Do you know anyone reconsidering living in Florida after Hurricane Ian?

I personally would consider it, but that would be up to my mom and I don’t think she would be as brave as me. During the very short time I was there I did love the weather even though that wasn’t much to go on, but I just love the sun and all the beaches. Maybe somewhere in Florida, that doesn’t get hit would be nice (if that is possible?) Perhaps when I’m older?

It’s been known for years that Florida is extremely vulnerable to hurricane damage with climate change. I love the winter weather there but I decided some years ago that I wouldn’t buy there again now. And of course, there’s also the politics.

I know more people reconsidering moving from Florida because of the political landscape than the hurricane landscape.

Not a single soul.

So frustrating the political comments. Florida is purple, and if Democrats don’t come “because of the politics” it will just stay that way rather than actually shifting to be more blue. You can be part of the movement to change the state! Every vote counts here, every single one. You can make a difference and it’s 29 electoral votes! You can be part of the change. It’s beyond me why activists aren’t all saying, “I’m moving to Florida to make a difference.”

I don’t even believe it anyway, it sounds to me more like some sort of statement that liberals like to say as a way to identify themselves. It seems to me it’s people not planning to move to Florida anyway who throw in that extra tidbit. There are some extremely blue counties in Florida, you can live there and be surrounded by liberals, and your everyday life will be the same as living in NYC regarding the people you interact with.

The Q is about weather anyway.

@RayaHope Being inland makes you less vulnerable, because the hurricanes lose their strength over land. Also, being away from water helps avoid being flooded, and flooding is usually the worst part.

You don’t even have to be very far inland, like Orlando, you can just be 15 miles in from the coast and usually that’s enough as long as the house is newer built with the newer roof codes and having hurricane shutters for the windows.

The people I have talked to who are considering leaving Florida because of the weather are doing so because of the reasons that @janbb mentioned, and because homeowner insurance that is comprehensive, as related to the weather, is cripplingly expensive.

And, @JLeslie, as much as you like to bash the liberals for not understanding how very purple Florida is, do, please, understand that Florida presents as extremely conservative. Book banning, “don’t say gay”, immigrants from Texas shipped off to Martha’s Vineyard, hugely restrictive new abortion laws, etc etc etc. Not much blue in that purple of yours.

These things are all taken into consideration by people, not just the weather.

Between the politics and the weather, I don’t think it’s for me. I love going there for vacations, like we went last February for a week. It was gorgeous. However, with the threat of hurricanes PLUS the political shit, I don’t think I could stomach it. I also don’t think I could stomach living in a state like South Carolina or Missouri or anywhere where they’re into fracking, limiting women’s rights regarding their bodies, etc. Here in NY, we usually have a Dem governor and Republicans often say they can’t stand him/her. I’d feel the same in Florida, watching DeSantis.

@JLeslie If you want to limit to scope of topics, put this in General. You are getting very valid answers.

@JLeslie – Florida’s politics/people keep me from wanting to even visit, never mind live there.

Florida is not even close to being like AL,TN, MS, or SC. FL is more like MI and maybe AZ politically.

I do understand not wanting to live in a place that most people around you think differently politically, and when the state has a lot of political leaders who are from the other party, but Florida has the opportunity to become a bluer state if Democrats move here. The state has a ton of residents from the northeast. Even NYS has a lot of Republicans outside of NYC, and IL has a lot of Republicans outside of Chicago. You can live in very Democratic areas in FL if you want to. It’s fine with me anyway, the state is getting too crowded. Too much traffic.

Meanwhile, I am just interested in the weather, because I am wondering if demand for real estate will slow temporarily because of the hurricane, or if it will pick up, because Floridians who were displaced will be buying and renting in other parts of Florida. This is aside from real estate being in a precarious spot to begin with, with interest rates rising.

When I visited Colorado, I met a guy who moved there from FL because a previous hurricane ruined his life.
This definitely isn’t a new issue and I’m sure many people over time have left due to working hard to create a nice home and having it ruined in a couple days.

Edit: He has 2 daughters and lost all his babies’ pictures and memories. So this shows how devastating these situations can be. Wanted to add this for context.

@Blackberry So different in climate, except for the days of sunshine. Colorado is very sunny.

Yes but your home won’t have a tree sent through it in Colorado lol.

One of the reasons I want to leave California is because of drought and wildfire smoke, so I can understand leaving a place because of weather. A good friend’s fiancé is from Naples and I know that they were considering living in Florida. I’m not sure if they’ve reconsidered because of Ian or were reconsidering earlier for other reasons, but last I heard they’re thinking of moving to Seattle instead.

I’m back in FL (somewhat against my will) and while I have serious complaints about living here, they have nothing to do with weather/hurricane risk. Besides, the Tampa Bay area has been largely spared for many decades. I am a renter, though, and will probably not be buying a house here. I haven’t heard of anyone wanting to leave due to weather/hurricane risk, but I severely limit my in-person exposure to people since COVID.

@Cupcake I didn’t know you were back. I hope you are feeling better.

@JLeslie A bit, but not enough. I’m preparing to leave my job. I’ve worked since I was 15… I can’t even imagine not working. But I think it’s my only shot at any real improvement.

On the bright side, I have found some IV treatments that are very helpful and am grateful to have that option nearby. And also, I’ll have plenty of time for us to plan a get-together.

@Cupcake I’m glad you are improving, and yes, we will have to get together.