I'm another Florida newbie but have been coming here for a week at a time for many years. Those weeks have been at all times of the year hence why we knew we would love it! We closed on our new house in Sep 2023.
We live in Citrus County, about 90 min north of Tampa. 8 miles inland from the Gulf and Crystal River (self-proclaimed manatee capital of the world). NO traffic jams, no rush hour, and very hilly around here. Our 1.2 acre lot is 88' above sea level so no worries of hurricane storm surge. In fact, hurricanes generally don't traverse through here - it's been yada yada years since one did (the natives claim many decades). The past several, like Ida that tore up Fort Myers and Naples a couple years ago, dropped something like 3-4 inches of rain here. Not much considering we can get a thunderstorm on any given day that will drop 3" - generally followed by about a week of sunshine! Our "subdivision" is quite large - about 8 miles x 4 miles - with POA dues of $96 per YEAR (and cannot go up). Not bad considering the minimum lot size is 1 acre with some going up to 5 or more. It's an equestrian community so many people have horses.
This past winter, although much colder than normal according to the natives, was glorious to us (we moved from the Detroit area.) The coldest days had me in a sweatshirt in the afternoons. We only have solar heat for our pool and the water has been 85+ since later in March. It's now hitting the set-point of 91 close to every day. Perfection!
The bonus we did not expect was the insane car culture around here. This place is nuts with people and their MULTIPLE cars! I have 3 and am on the bottom for sure. And I'm talking these folks have REALLY nice stuff. No rust buckets here for sure. And a car show or cruise in a 30 mile radius literally 5 nights (or more!) per week if you want to partake.
Car insurance is considerably higher here, perhaps about 30%. No income tax and property taxes are about what you'd expect. Since our house is new, insurance for it was reasonable (I thought) given we have the house, the pool/screened cage, and my 1700 ft2 detached garage/shop.
One other unexpected bonus: we have NO mosquitos! My wife is allergic to them so this was a great surprise. I can be out in the shop at night with the door open, lights on, and no attack of those pesky critters. Nice!!
Looking at what I wrote, it sounds like I'm selling. I'm not, just stating the facts as we see it, and loving being here.
