Florida residents, How do you cope this time of year?

[Sugarcubesea]

I grew up in upstate NY and have lived in SW FL for almost 10 years now. Summer heat is no joke but everyplace you go is air conditioned. We tend to take our vacations during the summer and go to the NE or out West. Not having to shovel or deal with snow is a nice trade off. Winter traffic in Naples gets worse and worse each year. There are so many accidents here its crazy. As far as hurricanes go the good thing is there is a warning. You just have to be prepared. After Irma we learned a lot about what we need to do next time to be better prepared. I don't love living in FL, I think I would like to live out West however we have lots of family that are snowbirds and that is what is keeping us here right now.

I will most likely retire in Naples or Bonita Springs as I have a ton of family and friends that live in that area and I hate winter and I will deal with the hurricane season each year

 

[billymach4]

No mosquito's either in Idaho.

 

[Passepartout]

No mosquito's either in Idaho.

Not very many anyway. They hate winter and snow and dry air, so they go the hot, humid Midwest, East and Florida.

 

[billymach4]

Yeah they love the east. Been in East Idaho since June. Came back to the east and got chewed up on my ankles after 5 minutes in the dark.

 

[WinniWoman]

I have lived in Florida for 45 years, which is most of my life! I have seen several storms over the years, most will pass you by without affect. During Irma in 2017 I lost power for a while, which wasn't fun. I have to say that I do try to limit out of state traveling during the active portion of the storm season (mid August - mid October) so that I can be on top of things here if something develops.

I am the same here in NY in the winter. I don't like leaving our house in winter because I feel too many things can go wrong. The most we do is a few days at XMAS time- and where do we go? New Hampshire! LOL!

 

[WinniWoman]

I think you all answered your own question, you travel. Just like people up north go away during the winter, Floridians go away during hurricane season.
You make light of snow and ice, but after living in the north for sixty years and having to drive on treacherous roads, and falling and breaking bones, and hearing about heart attacks when shoveling snow, I am glad to be gone. There is hot and humid weather in many states during the summer, and most of those states have income tax.

I get it.

The great thing is once you are retired- no need to have to drive in it or walk in it. Just stay indoors until the roads are plowed and /or it melts.

Of course, in an emergency where you absolutely have to go out, it could be an issue.

We rarely, if ever, go away in the winter. We stay home and buckle down.

 

[WinniWoman]

I love visiting Florida. Have even considered moving there permanently. I have friends and family who do. Ultimately decided no because I do not want to have to deal with leaving to safer places when the hurricane threat occurs. At my age now, it would be doable but thinking as I get older it can become an issue.

So South Carolina, inland, close to Charlotte NC has been the best alternative. Hurricanes do not impact us like the coast, tornados rare, winters mild and if the rare snow or ice occurs gone in a day or two at the most, housing affordable, real estate taxes low, conveniences galore, good medical choices, near major transportation, and for me midway beware NY and Fl both that I travel to often.

I go to Florida in the “winter” weeks but truthfully if I didn’t go it really isn’t that cold here. In the summer I go up to NY and the Jersey shore, Maine too as the summers here are hot and humid.

Being I have lived in snowy cold icy climates I prefer the hotter humid summers.

That said, my friends and family love living in Florida and consider the hotter weather and hurricane threats the inconvenience of living in a great area. They are staying.

Yes- I think the Carolinas or even Virginia are nicer alternatives to Florida.

 

[bluehende]

Color me dazed and confused, too! If there haven't been major hurricanes in a long time, how is it that they are more frequent or stronger?

Easy answer is that FL is not the only place hurricanes hit. Talk to the people on the Gulf Coast.

 

[geist1223]

SIL and BIL retired from the D.C. Area to Melbourne Beach Florida. After several good years without any hurricanes they have had to evacuate 3 years in a row. They are done with Florida. As soon as he has recovered from his total knee revision they will be moving to western South Carolina or North Carolina.

 

[billymach4]

Easy answer is that FL is not the only place hurricanes hit. Talk to the people on the Gulf Coast.

Yeah BUT.... It sticks out like a giant land mass in the path of so many major disastrous hurricanes. All of the east coast is prone to this risk. However most of the time Florida gets it lately every season.

 

[billymach4]

SIL and BIL retired from the D.C. Area to Melbourne Beach Florida. After several good years without any hurricanes they have had to evacuate 3 years in a row. They are done with Florida. As soon as he has recovered from his total knee revision they will be moving to western South Carolina or North Carolina.[/QUOTE

would love to know statistically how many people are moving out of Florida due to the hurricane scare. While I think Florida will always attract people, there has to be a segment of the population that has to think about it just like I am andsome of you folks. at some point the insurance companies are just going to raise their rates to the point where it's just not feasible to live there anymore. Or they will stop writing policies all together.

 

[Luanne]

My younger dd attended college in Florida (St. Petersburg) from 2009 through 2014. They built several days each year into the school schedule for "hurricane evacuation". Luckily for her they never had to use that while she was there. If they didn't use it the students got a few extra days off in October. The only time they have evacuated since dd left looks like in 2017 for Irma.

 

[clifffaith]

Every year at this time we say "we'll take the occasional early morning earthquake wake up call any day over hurricanes". We are having a multi-day bout of very rare humidity. I have what I'd call "normal hair" -- but this week I am all frizzed out! We have two reasons for sleeping in the casita this week -- less electricity to just run the a/c out there rather than turn the main house a/c on and trying the starvation method with our bird mites.

 

[Brett]

Yes- I think the Carolinas or even Virginia are nicer alternatives to Florida.

I think so too - but I live in Virginia. I will say Florida is great in the winter months

 

[Luanne]

As I've already stated, I'm not a huge fan of Florida. I've been there enough times that I really don't feel the need to go back. But..........my bff just moved there, after being burned out in the Paradise Camp Fire in California. She moved to be close to her daughter (and sil and grandsons) who live there. So I will go back to Florida, just to visit her. Oh yeah, after being evacuated for the Camp Fire, she was evacuated for Dorian. Poor thing can't seem to catch a break.

 

[WVBaker]

Mother Nature can be a cruel mistress.

 

[Jan M.]

There are some very positive things about Florida for retirees. No state income tax. A Florida resident weekday select annual pass for the Disney parks is $371.69 after the tax and includes parking. If you live close to Tampa, Cocoa Beach/Cape Canaveral, Fort Lauderdale or Miami you can get cheap cruises. You can get great prices on flights out of the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Tampa and Orlando airports.

If you live in the central part of the state it is more hot and humid than along the coastlines. We live about 12 miles inland from Pompano Beach. Because of the way the Gulf Stream runs even 12 miles inland where we live almost always has some breeze. I'm told that is the case from just north of Miami almost to West Palm Beach. August and September are the two bad months for the heat and humidity.

Last year we were in Flagstaff at the beginning of May and had a light coating of snow one day. It was beautiful and gone the next day. It was my husbands first time seeing snow since December 2010. He said he's good for another 7 years. Lol.

 

[geist1223]

The longer you live in a place the more you get acclimatized. I have spent years living in the South - Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia. I have no desire to go back. But after a year or so I did not notice the Heat or Humidity. My BIL has lived in the South (Virginia and Florida) his whole life. My SIL has lived in the South for 40+ years. For them if it gets in the 70's they are putting on long pants and sweaters. For me in Oregon (about 40 out of the last 50 years) when it hits the mid 60's it is T-shirt and Shorts Weather.

 

[Cornell]

The longer you live in a place the more you get acclimatized. I have spent years living in the South - Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia. I have no desire to go back. But after a year or so I did not notice the Heat or Humidity. My BIL has lived in the South (Virginia and Florida) his whole life. My SIL has lived in the South for 40+ years. For them if it gets in the 70's they are putting on long pants and sweaters. For me in Oregon (about 40 out of the last 50 years) when it hits the mid 60's it is T-shirt and Shorts Weather.

I'm the reverse -- I am less tolerant of winter each year. I have lived in Chicago my whole life and each winter I hate it more and more. I don't remember disliking winter when I was younger but each year I grow to hate the cold, snow, and ice more than the year before. I seriously cannot wait to move to somewhere warmer.

 

[geist1223]

I'm the reverse -- I am less tolerant of winter each year. I have lived in Chicago my whole life and each winter I hate it more and more. I don't remember disliking winter when I was younger but each year I grow to hate the cold, snow, and ice more than the year before. I seriously cannot wait to move to somewhere warmer.

So other than your High School aged daughter what is holding you? I sometimes get tired of the Grey Skies in the PNW from October to Late March, not always rain or snow, just Grey Cloudy Skies.

 

[Glynda]

I'm a native Floridian, as are my parents and their parents and so on way back. We grew up with no A/C and swam where gators and snakes lived (though there weren't as many gators then). Humidity didn't phase us.

My mother says it never even crossed their minds to leave because of a hurricane. Nor do my friends and family who still live in Florida. I suspect, just like here in Charleston, SC, people who have moved to Florida or here, who have little experience with storms, leave. Those of us who are natives or have been around a long time, usually don't.

We know our vulnerabilities and act accordingly. If we lived on a barrier island, we'd evacuate. If we were expecting a Cat 4 or 5, we'd evacuate. If we had flooded in the past, we probably would evacuate. If we were in poor health, dependent upon electricity for supplemental oxygen, for example, we would evacuate.

We prepare during the days as we wait to decide. All the objects that might fly outside have been taken down and stored away. The flashlights are scattered about inside along with candles, matches, and a lantern. Important papers are in waterproof and fireproof safes. Other sentimental, and easily destroyed, by water, important items, are stored higher up in plastic boxes. The cars and golf cart are in the city parking garage. The Vespa is in hubby's warehouse. We've done this so many times that we know what works best. And if all that fails, bags are packed for us and our pup in case we have to leave quickly. We are battened down and hunkered in for the duration. Just have to go fill up the bathtub for toilet flushing water in case we lose power. We are on the same grid as City Hall, and county, state and federal buildings two and a half blocks away. It seems as if we never are without power for long, perhaps because the government gets back on line first, and we on their coat tails. If we do lose power for a longer period, we and our neighbors, most who have remained, will be sharing and grilling out together from the bounties of our freezers. Our home is surrounded by 8 to 12 foot, built no later than the 1860's, brick walls and a house close on one side, in front and behind. We have hurricane shutters closed and bolted on the inside, though only on the front of the house. We do have interior shutters closed.

Though we are two and a half blocks from the harbor, we have never flooded and are on "natural higher ground". Those who do flood are built on filled in creeks and former marsh land or sitting right on the rivers and harbor. We have a three foot crawl space.

I agree that storms seem to be more frequent. Flooding is certainly worse. I suspect climate change, poor land management, and over-development have something to do with the rising flood waters.

I'll get back to you after tomorrow, if possible, on how this one goes.

 

[Cornell]

So other than your High School aged daughter what is holding you? I sometimes get tired of the Grey Skies in the PNW from October to Late March, not always rain or snow, just Grey Cloudy Skies.

My elderly mother, who has dementia, lives 10 mins from me. I’ll be staying put while she’s here on earth.

I commuted downtown for work for 25 years. I think the train thing is what beat me down when it came to winter !

 

[Glynda]

Easy answer is that FL is not the only place hurricanes hit. Talk to the people on the Gulf Coast.

And the East coast above Florida.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

I'm the reverse -- I am less tolerant of winter each year. I have lived in Chicago my whole life and each winter I hate it more and more. I don't remember disliking winter when I was younger but each year I grow to hate the cold, snow, and ice more than the year before. I seriously cannot wait to move to somewhere warmer.

This is exactly how I am now....I can not stand winter, I was never happy with it as child either, my parents forced me outside just so I would try to like it, nope that didn't work...I live in MI and the winters have been bad the past few years. I can not wait to move to FL in retirement...

 

[Cornell]

This is exactly how I am now....I can not stand winter, I was never happy with it as child either, my parents forced me outside just so I would try to like it, nope that didn't work...I live in MI and the winters have been bad the past few years. I can not wait to move to FL in retirement...

Yes! The polar vortex last year practically did me in. I hope to move to a desert climate.