travelnutz wrote:
...Also many elderly friends who had retired in Florida or Texas or the SW and they are so sick of the heat and want out! Constantly hear that being cooped up inside for 6 months each year with A/C blowing is not what they thought retirement would be like.
Most say it's much worse than having to have heat for 3-4 months as you can dress for the cold to be outside but can't undress enough outside for the constant sickening intense heat and humidity. Also that they are so tired of the tiny jammed together lot size living sites and the high prices for everything as they know the difference since they come back to the north to visit family etc almost every year and really dread going back to the southern heat and institutional type captive 6 months inside living.
7 of our friends have already moved completely back to our area alone now and several other family and friends are thinking seriously about doing so also and some have their homes for sale now! They say they want to enjoy their retirement years, not be imprisoned.
There's always going to be those people who feel this way, but its not the consensus among the elderly. My line of work is directly affected by the population trends in FL. It won't be long before Ocala, Leesburg, Belleview, and Wildwood all just merge together as one giant place that we'll refer to as "The Villages". These central FL retirement communities are growing faster than their infrastructure can handle. Some thought it might slow down once The Villages started reaching build-out capacity, but they just went and acquired more land. Problem solved ;-)
I don't understand the comment about the "high prices for everything". Gas, groceries, retail...these things don't cost anymore in FL vs. other places. Real estate is highly regional and utilities are the same. The costs certainly vary by community, no doubt. But I pay less than $300 per month for my home utilities, phone, internet, and satellite TV, so I can't imagine its much different anywhere else.
