Surprising Things About Moving to Florida

For those of you that are getting ready to move to Florida or at least planning on it in the near future. Whether you're familiar with the state or not, there may be some surprising things to know about moving to Florida. And, that's exactly what I'm going to talk to you about today. 

All right, some surprising things to know about moving to Florida.

SUNSHINE STATE

Well, first off, let me start off by saying that, yes, Florida is known as the Sunshine State. However, there is not always sunshine. We do have a lot of what we call scattered showers or scattered thunderstorms. So, you could wake up in the morning and have a full day planned out at the beach or picnic or whatever it is you're planning on doing outdoors. And, you check the forecast and it says that there's forecasted to be some rain showers during the day. Don't let that ruin your plans because you could leave the house, get to where you're going where it's sunshine, and once you get all set up, it starts to downpour. Don't worry about it. Just wait a few minutes and it'll pass most likely and you can just carry on about your business. And, there are times where the sun is still out and it's raining. So, that can be a little tricky too, but again, it will still pass and you can carry on about your plans and not let it ruin your day. But either way, it's still the Sunshine State, we're going to have our sunshine one way or another.

COOLER WEATHER

Another surprising thing to know is that, yes, you will probably still need a jacket during the winter. We do have warmer weather throughout the year than most other states. However, it does still get a little chilly here in the wintertime for Floridians. Feel like anything below 50 or 60 you might even feel a little too cool. But then again, a lot of people love it and still wear shorts and flip-flops, even when it drops below 50. Me myself, I don't like to be cold. So, if I have even just the slightest bit of chills, I need to get a sweater on because that can be a little baby when it comes to that. But, during the wintertime you may want to at least have a light jacket or maybe a coat, I think is what they might call him up north. And, sometimes even hard to find if you don't already have a jacket. So, when you feel like, OK the weather is going to drop to the 40s or sometimes even the 30s you might need to have a jacket. It's hard to find in the State of Florida because we're not known to have to stock up on coats. So, if you are lucky enough to be able to find what fits you and what's comfortable enough for the cooler weather. Or, you can just order online and find something that might meet your needs depending on how cold you get. But, yes, it does get a little chilly here in the wintertime, but not exactly to where it's below freezing or whatever, have a lot of snow. Nothing like that. Just be prepared, maybe have something in the back of your closet ready for some cooler weather.

CRAZY WILDLIFE

Another fact that might be surprising to you is that Florida has a lot of crazy wildlife. And no, I'm not talking about those crazy tourists that come to visit. I'm talking about lions and tigers and bears, oh my. Okay, well minus the lions and tigers unless you're at a zoo. However, if you're out and about, you may come across the gators roaming around. You're going to see bears. So, if you do see a bear crossing sign, yes, that is real. You may see some bears if you're in a residential area. You'll still have your chance of seeing bears roaming around. They like to get in your trash can or just be nosy, get into your cars. I've seen it, tons of people uploading their videos from the ring cameras seeing bears. Just being nosy and trying to break into the vehicle or even dig a bitter trash it. So, you will see a lot of that in Florida. You'll also see snakes. I see a lot of people posting online about snakes in their yard and not knowing what it is or if it's poisonous. And then, of course, the community will come together and help that person out to let them know whether they should run or leave it alone or just reach out to someone and have them remove it from their property. But yeah, you don't have to be at the zoo to see some of the wildlife out here in Florida. So, again, don't think that it's all just about the Beach and water. There's some crazy wildlife out there too.

HOUSING PRICE

Now, let's talk about housing. Housing can actually be affordable in a lot of parts of Florida. So, a lot of people may think that there's going to be lots of million-dollar homes, million-dollar condos, yes, that's true. But, there are also lots of more affordable housing that you can find places close to the beach for under $300,000 depending on what you're looking for. There are also places if you feel like you don't need to necessarily be right on the beach or maybe just close proximity or just a short drive. You can find yourself if you have a larger family a three or four-bedroom single-family home for under $300,000 or under may be between three and four hundred. If you need something bigger with more square footage. You may need to look in Crestview or maybe even Milton. They have lots of good housing up there if you don't mind being further away from the beach. Even if you do purchase a property in Destin or Fort Walton Beach somewhere closer to the water, there's still a lot of affordable housing. So, don't think that you have to have millions and millions of dollars to be able to live here in the Sunshine State. It's not all about the bigger, pricier, glamorous places like you may see in the Miami area. But here on the Panhandle, Emerald Coast as you may know it as well, there are a lot of places for you to choose from without really just busting your budget and staying within your comfortable means of living.

NO STATE INCOME TAX 

And, another big surprising thing to know about moving to Florida. For those that don't already know is that there is no state income tax. So, Florida is one of the few states in the US that do not have these state income taxes. Which is another reason that draws a lot of people to Florida, especially those that are looking to start a business or even relocate their business here to Florida. They can make their income go a lot further than many other places in the United States. And, it also is the reason why Flora may have a slightly higher cost of living than the national average. But, it is very well worth it to many people. And, it also gives you more income to be able to enjoy a lot of the adventures that Florida has to offer. So, yep, just know that there's no state income tax. So, that's more money in your pocket and it's really great for businesses as well.

Well, that's all I have for you today, as far as the surprising things to know about moving to Florida. I know there are many more, but I just wanted to give you a few in case you weren't already aware of those. If you have any questions or would like to know more, please feel free to call/text us at 850.320.7757 or email us at Admin@WhittemoreGroupRE.com