Guys, my husband is on disability right now and he is believing in the fact that if he loved in a dryer climate his back would feel better.
He is 60. And I am thinking if in Florida there are supposed to be some cheap places for people after 55.
I am looking for cheapest place in Florida where there is no hurricanes.
Somewhere. Key word cheap and nice.
Thanks

Florida is NOT dry; it's very humid.

Some months...

I live in Florida and believe me, "cheap and nice" are very relative and subjective.

Are you aware of the tax situation here, specifically property tax rates (assuming you are planning to buy something)?

Also the car insurance and wind/hazard insurance rates?

I am sure ALL of us would love to know where in this state one is least likely to avoid a hurricane although the state has not taken a hurricane direct hit for some years now.

It is, as someone has said, very humid here pretty much year 'round.

Sorry, meant to say we would love to know where in Florida one is MOST likely to avoid a hurricane.

Arizona.

He is convinced but does his doctor say that. Usually good physical therapy in any climate will help with back pain. It will be cheaper for you to stay where you are and deal with his problem there.

Florida is hot and humid, we didn't even turn our ac off this winter. If you do your house will have mildew. It is humid this morning already. I live on the coast in central Fl. You can get hurricane damage anywhere in Fl. Panhandle, gulf side, Ocean side and damage from high winds inland.

Florida is anything but dry.

Cheap and nice in Florida is an oxymoron.

There is no place in Florida that is immune to hurricanes.

Look at this map:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2004_A...f_Columbia.jpg

In 2004 every single county in Florida was designated a federal disaster area.

We live at the beach and our A/C is on all year. It does NOT come on every day but here's the good part: we have yet to ever turn on the heat but that is definitely a function of which part of Florida you live in.

AND, be aware that even here in southeast Florida, we do have hills. They are called overpasses and landfills.

What you want for a dry climate is the southwest. Florida is very humid and you can get hurricanes anywhere.

Just look at a weather map showing humidity across the country and you will see the best options. But also do look at the health systems/costs there. Not sure what your husband's coverage is but transferring his disability may take a while.

My mom and dad retired to Arizona (Tempe) from northern PA.
They lived there until the cost of living became too high in their opinion. They moved with their Airstream to Port O'Call
in Melbourne FL and lived there until the Melbourne airport decided they didn't want the Airstreams there anymore.
They moved to a double wide in the adjacent Tropical Haven (then trailer haven).
I was offered the place in Florida but turned it down. The rent is quite cheap and at least some of the double wides are quite nice in Tropical Haven. The land is owned by the Melbourne Airport Authority.
Dad once had to go inland to Orlando to avoid a hurricane.
They were missing some skirting around the trailer when they returned.
The big hospital in Melbourne is great.
My advice is to check out Arizona and New Mexico for a couple months in winter before investing a lot of money in Florida. The people I know from Oregon that are gone for several months when we have snow all go to Arizona.

You might want to look at Arkansas. I live in Hot Springs Village, about 15 miles from Hot Springs National Park and 55 miles from Little Rock. This is a gated planned community of 14,000 people (not age-restricted), covering 40 square miles. Housing is available at all price points, from about $65sf to whatever. Both Hot Springs and Little Rock offer good medical services, including UAMS and VA clinics and hospitals.

More importantly, because everyone has come here from someplace else, it is easy for new people to become part of the community.

Our climate has four moderate seasons. It is not as humid as Florida nor as dry as the Southwest, but having lived in both New Orleans and west Texas, I find this a pleasant climate.

Watch the video: http://www.hsvpoa.org/

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Has he had medical advice to that effect?

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That's useless. There are plenty of crappy dumpholes in Florida. Speak in terms of actual budget for rental (monthly) or purchase because the notion of "cheap and nice" is (1) generally oxymoronic, (2) dependent upon the eye of the beholder.

Ultimately, what Dukey et al. said above is true: Florida is NOT dry. The whole bloody state is a hurricane zone. This is due to geography: the eastern part of the state is where the majority of hurricanes that stay in the Atlantic will make landfall; the western part is the target of hurricanes that go through the Caribbean.

If you want dry, try Utah, NM, Arizona, Colorado, Wyoming, western Texas, Nevada and the like. Unfortunately for you, Californians have fled their overtaxed, overregulated and overpriced state for more rationale areas and driven up the costs of property in many mountain states.

Opportunities likely exist. And Nevada could be moderately inexpensive considering how Las Vegas over-built its residential stock for a decade.

Florida is not dry, it's humid, all year round. And there is not a single part of the state that is immune to hurricanes, even the center.

Look at Arizona.

California may be overtaxed, overregulated and overpriced, but funny thing-- more people are STILL moving IN than moving out. And there are a few relatively inexpensive places to live, if you bother to look. Senior-oriented communities are generally cheaper than the surrounding municipalities (I just looked at places for my mom in lovely Seal Beach), but the prices are still pretty high. Palm Springs is quite reasonable, but one does have to accept that between mid-June and mid-October one doesn't go out in the heat of day, since it's like stepping into a convection oven.

However, the OP's plight did make me think of Nevada, since the Vegas residential real estate market is still pretty decimated. Same heat issue, but low property costs. Still, investigate the local tax situation carefully, no matter where you choose to look. And Vegas seems to be a bit sad (to me) as a place to retire.

"Florida" and "dry". Hmmmm. I know those two words exists independently, but I just can't conceive of them naturally co-existing in the same sentence. Or paragraph. Or language.

Just kidding, I love Florida. But DRY it ain't. I can't imagine what that kind of incessant summer humidity might do to a torqued-up back.

OK, how about higher-elevation New Mexico? Or metro Denver? Relatively mild winters AND summers, nice and dry in general, not too expensive. Worth a look.

You might find this interesting, about buying an inexpensive condo in an over-55 community in Delray Beach.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us...pagewanted=all

I bought a condo in SE Florida last year.

Tucson doesn't get as hot in the summer as Phoenix because it's at a higher elevation, and it has mountains you can drive up to if the heat gets to you anyway. It also gets a much cooler winter (though not cold), with a dusting of snow in the higher elevations. If you want to see snow, it's not a hard drive to Flagstaff. And it's an inexpensive city, with nearby suburbs that are even cheaper.

Which begs the question: How much ARE you willing to spend? How big of a house must you have? My "cheap" is a bit skewed; our 1500 square foot house (perfect for a professional couple without kids) is in a "cheaper" part of southern California, but recent sale prices have been bid up enough that we could list it well north of $600,000 (which I consider a bit nuts, but I'm not really complaining). Plonk the house up in Santa Monica and it would list closer to $1.5 million. In Vegas, maybe $300K, if it weren't far from the Strip (and not surrounded by foreclosed houses).

Crazy, I know.

Give us an idea as to the price you're seeking, and we can help.

Second on Tucson. LOVE that town...!