Moving To Florida Blog

I have been reading the blog Moving To Florida 

http://www.stateoffloridaliving.com/

by Ron Stake. 

It appears that Ron's approach is to convince everyone that moving to Florida is a bad idea. Ron moved to florida around 1995 and he has seen a lot of change. specifically, he has seen the real estate  market crash and a lot of commercial development. I suspect this has turned him negative.

Regardless, I encourage you to read his blog. If considering moving to Florida? You need to do a ton of research. you should listen to opinions you agree with and dont. hear things you want to hear and dont want to hear. You cant only read that Florida is unicorns and rainbows - you need to hear about Florida from multiple perspectives.

As you read Ron's blog, you should be able to tell which points are valid, an which points are exaggerated by Ron's negativity. If you can't tell the difference? You aren't ready to move and need to do further research.

I have many family and friends who moved to Florida, they love it, and regularly encourage me to move too.

So, where is the truth about Florida? I think it lies somewhere between the hype and Ron's assessments. And I think the truth is different for everyone.

So, include Ron'a blog in your research. You'll find the posts tend to be easily negative, but he is less negative when answering people's questions. And Ron needs to be given credit for the time and effort he puts into the blog. Just read it with a critical eye compared to what you know to be true.

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Bringing Florida Home

My move to Florida may be several years away, but I have brought Florida home. My office lacks a window so I installed an electronic window. This is a 32" TV I bought real cheap on Black Friday connected to an old PC. On this TV, I display video I have looped from past trips:

Http://www.livestream.com/palmtree

(The site might take a while to load because it sometime struggles to load an initial ad)

My digital window looks out at a Florida neighborhood. Occasionally, it changes to the backyard pool. All throughout my workday, I can look out the window and imagine my house is in Florida instead of buried in three feet of snow.

Free college in Florida

Moving to Florida can be very expensive and can seem financially daunting to a family raising kids and trying to save for college.

But what if most of the college expenses were paid for you?

Florida has a state lottery system that brings in hundreds of millions of dollars. That lottery income is used to fund the Bright Futures program. This is a program that will pay for all or part (depending on GPA) of tuition to a Florida university for one out of every eight school graduates. Some years, the number has been as high as one out of four graduates! It is all based on merit, so, if your child can maintain a 3.0 GPA in high school, do service credits, and score well on the ACT and SAT? They may be eligible for the program if they graduate from a qualifying public or private high school in Florida.

Is the free college worth it? You'll need to consider that the Florida public school system in one of the worse in the nation. But there are excellent private schools. Regardless of public or private they are highly Spanish speaking, which could be a disadvantage for an English-only student.

In other words, there are trade-offs. Decisions like these are never easy. You may be able to solve the financial concern of paying for college by moving to Florida in exchange for several challenging high school years.

You may owe taxes after moving to Florida.

One of the benefits of moving the Florida is that you don't pay income taxes. However, unless you are careful, you may end up owing taxes to you previous state!  Especially if you are moving out of New York State or California.

If you spend more than 183 days in your old state? They may want to collect income tax! Are you going to move before the 183rd day of the year? if not - plan to pay.

Even if you move before the 183rd day, unless you officially cut your ties to your old state, it can be difficult to prove you relocated. For example, imagine if you move but your house takes four months to sell after you left? 

Here is some advice from CNN Money: As soon as you move, you should change your driver's license, car registrations, voter registration and mailing address for all bills and financial statements. You may also need to file a non-resident return to your old state if you earned any income there.

If it looks like you might still have connections to your old state that extend beyond 183 days? The state may come after you! Still have ties to your old church or some other organization? Watch out! Need to travel back to visit family or close a house sale? Be careful during that first year that you don't appear to exceed 183 days.

In case you have to prove you relocated, keep a meticulous travel log, complete with gas, toll and airline receipts, credit card records and the like.

Their goal will be to show that you primarily spend your time in your old state. Your goal will be to prove them wrong.

What you need to know before moving to Florida

I came across this site created by Sharon Therien that explains what you need to know about Florida before you move there: http://www.movoto.com/fl/moving-to-florida/

1. Get used to weather that will make you crazy
2. You'll immediately become a beach person
3. And probably get lost in the swamps and jungles
4. Florida is where dreams come true
5. You can (and probably will) live the private life
6. Everyone is more mature than you
7. The world's biggest beach party
8. Florida is a bunch of states living together
9. No one agrees on driving
10. Florida is a melting pot
11. You can take up celeb stalking
12. Snowbirds migrate to Florida every year
13. All those tourists are actually good for you
14. Brace yourself: Spring break is coming
15. You can make a date with a dolphin
16. You'll catch the need for speed
17. Move over Houston
18. Spring for every season
19. Florida has the venice of America
20. Key West is New Orleans without the crazy
21 And you can walk from one shore to another
22. Everyone loves the taste of Florida in the morning
23. You should just learn golf now
24. Headquarters for the 1%
25. One capitol isn't enough for Floridians

To see the remaining 4? Visit the west site. I found it very entertaining.