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I have seen threads about people moving 3-5 times throughout their lives. My progression was an apartment building when I was a child, to a garden apartment when I got married. Then a house on Long Island where I stayed for over 40 years. Now, in retirement I bought a condo in Melville, NY.
So my question is: After living in the condo and having outside maintenance taken care of, does it make sense to retire to Florida and buy a house in central florida (I know there are plenty of condos in Southeast Florida, but I am thinking of the The Villages in central florida). Too me, it seems silly to go back to owning a house along with all the maintenance. What do you think? Thanks. Marvinh
It is a tough comparison. There are condos that handle everything and others that are only the actual building itself and you care for the grounds. So, I will generalize and say that I guess the real lynch pin in all of this, is a risk vs reward, if you will for home maintenance vs weather. Now Fla. is not for everyone, but it is usually a big part of the draw to those who move there.
I have seen threads about people moving 3-5 times throughout their lives. My progression was an apartment building when I was a child, to a garden apartment when I got married. Then a house on Long Island where I stayed for over 40 years. Now, in retirement I bought a condo in Melville, NY.
So my question is: After living in the condo and having outside maintenance taken care of, does it make sense to retire to Florida and buy a house in central florida (I know there are plenty of condos in Southeast Florida, but I am thinking of the The Villages in central florida). Too me, it seems silly to go back to owning a house along with all the maintenance. What do you think? Thanks. Marvinh
Check out the NY Times story on The Villages this past weekend.
I wouldn't wish The Villages on my worst sibling; it's a noxious culture there. Large condo buildings in FL are a mixed bag, as construction culture is Florida is notoriously awful and the managing boards of associations are typically not up to snuff. I'd choose coastal SC before I'd choose central or southern Florida.
A general rule of life: you are very lucky if you get what you pay for.
Great post. I’ve moved apartments/rented houses from Uniondale to Hempstead to Cedarhurst to Merrick to East Meadow to owning a split level home in East Northport. I’ve been living here for 28 years, and would like to move to a situation where maintenance is provided, but my big caveat is that my hobby is audio/stereo/ AV equipment, and more than occasionally like to turn it up way loud.
Having said that, I would love a smaller home that offered one floor living, and included maintenance both inside and out- as the saying goes- I’m getting too old for this ****.
The maintenance never ends; a leaky faucet, yearly boiler service, etc., etc., etc.
I’d go condo too.
A home affords more privacy, and less adjacent noise. If you have no need for a yard, then maybe a condo works for you. I never understood the maintenance reason, because you can always hire a landscaper, plumber, etc. Also, there may be more rules and restrictions with a condo such as pet ownership. In retirement, I'm moving from a 2-story house to a one-story house, either with about the same size lot or larger. I also would like to have an extra garage for one or two hobby cars. For me, a condo is not an desirable option.
A few friends have moved to central FL in the past few years. Among their surprises:
1 - It's almost impossible to have a nice lawn (if you care about such things)
2 - Nothing can be stored in the attics/crawl space above the house. If it doesn't melt, the silverfish or some other insect will destroy it. Many homes have oversized garages just for storage.
3 - Zoning is nonexistent in many cities and towns. Outside the eight foot walls of your gated community there may be a factory or a bus terminal. Or plans for a twelve story apartment building.
4 - As earlier mentioned, HOA come with many surprises.
5- Assume any body of water , no matter how large or small, is home to alligators.
The Villages is (are?) known for being conservative .. just an FYI as this may be important to you.
I have seen threads about people moving 3-5 times throughout their lives. My progression was an apartment building when I was a child, to a garden apartment when I got married. Then a house on Long Island where I stayed for over 40 years. Now, in retirement I bought a condo in Melville, NY.
So my question is: After living in the condo and having outside maintenance taken care of, does it make sense to retire to Florida and buy a house in central florida (I know there are plenty of condos in Southeast Florida, but I am thinking of the The Villages in central florida). Too me, it seems silly to go back to owning a house along with all the maintenance. What do you think? Thanks. Marvinh
If you like FL go for it! Cheaper living. But … you get what you pay for.
Im also with many other posters here that FL is awful. So humid. Too many bugs. Alligators. Hurricanes & in general, a pretty ass backwards state.
And there’s DeSantis
So, I’ll stay here.
But ive done the SFH thing & the condo thing & granted i’m not retired, but i would never go back to living in a condo. I like SFH because you can do whatever you want. Want to smoke pot in yr home, blast music really loud, have at it. There are a lot more rules in condos & you have to be a lot more courteous of your neighbors. SFH is more freedom to do repairs, do what you want & make it yr own.
Go for it. The stereotype of New Yorkers moving down to Florida exists for a reason. I think most of those developments will let you come down for a weekend and stay in a model home to see how you like it.
I'm from Georgia and my mom is down there outside of Atlanta. She's alone in a 4 bedroom house on a half acre lot, and she's thinking about going down to check out some of those developments in central Florida (she doesn't want to be on the coast). Not the villages, but some smaller ones.
I don't know where I'll fall on the condo vs house side of things, but there's a 0% chance I'll be staying up here once I retire. I'm not saying Florida will definitely be my destination, but it sure won't be here.
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