The Pros, Cons and Best Places to Live or Retire in Florida
Record high real estate prices plus fast rising interest rates means home affordability is the lowest it’s been since the 1980’s. This means that most people have a hard time trying to afford a home or can’t buy at all, especially in Florida. But people with deep pockets can still buy in the Sunshine State … Read more
According to the National Association of Realtors home-affordability index, it’s harder to afford to buy a home now that it’s been in over three decades. That means homes are harder to buy now than they were in 2008 during the great recession. This is because there’s a larger gap between how much buyers can qualify … Read more
Avoid Expensive Mistakes with the The #1 Selling Book on Moving to Florida The Florida Move Guide By Ron Stack, main author of this website. Here is just some of what the Florida Move Guide will do for you: You’ll learn the reasons so many people “permanently” move to Florida, only to eventually decide it … Read more
If You’re Thinking of Moving to Sarasota Florida, Knowing the Pros and Cons of Living There, Before You Move, Couldn’t Hurt. Occasionally, readers will leave an interesting detailed comment on this website that is so long, it can slow down the loading of the page it was left on. To keep page loading times fast, … Read more
Quick Article Navigation Here’s why this Safest Places to Live in Florida List is Different Why Moving to a Safe Place in Florida is so Important The Criteria Used to Identify the Safest Places That Also Offer an Overall Higher Quality of Life The Safest Places to Live in Florida, the List Satellite Beach Florida … Read more
Retiring in Florida Pros and Cons Warning, there are cons or negatives to retiring in Florida. Actually there are quite a lot of them. However, as a real estate broker and talking with 1000’s of new retirees moving to Florida, you wouldn’t think so. Most people retiring to Florida learned all they know about the … Read more
Florida Vs Illinois, Which State is a Better Place to Live or Retire in? This comparison of 10 quality of life factors in Florida and Illinois, can help you decide which may be a better state for you… Well compare Illinois to Florida on: Cost of living Crime and safety Economy Strength Employment and jobs … Read more
Is Living in Florida Better Than New York? Thinking of moving from New York to Florida? If so, you’re probably trying to determine if living in Florida will be better than New York and actually result in improving your life. This is a quality of life comparison between living in New York and Florida can … Read more
The Villages is the World’s Largest (and Best?) Active Adult Retirement Community in the World. Before we learn the advantages and disadvantages of the Villages in Florida, lets make sure we’re talking about the right place… Where are The Villages located in Florida? The Villages are located in central Florida about 30 miles south of … Read more
Which Florida Major City is the Best for You To Live or Retire? In this article you’ll find 6 different lists ranking Florida’s 5 Major cities. Each list will name the best big cities to live in Florida, based on the following criteria… Highest overall quality of life rating Best for job seekers Ranked by … Read more
Disclosure: This article is not financial, real estate, legal or professional advice of any kind. If you want professional advice, you can get that by entering into an agreement with a qualified advisor. Q) Is Now the Time to Buy Real Estate in Florida? A) No, In My Opinion It is Not a Good Time … Read more
The Best Upscale Places to Live or Retire in Florida for a Luxurious Lifestyle Have you hit the lottery or became wealthy the old fashioned way (by earning or inheriting it)? If so and you’re thinking of moving for all of Florida’s tax and built-in resident asset protection benefits (read the Florida Move Guide for … Read more
Looking for the Best Small Towns in Florida? If so, you’re in luck because there are some truly special one’s on this list! To find the best small towns to live in Florida, we looked for places with a population of 25,000 or less for that “small town feeling”. That’s not as easy in Florida … Read more
What Seniors Need to Know About the Quality of Medical Care in Florida Before Deciding to Retire There According to Medicare, the quality of retiree healthcare in Florida provided by many of the state’s hospitals, is not what you may expect. In fact, many hospitals in Florida earned just 1 star out of 5 on … Read more
What Are the Real Tax Benefits of Moving to Florida, if Any? Will you really save on federal, state and local taxes living in Florida? This article will provide some general information on what to consider when trying to determine what the tax benefits of moving to Florida may be, if any. DISCLAIMER: This article … Read more
Both Florida and Texas are Popular Right Now, But Which State is a Better Place to Live or Retire? A Florida versus Texas comparison of quality of life factors and resident polls. According to the US Census Bureau, Florida and Texas have add more residents than most other US states, for many years . Why … Read more
Lots of People Want Affordable Better Places to Live in Florida, But They’re Hard to Find Right Now! It’s unusually hard to find affordable, high quality of life places to live in Florida right now, because this current Florida housing bubble has been inflating for over 10 years. Allow me to explain… I’ve been selling … Read more
The Pros and Cons Spending Winter, Or at Least a full Month, in Florida (aka Becoming a Snowbird) Come on, there can’t be any negatives to spending the winter in warm sunny Florida. Right? Is it starting to get cold outside or are you just determined to be in a warmer place next winter? When … Read more
How to Find Your Place to Escape the Cold and Snow and Winter in Florida Becoming a snowbird 101 FAQ Q. What is a Florida Snowbird? A. A snowbird is a person who lives or stays in Florida only during the winter, usually for at least a month but as long as 3-4 months. Q. … Read more
The Pros and Cons Waiting to Buy in Florida Until Home Prices Drop After the Next Recession The number of people moving into and out of Florida, drastically affects home prices Huge numbers of people move to Florida every day for what they hope will be a better life. Large numbers of people each day … Read more
Is Florida Still a Good State to Retire In, Like it was When Our Grandparents Moved There? No. Unfortunately, for too many seniors including new younger retirees, Florida will not be the best state for them to retire to. But they won’t learn that until after they spent a lot of their hard earned money … Read more
Here’s a free preview of the #1 book on moving to Florida as it answers the question… What’s it like when you live in Florida and a hurricane is heading your way? Begin the “Florida Move Guide” FREE Preview…………….. You Can’t Know This Until You Live it You have just moved to Florida after selling … Read more
This Article can Help You Avoid This Kind of Hurricane Damage When Moving to Florida Are you thinking of moving to Florida but are worried about hurricanes? If so, this article will explain the risks hurricanes pose, and show you where the safest places to live in Florida are, to lower those risks. Here’s why … Read more
This Article Will Answer the Question: Where are the Best Places to Live Near the Beach in Florida ? So you’re thinking of moving to Florida because you love the beach, or fishing or sunsets on the water. Maybe it’s that tasty fresh seafood all great beach towns have. With all that coastline in Florida … Read more
If You’re Going to Go Through the Trouble of Moving 1000 Miles, Why Settle for Anything Less Than the Best? Here They Are, The 10 Absolute Best Places to Live in Florida You can see the criteria I used to choose these particlular places, at the bottom of the article. In alphabetical order… 1) Destin … Read more
These Are 10 of the Best Places in Florida for Retirement Dunedin Milton Cape Coral Miramar Fernandina Beach Bee Ridge Key Largo Gulf Breeze Niceville Naples Dunedin Florida My Dunedin for retirement ratings… Percent of population age 65+: 30.6% Crime and safety rating: Excellent School and Employment rating: Good Shopping and dining rating: Excellent … Read more
Wondering Where the Best Places to Live or Retire on Southwest Florida’s Beautiful Gulf Coast Are? Southwest Florida has become one of the more popular areas of Florida for people to both relocate and vacation. It’s especially preferred by people moving from Midwest and people 55+ from all over the US when relocating for retirement. … Read more
This has been one of the most challenging lists to complete . Why? When evaluating cities and towns for our best places lists, the first criteria we check is crime rates. The reasons I make this the #1 quality of life factor we research first is that in over 30 years of selling real estate … Read more
Would it be Better to Retire/Live in Hot Humid Florida or Cold Snowy South Dakota? I know, you think that’s a stupid question because the “obvious” answer is that Florida is a much better place to live or retire than South Dakota. Some of you are probably asking, “Where is South Dakota, is that near … Read more
Don’t Buy a Home in Florida Until You Know This Number This article will explain the 1 number you must know before house-hunting in Florida. As explained in the Florida Move Guide, Florida’s real estate market is like a roller coaster and it’s probably far different than the state you’re familiar with. During good economic times, … Read more
The 6 Best Places to Live in the Miami/South Florida Area Plus the Pros and Cons Of Moving to South Florida You you can save yourself a lot of time money and stress by thoroughly researching where to relocate, to prevent an expensive mistake. This is especially true if you are going to be moving … Read more
The St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant on the beach. Author: D Ramey Logan. St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant photo D Ramey Logan.jpg from Wikimedia Commons License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike If you Knew the Florida Home You’re Looking at, is Within the Evacuation Zone of a Nuclear Plant, Would You Still Buy it? Question: Why do … Read more
Which is a Better State to Live In, Florida or California? To find out, I did a state to state comparison of the differences between California and Florida on 10 quality of life factors. I used factors that important to most of us such as a state’s healthcare quality and cost of living. These factors … Read more
The Florida Real Estate Market is the Best It’s Ever Been, if You Want to Sell. If you already own a home in Florida, you know that right now your home is almost worth its weight in Bitcoins. Why is the Florida real estate market so hot right now? Here’s a few reasons… The winter … Read more
A lot of people have asked me “is it a good time to buy a Florida home right after a hurricane”? No. It’s usually a bad and potentially hazardous time for most people to buy a home in Florida right after a hurricane hits the state. Here’s what you need to know about when to … Read more
It’s Essential to Know the Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in a 55 and over Retirement Community, to be Able to Determine if They are Right for You or Not. The Pros/Advantages/Benefits In no particular order… Pro/Advantage #1 of Retirement Communities: You’ll be less likely to feel isolated or miss family and friends “back home”. … Read more
Can you really retire overseas for less than Florida and still get beaches, warm weather, etc.? What are the main reasons people retire to Florida when the are no longer tethered to specific location because of job and family obligations? If you said most people retire to Florida for the warm weather and beaches, as a … Read more
The Best Places to Live or Retire in the Tampa-St Petersburg Area of Florida The Tampa St Petersburg Clearwater Metro area in Florida is home to about over 3 million people. Below you’ll find 3 special towns that are easily 3 of the very best places to live in the area. Ironically, none of the … Read more
Where’s the Best Place to Live Near All of the Theme Parks, Shopping, Dining and Entertainment of the Orlando-Central Region of Florida? Did you just get back from a Disney vacation in the Orlando area and loved so much you’re thinking about moving there? Or were you just offered a great new job in the … Read more
Which Are the Best Florida Cities for Singles to Meet Other Singles? The quick answer… The best places for singles to move in Florida to meet other singles are… St Cloud Florida – The best affordable place for singles Fernandina Beach Florida – Best for singles who want to be near a beach The Villages … Read more
How to Learn Where Florida Real Estate Prices are Heading Before You Buy or Sell Thinking of selling your home in the state you now live so you can buy a home or condo in Florida? If so, knowing exactly where the Florida real estate market is now, and where it’s heading is extremely important. … Read more
There are 3 Things You Will Need to Get a Mortgage in Florida #1) You Will Need an Acceptable Credit Score or Enough Open Credit Lines for the Lender to Manufacture a Credit Profile Believe it or not, not everyone has a credit score these days. This can be true even for people who have … Read more
Where to Live in Florida for a Longer Healthier Life! I’ve been researching and writing about factors that have to do with living better and with the best places to live for nearly a decade now. I start almost every day scouring dozens of new reports about health, well-being, etc. When it comes to the … Read more
The Best Towns to Rent a Home or Apartment in Florida In no particular order… Update: Rental prices have increased dramatically across Florida in 2020, 2021 and that trend of is still in place in 2022. 1) The Best Beach Town for Rentals in Florida: Bonita Springs Bonita Springs is without a doubt one of … Read more
Is Florida or Arizona the Better State for Retirement? One of great things about retirement is we are no longer have to live within commuting distance of where we’re employed. This gives us the opportunity to live where we want to, versus where we had to most of our lives, because of obligations. In the … Read more
The 3 Best Places in Florida for Air Quality Who Should Take Clean Air Into Consideration When Choosing a Place to Live or Retire in Florida? Everyone. Why? Because you’ll learn below how air pollution such as ozone can cause serious diseases and defects in children and adults alike and lead to premature death. So … Read more
Do You Ride Your Bike Daily for Exercise and Fun? Looking for a Great Place to Move in Florida with lots of Bike Trails or Bike-Friendly Streets? Biking is one of the healthiest forms of no-impact (for less aches and pains as we age) exercise there is. Florida is ranked the 24th “best” state for … Read more
Is Gainesville, Home to the University Of Florida, Still One of the best places to live in Florida Today? Here’s What I Wrote About Gainesville a Few Years Ago, Followed by More Recent Comments: Want to move to a place in Florida where the average age of the residents is less than 100 years old? … Read more
The 4 Best Places to Move in Florida to Enjoy Boating, Fishing and Other Water-sports In no special order… 1) Punta Gorda Florida Punta Gorda is located in Southwest Florida between Tampa and Fort Myers. Its sits slightly inland right where two rivers pour into Charlotte Harbor but it offers easy direct access to the … Read more
Here are the Best Places to “Snowbird” in Florida During the Winter and Enjoy the Warm Weather. It’s easier to choose a great place to rent in Florida during the winter, than it is to decide where to move to live full-time. Why? Because you won’t have to worry about hurricanes because the hurricane season … Read more
Discover 3 of the Best 55+ Retirement Communities in Florida Today. This article is about the best retirement communities designed and built specifically for the lifestyles of active adults age 55 and over. To be considered for this list, the retirement community must meet all of following requirements to be considered: The Retirement Community Must … Read more
Why This Best Places to Raise a Family in Florida List is Different This list is different because it’s not just a simple list of the best school districts. Many websites simply list ratings and rankings of the best school districts in Florida. What makes our list different is that we look at much more … Read more
The Pros and Cons of Living in Florida Here are 2 different pros and con lists of what it’s really like to live in Florida full-time. Why 2 lists? The first one is the what we think it will be like to live in Florida when we move there for the pros (the perception), usually … Read more
These 2 Pedestrian-Friendly Cities Offer a High Quality of Life and Promote Better Health Can you live in Florida without a car? Studies show that people who live the longest healthiest lives have one thing in common. They get plenty of exercise every day, and they don’t even own exercise equipment. They don’t belong to … Read more
Love Golf so Much You’re Thinking of Moving to Florida to Play All Year Round? Here’s what you should know before moving to Florida because you love golf: Florida’s weather is usually amazing during the winter, perfect for playing golf. However, what is the price you pay for that great 3 months of glorious warm … Read more
What is the Cost of Living in Florida? The cost of living in Florida is far higher now, when compared to other states, than it was when our parents and grandparents retired there years ago. It wasn’t that long ago that you could move to Florida and buy a nice home for far less than … Read more
Here are 3 lists of what it’s like to live in Florida The first list is what it’s like to live in Florida right after you first move there. The second list is what it’s like after you lived in Florida awhile and start to learn what’s really like, compared to how we pictured it … Read more