Moving to Florida - 5 Things to Know Before You Go!

#1 – Florida is big… massive  

If you have been saying “I want to move to Florida” be sure to keep in mind how big Florida really is.

It takes 3 hours or so to drive across the state,

13 hours to drive from the Keys to the Panhandle.
​
And those are best case scenarios….  with no traffic.
 
Which leads us to # 2…  


#2 –The Traffic  
​
In the last three years, it seems like everyone including their cousin’s sister’s dog walker have moved to Florida. 

And with that, we’ve personally noticed an uptick in the traffic.

So If you’re planning to drive somewhere here in Florida, give yourself a cushion…

For instance, driving to Disney World from where we live takes about 1 hour and 40 minutes door to door.

The LAST time we drove to Disney, the ride took 3 hours and 15 minutes!
​
Just the mere mention of I-4, and Floridian’s immediately start to question their life goals…

“Maybe I’ll just stay home and clean the bathrooms with a toothbrush”… 

“I was thinking I’d cut the grass, with scissors all while laying on top of a fire ant mound”…

#3 – The grass kinda sucks

Gone are the days of leisurely barefoot walks through beautiful cool, soft bluegrass…

There are a couple of common lawn grasses here in Florida…

St Augustine grass, which feels like walking on crusted needles.

And Zoysia grass, which can be beautiful and lush under your feet, if and when it cooperates…
​
Keeping a nice lawn here, even in the maintenance free communities, is not so simple.


#4 – The bugs

Inevitably you’ll move here and it will happen…

You’ll walk barefoot on that not so nice grass… and then BAM!

A fire ant barely bigger than the tip of your pen takes hold in between your toes…

And in that moment you’ll contemplate jumping in the pool…

Fully clothed… With your phone and your wallet still in your pocket.

Seriously, the bugs in Florida are not like the bugs where you are from.

And we tell everyone this… they were here first.

We’ll never win the war on bugs.

We learn to live in harmony and give them their space.
​
And as long as they’re not inside your house… you’re winning. 
​

#5 – Beach Time vs. Mother Nature
​
Ok… let’s talk about Florida and the beaches…

If you love sunshine, Florida is the place to be..
let’s look at our area as an example…

According to stats from bestplaces.net...

... The Sarasota area gets 251 days of sunshine per year on average.
So 69% of the year… Sunny.
​
But what about the other 31% of the year?

106 days, or 29% of the year, it rains.
69 % + 29 % = 98%

Apparently the remaining 2% of the year Florida is in total darkness and enters the space-time continuum?

The point is, it rains a good amount here too, especially in the summer.  And that rain comes down hard and fast…

It’s accompanied by thunder and lightning like you can’t imagine…
​
So those outdoor beach plans may not happen quite as often as you think, depending on the weather and the traffic to get there…


​In Conclusion…
​
Even with all the “negative” stuff we just rattled off…

there is no where else we would rather be.

We can poke fun at some of this stuff because we live here and truly love it here, regardless.

If you’re thinking about making the move, call us. We can share all the pros and cons, but mostly pros! 

​941-348-2653
contact@chenkus.com