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Having lived along the Gulf Coast my entire life until a couple of years ago when we moved to western NC, I have seen and evacuated from hurricanes practically my entire life. Until one has experienced a major hurricane, it is hard to imagine the devastation, the preparation, boarding up, clean up after (tree damage, roof damage, house damage - very difficult, even for a younger person. As we grow older, these things become more challenging to deal with.
Amen to that. At my current age I would not want to go through the Charley/Frances/Jeanne trifecta like we did in 2004 when we lived in the Orlando area.
I just escaped Central Florida after moving there to retire. 16 months, so I can say I gave it a fair shot. In the end, the humidity did me in...started messing with my mood and health. I spent 30 years in Virginia, we had a few very hot and humid days each summer - but nothing like FLA where it's RELENTLESS for at least 8 months.
I don't care to live my life indoors for 8 months...only going out early in the AM or late in the PM.
Of course there were other issues - the carpet bagging, the lack of certain cultural amenities, etc.
It's not the inexpensive escape it once was.
I give people credit who can do it.
Having lived in Florida for 38 years I have observed that The Atlantic coast around Melbourne gets more stormy weather than the gulf coast directly across the peninsula.
I would recommend trying it out before making a big commitment.
When the summer got too hot we used to take a vacation up in the Great Smokey mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.
Yeah, but you spent all those decades in the Jacksonville/Amelia Island area, right? To a South Floridian, that might as well be Georgia, anyway.
I did. I wouldn't have wanted to live much further south. The state has been overdeveloped and way overdone for my taste. The weather never bothered me that much, but now that I have four seasons, I find I really enjoy it.
It wasn't because we were so close to GA that I didn't like our area. It broke our hearts that there was no carefully thought out development and the environment was totally decimated. They're building on wetlands for heaven's sake. Ugh.
DH and I were born and raised in FL in the 50s. We lived there until 2018, at which time we moved up near the N. GA mountains. You couldn't pay me to move back to FL.
Same with DW and myself. We escaped to the Inland Northwest in 2016. Best move we ever made. Love the four seasons, homeowners insurance is about 1/5 as expensive, and auto insurance is about 1/2. Interestingly, we spend more time outside here than we ever did in Miami. It was 11 degrees and blowing this morning but that didn't stop me from my daily 4.25 mile walk to the local trails. The sun came out and I saw a pair of bald eagles.
Having lived along the Gulf Coast my entire life until a couple of years ago when we moved to western NC, I have seen and evacuated from hurricanes practically my entire life. Until one has experienced a major hurricane, it is hard to imagine the devastation, the preparation, boarding up, clean up after (tree damage, roof damage, house damage - very difficult, even for a younger person. As we grow older, these things become more challenging to deal with.
I totally understand needing to get away from the risk of hurricanes as you get older. How are you liking it in western NC?
One needs to watch where one walks in certain parts of Florida....as in any place....but this is a unique hazard:
(happened yesterday)
"'The alligator's got her!': New video shows the terrifying moment 10ft reptile lunges at woman, 85, and drags her into Florida lake as a distressed 911 call reveals her neighbor tried to help"
"The terrifying moment was captured on video obtained by Inside Edition"
"Gloria Serge, 85, was walking her dog by a lake in the Spanish Lakes Fairways community in Fort Pierce, Florida on Monday when an alligator attacked her"
Like I said elsewhere, Hawaii is great. Warm all year, a bit cooler in winter, with the almost constant, every day breeze to cut down any sticky feeling from the humidity. Nothing like FL. Brand new car (Nissan) in 2019. Annual insurance payment with collision and liability: just over $1,000.00.
RENT is the killer, but we've got it all covered: $2,000 per month for a nice place that's not the very best, deluxe type apartment. Our electric bill is just over $100.00/month. Food is high. My favorite genoa salami = $14/pound. OUCH. No such thing as a grocery bargain here. Rents might be cheaper on the other islands. Kilauea is active again on the Big Island. Sulphur Dioxide in the air. Bad for the people who live close to it. And combine that with RAIN, and you've got H2SO4. Sulfuric acid. yux. But the "vog" doesn't much bother us on Oahu.
Like I said elsewhere, Hawaii is great. Warm all year, a bit cooler in winter, with the almost constant, every day breeze to cut down any sticky feeling from the humidity. Nothing like FL. Brand new car (Nissan) in 2019. Annual insurance payment with collision and liability: just over $1,000.00.
RENT is the killer, but we've got it all covered: $2,000 per month for a nice place that's not the very best, deluxe type apartment. Our electric bill is just over $100.00/month. Food is high. My favorite genoa salami = $14/pound. OUCH. No such thing as a grocery bargain here. Rents might be cheaper on the other islands. Kilauea is active again on the Big Island. Sulphur Dioxide in the air. Bad for the people who live close to it. And combine that with RAIN, and you've got H2SO4. Sulfuric acid. yux. But the "vog" doesn't much bother us on Oahu.
They want to be closer to their children, not farther away.
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