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Only if what you are saying deters people from moving to Florida. I have never seen so many out state license plates in Tampa since moving here in 2010. They do not appear to be rentals either.
Believe FL is the fastest growing state in the country over the last few years. Certainly not everyone is disagreeing with the current govt esp given the size of the win in the last election.
Asheville definitely isn't for everyone, probably more of a place to visit then live, at least as far as I'm concerned.
Believe FL is the fastest growing state in the country over the last few years. Certainly not everyone is disagreeing with the current govt esp given the size of the win in the last election.
Asheville definitely isn't for everyone, probably more of a place to visit then live, at least as far as I'm concerned.
There are some caveats. Fastest growing is small potatoes lately with a net population growth of less than 2%. Many still are under the impression that FL is all about easy-living and cheap. Home insurance rates have tripled in many cases endangering especially the retiree population suddenly unable to maintain their homes. Rental housing is very disproportionate in cost to average salaries. Car insurance rates are off the hook. About half of all Floridians do not have health insurance coverage. Meanwhile with the extreme radicalization politically the past couple years obtained through aggressive gerrymandering, legislation not reflective of 50% of registered voters is being passed. Everyone I know in Central Florida has recently moved (many to NC), have active plans to do so or at very least considering it.
Things are definitely not "chill" in Florida. As previous commenters mentioned, the actual costs of living in many parts of Florida are prohibitive. The tolls on the highways in Miami are placed just about 1 every 2 miles, no kidding. Cha-ching! Insurance rates through the stratosphere, property taxes the same. Our state seems to have historically attracted people who want to take advantage of something based on myth, starting from selling swampland days. Low cost is not low cost. Warm weather is actually brutally hot weather. Low scores on education and health outcome scores will not help upward mobility. Personally I feel that it has stagnated and even regressed in many areas. Who's coming out solidly ahead? Real estate developers, money managers, people who sell dreams. That's the Florida way.
There are some caveats. Fastest growing is small potatoes lately with a net population growth of less than 2%. Many still are under the impression that FL is all about easy-living and cheap. Home insurance rates have tripled in many cases endangering especially the retiree population suddenly unable to maintain their homes. Rental housing is very disproportionate in cost to average salaries. Car insurance rates are off the hook. About half of all Floridians do not have health insurance coverage. Meanwhile with the extreme radicalization politically the past couple years obtained through aggressive gerrymandering, legislation not reflective of 50% of registered voters is being passed. Everyone I know in Central Florida has recently moved (many to NC), have active plans to do so or at very least considering it.
It's too bad but you are correct. Hopefully, it's still a good destination to vacation. Are you still planning on moving here? You won't regret it.
Last time we visited Asheville, we found it too crowded, parking was an issue and it just wasn't the same town we enjoyed 20 years ago. (few places are!)
Sometimes popularity can take a toll on a neat town...
Maybe it's just me--I'm older and grumpier? Don't much like crowds.
(give me land, lots of land, with starry skies above--don't fence me in...)
I have lived in NC for almost my entire life, generally in the middle of the state. We moved west of Asheville in 2016 and had to leave in 2019 when my dad's dementia got too bad for him to live independently (he lived 2 houses away from us). We almost never went to Asheville, maybe once a month to stock up on things that we couldn't get near where we lived, but I hated every trip. The drivers are awful, downtown is a cluster between bad drivers and people walking right out in front of your vehicle, the drivers are awful. Did I say the drivers are awful???
My dad recently passed away, so we've been back to his house to get it ready to sell. We've spent probably 6 weeks up there so far this year. It's at the top of a mountain where the summer temperatures rarely reach 80 degrees. When we lived there, we never turned the A/C on one time. The downside is we always got a LOT of snow vs the areas in lower elevations and it was much colder in the winters. The grays and browns could get depressing in the winter. However, in my 4 years back in the middle of the state, I've realized that I have become heat intolerant. While in the mountains, I was outside all of the time, even in the winter. Once we moved back down here, I spend/spent all of my time inside.
So we're moving back now that we don't have to stay close to where my dad is. He has a piece of land he purchased before buying his house. We are going to purchase it from the estate and build a house on the same mountain where we used to live. Some of our dearest friends live up there. Life is just different when you live on a mountain, that's for sure.
I have lived in NC for almost my entire life, generally in the middle of the state. We moved west of Asheville in 2016 and had to leave in 2019 when my dad's dementia got too bad for him to live independently (he lived 2 houses away from us). We almost never went to Asheville, maybe once a month to stock up on things that we couldn't get near where we lived, but I hated every trip. The drivers are awful, downtown is a cluster between bad drivers and people walking right out in front of your vehicle, the drivers are awful. Did I say the drivers are awful???
My dad recently passed away, so we've been back to his house to get it ready to sell. We've spent probably 6 weeks up there so far this year. It's at the top of a mountain where the summer temperatures rarely reach 80 degrees. When we lived there, we never turned the A/C on one time. The downside is we always got a LOT of snow vs the areas in lower elevations and it was much colder in the winters. The grays and browns could get depressing in the winter. However, in my 4 years back in the middle of the state, I've realized that I have become heat intolerant. While in the mountains, I was outside all of the time, even in the winter. Once we moved back down here, I spend/spent all of my time inside.
So we're moving back now that we don't have to stay close to where my dad is. He has a piece of land he purchased before buying his house. We are going to purchase it from the estate and build a house on the same mountain where we used to live. Some of our dearest friends live up there. Life is just different when you live on a mountain, that's for sure.
But Asheville? No thank you.
If you don't mind me asking, which county would that be? Trying to get some thoughts on the various mountain towns and counties in Western NC...
You absolutely should check out Haywood County! It snugs up against Smoky Mountains NP, and has the highest mean elevations east of Mississippi. And elk! Though I'm sure you can't hunt them. They're trying to repopulate the NP with them.
And I got to thinking that maybe you could figure out the finer distinctions why your friends think that the South might suit you, because there's a perception that it's all the same down here in the Southeast, and Southern culture as defined by some folks are definitely different than Appalachian culture. They're different!
And since you prefer cooler, drier and the southeast is warmer/hotter and wetter, parsing the Southern part of the equation would help you eliminate some areas.
You absolutely should check out Haywood County! It snugs up against Smoky Mountains NP, and has the highest mean elevations east of Mississippi. And elk! Though I'm sure you can't hunt them. They're trying to repopulate the NP with them.
.
allowing Elk hunting is def. being discussed , sadly.
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