Not a native Floridian, but I lived along the gulf coast for several months while helping take care of a sickly grandparent. It wasn’t fun and my immediate family and I realized that it wasn’t for us. We moved back to the west coast after that.
I’m guessing a big part of it is the lack of state taxes, but from my experience, I don’t see the draw. It was way too humid and scalding hot, thunderstorms every week, mozzies constantly in your face, horrible drivers nearly T-boning you on the highway– and then Publix killing* affordable grocery prices into ribbons with a chainsaw.
Is this more of a stereotype or is/was there a very real draw from retiring couples to come out and live out their golden years?
*replaced a word, publix still sucks.
Comments
Oh yeah.
How else do you think the gators get fed?
South Florida still gets a lot of retired people.
Many “older” people who aren’t retired (like professionals in their 50s, etc) also moved to all different parts of FL to get away from state income taxes and enjoy the consistently warmer weather. A lot of retired people also have flocked to other parts of FL as the specific areas in south FL where retirees always go is now even more expensive than ever to live in.
In North Carolina we have a lot of what are called “halfbacks” – people that move from the northeast to Florida, hate it, then move half way back – to NC.
If anything it might be increasing. It felt like 20 years ago it was mostly people from the northeast retiring there but I’ve even known people from the west moving there now.
As someone who lives on the gulf coast.
Yes. They are still here.
They prefer the heat over the cold, and its not like they don’t live in ACed houses.
The Villages, a massive retirement community/town that spans three counties, is still growing.
Some do, but I bet it’s less overall.
God’s Waiting Room…er…Florida, has become way, way, way too expensive and overcrowded. And with insurance companies refusing to do business in the state, buying a home for your golden years is a HUGE gamble.
My parents are there as I type this to buy a condo to retire in so yes.
Oh yes. Floridian here and I can tell you this is very much still a trend.
We get cold easily, do very limited amount of driving, and purchase fewer groceries.
As a Florida native: 100%, yes.
I went to Florida for the first time a couple of weeks ago to visit friends who just moved there.
Yeah, I don’t get it.
Humid, boring landscape, alligator roadkill (FFS!!), terrible food, and the only topic of discussion was pickleball.
Of course, a lot of people we met were from Buffalo, NY, so I can see the contrast and their delight at having no snow, but I live in California and saw nothing that would entice me to live there.
The traffic on I-75 rivaled that of SoCal, too, and that’s saying something.
My parents are currently chomping at the bit to move to Florida. Dad is a South Philly Italian pushing 70, politically he would fit right in down there. My mom grew up in Puerto Rico and likes the weather.
The only reason they are still in Jersey is because of my kids.
A lot of elderly people who are from colder areas will move to warmer states for retirement because at a certain age the cold starts to really affect how they feel. It’s not just Florida, states like Arizona, the Carolinas, etc also get a lot of elderly transplants. Anywhere with decent cost of living and warm weather is going to be a draw. And places with large populations of other retirees will obviously be attractive places to retire – infrastructure for aging populations follows the aging population. The area my parents live has a huge industry around aging – plenty of home health aids, plenty of doctors and surgery centers specializing in things like knee and hip replacements, assisted living centers close to the retirement communities, and facilities that are designed to move people from independent living to assisted living to skilled nursing care all without having to move from the community you live in.
There are benefits to the elderly population that a young family wouldn’t necessarily find useful or attractive.
Hell yeah they do.. they used to.
They used to be plenty of affordable housing, no income tax and really mild winners… what’s not to love
Yes. My ex-coworker is literally on his way there now as I type this to start his retirement.
https://www.thevillages.com/
They are absolutely still flocking there. They are building entire towns that exist solely for retirees
Florida is still the number one state for people to retire to.
Over 77,000 in 2024
Arizona was number two with over 23,000.
Go to Naples, FL… it is absolutely real, and they are aggressively building communities all over to try and keep up.
You can count my parents among that group, though they are what we here in Michigan call “snowbirds”… they don’t permanently move to Florida, but have a place down there and spend most of the winter months down there, then come back to Michigan for the summer when the weather is warm here and gets overbearing down there.
What’s not to get?
No snow and ice and cold and dry skin.
Sign me up.
Your deal breaker was they didn’t take your money? I did want to move to Florida but it’s just too dam hot down there. Plus i would miss the seasons, i still like a winter and it not be 64.
Florida is great for 7 months, especially considering the lack of state income tax and lower COL versus the West Coast, but the rest of the year it absolutely SUCKS!
If not for air conditioning including in cars, there wouldn’t be many people here after May.
If you stay mostly indoors during the 5 sweltering months, it’s fine though.
Yes, but not like it used to be. It’s also wealthier people who go to Florida to retire these days it seems. At least in my experience around Chicago. I know several people who have retired to Arizona. It is more common (again just in my experience) for wealthier people to have a summer home in Florida rather than move there full-time. I only know one couple who are planning on retiring to Florida full-time.
Edit: My grandparents retired to Florida from Massachusetts, but that was back in the 80’s. They lived in a gated retirement community where everyone drove golf carts around the subdivision and they had a club house with a pool and shuffleboard courts. Florida was kind of known for those types of communities back then. That’s why people retired to Florida. If you wanted to live in a community like that, you went to Florida.
Oh ya. Mostly East coast peeps. West coast typically go to Arizona.
There’s a reason we call FL “Heaven’s Waiting Room”
Absolutely, not just due to weather but also because of no state income taxes. Particularly to South Florida- Miami and Palm Beach areas, Naples, Sarasota, Tampa/St. Pete’s. My parents are retired in Florida, they live near Sarasota.
It seems that Florida is still very high on the list for retirement for the reasons you gave, but many of the very wealthy retirees might only live there for part of the year. In the midwest we call those snowbirds, they will live in their homestate from May-September or October and then spend the winters somewhere down south(Florida and Arizona are popular choices).
So from November until April its warm throughout Florida(60-80°ish?) and not as humid.
I live in North Florida and unfortunately yes. I wish other people would find somewhere else to go.
So many people move down here and complain that it’s nothing like where they were from. Or this or that was so much better than where they were from. Or the prices of XY and Z were better where they were from. If it was so much better where you were from than go back! Stop trying to make Florida like Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Canada, Wisconsin, Illinois, etc.
We have a massive population of over 65. The only other states that are higher than us is Texas and California. And that’s only because of how huge they are.
Tax benefits
ETA: Surprised I am the only point pointing this out. No income tax, no inheritance tax, no state income tax, caps on lifetime property taxes.
Their tax system is optimized to favor retirees. Whatever you think of the state it makes financial sense to move there.
I received a call from my 80ish aunt the other day, wishing me a Happy Passover while noting she was enjoying the warm Florida weather while it was in the 30s and raining here in NJ. SO …. I’d say yes.
Yes, unfortunately, lots of older folks still move here, and a TON of them are here for half the year too until it’s time to head back up for April
Yes, people are still moving to Florida to retire.
A big part of it is the mild climate and existing population of oldsters. I think the lack of state income tax is just a bonus.
>and then Publix slashing affordable grocery prices into ribbons with a chainsaw
The way you wrote this suggests Publix lowered prices, but I think you must have meant the opposite.
[Looks around here in southern maine]
Yes, yes they do.
I work with a lot of clients who are snowbirds. They still retain residency here in Maine but I’ll call them and they are down in Florida or I call them and they have permanently moved. I can’t really do anything for the ones that permanently moved other than point them to our local office in Florida.
The snowbirds I can handle so long as they are actually Maine residents.
Yes! Don’t believe anything you hear on Reddit, totally the opposite demographic of people who retire to Florida
I think they make the decision for health reasons, though those reasons aren’t the same as they always were. Originally, it was to escape the smog ridden northeast for breathing issues, other ailments, but it’s mostly now and probably always was, the path to get away from deadly northern winters. Deadly when you are elderly with a weakened immune system.
Mid state, east coast is very liveable and close enough to everything but still remains peaceful.
People in the eastern part of the US have an attraction to Florida that is nonexistent in the west, OP. When I lived in the Midwest it seemed like all of my coworkers took vacations in Florida. I heard about it constantly in the winter. It really stood out to me as someone from the west. People just love Florida.
I feel like people here only go to Florida if they’re visiting family or friends, it’s not really a vacation destination on its own merits.
My parents did. My dad is practically a lizard so he loves it there.
Edit: forgot to add that the lack of income tax was also a big draw
Escape winter
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This is something that keeps getting to me.
I’m trying to figure out where my wife and I should retire to, but one of the big factors is that my wife cannot handle the heat at all, and anywhere that gets into the upper 80s/28C+ regularly is just unacceptable. And yet, retirees are all marketed to flock to warm places.
Where are the cool places to retire to?
Only old gay Jewish dudes from New Jersey as far as I know.
Delaware is becoming a top destination for old folks – cheap to retire, easy access to your kids in the DMV or Philly, weather is somewhat agreeable. My family has a summer home there (yes near the Bidens) and every year I see another farm gone, another 65+ community pop up
There are still a lot who go down, but recently they’re finding themselves out priced by the cost of living and either moving back to their original location or somewhere cheaper.
Of course. Try spending winter in the Midwest.
I live in NY; there’s not enough money in the universe that would convince me to move to that dump.
Heat, humidity, blazing sun, and bugs. Absolutely not.
Yeah they do.
I (42M) moved (back) to Florida 2 years ago.
The weather is perfect. Beaches are accessible year around. My wife and kids go to Disney 25+ times a year. I see (or work on) rocket launches weekly.
Florida has beautiful natural springs, great and accessible beaches with WARM water (unlike California), lots of sunshine, green plants growing everywhere (I missed this a lot when I was in SoCal)
It also has a diverse population from the Caribbean, central, and South America with all of the food, style, and charm that come with immigrants. Orlando also is experiencing an Asian explosion of sorts with a dozen+ great various Asian restaurants opening the past year.
I absolutely love Florida. I’m from Indiana, and lived and worked as an adult in Indiana, Iowa, SoCal, and Georgia. I very much mean it when I say that I prefer Florida over those places and it’s not close.
Yes, although it does seem the type of person moving there is different the in the past.
Rather than professionals from Boston and NYC moving to condos along the beach, current politics has meant that the retirees now are often affluent blue collar types such as retired police and fire fighters with a comfortable pension
The flights out of RSW (Ft. Myers) are filled with elderly who have stayed at the party too long & can’t walk onto the plane. It’s sad but they stay down there until their adult children realize they are no longer able to make sound decisions & they bring them back home.
If they do, they ain’t buying houses in my neighborhood.
Many of us enjoy the warmth.
Yes, they absolutely do. It’s not as cheap as it once was, but old people enjoy warm weather. Also no income taxes. Old people tend to be more conservative, so it fits many of them in that way also.
I’ve heard Florida referred to as God’s waiting room
Publix is better than anything in the PNW. Publix and HEB are great.
People say the same thing about the West Coast. It appeals to people being in warm weather, great cities, and there is constantly something to do. I love going to Orlando.
Yes
Look at state tax rates.
LOL. People rarely move from the West Coast to Florida to retire. Florida is attractive if you’re from the tundras of the Northeast and Midwest and don’t have the money for the West Coast.
I grew up in the northeast where people are always pining for Florida. I live in California now where Florida means Cuban or redneck.
Not anymore. Taxes and insurance. And worsening weather are driving people away. Especially insurance
A lot of Americans have stopped going to Florida completely due to politics. We don’t want to put money into a state that supports taking rights away to women. They also wanted to make it so children could work overnight shifts. Horrible place. Avoid completely! Do not spend money there.
r/no