As a South Florida resident, I'll take a stab at this...
Reviving this thread because my wife suddenly wants to move to Florida (from the SF Bay Area). On the one hand, that's Insta-retirement for me. On the other hand, "I have a doubt."
My question is really: is Florida living sustainable? Being a place that basically requires air conditioning, I'm worried about things like energy costs, climate change, etc. we have problems here in CA too (earthquakes, drought) but since I grew up here I feel like I have a good handle on the risk calculations.
Energy costs - I cringe when I hear what people have to spend on heating their homes in colder climates. I barely use the A/C in the non-summer months. We do get some warm days in the fall/spring and winter, but especially in winter you should be able to get by without using much AC.
Admittedly, I think I use much less electricity that others around here (by verbal comparison), but I've lived in both houses and now a condo and spend less than $100 a month even in the summer with AC. I'm away at work during the hottest times though. My condo neighbors, on the other hand, spend about $300 a month, they have told me. I-Just-Don't-Understand. Mine comes out to about $50-60 in the summer and $30-40 other times.
We'd probably be in the fll/Mia area because I'd still want to be near potential job opportunities and more metropolitan culture. When we are both retired, we might spend summers with Camilo in a cooler part of the world.
That's my neck of the woods. As almost anywhere else, you can find a wide range of prices, mostly dependent on how far away you are from the water. But you can even find some decent places not too far from the beach if you are smart about it. There are expensive places in the suburbs as well.
If you are looking for a more international/metropolitan vibe, then the southeast Florida area is your best bet in Florida. The downtown Miami Brickell area is becoming much more "urban" than it was in the past. You could potentially go car free if you live there (higher costs though), but if you want to venture anywhere else (and most people do), then you need access to a car. It will be interesting to see how this area continues to grow and how the transportation options change.
I recently met an early retired couple that moved to Miami specifically because they love the international vibe. They have a tiny apartment but they are very active in the cycling community. They said they've been all over and loved the vibe in Miami. Although many others hate the vibe in Miami. Different strokes...
What other questions should I be asking? I'd love to live closer to the water, but that increases weather risk right? Does it therefore make sense to rent in general? In other words, how does the rent v buy calculation take into account those risks (I understand insurance is state run and can potentially go insolvent).
I haven't made a comparison, but as in most HCOL areas, renting may be best. I own and continually wonder if I should have rented instead of buying my current condo. Insurance is expensive.
Seriously, how big are the spiders?
Huge.
Actually I think roaches are worse than spiders...haven't really had a huge spider experience in my life living here.
Thoughts on condo vs house? How well do condos age
Well condos can be a pain, as in anywhere, but you can at least bundle up your insurance costs with the rest of the building instead of shouldering it on your own in a house.
Also, and I'm no real estate expert just an observational note, I think the real estate market in South Florida is controlled a lot by the large number of international buyers that like to buy a place here as a second home and don't want to get bogged down with house maintenance. So it seems like condos are becoming more popular and can fetch high prices due to the high demand. Although condo prices were hit in 2008, they seem to be just as expensive as homes at times. I haven't really done any research on this, just observational.
Edit: Although there are a lot of expensive activities, it is pretty easy to find a lot of low cost or free activities, especially in the touristy areas. In Miami Beach, for example, free outdoor movies and broadcasts of live symphonies are shown once or twice a week in the fall and winter months. There are other such free things, which I think are supported by the tourist tax dollars and help to attract more tourists.