People interested in relocating have chosen Florida as their state of choice. The state is growing at the rate of thousands of new residents per day and a recent survey showed that 23.8 percent of those polled over 60 years of age selected Florida over Number Two California (6.8%) and Number Three Arizona (5.2%). 32% of those under 60 chose Florida because of the abundance of jobs with companies that have relocated to Florida because of the ideal working conditions. This is a guide for this vast audience people looking for a new lifestyle, job opportunities and the ideal retirement location, an escape from the chaos of the big cities and the brutal weather in other parts of the country. It explains how to move to the state, the areas to choose based on income, housing requirements, employment, living styles and other criteria.
Portion of the Introduction Chapter Can we assume a state nicknamed The Sunshine State would be a nice place to live? Well, sunshine doesn`t offer any nice-living guarantees, but when you consider some of the other advantages of living in Florida, the odds lean heavily in the "favorable" direction. For openers, Florida has no state income tax, the cost-of-living in more than half of the state's counties is far below the average for areas in the north and west where you might be living right now. At this writing, the unemployment rate in Florida is 2.4-percent lower than the national average and the state has earned a #1 rating in business growth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In southern Florida, the weather is beautiful occasionally hot but never dropping below freezing. In Key West, the southernmost city in the state, the lowest temperature ever recorded was only forty-eight degrees. If you like the change of seasons, consider northern Florida and the Panhandle. This type of weather not only provides comfortable living conditions year-round but reduces the expense of building and heating a home (less insulation and fuel oil requirements) and cuts winter clothing costs down to a minimum.
Everybody has to eat and if you rank all fifty states on a scale of "1-50" based on the cost of groceries and dining out, Florida falls somewhere around the middle - "32", indicating there are 31 other states where eating at home or in restaurants is more expensive. The cost of produce in Florida is low enough to earn it a "43" rating nationwide and fish are plentiful and inexpensive to buy or you can head out to the nearest lake, pond or river, the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean and catch your own. No matter where you live in Florida, you're never more than 85 miles from the costline, so there's the opportunity to fish, boat, swim, and loaf along a beach almost everywhere, even those who have chosen the lower-cost inland living
over the higher-cost, coastal living.
A wage earner in Florida with an income of $25,000-$28,000 a year pays 4.6-percent of their incme in state and local taxes. There is no income tax, so property, school, sales and intangible taxes make up this amount. Compare this to 6.7-percent in Texas, 7.67-percent in Georgia, 8.9-percent in Arizona and 9.2-percent in California. On the plus-side of taxes, consider Florida's $25,000 homestead property tax exemption. If you own a $50,000 house, you only pay taxes on a $25,000 house.
In an article entitled "America's Small Town Boom," in Newsweek magazine a few years ago, the author said: "In a remarkable new migration, Americans are leaving the cities, seeking a cheaper, safer and more relaxed lifestyle. For the first time since the early 1800`s, the census shows that rural and small-town America is growing faster than the cities and this growth is highest in the Sunbelt states, particularly Texas and Florida." Professor Andrew Sofranko, a rural sociologist at the University of Illinois says Americans are putting other concerns over jobs seeking out quiet places with less noise, crime and congestion that are safe for children and offer a slower pace of life. Throughout Florida there are "quiet places" like this - small towns that are ideal for those who want the peace and quiet associated with the small town life, yet also want the convenience of driving a short distance to other areas for recreation and shopping. For those looking for a more cosmopolitan living area, Florida's "big towns" - Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa-St. Petersburg, Jacksonville and Orlando - offer everything from cultural events to a wide variety of job opportunities, all the result of continuous growth. Last year, 265,000 relocated to Florida, making it the fourth largest state in country. About 25% of new arrivals will choose the small town life over the big town life and what you choose will depend on why you're relocating to Florida. The job and business opportunity are over there, the casual lifestyle and low cost-of-living area is over here.
The opportunity to step to the front of the Florida new-resident line has never been better. In researching this book, we traveled up and down and across the state, investigating the best relocation areas based on lifestyle and career requirements, the best retirement areas, the best economic opportunity areas and the best areas for just plain comfortable living. For those looking to stretch their income dollar, we uncovered little-known towns and communities where the retiree or young, growing family can live comfortably on an average income. If you`re seeking employment and business opportunities, we'll show you where the fastest growing areas are, what Florida's newest industries have to offer job seekers and where the best jobs are located. Part Two of this book lists over 1500 information sources you can contact for information. Included are the names and addresses of Florida's top 650 employers, sources you can contact for job information.
Throughout this book we'll be referring to comparison living costs in different areas of the state using a COL (cost-of-living) Index. "1" is the highest, "67" the lowest of Florida`s 67 counties. COL Indexes are based on extensive, state government and educational studies weighing the initial cost of the following: the purchase and ongoing maintenance of a home; property, school and sales taxes; the cost of food, clothing, entertainment and transportation and general living expenses maintaining a set lifestyle. The COLs range from a high in southeastern Monroe County in the Florida Keys where the overall COL Index rating is 13 points higher than the state average to a low of 15 points below the state average in the northwestern Panhandle. These comparative figures can be used to choose the best relocation area. In this book, Jacksonville and Duval county in the northeastern corner of the state, are used as the state average: with a COL of "30", there are 29 counties with a higher cost- of-living average, 37 with a lower cost. The chart on page 65 compares annual living expenses in various areas around the country for a family of four with Florida's average. The housing figures listed are based on the average three bedroom, single family home and includes insurance, real estate taxes, utilities, heat and maintenance. The tax column includes federal, state and local taxes on comparable, average incomes. The transportation column covers the cost of two, non-business cars.
It`s interesting to note that Pensacola, Florida - a city of 57,000 in the northwestern corner of the state - has one of the lowest cost-of-living ratings in the United States while still offering a location with direct access to the Gulf of Mexico and Florida's climate. When Pensacola and Escambia counties are compared with Florida`s other counties, they rank "40" out of "67", indicating there are 27 counties in the
state where the cost-of-living is even lower. In areas like this, the median home costs $64,000-$73,000 while homes in Dade and Monroe Counties (the most expensive living areas in the state) average $149,000 and up (way up).
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