11 Reasons Retirees Regret Moving To Florida

Florida is often viewed as the crown jewel of the United States' many appealing retirement destinations. Over the decades, millions upon millions of retirees have made their way to the southeastern tip of the country to bask in the warm weather, dip their toes in the ocean, and enjoy the Sunshine State's year-round brightness. Florida's popularity among seniors has actually altered its age demographics. The state has the largest percentage of those 65 and older compared to the rest of the U.S. Around 21% of the population is comprised of retirees, according to USA Facts.

Also, the median age is around 42 years, which is higher than the national average of 38. Unfortunately, Florida's extreme popularity as a retirement hub is starting to work against its appeal as the number of pensioners skyrockets. With pleasant winter weather, hundreds of miles of beachfront property, and various retirement-oriented accommodations, what's not to love about the Sunshine State, you might ask? Well, many retirees have regretted moving to Florida over the years, pointing to various changes in the state's quality of life, affordability, weather extremes, and other events. Before you make one of the largest financial decisions in your golden years, it's important to consider the downsides of moving to the Sunshine State. Only relying on the positives you heard online or even from friends and family could lead to a costly regret down the line.

Healthcare is the one major expense you shouldn't forget when budgeting for retirement. It's often the single biggest budget item for seniors as health complications begin piling up in their later decades. With over 1 in 4 Floridians 65 years or older, you might expect the healthcare system to be among the best in the country. Unfortunately, the Sunshine State doesn't shine bright in this category. Florida's healthcare system consistently ranks low compared to other states in several crucial areas, including successful outcomes, accessibility, and affordability. A Wallet Hub study placed Florida 42nd in the entire country, placing it among the top 10 worst healthcare systems.

Long-term care in Florida, which Medicare tends not to cover, can reach up to between $60,000 and over $130,000, depending on how much attention is required. On top of that, emergency room wait time can balloon to three hours, spiking the costs associated with delayed treatment and increasing the risk of negative outcomes from serious issues. Florida's highly criticized healthcare system isn't expected to improve. In fact, many experts see the dire situation worsening. Some of the biggest hurdles to better care for seniors include a massive shortfall of qualified workers, the rising costs of medicine, and upcoming Medicare cuts, most closely associated with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

The cost of a swimming pool may seem like an insignificant reason to regret moving to Florida, especially compared to healthcare unaffordability or skin cancer rates, but the financial burden of these common home features is often overlooked. Consider that nearly 1 out of every 30 homes in Florida has a pool. There are about 1.6 million in the entire state. Wherever you're planning to move, there's a decent chance the property will have a pool. And when you experience your first 100-degree day in the Sunshine State, you'll know why pools are so prevalent. But that first maintenance bill could make you sweat even more.

Owning a pool is a financially consuming endeavor. Estimates suggest that cleaning a pool can cost anywhere between $80 and $150 weekly. That translates to $4,160 per year on the low end and $7,800 on the high end — a serious expense for those living on a fixed income. For reference, this figure represents nearly half of what the average American spends on healthcare. If you're planning to install a pool in Florida, it's effectively the cost of a small home. A standard concrete version can set you back up to $120,000. While the idea of chilling poolside in your backyard on a sunny day in Florida could be an ideal retirement backdrop, the associated costs make many retirees regret the move.

The Sunshine State lives up to its nickname with over 300 days of sunshine throughout the year, blowing away the national average. Yet, Florida's unrelenting sunniness isn't without its drawbacks. Tragically, the state has one of the highest incidence rates of skin cancer in the country, owing in part to year-round exposure to harmful sun rays. Every year, 8,000 Floridians receive the gut-wrenching news, and incidence rates are only increasing.

Even though skin cancer has one of the highest survival rates, and early detection can further improve those odds, treatment isn't cheap in Florida. A single visit to a dermatologist can cost $133 in the Sunshine State, meaning retirees are paying significant amounts for a simple diagnosis. These costs only rise when complications are found. Surgeries for skin cancer caught later in its development can range from $5,000 to $10,000.Think applying sunscreen diligently can help you avoid these high costs? Not quite. Sunscreen is naturally expensive due to the premium-grade ingredients included to help protect skin from damaging ultraviolet rays.

Florida's real estate market isn't only plagued by rising home prices. Retirees also face steep homeowner's association (HOA) fees. Many apartment complexes, neighborhoods, and even retirement communities in the Sunshine State charge these monthly fees to residents to cover the costs of general maintenance of shared areas, such as pools, gardens, sidewalks, and roads. While these dues are common across the U.S., they're uniquely prevalent and expensive in Florida. The state is home to around 50,100 HOAs, the second most in the country, only behind California, according to iPropertyManagement.

These groups are so prevalent that 64% of property owners are subject to an association. But it's not just homeowners. Renting property in the state can also place you in an HOA. In fact, 40% of the general population of Florida lives in an area with these groups. iPropertyManagement notes the average HOA fee in Florida is a wallet-pinching $230 monthly, which works out to be nearly $12,000 annually. That's a serious bite of your retirement savings, especially if you're only in Florida for part of the year. The increase in HOA fees affects homebuyers, especially seniors, by cutting into already tight housing budgets.

Along with an increase in home prices, Floridian retirees have been smacked with a spike in insurance premiums. In the past three years alone, home insurance premiums have grown by 40%, according to Central Florida Public Media. Right now, the average home insurance premium in Florida is nearly $9,000 annually, although some providers charge up to $12,000 or $15,000. These figures are much higher than the national standard, placing unnecessary financial pressure on retirees. Unfortunately, experts anticipate these home insurance premiums to continue rising as the underlying causes remain.

Several sneaky factors raise property insurance rates, but the Florida government's intervention into the insurance system plays a unique role in the state's skyrocketing premiums. The Citizens Property Insurance Company is a state-sponsored mega-insurer designed to provide a bulwark against an industry-wide wipeout as companies threaten to leave over increased risks associated with covering Floridians. This state-funded protection gives companies leverage to increase their rates while minimizing their risks. State officials have even placed more roadblocks to prevent residents from suing insurance providers for insufficient coverage or payouts, to limit the state's own exposure. In the end, retirees face steeper home insurance costs.

Florida is no stranger to natural disasters, with hurricanes, flooding, and torrential rain hitting the peninsula regularly. The state's coastal positioning jutting out into the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Ocean, and the Atlantic Ocean — along with its long, thin shape — makes it uniquely susceptible to adverse weather. In fact, the National Centers for Environmental Information report that the state has been hammered with 94 disaster events since 1980. That bone-chilling stat includes four floods, four wildfires, five winter storms, five freezings, seven droughts, 33 severe storms, and 36 hurricanes or cyclones. Put another way, the Sunshine State receives around two natural disasters annually, placing retirees and their property at significant risk.

Each of those severe weather events cost Florida more than one billion dollars. Those costs don't remain at the state or local level, often trickling down to everyday Floridians. A higher occurrence of natural disasters increases the cost of remediation, damage mitigation, debris clearance, fuel, generators, medical interventions, building materials, service disruption, food, and transportation, according to a study by the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. These unforeseen expenses can place significant stress on seniors in Florida. Unfortunately, experts expect these natural disasters to increase in frequency and severity.

Housing is a considerable cost for anyone moving states, even retirees who have had decades to build a nest egg. Over the past few years, Florida's real estate market has exploded as a massive wave of migration crashed from other states across the country. Since 2020, the population has grown by a staggering 8%, representing the fastest-growing state for the period. This rapid population surge placed immense pressure on the Sunshine State's real estate market, leading to a significant housing shortage.

As a result, housing prices have risen dramatically. Retirees who purchased property decades ago have seen their wealth spike, while many of those considering a move to Florida are outpriced. Zillow places the average home at around a whopping $377,000. That's already down by more than 5% from the prior year, highlighting how out of control prices became.

Although home prices are soaring throughout the country, Florida's real estate values have outpaced the national average, according to Cotality. In Miami, home prices eclipsed the country's average by 60%. The issue of housing unaffordability is showing signs of letting up as population growth slows, but retirees are still seeing the exorbitant housing costs as a hurdle to spending their golden years in the Sunshine State.

Florida is one of the seven states in the country that don't levy an income tax on its residents, allowing retirees to keep more of their income. While other states tax Social Security benefits, pensions, and other forms of retirement income, Florida seniors don't have to give up any portion of their anticipated nest egg. However, many retirees don't take into account the Sunshine States' other forms of taxes. Instead of merely forgoing taxes altogether, the state finds other ways to compensate for its lack of income tax, usually in the form of higher property and sales taxes.

Over the past five years, property taxes in the Sunshine State have surged by a whopping 60%, Kiplinger points out, rising along with a spike in home prices. This has placed tremendous stress on retirees currently residing in Florida and discourages newcomers from putting down roots in the state. Experts also trace the climbing property taxes to the population boom since the pandemic, especially in densely populated cities such as Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville. The problem has become so serious that Governor Ron DeSantis has pushed to eliminate the state's property taxes, although critics say the Sunshine State already faces funding shortages in healthcare and schools. Regardless, seniors need to consider whether unusually high and rapidly rising property taxes are worth investing in property. Don't forget about state income tax — Florida tacks on a standard 6% on most purchases, whether it's a product or service. That's one of the highest in the country. Municipal sales taxes can spike that to 8%.

Anyone who has stepped foot on a Florida beach in the summer can attest to how hot the Southeastern corner of the country can get. In fact, the Sunshine State routinely experiences temperatures above 100 degrees. Beyond merely making it uncomfortable to be outside, seniors cannot escape the full impact of this extreme heat indoors. In contrast to other areas of the country where air conditioning is only required a few months out of the year, it's not uncommon for Floridians to blast their ACs for half of the year, especially in Southern Florida, where temperatures remain elevated. While you're focused on optimizing comfort in the moment, the utility bill at the end of the month may make you squirm.

In the Sunshine State, HVAC costs comprise 40% of a household's utility expenses annually, most of which goes toward cooling in hot summers. Costs can range between $120 and $200 monthly, depending on the size of the house. That means retirees are looking at an annual bill of $1,440 and $2,400. These figures don't take into account routine maintenance, serious repairs, and replacements, which are more common the more frequently a unit is used. In warmer areas, the lifespan of an HVAC unit can be slashed down to around a decade. However, extreme temperature fluctuations can further erode this timeline.

For many retirees, building a home is a critical part of completing a move to Florida. Even if you're looking to buy a preexisting home, many of the Sunshine State's real estate properties were built in the 1960s and 1970s, meaning plenty of updates could be required. In some areas, nearly one-third of the houses were constructed in this era, bringing up the average of Florida's housing stock. Unfortunately, this region of the country tends to have higher construction costs, making it more expensive for retirees to build their own home or make improvements to an existing home. Experts place the blame for higher-than-average construction expenses on statewide labor gaps, growing permitting complications, rising material costs, and booming demand. One of the sneakiest reasons building or fixing up a home is so pricey in Florida is the state's stringent building codes.

Before the 1990s, the Sunshine State took a laissez-faire approach to construction with no uniform statewide policy. Instead, it was a patchwork of localized rules, although many areas remained hands-off. The state's relaxed method came under intense scrutiny following the devastation caused by Hurricane Andrew, which prompted the creation of state-enforced building codes. Several preceding natural disasters have only made those requirements more demanding and restrictive, while making it more expensive for builders to adhere to them. Whether building or renovating, retirees can see exorbitant price hikes associated with these more exacting codes. Don't think about skirting these rules, as the violations can be even more expensive.

Florida is widely criticized among locals for its lack of public transportation. This is in part due to the massive population of 23 million, which is the third-largest in the country, and the state's sprawling size. While the Sunshine State has its fair share of buses, trains, and other forms of public transit, the system sizes aren't in keeping with the number of Floridians. For instance, the government consistently ranks Tampa's public transportation system among the worst in usage and coverage when compared to other significant metro areas. A Tampa Bay Times report found that the city spends tens of millions of dollars less than cities of comparable size, and city leaders have no planned course of action, preferring to punt the issue to subsequent administrations.

Although there are plenty of car brands retirees will instantly regret buying, overpaying for a lack of public transportation is another headache you want to avoid in your golden years. Florida's deficient transit systems leave retirees stuck paying for costly maintenance, rising fossil fuel costs, and expensive vehicles. Plus, there's always the looming specter of not being able to drive at some point in your older years, making a functioning public transportation system that much more important.