How has life in St Pete&Sarasota changed this fall post-hurricanes?

[Anonymous]

Been considering moving to one or the other for a while from DC. Last visited earlier this year. Saw my weekends being spent at passagrill, longboat key, anna maria island, etc. Are those done, or still ok for day visits?

As for housing, I know certain areas are complete rebuilds now like siesta key and snell isle. Would you still recommend moving down as long as not buying in a flood zone?

[Anonymous]

You need to move inland to not be impacted by hurricanes. It's not just floods, but winds.

[Anonymous]

I live four miles east of where Milton came ashore on Siesta Key. In my community we had tree damage and lost some roof tiles. No flooding, nobody hurt, one or two broken windows. We absorbed the cost of cleanup in our condo budget, no special assessment. I sat by my sliding glass doors and watched and listened to 120 mph winds for hours but the only damage I suffered was lost power for one and half days. There are many places you could move down here and most likely not be devastated by a hurricane, but the barrier islands are not them. All those keys you mentioned are dealing with massive cleanup and damage. A visit to Anna Maria would not be fun now, Siesta is a little better at least at the public beach. Just come for a visit, you'll see, then you will have a better idea of what's going in the aftermath of a major hurricane.

[Anonymous]

I am in FL and not in a flood zone and as inland as can be...I would still not move down to be in my sort of situation! It's a lot of anxiety every single year regardless during hurricane season. Yes, likelihood of death/extreme damage is not as high, but the tornadoes in Wellington were absolutely terrifying and showed what sort of devastation can occur inland. We are looking to move out of the state entirely in the coming years.

[Anonymous]

I’m in St. Pete in a non-flood zone. Moved here in 2023 from DC. My neighborhood has lots of downed trees, some roof damage, and lots of fences in need of repair. My neighbors lost their chimney. Clean up is slow and steady. Beaches are going to take longer. Right now there’s red tide, and even without it, I would not go in the water yet. However, you can still walk the beaches and many businesses have reopened. Downtown St. Pete is back and very enjoyable right now.
I would visit again and see for yourself. I would not buy in a flood zone or anywhere near a creek or pond. Also look for highest possible elevation. We still absolutely love it, it’s a very beautiful area and we spend all of our free time outside.

[Anonymous]

I'm sitting on my lanai on LBK right now! Looking out on the gulf.

LBK and siesta and Anna Maria were very badly damaged. Anna Maria in a permanent way, because many of the buildings were not structurally sound. When you drive through the main drag, it is mostly a bunch of bombed out buildings that have fallen off their stilts.

LBK has some remaining original houses on the gulf that were badly damaged by Milton. But most buildings on LBK are structurally sound. If they had first stories on the gulf, those likely had breaches. But they have all been gutted, stuff thrown away, and look pretty normal from the outside at this point. A lot of the pools on the beachfront condos have been destroyed, but are low priority to fix. The beach itself was totally changed -- sand right up to GMD and past. They have mostly cleared the sand away at this point, but there is still traces of sand everywhere. Like our car is constantly coated in sand, because it's just in the air now. The beach itself is beautiful, as always. So many of the rentals are damaged, so the beach right now is dead. But if you found an unharmed building, there's no reason not to come. Most of the restaurants on the circle have opened again, but there's no shopping yet.

Siesta - I have no idea. My friends there have all had to move off island. Siesta has more old houses, that were totally flooded.

Mainland sarasota is totally normal and unimpacted by the hurricanes. Honestly, mainland was barely impacted even when they happened. It was just the keys. We also have an old ranch house on the mainland 2 blocks in from the shore, but protected by siesta key. It lost some fencing, but was otherwise fine.

As to moving here permanently and dealing with the risks.... I don't know. Buy a new house that's up to code and be a little bit further in the mainland. You don't have to go to Lakewood Ranch, but even something like a to-code house in Palmer Ranch would be safe. I would not buy a pre 2008 (or whatever the code year is) house at this point. I think insurance and resale will be hard in 20 years when you go to sell. Condos downtown SRQ would be a good investment - they're all to code with hurricane windows and SRQ downtown is lit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am in FL and not in a flood zone and as inland as can be...I would still not move down to be in my sort of situation! It's a lot of anxiety every single year regardless during hurricane season. Yes, likelihood of death/extreme damage is not as high, but the tornadoes in Wellington were absolutely terrifying and showed what sort of devastation can occur inland. We are looking to move out of the state entirely in the coming years.

What area do you plan to go to that never has tornadoes? Tornadoes are not exclusive to Florida.

[Anonymous]

Beaches in Pinellas still being cleaned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm sitting on my lanai on LBK right now! Looking out on the gulf.

LBK and siesta and Anna Maria were very badly damaged. Anna Maria in a permanent way, because many of the buildings were not structurally sound. When you drive through the main drag, it is mostly a bunch of bombed out buildings that have fallen off their stilts.

LBK has some remaining original houses on the gulf that were badly damaged by Milton. But most buildings on LBK are structurally sound. If they had first stories on the gulf, those likely had breaches. But they have all been gutted, stuff thrown away, and look pretty normal from the outside at this point. A lot of the pools on the beachfront condos have been destroyed, but are low priority to fix. The beach itself was totally changed -- sand right up to GMD and past. They have mostly cleared the sand away at this point, but there is still traces of sand everywhere. Like our car is constantly coated in sand, because it's just in the air now. The beach itself is beautiful, as always. So many of the rentals are damaged, so the beach right now is dead. But if you found an unharmed building, there's no reason not to come. Most of the restaurants on the circle have opened again, but there's no shopping yet.

Siesta - I have no idea. My friends there have all had to move off island. Siesta has more old houses, that were totally flooded.

Mainland sarasota is totally normal and unimpacted by the hurricanes. Honestly, mainland was barely impacted even when they happened. It was just the keys. We also have an old ranch house on the mainland 2 blocks in from the shore, but protected by siesta key. It lost some fencing, but was otherwise fine.

As to moving here permanently and dealing with the risks.... I don't know. Buy a new house that's up to code and be a little bit further in the mainland. You don't have to go to Lakewood Ranch, but even something like a to-code house in Palmer Ranch would be safe. I would not buy a pre 2008 (or whatever the code year is) house at this point. I think insurance and resale will be hard in 20 years when you go to sell. Condos downtown SRQ would be a good investment - they're all to code with hurricane windows and SRQ downtown is lit.

NP, thank you so much for this. We are thinking of taking a vacation to Sarasota, do you have recommendations of areas/neighborhoods to stay?

[Anonymous]

Siesta Key is bouncing back— places are reopening. It’s not normal yet but it’s better than it was.

Where exactly are you planning to move? We moved down here this year from Maryland and immediately got to experience three hurricanes in a row. We were glad we bought about 30 minutes inland. But overall, I regret the move.

Property insurance and auto insurance are extremely high. It’s normal to change homeowners and car insurance annually because of being dropped or because you have to find a better rate.

Traffic is just awful, especially in the winter.

As far as hurricanes go, if you’re near the coast you have to worry about storm surge and wind. If you’re inland you have to worry about wind and inland flooding. Flooding inland is becoming a major problem. We bought in a 30 year old neighborhood in Manatee County. We are surrounded by new developments. Problem is, when you fill in these wetlands to build houses, there’s no place for the rain to go. Many, many homes flooded in August as a result of this. If you live in Florida, you should have flood insurance. Ignore the property listing that says you’re not in a flood zone.

The wildlife is what I would call “aggressive.” Yesterday we had to remove a moccasin from under our heat pump. They’ll kill your dog with one bite. Walking my dog at night in the summer requires a flashlight to look out for snakes. Can’t let the dog stay out in the fenced in yard because alligators can get through fences, and coyotes will try to lure your dog over.

Cost of living is extremely high. Full stop. No state income tax doesn’t matter— you’ll more than make up for it when you pay your insurance, register your vehicle, or shop at Publix.

There are definitely positives. People in our neighborhood are happy! Nobody asks “what do you do for a living?” Nobody cares. Block parties happen all the time; food trucks visit the neighborhood at least once a week.

But overall, I’m regretting it. I’m giving it two years and hoping I just need time to adjust. If you do move down here, do not expect it to be the vacation Florida that you love, unless perhaps if you are wealthy and moving to a beautiful home by the coast that you’re paying for in cash, so no insurance worries.