Moving to Florida -AFFORDABILITY should not stop you [Here is Why]

So, as we have all noticed, things are getting pretty expensive these days. However, many people are still looking to relocate and also still want to move to Florida. So, if you're looking to move to Florida and affordability is a huge concern, well, let me tell you why affordability should not stop you.

Alright. So, moving to Florida, why affordability should not stop you. So, here's a few reasons why.

COST OF LIVING

So first, you definitely need to research the cost of living. The cost of living in Florida may be different from wherever you are currently living or wherever that you're used to. So, you definitely want to look into that just to make sure that wherever you plan to relocate or wherever you desire to relocate is still within your budget. You want to evaluate what your family income is. Whether if it's just yourself or a spouse or any other family member that you share a household with. Just kind of put the numbers together or just lay everything out, maybe spreadsheets just to see what kind of expenses you guys have. And once you have those numbers worked out, just kind of look at the cost of living in the area where you're looking to relocate to. You want to look at the housing market, definitely especially with that being a seller's market, a lot of these prices are still very high for most people. The interest rates are going up. So you kind of want to do your research on that. You want to look at the cost of utilities. Gas, if you plan on being on the road a lot. You might want to calculate how much you might need to or how often you need to fill up your tank since gas prices are going up also as everything else. And maybe health care expenses, anything that you think would play a huge role into your monthly expenses. Make sure you lay all that out. Just have everything in front of you so you can work out your numbers and make sure that you are making the right decisions. And when you do make the move, you are not going to put yourself into a hole, but you're going to end up having to dig self out of. So make sure you do your research on the cost of living just to make sure that you and your family are comfortable with that next move.

MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS

Also, what you would probably need to do is maybe make adjustments to your expectations. So, if you are looking for a place to live and you have this full checklist, of what you would want in your next home. You might want to kind of price that out, maybe look at homes that do have everything you're looking for and see if that is actually in your budget. If it's not, don't try and just force yourself to put an offer and try and purchase that home anyway. I could get you in a better situation later on. So, make little tweaks to your checklist on what you're looking for in a home. You might want to say, do you really have to have the swimming pool or is it something you can probably just add on later if the home doesn't have a pool, but has a lot of other items that you're looking for. Do you really need the fire pit? Do you really need to have screened-in porch or deck? Do you really need that extra large space in the yard for, you know, your kids and pets whatever you may have. Do you need the workshop? Do you need the shed? So, all those little extras that a home would come with. If you're seeing that homes that do include all of those items, but it's out of your price range. You might want to make adjustments and just really see, of course, talk to your family about it too. See what it is that you can really actually live without and maybe things that you can add on to your home later just so you can stay within your budget at first. So, just make sure that you kind of reevaluate that situation too as far as what you're looking for, that way you are shopping for homes or maybe even places to rent that still within your budget.

Which also leads me into telling you to live in a place that you know you can afford. I know a lot of people may have big dreams to live in areas. That might be they see on TV or they see or you have family and friends that live in an area, but it's how cost of living is just outrageous and just not ideal for their financial situation or for your financial situation. So when you're looking for a place, just make sure that the community is something, you know, within your budget. I know there's places that have the HOA fees. Make sure that when you do your calculations and on top of your monthly mortgage payments, make sure you're able to include the extra expenses of paying for the HOA fees. You might want to, if you're looking for a place that's maybe in a gated community or a waterfront property or beachfront or maybe somewhere on a golf course or really just anything that's more on the luxurious side. It may not fit your budget. You're going to find some places that may have, that might be located in areas like that if you want beachfront or waterfront. However, again, don't try and pressure yourself to make that move. If it's something that you are not able to afford. I know some people just have again higher expectations, but you might need to adjust that down a little bit. Just to make sure that you are able to afford the area that you're living in. You might think maybe, you don't necessarily have to live in a gated community. You can do your research just to make sure that the area is still safe. There's a lot of people that want beachfront properties. I have worked with buyers that were looking for beachfront. However, the prices were much higher than what they were comfortable with. So, I maybe recommended, maybe not the beach, but some sort of waterfront, maybe on the sound or on the bay or a little lake or creek. So, I've just started allowing them to explore other options that where they still have a nice water view from their home and it worked out. The price point was a little bit lower than beachfront properties. So again, just kind of looking to see what your budget is and make sure that you're going to move into a place that you can afford from now until however long you do plan on staying in that area.

LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS

Another thing to be mindful of is to make sure you're living within your means whenever you do relocate and you're settled. You want to find ways to kind of save money, but still don't just lock yourself up in your house and avoid going out to avoid spending money. You can just, for example, maybe avoid having frequent or taking frequent vacations. Maybe you don't necessarily need to go on a vacation every two or three months. Maybe just a couple times a year, or maybe even once a year, one big huge trip for the family or whatever however you guys want to plan that out. But, if it's getting pretty expensive these days, so again, you might maybe you are used to traveling a lot to maybe tone that down a little bit just to save some money or find other ways to make your trips a little cheaper. You know, your plane tickets are too expensive, maybe look at a road trip. Just keep an eye on the gas prices. You also want to kind of ease up on your shopping spree if you're a shopaholic. Some people just kind of have that itch to go shopping whether they need something or not. I'm kind of guilty of it. So, I'm not going to tie that. There's a lot of times where I just feel like I just want to get something new, but I don't necessarily need something new. So, shopping sprees might not be ideal if you're kind of into living on a budget, and you want to watch what you're spending. Maybe you have kids that's you're getting ready to put off to college, and you're going to help them. Whatever your situation may be, so it just kind of ease up on buying a lot of things that you really don't need, whether if it's clothing or items for your home, things to put out side and decorate. If it's really not necessary, then it just more money that you can save in your pocket. You also kind of consider fine dining as well. You might be one which is, just fine taste. Want to only eat out at fine dining restaurants and where they have expensive plates, maybe like fifty, sixty dollars steaks and then lobsters. However, you don't necessarily have to go to a restaurant that charges that much money for a good piece of steak. You can find areas maybe even locally owned places that still serve the foods that you like at a lower price point, more affordable for you. So, you might want to reconsider that too. You don't absolutely have to go to the most expensive restaurants around. There's plenty of other businesses, restaurants that would definitely have what you like on their menu. If there's a lot of places you haven't tried for, so this would be a great time to go out and explore.

You also don't want to purchase vehicles that are way out of your price range as well. So again, when it comes to living within your means and just say you have an eye out for Maserati's or Porche's or Ferraris, but it's really just not ideal for your pockets or your bank account. So, just that's another thing to keep in mind. Make sure that you do need a new vehicle, make sure it's more appropriate for your situation or your family. Maybe you have three, four kids and getting a two seater wouldn't be the best option as far as the vehicle. So, just make sure you find something that's still affordable, but something that can accommodate your whole family as well if you do have family to consider. However, if you're single or maybe it's just you and her spouse, you don't have to have, like, the most expensive vehicle on the lot to be happy. I'm sure you'll be able to find something completely awesome that's more within your price range. That's just a little something to keep in mind too. As far as living within your means, just make sure when you shop, just shop reasonably and just don't overdo it.

PARTICIPATE IN AFFORDABLE ACTIVITIES

Now, another way to enjoy life and be able to afford a fun exciting life is to participate in affordable activities. Here in Florida, we have lots of things to do that won't cost an arm and a leg in your first born. You can go to the beach. There's no charge for the beach. Some places maybe around Florida will have a a parking fee or you have to pay for public parking. You can go to a park, just enjoy time with your kids or your family or find dog parks and just hang out with your furry loved ones out there. Go to group outings. Maybe you could find some where they have a package for larger groups. That way everyone can chip in and enjoy a good time out. You can go to festivals. There are festivals you could just pay a little flat fee, a flat rate to wherever they charge you. You could just walk around and have a great time. Maybe they'll provide a wristband that shows that you paid us, you know, for a certain package and allows you to have a great time without just constantly handing out money wherever you go. You kind of already paid for whatever package you got. So, you're just kind of still staying within a certain number without overspending. But there's still lots of things for you to do activities that's not going to cost a lot of money. I don't believe that having fun with family should have a price tag on it. But again, with everything that's going on these days, I know there's a lot of issues with prices going up, and it might be out of a lot of families' budget. So, just think about all the fun activities that you can do without paying so much money for it.

Alright. Well, that's all I have today on, if you're looking to move to the Florida area and why affordability should not stop you. There's still ways to get around the high expenses, if that's what's scaring you and kind of making you hesitant to relocating here. But if you have any questions or want to know more, please feel free to call/text us at 850.320.7757 or email us at Admin@WhittemoreGroupRE.com