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Escape to Florida for a Life in Paradise
Relocating to Florida can be the culmination of a lifetime’s dream – living in an idyllic paradise surrounded by white sandy beaches, azure seas and gently swaying palm trees; sipping exotic cocktails in the evening as gorgeous sunsets illuminate and paint the sky in breathtaking colours. Indeed for lucky Brits enjoying the Gulf Coast lifestyle this is reality, along with year round sun, great golf, fishing, dining and theatre, not always in that order!
For Brits making a permanent move to Florida the most popular areas are Orlando, The Gulf Coast around Sarasota and Naples, the Atlantic Coast including Ft Lauderdale, Miami and Coral Springs. When selecting their ideal location, immigrants generally take into consideration ratings for school districts, crime statistics and lifestyle issues. Housing is another major issue, a 4-bedroom house with a pool starts from around £275,000, depending upon the area.
Living in Florida, despite the sharing of a common language is a complete change of lifestyle, customs and attitudes. If you have children, parental involvement with school issues is far greater than in Britain, there is a deep feeling of pride in neighbourhood schools. If you are working, the hours are often longer and the holidays definitely shorter (two weeks a year is not unusual) on the plus side, income, profits and disposable income generally are higher and the outdoor lifestyle does seem to make for a more healthy and enjoyable way of life.
The American way of life is very ordered, something of a surprise when people first relocate. Many aspects of everyday life are hard to carry out without the all important Social Security Number (SSN), and ironically despite what you may have experienced on holidays to Florida, Americans are not as good at customer care as they profess to be. Therefore many Brits who buy or enter a business find they have an advantage by being more flexible and understanding than their American competitors.
To permanently reside in The States requires an appropriate visa; the majority of British immigrants either qualify for these through sponsorship by an American relative i.e. spouse, parent or through investment in a business enterprise that they establish or purchase.
A key point - it’s worth discussing at a very early stage the implications of relocation and the pros and cons of different locations click here for details. We can cover the merits of all the various options, and guide you on all manner of practical concerns. Local (Real Estate Agents) Realtors tend to champion their own specific locations, and can lack in depth experience of dealing with the transition between living in the UK and Florida. Business brokers and visa specialists are not necessarily knowledgeable on the lifestyle implications of various locations.
Identifying the right relocation expert can play a significant role in how quickly you settle into your chosen destination in Florida. Understanding the differences between the British and American school systems, understanding the medical insurance system to say nothing of the required driving test are all of practical importance. Finding the ideal neighbourhood, and making a smooth transition will play a major part in easing your integration into the community and minimise stress.
For those who would like to enjoy or invest in the Florida lifestyle and property but can not obtain a visa for permanent residence, there are various options. Many British retirees do stay up to 6 months each year in the USA with the relevant visa. The advantages of this lifestyle are numerous – talking to Brits who have adopted this snowbird existence (local Floridians refer to these winter migrants as snowbirds) they cite the active outdoor lifestyle being considerably more fun and healthy than virtual hibernation resulting from the grey drizzly and cold British climate, therefore benefiting from the winter sunshine returning to Britain once the daffodils start to bloom and the frosts have disappeared.
Favoured activities extend beyond the Orlando theme parks, with the award winning beaches of the Gulf Coast – where turtles come ashore to lay their eggs - where a walk in the evening and mornings are a perfect start and finish to the days. Visit the State parks and hire a canoe for close up views of the exotic wildlife, fish in places where your catch is guaranteed and can be barbecued in the evenings – beats the local take away!, play on manicured golf courses –, or how about a cruise to the Caribbean which have to be some of the best value and most enjoyable holidays available.
The Gulf Coast around Sarasota, Naples and Clearwater and the Atlantic Coast around Miami and West Palm Beach are favourite areas, laid back lifestyles, award winning beaches, and a range of cultural facilities - its not all Mickey and Donald - there are excellent museums, art galleries, theatres etc -, making for an idyllic winter lifestyle. Many retirees are attracted to golf course developments where a 3-bedroom house with a pool start from around £300,000,which for a slice of a tropical paradise compares very favourably with a second home in any other location in the world.
Another area of British interest in the Florida property market is made up of those seeking to both invest in a Florida property to rent out whilst making occasional use of it themselves for holidays. The complex zoning restrictions that vary between individual Counties and indeed developments are important, as many British holidaymakers require one or two week vacations, however many areas and developments restrict such short term rentals, so again it is important to receive sound advice.
A Florida property can also provide a form of investment in Dollar bricks and mortar as opposed to shares or indeed certain pension funds when sterling is riding high, as well as a sound method of cheaply financing your holidays for years to come when you rent out the property or realize your ambition to secure a place to retire in the sun and enjoy a more relaxed and comparatively inexpensive lifestyle.
We did it! - Mike and Lucia Homes made a clean break and sold their 16th century Norfolk farmhouse, a lot of surplus furniture, cars, business interests, PEPs, ISAs and so on. They packed all that was left into a 40-foot container and watched it go off down the driveway for its sea journey to Sarasota Florida. Feeling somewhat apprehensive, they said their farewells, got on the plane and they have not regretted their decision for one minute. Click here for their full story.
Sarasota voted ‘Best Small City in America’ – is an elegant City full of cultural opportunities with an almost European atmosphere. It has Mediterranean influences in much of the architecture and the bright blue water surrounding the inlets is reminiscent of the Med. It is surrounded by a beautiful natural harbour and wandering around St Armands Circle where pianists play outside the various restaurants in the evening in January with the temperatures in the 70s is a great bonus. Sarasota is going from strength to strength with huge sums being invested in the area; the City has some of the best schools in Florida which gives a great feel of civic pride.
Other pluses include the lack of graffiti, vandalism and a very assertive and visual police presence ensuring lower crime rates, which is one of the aspects nearly everyone who has moved over here from Britain is surprised by and comments about. There is a superb choice of activities ranging from polo, golf resorts, tennis, sailing and bowls.
Mike said “Several years on our world in Sarasota consists of sun, tropical beaches, many of which are nearly deserted, boats, water sports, great wildlife and an outdoor lifestyle. Tennis, golf and country clubs ensure we are very active as well as being a wonderful way to make friends with locals who we have found to be so incredibly and sincerely friendly and casual. We wake in the mornings to see the pelicans fly overhead dive bombing for catfish, there is a wonderful breeze coming off the sea for our early morning stroll and the temperature ranges from a very pleasant 75f in winter to 95f in the summer”.
“All of our neighbours have made us feel very welcome and are astounded that we have been so ‘brave’ as to sell up and move to another country. They are very friendly and we have been included from day one into their neighbourhood and country. The estate that we live in is new and some of our neighbours come from Hawaii, Chicago, and California, so they are a long way from their families as well, so we all join in and celebrate various holidays together, for example Thanksgiving and Independence Day.”
“It is so nice to get up every day and see the sunshine - no more dull, damp days. We can also get to the beach in 15 minutes and watch the gorgeous sunsets. We can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner outside most days. We have not had colds since we came, which is a definite bonus.”
Checklist:
• Do discuss your lifestyle choices first - what’s important for you apart from sunshine, i.e. a supportive community, schools, business opportunities, culture, great beaches, travelling, shopping, a sport - tennis, golf, bowls etc.
• Do match your lifestyle choices with an appropriate location and community, before buying a house or business. .
•Don’t buy on the basis of the house itself – first select the location, then the house. So many Brits fall in love with an off plan house design but do not give enough thought to the whole community.
If you are considering relocation to Florida provide briefing sessions on all the implications, for details please click here _____________________________________________________________
Andrew Bartlett an acknowledged expert on property trends and relocation in Florida, writes articles and answers readers’ questions for several British publications including Florida Magazine, Escape Magazine, Place in the Sun, Sunday Times, America, and The Red guide to buying Property in America and is regularly consulted by journalists and broadcasters. His consumer web guides have received numerous accolades.
Andrew was a Senior Government Official for 20 years before relocating to Florida several years ago where he was headhunted to set up specialist British property and relocation teams for Coldwell Banker and Remax - America’s largest estate agents. He then established a uniquely impartial and independent relocation and property briefing company working between Britain and Florida. He has written a number of watchdog style articles on overseas property and emigration selling techniques. |
