So You Want to Move to Florida

This book focuses sharply on not only living in Florida, but how and what to do to become a Florida resident. We learned the hard way. Our perspective comes from moving to Florida from the North, and not from being a native Floridian, or someone who has lived in Florida for years. Our experience has been earned from making lots of mistakes. You not only can learn from what we did, but save time and money by avoiding our mistakes.

We will provide you with some stories of our personal sights and sounds in the zoo that is Florida, a zoo without cages, fences or gates. Florida has a rich history and a vibrant future for you to enjoy. There are simple pleasures to living in Florida. Advertisements point to the lure of the outdoors, the unparalleled beauty of the sunset reflecting on the water, the feel on your toes as you stroll along the white powdery beaches, the smell of saltwater spray and the delight in watching pelicans and egrets perching on pilings waiting for a snack. Simply looking out the window and seeing palm trees evokes good feelings.

Over the years, we visited the Bahamas, Barbados, Cancun, Grand Cayman, and Hawaii; all of which have these pleasures. So, yes, you can enjoy those pleasures elsewhere, but not coupled with an easy-to-get-to location for children and grandchildren to visit, low-cost living (relatively speaking) and freedom from income, gift and inheritance taxes. People move to Florida for the climate, lifestyle and affordability. Job opportunities abound.

No place is perfect, however, and one person’s progress can be another person’s problem. That’s life in fast growing Florida, where infrastructure hasn’t always kept up with the population growth. The large numbers of new people coming to paradise tax resources. Traffic snarls during the season, over development, bugs, severe water restrictions because of dangerously low water tables during droughts, and the hurricane season can be more than irritating. Sun and surf, with balmy weather for outside leisure activities, however, make up for the irritants.

Florida, which is the most popular spot for America’s tourists, has seven of the top ten attended theme parks in the United States. More than 43 million visitors come to Florida each year. Twenty million visitors a year travel just to Orlando with the theme parks an obvious big draw. So, tourists think of Florida as a land of theme parks for good reasons.

We will not talk in this book about the most visited destinations, however, which include Walt Disney World, Epcot Center, Disney-MGM Studios, Universal Studios, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Spaceport USA (Kennedy Space Center), Typhoon Lagoon, Lake Buena Vista, Church Street Station, and Miami Beach. Countless books, brochures and pamphlets already describe those popular attractions. We also will not describe all the entertainment, spectator and cultural activities, about which local newspapers keep you up-to-date.

Instead of theme parks and tourist attractions, we will share with you the resident lifestyle quest for happiness in tranquility, relaxation, and personal peace available in the paradise of Florida. From the Space Coast to the Gulf Coast, from the Panhandle to the Keys, Florida offers a wide variety of opportunities for this active lifestyle.

Tourists.

            Most new residents came to Florida first as tourists, as we did. Our