Moving to Florida question
 

Ok, I got word 3 days ago, that my daughter and her husband wants to buy a house in Florida. She plans on taking me with her. Ok, the question is, is there homesteads in Florida? I'm thinking swamps, alligaters, high heat, retirement places. :shrug: I will be moving towards , Beverly Hills, Florida. Only because my mother lives there for 26 years, she will be 76 , and a lone, and sooner or later, I will have to take care of her. I will hopefully buying a place. I will be going to check out the area in the coming fall. Moving there in 2008. I live near Detorit, MI. now, I do understand it will be a big change in everything. Ok, I need lots of help on Florida. Thanks for reading. Sue

Florida
 

I live in Yulee, FL which is 30 miles north of Jacksonville. Bevery Hills is SW of Ocala which I have visited a number of times. There are many horse farms in that area, as far as I know that part of Florida is not known for swamps. I came from Indiana and if I were to stay in Florida that would be a nice area to move to but yes, the heat and humidity are high in the summer. You will have to deal with the love bugs twice per year for about a month each time, they can be very annoying as they fly and splatter on your car. Bevery Hills is about 30 miles west of the area in Florida that was hit by tornadoes a few weeks ago. I am not aware of any homesteads. There are alligators EVERYWHERE in Florida.

Thanks for your reply, I was getting pretty worried, that I will never get to have a hobby farm. Horses, I know. Had 7 of them once. Loved every minute. My mom , just talks about how the old people are. She is 76, and not old. hee,hee. I know it was dumb question to start with, but I was worried. Thanks again.

Yes, there are good homesteads in Florida. You may have to look to find just what you want, but it's probably out there. That's a beautiful part of the state. Land prices there are gonna be high, but may not be out of line from what you're used to in MI.

Don't just depend on the real estate agents. Pick up the sale papers, get your mom to ask some of her friends if they know of places for sale, and ride around some of the back roads. Sometimes some nice places are not listed with the real estate companies.

Beverly Hills is not very far from me. Mostly flat sandy area, & yes, horse/cattle ranches. Decent size town to buy most anything you need. The Gulf coast is fairly close by & & area lakes , so plenty of fishing, swimming, etc. Overall, I like the area, there.

We moved from Florida 6 years ago. It got too discouraging. Traffic up the ying yang, water shortages (in some areas they tax you heavily if you use over your allowance), every year either a drought or too much rain it's flooding, no dirt/all sand (requires a lot of organic additives to grow a very successful garden), lovebugs twice a year, palmetto bugs (huge, and I mean HUGE, cockroaches everywhere), lizards, some areas have scorpions, citrus canker every couple of years (thus comes spraying of chemicals from the air you have no say so in it nor know when that airplane is going to pass over so you can take shelter), hurricanes (yep, they come inland), sinkholes, and insurance costs that are the highest in the country. You also can't go a week without mowing the lawn (some weeks you could do it 2x a week if you've had a lot of rain) -- that is if you can keep a lawn due to the millions of fire ants and thousands mole crickets which eat your lawn in a matter of weeks. They have the body of a cricket but a head kind of like a mole.

Now if that wasn't enough, summers stays 98 degrees with 100% humidity (and no breeze unless your on one of the coasts) and this runs from about the end of April through October; although we've had a few Thanksgivings on lanai because it was so warm.

On the other hand, the winters are wonderful. You don't plan your life around snow. :)

It really all depends on what you feel you can live with. If there is anyway possible, spend a few weeks (or months) down there and see how you like it. Florida isn't for everyone, but many love it.

I think my discouragement is because we knew "old Florida" and to see it being so initiated by developers and changed forever is heartbreaking. They come in and take down every tree and bush and build these big subdivisions with no regards or respect for nature, our water sources, nor in keeping what Florida was about. It's all greed and money and, since people arrived in droves from other northern cities, which I will not mention so as to not offend anyone, the greed came with them. Drugs and crime became a major problem. It use to be mostly Ohio and Michigan people which tended to wonderful blending in and appreciate Florida living and, not expect things to be just "as they were up north", but then others arrived in masses and Florida just isn't Florida any more.

We just moved from FL in the Fall of '05. I really don't think that I would ever move back.

The prices are so high for land where we were. Not really sure that you would be able to find much anywhere in FL that isn't pricey.

I am a FL native and other than a brief moment in time during my high school years have always called FL home. Until now, we bought 11 acres in NW AL.

I am not real sure of where Beverly Hills is, but I do know that the Ocala area can be VERY pricey. I believe that John Travolta and his family live somewhere around there.

Don't forget the fire ants, oh and those Palmetto bugs fly, and can get to be as big as your thumb-they are what most people refer to as roaches.

Good luck and I hope that you are able to find your hobby farm.

Blessings,
Debi

I second everything Karen said and add FIRES. We had many, many fire scares. I could never garden like I can here, and just couldn't take the heat. We only stayed down there until DH's mother and sister passed on. One other word of advice, if you build in the boondocks be prepared to stay there as most retirees want to be near town and land without lakefront or riverfront will be very hard to sell. My brother lives near Ocala and he says Floridians are being taxed to death and of course insurance rates are skyrocketing.. I'd NEVER move back.

We left FL in late 1998 and I wanted to leave sooner. It is too hot, too flat, and too crowded. Land is expensive and you have all the problems others mentioned. I knocked the sand off my shoes at the GA border and never looked back. I have visited a couple of times as my wife has relatives there. Each visit reinforces my realization of how bad it is compared to our place in TN.

I know people live and thrive there, but not me. Good luck with your relocation. TnTnTn

We found a Homestead in Florida between Yehaw junction and St Cloud. Lots of citrus there.

I am sure that a lot of negatives can be said about FL as posted above, but negatives are in every state. I have 5 acres with a nice mobile for sale just outside of Ocala which is about 2 hrs. from Beverly Hills. I've planted and actually produced peaches, pears and small apples, not to mention bananas and citrus. We've had excellent gardens here too. The land is close to the river. It's in the country with lots of wildlife and a great variety of birds. It's also very convenient to town and schools. It's also easy to go the Atlantic or gulf for day beach trips. Traffic in this area is still minimal. It does get hot, it can also get quite chilly - it was around 30 degrees this morning, about 26 the other day. I'm moving because my husband is from Indiana and does not like FL. We are moving to a small town in MO. Property prices there are cheaper than here resulting in a larger homestead to do more of the farming things I'm interested in. The old Florida is disappearing and I hate that part of it, but I'll always love Florida.

Fido!
 

That Sounds Good. She Ought To Pm You ! I Would !

Mom

Pm me with any specific questions, I am about 12 miles below Ocala and a 7th generation native Floridian.

I have lived in SE Florida from 1972 until now. My wife and I plan on moving up to Indiana where I am from in the next few months as we are just tired of it here. Just to many people around now days for my liking. Then the storms in the past 4 years we have been hit by 3 big hurricanes here, 2 of them came right over the top of us and the other we got the top edge.

As far as homesteading in Florida sure you can. Not far from here are some really big and nice horse farms. I know of one that they breed and train race horses.
Do not worry about things like gators, Snakes and all of the other critters out there. You have to be real stupid or the unluckiest person in the world to get bit by them most times. The closest I ever came to being bite by a gator is when I was about 13 or 14 and found a hatching nest of them. After playing with the little ones for a while here comes mom and she was none to happy about it lol. I spent most of my younger years out in the woods and swamps. My parents would not see me some times for days as my friends and I would go camping out in the woods/swamps all of the time. The only wild animal I was ever hurt by was a bobcat when again I was playing with it's cub and mom let me know that was not a good idea. I still have the scar on my chest where she got me a good scratch.

Sorry to say, but I agree with all the reasons these good folks have mentioned for moving from Florida. We moved in 2000 to TN. I spent 25 years there (Tampa), raised my kids there, but it was time to get out. Taxes are ridiculous and out of hand. My kids still live there as it's all they know, but my oldest son is thinking about leaving. His tax bill is over $6k a year for a house on a little 50x75' lot in a subdivision. I miss the old Florida of the 70's and early 80's. Traffic is a nightmare, people aren't friendly any more and in certain parts, it hard to find anyone who will or can speak English. The "country" areas are few and far between as buildings/apartments/subdivisions appear overnight and on land that was once swamp. The heat gets worse every year. I didn't own a coat because there was no need for one. If you're lucking you may get two weeks of cold weather, but there's no in between. You put up Christmas decorations in shorts and a tank top and still sweat your buns off. If you do find land, stay clear of the palmetto bushes. Someone mentioned not getting bit by snakes, but my son did when he was little. It was a pigmy rattler and they had an old country Dr. from the northern area come into Tampa to verify the snake that he was bit by, so they could treat him. We also had a few snakes get into the house due to the palmettos in close proximity and my children leaving doors open. Good luck. As someone said, some people like it, some don't and some of us just got tired of it.

You might just enjoy it for a few years.It is always nice to be near family.I know alot of people who lived there a few years and liked it.They of course now are called half-backs.They went south from the north,got tired of the heat and crowds and started home.Then found places in the applachains that offered alot and stayed.You'll never know till you try.When we moved to Tallahassee from Co. I was just a girl and loved it.. that is till I met Palmetto bugs,huge horse flys(B52'S),giant grasshoppers,and sand gnats..yech..I have lived in N.GA. since I was 10 and it is alot nicer.

We left Florida in 2002 and won't go back! The crime, the traffic, the heat, the tourists, the sand, the salt, the sun, the construction..... I lived there for 30 years and it got so I hated it. That was before all the hurricanes....and you will get them, I know. There are 2 Beverly Hills in Fl - one near Jax and one north of Clearwater. Where will you be?

The flood and homeowners insurance is high (if you can find someone to sign a policy!) the property taxes will shock you and you'll wish you never left MI. You might want to rethink the move and the expense. If you're fortunate, you won't have to work. If you'll have to work (off the farm,) you'll be paid cheap wages and they can fire you anytime. It's an employer's market down there and you have to pay to live in the sunshine.

On the plus side, there's no state income tax! We moved to Ky where there are seasons and not as many people! :-)

I agree with most everyone here. Those of us who are native would like for folks to stop moving here because it does cause traffic congestion, higher taxes, constant complaining about the heat, etc.. There is a lot of Florida which still can be enjoyed as the "Old Florida" (I have 15 acres of it) and we hope to keep that a secret as long as we can. Good Luck with what you do.

We just moved to Tampa FL in Oct. we are going to buy a home in the Pine Ridge development in Beverly Hills. The land is all rolling hills and rural, didn't see any swamp land. Pine Ridge is an HOA development, but just east of beverly hills is a small mini farm development. An excellent site to look up property is http://www.floridashowcaseproperties.com/
they give you more info than any other site.

We really like it up there and can't wait to move. It's very pretty with lot's of horse farms. Pine Ridge is an equestrian development, they have a barn and riding rings with 29 miles of trails. The only thing is they dont allow any other livestock. Outside Beverly Hills there are lots of farms.

As far as the negative stuff, I guess it's all how you look at it. I have lived in the woods or on a farm all my life and have had to deal with snakes, bears, coons, mountain lion's and spiders big enough to walk off with your shoes. :eek: I'm not worried about gaters to much. The fire ants are about the worst thing we've had to worry about. Some area's of Florida are getting super developed and it's so sad, but there is still plenty of rural area's out there, you just have to look for them. Good luck with your move :)

Hey, Moopups, you may be a long lost cousin...my g-g-grandfather was born in Jay (Escambia County) in 1824....his father had to have a passport to go there (Indian territory). There weren't a lot of folks in Florida back then...it wasn't even a state for another 20 some-odd years.

I can't believe anyone would move here...we try our best to make it unattractive, but Yankees get tired of the cold and shoveling snow and keep trying to sneak in the back door. Then they have the nerve to complain about everything and try to remove all the native flora and fauna and plant stuff they had "back home" and when that doesn't work, they bulldoze everything to the ground and cover it with cement. Go figure!

All the negative comments made me SMILE. We moved here from Chicago 6 years ago and we have never been back and never want to see it again. As far as the traffic, goes. most of it is during "season" when the snowbirds flock here. Truly, not a much loved species. Personally we love lizards, snakes and frogs, but could do without the fire ants, but they are pretty prevalent in much of the warmer parts of the country, not just a Florida problem. Keep out of lakes and rivers lest you meet an alligator, remember, they were here first. Simply learn about where you want to live and respect its creatures. Everybody who complains about Florida will do the rest of us a favor if they simply decide to live elsewhere. Presto, less traffic. Never did figure out why the snowbirds insist on tying up the roads during rush hour - most don't even work.

You can still find a small homestead for a reasonable amount if you take the time to look. Realtors want to sell the costliest land, hmmmm, wonder why? If you want to live in Yuppyville be prepared for high prices, if the boonies is more your style you'll pay a lot less. The closer to a city or town, the higher the prices. Look around the Brooksville area around Tampa. Prices were not that bad for 5 acres and a mobile about a year ago which was the last time I looked. The further South you go, especially near the coast, the more you will pay. Everyone loves water, be prepared to pay more even on a small canal. It makes you wonder why some people choose to live on the rivers and complain about flooding and the critters that also live there. I say, they should move to a condo, inland preferably.

Don't be discouraged by the nay sayers. Heat, sure it's hot but it was hotter in much of the country last summer, rain? yep, nearly every afternoon in the summer. Sand, lots of it, but if you amend it with compost, there is nothing that will not grow here (within it's climate limitations). Hurricanes? Yes we had a couple of bad years, but it was 30 some years with no hurricane damage, And show me where in the country you will be assured there are no tornados. Natural disasters can occur anywhere, at any time. But the best thing is winter. It's worth the discomforts of summer to enjoy the weather from Oct - May or later. It's a whole different life here, but one has to make adjustments. You will see that in a year or 2, especially if you spend time outside (in summer), you will find that 70 degrees is downright chilly!

Go for it!

Your growing seasons will be fall-winter-spring, you might have to sweat an occasional freeze, don't count on anything in summer except okra and sweet potates UNLESS you have a shade house or a/c grow house.
If you come pls take agardening course from the extension depaertment. T is quite different from Northern gardening. Start googling tropical and semi tropical fruits and vegetables and check the tropical boards on gardenweb.