Why Florida? The Details Behind the Move

I’m baaack! After a week and a half off, I’m definitely ready to blog again. My apartment may still look like a mess, but at the moment, writing is what brings back my sanity!

florida

Whenever Florida is brought up in conversation, it’s almost inevitable that someone will chime in about the horrendous humidity, extremely large bugs, and gator invested waters.

Have you ever been there in August? 

Don’t you know there are lots of snakes and bugs?

Watch out for the alligators! 

Yes, I know all these things, and have visited Florida many times, from my small childhood to adult life. I have a pretty good idea of what to expect, and yes, I understand what I’m “getting myself into”. But before this turns into a Florida defense court session, I do want to share with you the major reasons we moved, and how it fits into this whole financial journey of ours.

1. The weather

If you think that’s a shallow reason, I urge to consider those of us who suffer from major depression. And I’m not just talking about the “blues”. No, it’s more like you are physically incapable of getting up and accomplishing anything, because there is truly no point. (At least in your mind.)

I haven’t approached this topic before, because I prefer to be more private about certain areas of my life, but let me just say that living in a cold climate without seeing the sun come out for days, sometimes weeks, can be devastating.

For the few days that we’ve been here, the sun has shined every day, and I wake up in the morning actually smiling. It’s pretty infectious.

2. The housing market

Both Joseph and I see our future in owning rental properties, and we just can’t profitably do that in New York. The taxes are outrageous, and the economy is still taking a dive.

Because no one really wants to move up there, it’s a moot point to providing housing for them.

Instead, we researched out the places where we could get housing steals, with low property and school taxes, and turn them into income-producing properties. Thus, Florida. And if we want to dabble in vacation rentals (which I’d love to do!) we have miles of coastline from which to choose.

Now, I know the market is supposedly rebounding, but Upstate New York is always years behind that percentage. We really don’t have the desire to wait for it.

3. Greater job opportunities

Because my husband works in the news division, his job “promotions” are a little different than most others. Rather than go into the entire explanation, I’ll give you a short synopsis – Each city is a “market” and you run the risk of leveling out if you stay in one market too long. 

By jumping into a higher market (like Ft. Myers), Joseph starts at the same level of income he topped out at in Binghamton, but the difference is, he now has room to grow.

Make sense? If not, maybe I’ll have him write a post about it. {grin}

For me, I don’t have to work outside the home…yet. I’m waiting at least a few months to get settled in and find my routine, but I’m also using that time to fast forward my blog. I’d love to start making a little more than pennies from it, and going from two incomes to only one, will give me lots of great content to write about!

I also run a lot of the behind-the-scenes work for the one rental property we do have. Multiply that by how many we look at buying, and I’ll have a lot more paperwork to keep me busy.

Plus, I’m a DIY girl, so there’s always projects for me to find and tackle at home. I never get bored!

In a way, we are starting our lives completely over – we’ve uprooted our safe haven of work schedules, friendships, and family life. But we are also opening the doors to wider opportunities in the future.

I hope you’ll stick with me – I would love having you along for the journey.

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15 Comments

  1. I love your story. I grew up in Upstate New York (outside of Syracuse) and my parents moved us to Florida (Sarasota area) when I was a junior in high school. I am not always fond of the weather here (especially in the summer when you are hit with 100% humidity every day!) but I have learned to adapt and my husband and I found a cozy little town to call our own. We are close to the beaches yet far enough away to not deal with their insane house prices. It truly is paradise and a wonderful place to live, and yes the rental potential here is endless!

    1. Hi Sara,

      It really is paradise down here! I have to say that every time we go up to visit family in New York, we absolutely love our time with family, but quickly feel the effects of not getting much sun!

      But I do have to ask…is it just me or did the summer heat hit early this year??

  2. I know that this post is old but I just wanted to chime in, which I never do! I’m a blog lurker 🙂
    The first point you made about the weather got to me. I’ve lived in Florida for 15 years. I want to remind you that those of us who suffer from major depression (not just the “blues”) can and do so anywhere. I know exactly what you mean when you talk about physically not being able to get up and feeling like there is no point. I hate the Florida weather and I long for something with actual seasons, especially fall and winter (not heat stroke and rainy). However I know that when I do finally make it to that place with my ideal weather I will continue to have to take my medications and deal with my depression. Sunshine can be uplifting sometimes, I do understand that; but humidity and devastating heat can be a real bummer too. For example when you don’t even want to leave the house to go anywhere because you’ll break a sweat from the heat and feel like you’re dying of thirst just getting to your car. I know winter has its problems too and Florida might be perfect for you but I don’t know…I guess what got to me was that you made it seem like someone with depression should be fine in the sunshine state or that people here are always happy and only enjoy the sunshine. I do want to say I enjoy your blog and you’re a good writer with helpful content, I appreciate that. Sorry for ranting, just had to put it out there.

    1. I really appreciate you sharing, Brenda, and I so did not mean to come across saying that weather is the solution to depression – especially a case that is particularly severe. Thank you for bringing that to my attention! Even though the sunny weather has helped me cope through some bad days, there are still times where not even the sun can help lighten my mood. Ideally, I would like to decrease my medication, but so far {in the 8-9 months we’ve been down here}, that hasn’t been possible as of yet. However, I can say that dark, dreary, and cloudy days in NY were a very highly sensitive trigger for me, and to be free from that {even though some days are still tough!}, has helped me see more positively.

      You are quite welcome to “lurk” anytime you’d like, and I’m glad to have you as part of this community. I hope you will continue to stick around! 🙂

  3. So glad for you guys! Anxious to hear how things come together for you in the days ahead. What’s your first major project?

    1. 1st major project – Unpacking what we can and storing the rest.
      2nd major project – Writing more posts, guest posting for other sites, and start making an income from writing. It’s hard work!

  4. Welcome to the Sunshine State. It really is that too, even when it rains (and in the summer that’s often) the sun always comes back out. I love the list of misconceptions about FL, other than the humidity they’re all essentially not true at least not in general.

    If you enjoy nothing else you will certainly enjoy no state income tax, although sadly next year you’ll still have to pay NYS income tax despite only living there for a month, and it will probably be disproportionate in size to the amount that you got paid in NY.

    1. Thanks, Tom! I haven’t seen any super large bugs yet, and I only saw one gator, but it was fake. I didn’t think so at first though – just ask Joseph. 🙂

      I didn’t even think about the NYS income tax either. *sigh*

      1. Don’t worry about the bugs too much. First thing to learn about FL roaches is that if you see one, kill it and move on. Unlike in NY where if you see one you’ve got trillions living in your walls. They mosey inside once in a while but they don’t come in the masses that you hear horror stories of in NY.

        I’ve still only seen a couple gators and only on long car rides. If you see one of those in your kitchen though I’d be worried.

  5. Good for you guys! Everyone has to choose the place that best suits them in life; regardless of the opinions of others.

    PS. I need your new mailing address.

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