T]

I am currently freezing my hands at the North East and thinking of moving to FL. I am not married and have no kids, so schools are irrelevant. I am looking at single family house or something like a two family if my folks ever want to move down or visit me.
The only "must have" is a pool. A bonus would be relatively close (~20 minutes by car or walking distance) to the ocean. Unfortunately I don't know much about FL's areas. I prefer "populated" suburbia and would rather being smack in the center of a city.
Another question: a lot of Redfin listings have HOA fee even for a single houses. Can one get a house without HOA? What does HOA do for you?

[RJ]

What is the lowest winter temperature you’d prefer? Same for the highest summer temp?

This will help guide you on the location, in terms of North/South of what you are looking at. Oranges generally only grow below the frost line, which is more or less along the latitude of Tampa/Orlando/Cocoa Beach.

[Andy T]

I haven't considered temperature. I would say around 85F max for 80% of the time in the summer would be ideal, but I can deal with more for a better location. For winter it can be as low as 50F for most of the time.

[Inkwell 41]

I am currently freezing my hands at the North East and thinking of moving to FL. I am not married and have no kids, so schools are irrelevant. I am looking at single family house or something like a two family if my folks ever want to move down or visit me.
The only "must have" is a pool. A bonus would be relatively close (~20 minutes by car or walking distance) to the ocean. Unfortunately I don't know much about FL's areas. I prefer "populated" suburbia and would rather being smack in the center of a city.
Another question: a lot of Redfin listings have HOA fee even for a single houses. Can one get a house without HOA? What does HOA do for you?

Take a look at Southwest Florida, Lee, Charlotte and Collier counties. The area is generally quite conservative. Lot’s of neighborhoods that are not gated communities and therefore no HOA. Lot’s of homes with pools too. Not far from the Gulf either, so boating or fishing is easy. Golf, if you’re one of those people, lots of courses in the area. Sanibel and Captiva Islands are very nice all year round. Down sides... at or near sea level so some potential vulnerability to hurricane storm surge, inland is better but not as nice as the more coastal areas. Indoor shooting ranges are very expensive, shooting outside in the summer can be unpleasant with temperatures in the upper 90’s and 90%+ humidity. Snowbirds cause headaches from January through April(started earlier this year due to china virus). Much of the population is elderly and many still drive, even though they shouldn’t. Employment in primarily hospitality industry as it’s a tourist destination.

I was typing this when RJ replied. If 85* and 80% are your upper limits, forget SWFL.

[RJ]

I haven't considered temperature. I would say around 85F max for 80% of the time in the summer would be ideal, but I can deal with more for a better location. For winter it can be as low as 50F for most of the time.

Try San Diego?

Kidding...kinda. I don’t know anywhere in FL that’s warmer than 50 in the winter but around 85 in the summer.

The Panhandle gets pretty cold, easily freezing, in the winter (my wife used to live in Fort Walton Beach,). Heck, Ocala last week (I have family there) was in the high 30s.

Summer here in Tampa is easily above 90 for weeks and weeks in June/July/Aug...and the humidity is like a sponge.

Honest question: have you ever been to Florida? If so where?

[Andy T]

I pulled the temperature ranges out of thin air...
I visited Florida a number of times:
May in South Beach and November in FLL. Even in November it was beach weather.

Try San Diego?

Kidding...kinda. I don’t know anywhere in FL that’s warmer than 50 in the winter but around 85 in the summer.

The Panhandle gets pretty cold, easily freezing, in the winter (my wife used to live in Fort Walton Beach,). Heck, Ocala last week (I have family there) was in the high 30s.

Summer here in Tampa is easily above 90 for weeks and weeks in June/July/Aug...and the humidity is like a sponge.

Honest question: have you ever been to Florida? If so where?

[HeavyDuty]

I seriously considered moving near my best friend when I was rebooting; she’s in Gulfport, just south of St Pete right on the water. Watching the summer temps and humidity levels cured me of that pretty quick.

[olstyn]

Summer here in Tampa is easily above 90 for weeks and weeks in June/July/Aug...and the humidity is like a sponge.

Yeah I really can't see myself ever moving down there. The constant high humidity would drive me nuts. I guess it's nice enough in the winter, but the other three seasons seem problematic to me. My in-laws live down there, and there's a significant part of the summer where my father in law just gives up on attending SASS matches because it's too hot/humid. Rationally, I get that it's not really that different than having essentially no outdoor matches up here from mid October until sometime in March or April, but it just seems wrong to me.

[RoyGBiv]

I lived in Tampa for a year and change. Summers weren't too bad, honestly. During the hottest part of the day I was inside at work or in the pool. It would rain often in the afternoon and cool things off. Most summer nights were pleasant enough. The summer heat was more than made up for by the warm winters. The occasional cold was infrequent and short lived. Orlando, far enough from the ocean for water temperature to provide moderation, is brutally hot and wet. Tampa was not. I imagine most of the coastal towns around the middle of FL would be reasonable weather wise, with the correct expectations.

I also lived and worked in New Orleans for a while. That town is OMG hot and humid. No thanks!

[Jim Watson]

I have friends in Tampa area.
I once spent a couple of months there convalescing from The Incident and thought it comfortable but
A. It was March-April and
B. I am from Alabama.

Other visits were either comfortable or see B above.

Other friends relocated to Boca Raton a few years ago. I have not been there, but have not heard them to complain about the weather. See B above.

Anecdote Alert:
I had a college classmate from Labelle, south inland Florida. That first winter quarter in Atlanta, he put a dish of water on his window ledge to see naturally formed ice for the first time.