Moved to central Florida 20 yeas ago with my job. Got hit by 4 hurricanes the first year. You've been here only one year. Give it time. You'll experience one soon. A whole house generator helps.
Oh boy! I live here too and “enjoyed” those hurricanes too…I’m working toward a whole house generator….for now I rely on my good old bulky Generac on wheels two portable AC units when I lose power. Nothing more fun than hurricane season 😎
@@lizzieb6311 I had a portable generator as well but got tired of shlepping 5 gal jerry cans of gas. I took out a home equity loan to finance it. $14,000 it wasn't cheap.
I’ve lived in the suburbs of the Ft. Lauderdale area my whole life. Traffic down here has been so much worse since 2020 and everyone moved here so I can personally attest to that LOL. We are planning to retire to the St. John’s area outside of St. Augustine in a couple of years. My husband is a public safety diver for the sheriff’s office down here and the alligator thing is true. There is almost always one. They removed 3 from the canal behind our house a couple years ago. We are both born and raised here and love Florida, but I feel like the real Florida is definitely not in the Dade/Broward/Palm Beach area anymore. So glad you’re enjoying your time here!
True, long term Floridians have definitely experienced quite a bit of change over the year. What an interesting job your husband has! Very brave! Thank him for keeping us all safe for me :)
I'm glad you are happy living there. But for my family, it will always be a place to visit once in a while. Born and raised in Connecticut and have to have my 4 seasons! Including winter and snow.😊
It’s great to hear that you are so happy in Florida. I am a believer in the blue water thing. Living in Australia I grew up having a swimming pool and the water makes me happy. Now that I live on my own I really miss having one so everywhere I go if there’s a body of water I am in it.
Hi Jennifer! This was such a great video, I’m so glad you’re enjoying your life in Florida for the moment! It was so interesting to hear some of my own notions debunked, if you will, as my job could easily land me right in Orlando (tech, as you say, is growing there) as well! Also, everything you say is exactly how we felt before leaving a very blue western state (which was home and which we just returned to for a quick getaway) and coming to our current central home state (moderately red). And it’s funny because I actually have found that the in your face politics are more prevalent in where we came from than where we moved to. There seems to be more of an understanding perhaps that politics are personal opinions that should remain private. Which I very much enjoy because I think everyone should be free to believe what they want but have the grace to be cordial with and respect someone who may believe something else. Anyway, always enjoy your videos and glad you and Jim are enjoying retirement!!! ❤
I loved the way you handled politics. We are from SF Calif, moved to a Tulsa suburb and we see signs, tshirts, hats everywhere. Peopke randomly bring it up in conversation with strangers. Crazy. We have been thinking of a vacation house, considered Miami and Key West but I was worried about the politics.
I think the biggest drawback, the longer you stay, will be the healthcare system. With so many people living there already, and Florida being so popular, the lack of workers (nurses) and the workload placed on Doctors & hospital staff, is going to become more & more apparent. Living outside of Hpuston, Texas for almost 30 years, and moving back to a small town in Wisconsin, we have enjoyed the ease of getting into Doctors / Specialists easily. The traffic in the South was horrific, so we love driving around with no cars & enjoying the scenery!!
Your videos of FL always make me appreciate all the good here. We are still unsure where we will land for retirement, but maybe somewhere further north in FL. Love Windermere and have to get Chris out there to see since he (like me) only really knows the theme parks up there. Will let you know when we finally get up there to explore. Always smiling while watching your videos. Enjoy the rest of spring! ❤
We are unsure where we'll end up as well! But for now at least, we are happy exploring all there is here in Florida. Yes, please let us know when you are planning to be in the area! We'd love to see you! ♥️
I love hearing your feelings about living in Florida. It truly is special to be able to have so much sunshine and beauty in every day life. I agree with what you are saying about being near water and feeling better. I live in Gulf Breeze and when I was a court reporter at the courthouse in Pensacola, I had to drive over the bay bridge every day. Work was usually stressful but knowing I was going to see the water again at the end of the day was always a good thing! Thank you for sharing that book title. We are affected by hurricanes more here on the Gulf Coast and the rising insurance prices.
I was brought up in Jupiter and even at 16, I'd drive over the bridge and see the beauty that I was luck enough to live in. I moved away for my dh military life and It took a long time to get "home"
Great to hear your perspective after a year, especially considering how (my opinion) you seemed a little apprehensive about the move back in the beginning, considering you'd spent most of your life in the Midwest. I was apprehensive *for* you! But am so glad it all worked out so well. I'm jealous of the no-mosquitos thing as I'm still back in the Midwest getting bitten up a storm 😂😂
I moved from the Midwest (Ohio) to Florida (Saint Augustine) the same week as you. I have really enjoyed following along your journey of adjusting to being a Florida resident as I have done the same! I share many of your thoughts after being here for over a year myself. Something about not having a real winter, makes the extra hot summers really seem worth it. We have loved it here more than we thought we would as well ❤
Hi Jennifer, my husband and I moved to Daytona Beach a little over a year ago from Georgia, and we are loving it! I definitely agree with you on everything you said. Thank you so much for sharing. XoXo Lila
Really appreciate your thoughtful analysis of so many aspects of your new home. So refreshing to hear opinions based on personal experiences rather than speculation, rumor, etc. Thanks for sharing.
Love your channel! FYI, in the past hurricanes have hit the Orlando area pretty hard. For one hurricane I actually left my area since it’s on the coast and the hurricane was heading our way. We went to Orlando to avoid the direct hit, unfortunately, the hurricane missed our area and hit the Orlando area instead as a category 3. This was the case with hurricanes Charley and Irma.
Hi, I moved to The Villages, in central Florida in June 2020 and have loved it more every day. We see gators every day and we love it. The most I have seen is in one day is 17!!!! We are a golf cart community so we are out in the golf cart every day to do grocery store or the pet groomers or concerts or Polo matches- we have a daily chance to see all the wildlife in Florida- wild boar, all the birds, turtles, coyotes, horses, cows, donkeys!!
My parents lived in The Villages and left after 5 years. They wanted to live near their 4 girls. The Villages grew so rapidly that was another issue for them.
We feel the same way, having moved to Scottsdale, Arizona! 🌵 Interesting what you said about water and the calming effects. I love opening my door in the morning and listening to the water fountain.❤😊
Nice balanced perspective. I’m originally from the UK and have lived here for over 20 years in Celebration and now in Dr Phillips. This area definitely has a lot to offer, glad you are enjoying it 😁
Enjoyed hearing your Florida thoughts/experiences so far.....the journey of life is always interesting and unpredictable....we all never really know where we will stay or places we'll go, and opinions change as life and needs unfold, that's what keeps life interesting ~ to change!
Glad you like it here in Florida. It truly is paradise 🏝️I’ve been in Florida for 16 years. I’m in south Florida (Palm Beach county) and while it’s beautiful here, I still miss hometown events, family and friends from my hometown Philly.
I am so happy for you Jennifer; I honestly thought at the beginning of this journey that your heart wasn't in it, but often life throws you surprises...good ones too! Enjoy what you have until you decide on another change 🙂
My husband and I were raised in Illinois. We’d been married a year and moved to the Houston area. We were both teachers and the pay was great in Tx compared to Illinois. As soon as we retired we left. After 3 hurricanes and 3 tropical storms we went back to Illinois.
Sooo good to hear!! Makes me want to pack my Oregon self up and move! I had the same assumption about gators 🐊. Glad to hear your experience with them. What a beautiful life Jen! Cheers! 🥂
Thank you for a positive video. I get so tired of the negative ones, particularly about the Villages. I visited Ocala many times and find the cost of groceries and real estate cheaper than Virginia.
So happy you are enjoying your time in Florida Jennifer. I’m in the UK and those constant grey skies do have a negative impact sometimes. I was wondering if you feel your health has improved by living in a warmer climate. I remember you saying you had some autoimmune issues and I know the sunshine can improve things. Xx
I learned during a trip to St. Lucia years ago that my aches and pains were way less in the heat and humidity! I do feel that they are diminished here in Florida, as well. The winters here are cooler and not humid, but not as cold as Illinois (of course) and I do feel it has made things feel better for me physically. More than anything, I think the weather here allows me to be out and about, walking, hiking, swimming, etc, and that extra movement has helped immensely! xx
Your state is similar to my state of Arizona 🎋 minus the gators,🐊 lol. We have Javalinas instead. 🐖 It's mild and we do also have an influx of traffic during snowbird months just like you. It's also a retirement state and we've been here for 30 years.
we have always loved our time visiting FL while living in the SE area of the nation . We now live in the Rocky mountains and are enjoying the LOW EMF and low mold exposure that seems to be so high in the SE ..we did a spread sheet on the healthiest places to live . We look forward to our vacation time there in the near future . I think Jan- March holds the best weather .
That is very interesting that you found a great healthy spot to live! I wondered how our allergies would fare here, but so far they are not bad at all!
Hi Jennifer I can’t believe it’s been a year already amazing but I’m so happy for you guys that the area is working out for you all and hey vacation vibes are always a good thing so to live with that daily is fantastic💚💚💚💚
We are considering moving to Florida…we like Venice Beach/Sarasota area or Boca Raton/Palm Beach or Nashville, TN when we retire…still thinking through the pros and cons…this was helpful! Thanks! We live in the south now but still have all four seasons, but I do think I would enjoy more sun and warmer temps. I feel the best here in summer, plus my husband would enjoy golf year round! We visit the gulf coast…seaside, rosemary beach, watercolor at least once a year. Love Florida! Happy One Year Florida resident! Happy for you!❤️
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on Florida. My SO grew up there and has wanted to move back. I was curious where you got the cost of living numbers you shared. I do love your channel!
I am a first time viewer and enjoyed your perspective. I’m sure your video came up because I watch so many about Central Florida. Yes, I listened intently the entire time but I must ask a very important question. Do you have a link to your beautiful blouse? 😄
There is no perfect place on earth that is always perfect and every place on the planet has it's good and not so good things! I am so glad you are enjoying all your time in Florida Jennifer and I bet you have no packs of coyotes howling at night!! 😃😄
I love Florida! I have family in central Florida. You have so many cool things to do which is great! And yup, if I was there, I would be happy with the politics 😉
I’m always amazed when folks complain about the heat and humidity. It’s just as bad in Kansas without the benefit of the beach! I do not miss the snow when we spend the winters in Florida. We enjoy the palms, the flowers and the water everywhere. I will admit that the bugs and critters are gross to me. We have a home in a very well kept gated patio homes and we have experienced rats in our neighborhood and been told by pest people that they are literally everywhere in Florida. So gross.
Oh wow! We have never seen or heard of rats here (yet) and I hope we don't! I wouldn't care for that, either! I did forget to mention the tiny lizards that we see often.
Yep. I had to google part of her edited comment, too! That is the type of outburst of opinion that I was mentioning in the video has never happened to us here in our area. Thank heavens...I could not live with that on the daily. I'm pretty sure she has never watched one of my videos before, or she'd know that is not the vibe here.
I almost blocked this because I saw that first comment. Things are not great here and I grew up here and lived through desegregation and more. Have lived in Virginia and California but am here for my daughter. It’s really gotten bd here with hate and racism and more. I hate to bring up politics but was shocked to see that stuff about living in freedom. I’ll give this channel a chance but hope it doesn’t get too political because I will get triggered and mouth off
I think this is the first time EVER anything even slightly political has been mentioned on my channel, as I keep things completely "politics free" here!! Please don't let a few commenters sway your decision about my normal content. Thank you for giving Just Jennifer a try!
It’s because the great Governor DeSantis. Why Florida is so great. Yes, shortage of workers and very hard to get into the Dr here. All over the country it’s happening.
I luv the Free State of Florida. I manifested living here for 30 years. So happy to have left the bad weather and commie Taxachusetts behind. We don't talk politics because you're in Trump Country. Please don't bring your Blue State bull to our Free State of Florida. Remember the reason why you moved here...freedom and great weather. 😊
