I am thinking of trying to make a move from NY to FL. Dont know if they will let me but when I ask I want to have a plan ready to do. Sell/rent my current house, shop for a new one etc, etc.

I would want to be no further then a 1 hour from Maitland.

Any areas to avoid or shoot for? Any input on the orlando VAs would be helpful. Wanting to stay away form anyplace that would be at risk for storm surge even in a CAT 5 which looks like its really an issue near the coast but not sure if flooding may still be an issue inland

I would love to have some acerage to do some shooting but doesnt seem to be in my price range $1500/month to either rent or buy. Buying appears to be preferable with a VA loan and no property tax(assuming I read right and would qualify for the property tax exemption with my VA rating).

Looks like my "limits" are Barberville, leesburg, lake hamilton, whittier lakeland, linden, sumterville but If I cant get enough of a plot to be able to shoot Id rathe be as close as possible to Maitland.

Only reason I can see not to buy is if FL is gonna slide into being a blue state and negate the reason I want to move (2A and Taxes).

So far the "perks" I figured out is No income tax, no property tax and no sales tax which would save about $10k/yr but dont know if that would get eaten up somewhere else.

I know its alot but I appreciate any input you can give me.

Check your floodzone maps before you buy any property.

Flooding can be WORSE inland as it has to drain somewhere.  At the coast, once the wind-driven surge is past the water just goes back in the ocean.

Have any good resources? I will be checking any potential house on floodsmart.gov but not sure if there are better resources

With traffic 1 hour from Maitland isn't very far anymore. West maybe. That area is a perpetual and growing traffic clusterfuck.

That's pretty much it.  Just realize that flooding has gotten worse over the years (mostly due to development paving over land that would absorb rain) and many of the maps haven't been updated in some time.  So a "100 year flood zone" could be more like a "60 year flood zone" (or worse) if there has been development in the area.

I would be traveling outside rush hours so hopefully it would just be light traffic but I’d fly down and dry run my commute maybe for an entire week to see how things go.

Flooding and fires have always been high on my list of things to prep/look out for. Not sure what precautions I can take after buying but I will def look into it.

Tag. I used to live in Maitland, few exits away now. Orlando has been good to me so far.

Leesburg has Ares range - good people, I shoot there regularly with family. Non-rush hour I’d say Maitland is 45-50 min from Leesburg.

Rush hour in Central Florida is “have some podcasts”

I’d really hate to have a long commute. Currently it’s only 10-15 minutes but for a severe amount of extra freedom I’d do it. It’s hard to tell from listings what locations would not be acceptable for the pew pew.

I currently live in Altamonte Springs which is just above Maitland.  While Maitland itself is very nice the Town of Eatonville just to the south not so much.

I go to two ranges about 30 - 40 minute drive, Strickland near Daytona is good for shooting from the bench.  

Volusia Gun & Hunt Club has a nice outdoor range with many different gun matches every month.

I-4 is still under construction but the main lanes are completed they are working on the express lanes in the center of the freeway currently.

Orlando / Orange County is very blue.  Maitland is in Orange County and the County has a rather liberal mayor with a liberal wife as the Fed Representative.

I have been in Florida for 24 years and the politics has been getting worse every cycle.

I don’t think the sales and property tax claim is accurate.

Looks like your right. Don’t know where I saw no sales tax but I should qualify for no property tax... I think

Generally all counties here have a list of flood areas on their website.  The only danger of FL becoming blue is if all the people escaping continue to vote in the same manner that destroyed their own state.

This would be a good place for a membership not too far away:  https://www.volusiacountygunclub.com/

No state income tax, but sales tax and property tax.  There are homestead exemptions and freezes for old geezers and such, but you will still pay something, unless you're in a dump.

Two aspects for flooding - storm surge is pushed up water from a big hurricane.   It goes up and over low lying areas, and also pushes water up into various bays, rivers, and such.

Then you have flooding, which can be from an overload of failing water as well, that can't run off before it backs up and floods you out

So, you'll want to look at various flood rankings, and the elevation above sea level.  A big storm surge is 15 feet, though a huge storm could have 20 feet.  But even if you're 25 feet above sea level, if everything else around you is 30 feet above sea level, rain water can pool and flood you out too.  So look at both the elevation, and how it compares with the surrounding area.

For politics, Florida traditionally has been a battleground state.  It went for Clinton twice, Bush twice, and Obama twice.  Now unlike other battleground states where Trump lost support, in Florida he went from winning the state by I believe 80-100 k votes in 2016 to 300k in 2020.  Florida has two R senators, a majority R House group,  state house and senate are R, governor R, and the only statewide Democrat is Darling Niki Fried, who was installed as Ag Commissioner via King Sorros' funding, in a race that the R's didn't pay much attention to.

I keep hearing how Florida is turning leftist, or whatever just happened (felon voting via 2016 ballot initiative, Puerto Rican's moving in after the hurricane) is going to ruin the state.  Now it's leftists running away from their failed home states (as if lots of NYer don't move down here anyway in retirement).  Still, Florida keeps chugging along with R's in all positions of power.

Look, Florida isn't Wyoming where whoever wins the R primary is going to win the general election by default.  Elections are hard fought, with often very close margins, as in 2018 with DeSantis barely beat the later to be found out crackhead and male prostitute hiring mayor of Tallahassee.  But he still won, and is in great shape for re-election in 22 and then maybe a run for the Presidency in 24.  The RPOF (Republican Party of Florida) is doing a good job here, and we hope to keep it like that.

I hope if you do move to FLA, you get involved in state and local elections and campaigns, and help us keep the state nice and Red.  

Lake county resident here... north of Leesburg.

You're correct in realizing you won't get any land big enough to shoot on that fits your budget. Unfortunately growth in this area has driven prices through the roof. It's crowded here in north Lake county and getting worse.

Being inland certainly helps during hurricane season as the storms while still powerful, lose some energy by the time they get to us.

Prepare for extreme heat and humidity.

Thanks for the info.
Honestly amazes me how people can swing back and forth from left to right.

Here is the exemption I’m referring to which I’d verify before buying.

Veterans who are Florida residents and were honorably discharged with a service-related total and permanent disability may be eligible for a total exemption from ad valorem taxes on property they own and use as their homesteads. A similar exemption is available to disabled veterans confined to wheelchairs. Under certain circumstances, the veteran’s surviving spouse may be entitled to carry over the exemption. See Form DR-501. (see ss. 196.081 and 196.091, F.S.)

I am not a fan of humidity but being on Lake Erie should have me slightly prepared for it. I’m more worried about all the pre historic critters that want to take me out like gators, pythons and the Florida Man I hear so much about on the news...

Pythons are not as far north as Orlando, as it does freeze there occasionally.

Gator are not an issue, unless you either swim at night (don't do it) in a river or lake, or walk your little yip dog along a lake and a gator decides it looks tasty.

Florida heat is hot.  Very hot.  August, after a rain in the afternoon, is stiflingly hot.  Makes Houston heat no big deal.

But lots of AC, and you get used to it after awhile.

Florida is a great place.  Was born and raised there, can't wait to move back.  It's a wild ride sometimes, and always a blast.  Maybe you too can be Florida Man!

If you can’t see the bottom there’s a gator there.

Highly recommend black hammock’s airboat experience when you get down here

Good to know. No happy dogs for me. I can do 120 if there’s no humidity but 90 and 100% humidity fml but AC will be a must

I'm born and raised in FL, born in an unincorporated place called "Loxahatchee" (can't get more FL than that). I moved over to the midwest for a tour of duty, and people there swear they have the hottest summers because of the humidity. I explained in my best Bane impression that I am from FL, aka, the humidity capital of the freakin' US. Especially in the inland since there is absolutely NO sea breeze.

FYI: I'm personally not a fan of Orlando. Do what you must, but stay away from the bad areas in the city. S. Apopka, Crime Hills, etc. Easy enough to research and figure out where to avoid.

I’d prefer first hand input on areas to avoid. I can look up crime stats all day but depending on the Dept they could let a lot slide or there’s a lot that doesn’t even get reported.

In areas around here you’d think it was a utopia but if your ina group on FB there’s constant vandalism, thefts and other shenanigans that won’t show up anywhere else.

Also anyone with a inground pool that can shed light on how much they cost to maintain or if I should avoid all together?

Anyone have a good realtor they can recommend in the area?

^^^^What he said.  Also, Hurricanes can spin off tornadoes any place in FL/the entire South East.

Stay out of Orange Co, stick with Seminole or Lake. Stay north or west of Maitland (avoid most of Apopka). The rest is hit or miss.

It seems I’m finding a lot of places I like in Deltona.

Know that a commute from Deltona to Maitland will vary from 20 min to 4 hours depending on the time of day, traffic and part of Deltona and Maitland you are going to/from. The 20 min part only if you’re traveling at 3am when there’s no construction, and even that might be optimistic.

Don’t know if it matters to you but there is commuter rail (Sunrail) available with a station in Debary and one in Maitland. It doesn’t seem to get used much but if you’re use to that from NY maybe it would be an option. Just thought I’d mention it.

NOT EVERYPLACE IN NY IS NYC!

Thanks for the info. That is something I was going to look into as a backup backup if needed. The rail doesn’t look to connect with the locations I’m dealing with now but it’s def something I will keep an eye on it.

The rail stations are intended to be like a park and ride so you drive to the station and ride the train into Orlando.

The issue is how do you get from the station to your destination.

The people who thought this train was a great ideal did not consider this when they bought into this train.

Many people tried to use the train the first year but most have switched back to driving as there is no way to get from the station to your office unless you work in downtown Orlando, which many people don't.

I live very close to two station but can't figure out a way to get from the station to my office.  Taxi's and Uber just won't cut it for most people.

I used the train. It was fine (except it starts out full and gets worse at rush hour, they need more rolling stock which (as I understand it) they haven't invested in.

I solved all my commuting problems with a new job. If I never set foot in downtown Orlando again I'll be just fine.

I would second Lake County, we just landed up north of Sorrento and east of Eustis.  Enough amenities to get what we need but more conservative than Orange and Seminole counties AND a 2nd Ammendment sanctuary county.  It is also within your drive requirements.

I relocated last March to help expand an office in Maitland. Ended up buying in Debary. Since the shutdowns hit I haven't commuted much, but its been about 25 min in the mornings and a little more in the evenings depending on I-4 traffic. We definitely like Volusia County since we can get into Orlando fairly easily if we want, but we're also close to the beaches at New Smyrna and Daytona.

One thing that I've found different around here is how close "nice" neighborhoods are to really sketchy ones. With that said, look into crime maps or other data based resources before choosing an area. I've been here for less than a year, but I'm not sure I've been through any part of Deltona I'd be willing to live in.

ETA:
The public range in Ocala is decent and free. No staff, but I'm never sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing at public ranges. Its about an hour from here. Really close to Barberville if you ended up that far North.

Well damn. Simone else from my office made the move a few months ago and is in Deltona. That just happens to be where a bunch of houses I’ve been looking at are located

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