I agreed to buy a house in the path of Milton

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We are moving from GA to FL. We made an offer on a house in Central FL, so it should be ok. But its like Milton has a bullseye on it as every map I've seen has it at the center. it is east of Orlando so I HIGHLY doubt it will be impacted.

So, I'm seeing this as a once in a 20 year type storm that will test this house out. The home inspection got moved because of the storm so if the house gets damaged we still have the right to back out of the contract.

Not to add to your stress but with the growing ravages of climate change, which are not limited to storms, I would not buy a house anywhere in Florida.

Virtually every forecast out there shows that it’s going to be impacted.



Florida has had 3 of these “20 year storms” in 18 months: Milton, Helene and Idalia.

Personally there’s no way I’d buy a house in that state. The cost of housing is way too high for the extreme amount of risk present.

1. no, this one is unique in that it is coming straight from the west. It is unique because most go up the coasts.

2. I lived in tornado alley. The "impact" 30 miles away from the east coast at most will be power outages. It will be fine.

3. Pot is about to be legal and medical pot is legal in FL.

4. I am moving from a much higher cost of living area to a lower cost one. My choice is Atlanta traffic or hurricanes. Atlanta traffic makes me want to die.

Yeah, sorry, I kinda agree with the others. I just can't see why it's worth it to get a house there. To each their own, I suppose.

I moved to the Northeast from a tornado alley state. Despite how much I thought over the decades I lived in that state that it was awful and that it was just too high of a risk to live there, there was still a significant grieving process when I was moving out. So I get how people can want to stay in a place that is bad, but to choose to move to a place like Florida makes no sense to me. Oh well. Best of luck to you with that.

Keep us posted. It sounds like there are a few of us who are curious about how it goes.

Isn't Milton supposed to hit the West coast of Florida as a major hurricane but be down to tropical storm by the time it reaches the East coast? If your place is as far from the Gulf as Orlando it seems like Milton should have calmed down a bit before it reaches your new home.

But I hope your roof is in good repair and you have good drainage from the yard.

I am an economist. One of the foundations of economics is you have to trust people are making decisions that make them happier.

Try it, try trusting that others are making decisions to make themselves happier.

Now take a minute and ask why are you blanket rejecting an entire state when we KNOW that hurricane damage is typically within a few miles of the coast. Now read what I wrote earlier - the house is about 35 miles from the coast. Next to it on the other side is a huge protected forest.

I picked that for a reason.

Trust that I know what I am doing and that what I am doing is making my life better.

The risk of dying in a hurricane in Florida is MUCH less than the risk of dying in a car in Florida. Yet NO ONE GOES WHY ARE YOU DRIVING.

Last edited by Cornflake on 10 Oct 2024, 5:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.: Removed some personal attacks

We'll find out its a great stress test and actually I am excited that its happening now and not in 6 weeks hah.

It is 30 miles from the east coast and on the other side is a national forest. The elevation is 15m so about 45 feet from sea level.

The biggest risks from a hurricane where it is located are power outtages and tornados.

Again, far more people die driving yet no one shames people for driving. This Florida hate is completely irrational.

Power outages are probably likely. Over time, you'll probably want alternate power sources.

My Dad used to live outside Jacksonville. Having a power outage kill the A/C and preventing use of a fan was very uncomfortable on at least one occasion...and opening a window would've only made humidity a problem inside the house.

I guess but even in milder hurricanes you’ll still likely end up having to evacuate. I hope you budgeted a few thousand to do that every couple of years.



Hurricanes are not tornados



Cannabis is already legal in 38 states. Florida is way behind the curve here.



This is a false choice because you get awful traffic and hurricanes regardless of which one you choose.



You’re the one who posted on here and opened yourself up to criticism.



An economist that doesn’t consider long term insurance costs or the potential long term cost of sea level rise / hurricanes in their economic decisions?

Hmmmmm



You should be asking yourself why you blanket rejected the entire rest of the country when you know there are cheaper places to live that are less risky.

Out of the entire country you choose Florida, a state with a cost of living similar to California but with hurricanes and overall awful humid weather.



You’re gonna be in for some nasty surprises I think. Ultimately that’s your decision, but don’t get mad when other people criticize it.

Am getting this persons decision,,, if he has estimated the inland travel of weather events...and the land has good "drainage". and all other practical things are in place for his preparation . For the unexpected ..
And Most Lovely is ! that this property sounds like it backs up to a forest. So his backyard is a forest ! Viola..!
Must admit that unless your adapted ..humidity can be a drag...but a small "blu eddy" backup power supply , or some other brand ....he could run a fan for several weeks ....like living in the tropics .
Now personally , I really do NOT like Floridas governor De Satan , but that could change .. And Disney World is in that State .....
But honestly , am not so sure that people are meaning to "dis" you . Just overtly expressing their concern for" you" based on what they have heard in the media about the storms in that area . As far as they might figure some predatory Real Estate agent has gotten to you Good Luck with your potential New Home.

Old Joke from the 1950s , Can interest you in Some Swamp land in Florida? ...or possibly a bridge ?
Sorry could not resist, based. on my age range .

Aside from the OP, the overall vibe of the thread seems to be "Florida is a terrible place, and you're an idiot for living there". Which I'm sure our florida members are just delighted to hear what people think of their home. Especially while they're experiencing consecutive natural disasters. Kick 'em when they're down, eh?

OP is excited they bought a house, and also concerned for it's well-being - and all y'all have to say is what a huge mistake they made? Nice.

Even if factually correct, still doesn't seem a terribly effective method of making the point - not to mention basically ignoring and dismissing OP's original concern.

But who cares as long as you're right. Right?

Disastrous weather can happen anywhere. Even in Central Connecticut far from the shoreline.
We had an October snowstorm in 2011 that took out so many trees we were without power for ten days!
First, there was a tropical storm that made the soil wet, allowing snow laden trees to fall when the snow storm hit two weeks later. Then there were mature trees next to the power lines, as nobody wanted to cut them down, despite the power company offering do it for "free." A decade later, all those trees are gone.

In October the trees still have their leaves, so the snow stuck to the leaves and made the trees extremely heavy.
With some wind big limbs of trees would shear off! I spent a week cutting up a big limb into pieces. FEMA sent trucks around to pick up the debris.

A few years ago a storm sheared my neighbor's big tree in half! It clipped the gutters on the way down.
My neighbor had all three trees in the front yard removed.

Good luck on your new home!

Last edited by Cornflake on 10 Oct 2024, 5:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.: Lengthy, thread format disrupting post hidden by spoiler tags for easier readability

THAT'S why Florida is a bad idea.
And if 200km/h winds are this year's record, what do you think they'll be in another 10 or 20?

So, how's the house? How long did it lose power?

I think moving to Florida, but not near the coast, is a quite reasonable idea if the price is right.

But I hope you'll not be too close to the tourist traffic.



P.S. My bride and I would not move to Florida...but hear me out.

She was born and raised in Texas and parts of her family have moved to Pennsylvania. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania and parts of my family moved to Florida.

We'd like to move closer to family but not in Texas or Florida—because we don't like hot weather. Our relatives in Texas and Florida like the weather there and think where we live is too cold.