I moved to North Carolina and SAVED HOW MUCH?

Today we are breaking down how much money I saved moving from Sarasota Florida to Bolivia North Carolina.

[@Jack-russell103]

I just left palm beach county where iw as paying 8k a year and rising, home insurance on an 1800 s ft house....I bought a brand new home in ne florida and my home insurance is $590 a year inc wind storm. I transferred my homestead tax to new home and im paying less now than I was in palm beach gardens.....if you get out of that south Florida windborn zone. life in florida is very affordable

[@CarolinaRealEstateGuide]

We considered moving into a different part of Florida but my wife wanted somewhere not as hot.

[@stevebrooks4356]

Not sure where the disconnect is, but there are so many other factors besides savings on the items mentioned. For full disclosure I lived in Pender County in Surf City for over 10 years before moving to Northeast Florida. Several of the savings you mentioned just don't add up compared to Florida. 1st, My North Carolina property taxes where higher than what I currently pay in Florida. Plus, evaluations they were locked in for 7 years. If I had a big spike is my home's value, I was stuck for many years with an overvalued tax bill. 2nd, FPL is one of the best run public utilities in the country, and my rates even in summer are lower than what I paid for electric even 10 years ago in Carolina. 3rd, you forget to mention the state income tax and the very high rates even modest income gets taxed at. I save more than 5,000 a year over North Carolina in state income tax. 4th, Quality of life? Really, you want to compare the coast and beaches of Brunswick County to Almost anywhere in Florida? Oak Island, Holden Beach, Ocean Isle Beach, and Sunset Beach while ok to maybe nice cannot even compare to Anna Marie, Captiva, Clearwater, Jax Beach, St. Augustine Beach, Cresent Beach on any level. Beauty, cleanliness, shelling, amenities etc. 5th, Water bills? I paid extremely high-water bills in Carolina and didn't even have a yard to water. My water bill in St. Johns County with full irrigation is lower by at least a third over what we paid in Pender County. Other factors that you don't delve into, Quality of schools, access to a major airport, world class health care close by, infrastructure! How about normal shopping? You really want to compare Leland's strip centers to Sarasota and Lakewood ranch. Yes, homeowners' insurance could be cheaper, auto insurance too, but quality of live is more than saving a few grand a year. Yes, there is decent health care in Wilmington, but that's 45 minutes away. Please don't try to compare Wilmington's airport, to Sarasota, or Tampa, or Jacksonville. You have to drive to Raleigh, about two hours away to use a true airport with 100's of flights. Last let's talk weather shall we. Yes, Florida has more hurricanes, but coastal Carolina has so many more Nor'easters, tons of low-pressure systems that always develop right off the coast and sit for days creating crappy weather. Beach erosion is bad along the Carolina coast as everywhere, and the state is fairly tone deaf to any fixes. Slow to replenish sand or create long term solutions. Look at the houses falling into the ocean on the outer banks. Ice storms, maybe some snow in the winters along the Carolina coast? Freezing temps likely in January, and February! Ocean water temps in those cold months? I'll give this you do have better options for grocery shopping. Publix is at beast average and grossly overpriced. Don't get me wrong there were many things that I enjoyed in Carolina, some neat little towns to explore, good seafood, and my favorite hockey team to name a few. But Florida in general has a far better quality of life in my humble useless opinion. Weather, beaches, health care, infrastructure, and so much more.

[@CarolinaRealEstateGuide]

Every market and everyone’s housing needs are different. Out of the last 6 years of living in Sarasota we have had multiple record setting red tides that wipe out the entire ecosystem and it has to restart all over. There is a reason why Brunswick county is one of the fastest growing counties in all of the country. Glad you found an area that suits your needs :)

[@roberto-gp2dt]

Do you really want that Northern influence to start in your town, look what it did to Charlotte, N.C. it's become overpopulated, expensive to buy a house and the cost of living is higher and the people can be rude and very impatient that's what happen to Florida..

[@CarolinaRealEstateGuide]

From my experience those are the nice people from those areas trying to escape!