I want to move to Florida, help me plan!

So I've never done an out-of-state move before and I need help thinking of everything before committing.

I live in GA currently and am looking at moving to Melbourne, FL (or really Palm Bay since it looks to be cheaper rent). My job has a location there.

What should I be researching and asking about for this move? So far I can think of:

1) Renters insurance - I know home owners is a big deal in FL due to hurricanes, would renters be very expensive too?

2) Cost of living - it looks like cost of living is about 10-20% higher than Georgia. Is there any daily cost that people in Florida have noticed is very high compared to other states?

3) How bad is the gator/snake situation really...I have an older dog who loves his backyard, so do I really need to be concerned about him getting eaten by a snake or gator? (This is crazy but something I actually can't stop thinking about lol)

What other things should I be considering? I've moved across town, but not out of state so im a bit overwhelmed and don't know where to start. TIA!

Come join the party! That's about an hour south of me.

Snakes and gators: Meh, don't worry about it. Unless you live on a body of water (literally any body of water) your dog will be fine.

Cost of living: Yeah, it's not as cheap as it once was, but it's nowhere near as high as anywhere else with a beach and jobs.

Insurance: It's a complete mess; call a local agent, but assume that if a big storm comes through your company will fold and you'll get nothing. That happened to JG, and I think somebody else here on the forum, too. If I didn't have a mortgage, I probably wouldn't even bother. 

Melbourne is great. My old company used to have a site there.  I once watched a rocket launch from the parking lot of my hotel. So cool. Nice beaches. 

mind the leprosy. 
 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/leprosy-spreads-in-florida-hotspot-across-the-us-as-experts-send-huge-warning/ar-BB1klLmw

🤣

Melbourne is pretty sleepy. Nice area, but sleepy. It is coastal enough that if a storm comes you may need to consider evac. There's a whole lot of GRM in the general vicinity or within an hour or two of that area. One of the bigget zoos in the country is there (I want to say it's #9 on the top 10?). Expect a lot of old people. Gators and snakes are really NBD. I run across black racers from time to time, but honestly- I've seen more man o' wars wash up at the beach than I have gators in the wild. Gators are very opportunistic feeders as well, they're not hunters. situational awareness is your friend. 

Mndsm said:

Melbourne is pretty sleepy. Nice area, but sleepy. It is coastal enough that if a storm comes you may need to consider evac. There's a whole lot of GRM in the general vicinity or within an hour or two of that area. One of the bigget zoos in the country is there (I want to say it's #9 on the top 10?). Expect a lot of old. 

I feel attacked.

I have lived in Florida before and was considering moving back most recently after vacationing there in December. I was never really bothered with the wildlife except for the palmetto bugs. However roaches are all over the place, the school I worked in Ohio were all over the place. My current negatives with florida is too many vacationers (they can be somewhat regional), Hurricanes, public schools are not great (I have kids), Florida Man/women, and the price of moving is still ridiculous (everywhere). I started looking in SC and GA for cheaper options, because in a ideal world I would like to be snow bird, because most of my family is still up north. My question to you other then the beaches and lack of state tax, why move from one warm place to another?

Hoppps said:

So I've never done an out-of-state move before and I need help thinking of everything before committing.

I live in GA currently and am looking at moving to Melbourne, FL (or really Palm Bay since it looks to be cheaper rent). My job has a location there.

What should I be researching and asking about for this move? So far I can think of:

1) Renters insurance - I know home owners is a big deal in FL due to hurricanes, would renters be very expensive too?

2) Cost of living - it looks like cost of living is about 10-20% higher than Georgia. Is there any daily cost that people in Florida have noticed is very high compared to other states?

3) How bad is the gator/snake situation really...I have an older dog who loves his backyard, so do I really need to be concerned about him getting eaten by a snake or gator? (This is crazy but something I actually can't stop thinking about lol)

What other things should I be considering? I've moved across town, but not out of state so im a bit overwhelmed and don't know where to start. TIA!

We live in Gainesville and there are gators aplenty. But unless you live in a place where your backyard backs up to a pond or lake, you're not going to encounter them unless you go seek them out. The picture below is from a local nature trail, but dogs are prohibited there (for obvious reasons). As for snakes, again, you're not going to encounter anything nearly big enough to eat a dog unless you take him/her to the everglades (much further south) and go looking for pythons.

I've lived here for 26 years now.  I've seen one poisonous snake.  It's been a year or two since I've seen a gator.  I'd say at least 8 hurricanes and tropical storms have come close enough to affect my life but never any damage that took more than 30 minutes to clean up the yard.

My goal would be to live away from any body of water (but it's literally Florida so they're everywhere lol) but good to know that wildlife isn't a big deal.

Old people actually works great, because my wife worked in senior living and loved it and would probably go back to it.

Good to know about insurance too, I had heard some people didn't bother and just saved the money, and equally good to know to be prepared for insurance companies to go under. I know sometimes the state can step in after an insurance company goes insolvent, does anyone have experience with that?

Also no state tax? I didn't know that was a thing!

Ive been in the same town my whole life, everyone knows my family (in a good way), and I just want to break away from that (long story for a different time). If my job didn't have a location in Melbourne I probably won't be considering it, but it seems like a perfect opportunity to move. Good job, closer to race tracks, beach for wife and dog. My wife also loved working in senior living and would consider going back, and Florida has no shortage of seniors lol.

I'm right there with you my friend.  Born and raised in Philadelphia, spent well over 40 years there.  I now live in Atlanta and am not a fan.  Looking forward to being a true snowbird. Plan to buy a property in PA for the summer and then spend the rest of the year in Florida.  I just spent the winter in Davenport for the first time and loved it... except for I-4.  Would you consider central FL?  Much better isolation from storm damage so maybe insurance is cheaper?  You can get to either coast in roughly an hour. 

Stampie said:

I've lived here for 26 years now.  I've seen one poisonous snake.  It's been a year or two since I've seen a gator.  I'd say at least 8 hurricanes and tropical storms have come close enough to affect my life but never any damage that took more than 30 minutes to clean up the yard.

*grabs nerd hat*

I don't think I've ever heard of a poisonous snake in Florida.  Only a few actually poisonous snakes exist.  The most common get their poison from eating poisonous toads.

Poisonous is when you bite it and you get sick.

Venomous is when it bites you and cotton mouths.

There are a few venomous snakes in Florida. 

- coral snake

-cotton mouth

-copperhead

-a few types of rattle snakes.

*takes nerd hat back off*

In reply to wvumtnbkr :

Whatevers

Water Moccasins aren't poisonous?  They were in our swimming hole, swim  just don't mess with them. 

914Driver said:

Water Moccasins aren't poisonous?  They were in our swimming hole, swim  just don't mess with them. 

They are venemous.  Also known as cottonmouths.

Hoppps said:

My goal would be to live away from any body of water (but it's literally Florida so they're everywhere lol) but good to know that wildlife isn't a big deal.

Old people actually works great, because my wife worked in senior living and loved it and would probably go back to it.

Good to know about insurance too, I had heard some people didn't bother and just saved the money, and equally good to know to be prepared for insurance companies to go under. I know sometimes the state can step in after an insurance company goes insolvent, does anyone have experience with that?

Also no state tax? I didn't know that was a thing!

Ive been in the same town my whole life, everyone knows my family (in a good way), and I just want to break away from that (long story for a different time). If my job didn't have a location in Melbourne I probably won't be considering it, but it seems like a perfect opportunity to move. Good job, closer to race tracks, beach for wife and dog. My wife also loved working in senior living and would consider going back, and Florida has no shortage of seniors lol.

I don't know about Florida specifically, but Renter's insurance is CHEAP compared to HO insurance. Because Renter's is only covering your personal property, not the structure vs HO which is covering both. 

I know you're renting, but for example, Texas doesn't have a state income tax either. OK has a 4.75% state income tax (IIRC), but basically everywhere in TX the property tax is 2-3x higher than it here in Oklahoma. And even though you're renting, any higher property taxes will be reflected in the rent prices. 

Daughter goes to The U in Miami.  Not sure I could live in Florida, the humidity crushes me.  

In reply to docwyte :

the humidity does suck. it's like trying to breathe in mashed potatoes. Know what doesn't suck though? trying to guess which snow pile is my car. It's the trades we make. I had my fun with snow. I'm very much not a winter sports person. Or a sports person. Or a person. 

I moved down here (Port Charlotte) from Michigan 2.5 years ago. 
I've only seen 2 gators in the wild with the exception of Mayaka State Park. My mom lives on a canal, that's where we saw one. Like was stated above, if you don't live connected to water, don't worry about it. 

Snakes. I've seen plenty. But all of the ones I've seen are 'Florida Racers' that are FAST. My son saw a 6' Easter Diamond Back Rattlesnake a few hundred feet from our house. That scares the crap out of me.

Cost of living. Publix is expensive. Walmart is where it's at, and doesn't have the same level of, uh, walmartness that I saw in the north. Insurance is expensive, that goes for car and home. No state income tax, but how much SIT do you really pay anyway? It doesn't amount to much. Insurance will make you cry. 

My wife suffered from seasonal affectiveness disorder pretty bad in MI. We actually see the sun down here, not just the hint of it above a crappy gray veil of clouds like in MI. 

Despite getting socked directly on the chin with Hurricane Ian, I don't regret moving down here. If you're close to the water (a few miles will be enough) there's usually a breeze. That helps with the humidity. You being from GA, the weather won't be much of a change for you really. 

As for the actual move, here's what we did. It was shockingly painless for a 1,500 mile move for a family of 5.
We sold everything we could to reduce the work and expense of moving. Most of the stuff we own we purchased was purchased used so we sold a lot at the same price we paid, then purchased used down here. 
Note about purchasing used. There's lots of wealthy, rich people down here. You can get some seriously nice stuff for cheap. We bought a nice Italian leather sofa (can't remember the brand) that retailed for almost $6K new for $400. Looks like it was sat in twice.
Once we were ready to pull the trigger we called U-Pack. They drop off a 48' trailer in your driveway (they might have smaller ones too, not sure). Then you pack your stuff, taking up as much space as you need. When you're done you install a locked bulkhead and only pay for the linear feet you used. The beauty is that, per linear foot you get much more space than with other companies because the trailer is taller. It was much cheaper than a POD or Packrats. If I remember correctly, I think the total for us was in the $3K neighborhood?? 
After you call them for pickup they grab the trailer and put a commercial load in the space you didn't use. That's how you can do it cheaply. The only downside is that it'll probably take a few days longer than if you went with a POD or similar. We had them pick it up the day before we left, drove down here, and slept in sleeping bags and air mattresses for 2 or 3 nights. 

In reply to DrBoost :

Looks like in GA it's 5.75% if you make more than $7k per year. Not inconsequential if make the national average or more. 

DrBoost said:

Cost of living. Publix is expensive. Walmart is where it's at, and doesn't have the same level of, uh, walmartness that I saw in the north. Insurance is expensive, that goes for car and home. No state income tax, but how much SIT do you really pay anyway? It doesn't amount to much. Insurance will make you cry. 

I forgot about insurance. Granted, if you're renting, you won't be directly impacted, but for sure your landlord is. And auto insurance is just stupid here now.

Some apartments are now requiring the tenant to have an insurance policy that covers potential damage to the owners property. I rented a place 2 years ago and had to provide proof of such a policy showing the property owner as the insured along with the signed contract. I forgot exactly what the required coverage and amount was, but it was on the order of $100k for the property owner. Cost me about $175 for a year of coverage and didn't provide any coverage for my property.

dyintorace said:

 

I forgot about insurance......auto insurance is just stupid here now.

That's what I thought, until I moved here. Michigan has crazy rates, but they are nothing compared to here.

dyintorace said:

DrBoost said:

Cost of living. Publix is expensive. Walmart is where it's at, and doesn't have the same level of, uh, walmartness that I saw in the north. Insurance is expensive, that goes for car and home. No state income tax, but how much SIT do you really pay anyway? It doesn't amount to much. Insurance will make you cry. 

I forgot about insurance. Granted, if you're renting, you won't be directly impacted, but for sure your landlord is. And auto insurance is just stupid here now.

You will be. The landlord will past those costs onto the renter in the form of higher rent so they maintain X % profit. 

Nice to see a positive thread about moving to Florida. I'll be there by summer 2026 (waiting in oldest to get through middle school). 

Scotty Con Queso said:

Nice to see a positive thread about moving to Florida. I'll be there by summer 2026 (waiting in oldest to get through middle school). 

We like most of the people here. That's not usually the case on reddit.