10 Things You Need to Know About Retiring to Florida

Attention Florida-bound retirees: There's more to the Sunshine State than Disney, golf and beaches.

Welcome to Florida sign with palm trees in the background.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

As you sit there mulling a retirement in the South, approximately 1,000 people are already on their way to Florida today with all their household belongings. Should you join them?

Like many baby boomers approaching retirement age and hunting for a warmer climate to call home in their golden years, my wife and I scouted cities and towns in Florida for a possible landing pad — so I had some skin in the game (we decided on elsewhere).

But Florida isn’t all about the beaches, Disney World and the massive retirement community known as The Villages. I interviewed experts and residents for tips on what you need to know about moving to Florida. So grab an OJ and dive on in. The water’s warm, but...complex.

Disclaimer

This is an updated and expanded version of a story originally published in 2017.

Bob Niedt
Contributor

Bob was Senior Editor at Kiplinger.com for seven years and is now a contributor to the website. He has more than 40 years of experience in online, print and visual journalism. Bob has worked as an award-winning writer and editor in the Washington, D.C., market as well as at news organizations in New York, Michigan and California. Bob joined Kiplinger in 2016, bringing a wealth of expertise covering retail, entertainment, and money-saving trends and topics. He was one of the first journalists at a daily news organization to aggressively cover retail as a specialty and has been lauded in the retail industry for his expertise. Bob has also been an adjunct and associate professor of print, online and visual journalism at Syracuse University and Ithaca College. He has a master’s degree from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and a bachelor’s degree in communications and theater from Hope College.

 

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