You’ve decided to move to Florida. Maybe you’re finally ready to say good-bye to winters in the north. You’ve researched and planned and you are ready to pack up your life and move it across the country. This is something we have recently experienced and are very happy with our decision. But it certainly didn’t come without a costs. And in addition to the things you consider and budget, there may be some extra expenses along the way you didn’t think about. It’s helpful to also be prepared for these. Here are five costs of moving somewhere new you might not have realized.
Packing Supplies
This one is obvious. Yes, you know you’ll need packing supplies. But, there are some things we didn’t realize the sheet amount we would use or the costs of them. The most common moving boxes (sized medium) at Lowes were $1.50 each. These weren’t a big deal. However, planning on moving valuable artwork or other large flat items like a TV, and that will set you back $35 a box.
My advice here is to save as many boxes as you can before your move. This will limit what you have to spend on them later. If you’re moving your dishes and other breakable items, you’ll also be surprised how much bubble wrap you’ll go through. Packing supplies is definitely something to price out and be prepared for ahead of time. This is especially true if you’re moving a decent amount of stuff. This is also a good reason to consider purging things.
Utility Deposits
Utility Deposits can vary depending on your provider and credit since most companies do a soft credit pull to determine the deposit you will need. However, even with excellent credit, some are pretty high. We were lucky and didn’t need to put down a deposit for electric, but the water deposit was $200.00 (and this was the lowest deposit they had). Many utility companies also keep the deposit forever unless you move out of the service area. On the plus side, since you’re moving, if you had an established account with a utility service back home, you can get those deposits back. We have found the deposits in Florida to be higher than what we had paid in West Virginia.
Driving/Vehicle Costs
Florida is a no fault state when it comes to auto-insurance. It’s one of the more expensive states to insure an automobile (home insurance can also potentially be more than you’re used to). In addition to this, it can be costly depending on your circumstances to transfer the title of your car(s) to Florida. Definitely do your research, especially if you have an older car. It might be more costs effective to sell before you move.
Florida also has a lot more toll roads than we are used to and our ride from West Virginia required a lot of tolls. Luckily, we now live in an area where we don’t have to pay a toll to get to Disney, but that’s not true for many communities in Florida. Tolls are a regular expense for many and something to make sure you consider. It also just takes longer to get places than we were used to, mostly because of traffic so you may end up spending more in gas. Moving to Florida is what pushed us to finally look into owning an electric vehicle.
Things Your Home Didn’t Come with
This is more for those of you who are building, especially if you buy an inventory “quick move-in” home which is a very popular concept among builders in the state. There may be things your home just doesn’t come with you will want to budget for. For example, our home did not come with any overhead lights in the bedrooms, literally no lights. This is actually a pretty standard practice for buying an inventory home.
The first thing we did when we closed on the house was installed ceiling fan lights in all these rooms. We also installed coach lights outside and had to buy a washer and dryer. These are all expenses that can add up quickly when you are moving into a new build and something you’ll want to plan for ahead of time. And of course, you’ll probably want to buy some new furniture while you’re at it.
Join the Conversation
I’m interested to know what unexpected expenses you may have encountered during your move to Florida. To take part in the conversations on all things related to Moving to Orlando, residing in Florida, and living near theme parks, join our Moving to Orlando Facebook group. Stay tuned to MovingtoOrlando.com to stay up to date on what’s going on in Central Florida.
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