Moving From NYC To Florida: What You Need To Know

Moving From NYC To Florida

Do you want to escape from the cold white winters of New York for the warmer Florida shores? With nice weather all through the year, beautiful white beaches, affordable living, lower taxes, and Disney World, there is no surprise as to why a lot of people are moving to Florida.

However, before you move to Sunshine State, there is a lot of things you must know about the relocation process.

Let’s discuss some of the ways to survive the moving process in Florida.

Are You Prepared To Adapt To The Heat?

If you are a true New Yorker, giving up the winter weather you are accustomed to during an interstate move can be difficult. At least, that is the feeling you will have until you start feeling the toughness of cold again. At that moment, you will yarn badly for the Florida sun as your only solution.

There are numerous important reasons to make the move to Florida, but get ready to adjust to a unique, more relaxed lifestyle than you are accustomed to within New York. And also, the reason for your move might not make any sense to your New York friends. Although, Florida also offers bustling city living, you might still notice the change of pace.

That is why ensuring this move is a perfect decision for you is the first step you should make. This helpful guide should provide you a brilliant idea of things to expect.

Immediately you know that, you will want to locate the perfect moving company to make your moving as seamless as possible.

Things You Should Know Concerning Your Move To Florida From New York

Making a long-distance move as such is not as easy as popularly believed. They not only require twice the cost but also twice the effort of local moves.

Below are some things you need to do when you are preparing for a move:

  • Ensure you are moving only belongings that you are sure you need. During a trip from New York to Florida, it is always good to dispose of excess items if it is not worth transporting from one state to another.
  • You must plan and organize everything such as your job, school for the kids, internet connectivity, magazine subscription, cable TV, and every other thing you need.
  • Moving in the summer months may be less expensive as you will not be moving when the snowbirds (those moving to the south from the north to spend their winters) are flying.

Read our step-to-step moving checklist.

Moving from New York City to Orlando, FL: The Average Cost

The cost of moving to Orlando, Florida from New York on average is between $2,350 and $3,500 for a 1-bedroom move. A long-distance move from New York to Florida often takes between 6 and 9 days for moving companies to complete.

The optimal duration takes moving companies between four and seven days and costs an extra $500 to $600.

There are lots of factors that will dictate the cost of the move, such as the number of belongings being moved, whether you are moving your vehicles, the weight of the items you are moving, the actual distance, and extra services, such as packing and unpacking.

However, a full-service mover that is rendering cross-country moving services from New York to Florida may provide you a ballpark estimate from around $2,500 to $6,000.

Even though some people may be surprised at this amount, you need to know that timely transportation of your household goods to another state safely is worth the cost.

Also, if you try a DIY approach, you will have to pay for fuel, lodging, and your food while on the road and also compromise your wellbeing. With the help of a professional local mover, you will have absolute peace of mind that your items will get to your destination safe and sound.

Make sure you budget all the moving costs as related to the long-distance mover.

Check How Much Does It Cost to Move Cross Country.

Selecting a Neighborhood to Live-in due to Florida Weather

When getting familiar with life in Florida, you will have to adapt to much sunshine and a warm climate; in general, that is seen year-round. Summers in Florida are long, very warm, and humid with regular thunderstorms keeping down the temperature in the evenings. Winters in Florida are milder, sometimes reducing into sweater weather regions.

On the other hand, Orlando and similar cities have different weather on Florida’s coast. There are cooler temperatures in the summertime; thanks to the shore breezes of Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa.

In general, Florida weather is not too different from one place to another. The cities below show the varying weather all across the state.

Tallahassee:

Found inland in northern Florida, Tallahassee is prone to excessive cold and also snow (although these are rare occasions), with lows around the 30s in winter but warm to hot weather is generally experienced year-round (most particularly in the summer).

Jacksonville:

Weather conditions in both Jacksonville and Tallahassee are similar, as they are both found far north, but its coastal location implies a bit hotter winters and mildly cooler summers than its surrounding inland.

Orlando:

Situated exactly in the heart of the state, Orlando can sometimes get a bit cold from the north (there are freezing temperatures but not popular), but the city has warmer temperatures all through the year and especially in winter. As you approach the southern end of the state, the average rainfall is higher, especially during summer.

Tampa and St. Petersburg:

When you travel south towards the western coast of Florida, these two places continue to experience heat year-round, tamed across the summer by the coastal wind.

Miami and West Palm Beach:

As you move towards the southern tip of Florida (where Fort Lauderdale and Keys are found), the weather becomes hotter, with a lot of rainfall in the summer. Being Southern coastal cities, Miami and West Palm Beach are hotter in the winter. The breeze from the ocean keeps the high temperatures down in summer.

Cost of Living in Florida

Apartment rental costs in Florida will be affordable than prices in New York. Here, a 1-bedroom costs an average of $1,150 per month. Also, the expensive cost of purchasing a home in New York City may have shattered the dream of buying a home for some people.

Buying a home in another state is a great chance worth going for in Florida. The median sales price is found in the ballpark estimate of $200,000 (cheaper than in millions).

The cost of living is cheaper, unlike in New York. Also, the average food expense is low in comparison to other parts of the country. In any situation, the more modest cost of living will imply that you may have more space. It also means you have more financial freedom to embark on new projects.

Also, Florida charges low tax with no state income tax. One other reason to make Miami your home is the cost of living. BestPlaces.net reveals that Miami costs more than 50% less than New York City.

The details by category are provided below:

Cost of Living in Florida
Cost of Living IndexNew York vs. Miami
 Total Index: Homeowner, no kid care, taxes not factored 52% more
 Food and groceries 8% more
 Housing 106 % more (more than double)
 Utilities 58% more
 Transportation 25 % more
 Health 14% more
 Miscellaneous 16% more

How to Reduce the Cost of Moving to Florida?

If paying several thousands of dollars to move with a full-service company is not what you want, there are few options to reduce the cost before you commit to a move.

Price matching:

If you can locate affordable moving companies, price-matching options might be present with other reputable services. With little research, you could save thousands of dollars on your moving cost. To benefit from this, you will need to get a quote from moving companies near you.

The majority of moving services offer a free moving quote or estimate depending on your destination location and the things you plan to move along. The quote must be reasonable for your situation.

For instance, if you reside in New York City and you plan to move to Orlando, a quote that covers the costs from Buffalo to Tampa won’t be reasonable. Obtain an accurate quote by giving them proper information and letting the company make a thorough assessment.

You will from there need to find a moving company that offers price matching and finds out if they can match the rate.

Moving labor and packing services:

You might have the opportunity to divide the cost between professionals and self-move if you are ready to do parts of the move. If you don’t plan to drive 1,500 miles from New York to Florida, you could pay for the moving labor and services required and handle the rest for yourself.

This is a nice service for New Yorkers that have the time and energy as well as need help with loading and unloading but who are ready to take a road trip from NY to FL.

There are moving companies that offer hourly services to take care of certain parts of a move. If you are moving on a budget and ready to take care of some work yourself, this is a great compromise to look into when determining cost.

Adams Van Lines offers partial services to start your moving process.

Check out our packing services as well as moving labor options to learn further. 

Moving Autos from New York to Florida

Moving out of New York City is equivalent to leaving a lot of public transportation behind. While there are larger cities in Florida that may offer bus or metro lines, a car is required for reliable transportation in Florida.

While driving is the most practical way to move a vehicle to Florida, it may not be the best if you are not planning a long road trip or if you have multiple vehicles to be moved. In this situation, you will need to check auto shipping companies to get solutions.

Cars and trucks can normally be moved with auto shipping services. Riggers take care of boats and large vehicles. Since these moves require the use of specialized equipment, many moving companies don’t perform this directly and will give the job out with an auto-shipper or rigger to complete the job.

You need to know that; since this transportation is performed by a third-party company, your car may not arrive because of the normal delivery schedule and may not fall into any express delivery windows of the movers.

While this job is also outsourced by Adam Van Lines, our team will make sure everything is properly set up for easy moving.  

Getting Help during a Move from New York to Florida

We hope that you now know that moving to Florida from New York is not an easy job and you will need to be more attentive to many small details to ensure your moving experience is successful.

As we have earlier mentioned, hiring a professional moving company is capable of providing you some peace of mind when you are preparing your move.

Adams Van Lines will provide you a moving quote and offer you top-quality shipping service from the reservation process up until your belongings are delivered to your doorstep. To get a smooth moving experience, give us a ring on 855-254-0416 and speak to our customer service agent. 

Adam Palme - Author
Adam Palme

Adam grew up in military family, which meant he moved more than 20 times before he graduated high school. The experience taught him a lot about adaptability (and loading boxes), which he leveraged into a career in the moving and storage industry 7 years ago. He’s been working in sales and customer service management for 20 years, and he uses his own experiences to write content about moving, storage, leadership, and teamwork. Outside of work, Adam enjoys coaching youth football in Miami and enjoying some beach time with his dog. Go Dolphins!

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