3 Unexpected Hassles Of Retiring In Florida And How To Cope With Them

Retiring to Florida sounds like a dream come true if you have only visited the Sunshine State briefly. If you are sitting in traffic in your salt-spattered car, the sky already dark on your afternoon commute, you probably dream of the colorful Florida sunsets and year-round weather. For all of Florida’s charm, there is a reason that its inhabitants can match the curmudgeons of New York grumble for grumble. Some aspects of life in Florida are a constant source of annoyance, and others are downright terrifying. This does not mean that you should abandon your plans to retire to Florida, or that you should spend only a few months out of the year here, where the other state where you spend the rest of the year remains your legal domicile. It does mean that retiring successfully to Florida requires more planning than you might expect. For help preparing for the unexpected costs and hazards of retiring to Florida, contact an Orlando estate planning lawyer.

The Astronomical Cost of Home Insurance

Homeowners’ insurance and renters’ insurance is a necessity in Florida because of how frequently we experience extreme weather events. Unfortunately, this also means that insurance costs a lot more. Nationwide, the average cost of homeowners’ insurance is about $2,400 per year. In Florida, it is more than $10,000 per year. This means that, if you move to Florida from a state where natural disasters are rare, the cost of your homeowners’ insurance will quadruple. Florida advertises itself as a haven for retirees because of the low taxes, but the high cost of insurance more than balances it out.

Driving Everywhere in the Florida Traffic

One of the things people look forward to about retirement is not having to commute to work. They may look forward to using their cars infrequently, hoping to retire to a city where they can walk to the supermarket and to doctors’ appointments. If you retire to Florida, though, you will have to drive everywhere. Only the biggest and busiest cities in Florida have any public transportation, and it only goes to a limited number of destinations. If you retire to a part of Florida where housing is more affordable, you will have to drive everywhere, and Florida drivers have a big city attitude, even in small towns.

Living in Fear of the Next Monster Hurricane

The most challenging thing about living in Florida full time is not what happens but what might happen. Florida is directly in the path of at least one tropical storm or hurricane every year. If the storm misses your part of Florida this time, there is no guarantee that you will be so lucky two years in a row.

Contact Gierach and Gierach About Retiring to Florida Wisely

An estate planning lawyer can help you avoid unpleasant surprises and unexpected expenses when moving to Florida for retirement.  Contact Gierach and Gierach, P.A. in Orlando, Florida to discuss your case.

Source:

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