Florida: The 5 to 7 Year Plan

By Nick

This past weekend my wife Barbie and I hit a local antique shop where this little kitchy Alligator thermometer caught my eye.

I initially passed it up, but then, while I was across the room looking at other items, Barbie called out, "Did you see this?" I walked over and had another look.

We both agreed it had a certain appeal, and asked how much. $3. Sold.
As a bonus, the thermometer works!

When we got it home and set it down, I realized what I liked so much about it. It just screams "HOME" to me. I don't live in Florida mind you, I live in New Jersey. So, why does this have the appeal it does?

Both Barbie and I have every intention of calling Florida home in the next 5 to 7 years.

I'd like to say this timetable is driven by our desire to stay close to family and friends, but that would be untrue. It's strictly financial.

I've worked for the same company for nearly 25 years, and am hoping to receive a pension at 30 years. I say hoping because, well, I don't want to get into too many details, but nothing is written in stone, and my employer doesn't have the same concern for my future that I do, and 5 years is a long way off!

But let's just say I make it to that goal. Within 5 years my wife and I will be looking at homes in Florida! Indeed, we are looking now, and I'm not entirely convinced that we wouldn't buy a home if we found one with the perfect appeal as well as the perfect price, despite neither of us wanting to worry about the care of 2 homes, especially one so far away.

We've also discussed being snow birds, perhaps getting a condo or townhouse in Florida now, and then, after retirement, living there 6 months and coming back to New Jersey for the other half of the year. There are several issues with this scenario, however. The biggest one is property taxes in New Jersey are outrageous. Secondly, Summers here can on occasion be just as hot and humid as in Florida. And finally, as I mentioned above, we don't want to have to care for 2 homes.

As for employment, we hope to work part time for, well, you can probably guess.

Do you have a plan to move to Florida, and how close are you to this goal?