Congrats!

June kicks off hurricane season. Buy genarator(s), power cords, gas cans, and portable AC units between now and June. Waiting until a hurricane is forecast is a bad time to stock up. I had a hurricane hit 6 days after I moved from California to Houston and was totally unprepared which isn't a good place to be.

Welcome to Florida

Welcome to the neighborhood. St Augustine is a great place. I've spent a bunch of money at TGS since they opened.

I grew up in PA until I went off to the Navy and after getting stationed here I never looked back. This first year the heat and humidity might be rough on you but by next summer you will have acclimated. A good rule of thumb is that matter how much water you are drinking, you need to drink some more.

are you retired military or first responder?

always remember, when the sun goes down the skeeters come out to play.

Congrats! We are in the process of buying a condo across the street from the beach near Destin at Miramar Beach. One minute walk and great view of the beach. Holding our breath til the contract is complete.

Congratulations!!!

We are right behind you and will be a bit south… Palm Coast.

We leave Michigan and tyrant gretch at the beginning of April.

Looking forward to getting away from the stupid weather here.

The house isn’t set up for a generator and we have a lot to learn.

Hopefully, the four dogs will be happy. We should be able to go walkies much more often and that should help.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ersatzknarf,

Congrats. Those are some fortunate kids for sure.

Thank you for all of the welcomes and advice.

I brought down a 5,500 watt generator and I've got plenty of extension cords. We constantly lost power in PA. I'll need to pick up a couple of extra propane tanks and gas cans.

Congratulations.

If it wasn't for the humidity and the hurricanes, Florida would have been a consideration for us.

We’re leaving behind a whole house, fully automatic generator

Everything is electric and no natural gas at the new place.

Wondering if we can do that but attached to a 100 lb tank or two?

We were kinda hopeful our area was not so much of a hurricane target…

Oh, well.

Still excited about becoming Floridians

Good job on the move.
I agree on ease to register a car, carry permit, fishing permit.
Significant drawback is home and auto insurance. Property insurance is sky high--invest in wind mitigation defense == roof and/or hurricane shutters. An insurance broker is needed to search out insurance policies. Auto insurance -need a broker to unlock better rates than on line rates.

Welcome. I’ve been here 3 years. I tell people I’m a refugee not a missionary, when they ask. Not filing a state tax return gets nice right away.

I’ve been to my tax office/DMV about 6 times in 3 years for vehicles trailers, drivers license , CCW, kids ID. Have always walked in and walked out. Never spent more than 10-15 minutes in aggregate per transaction inside the building. Never a wait. Had to bring my father in law when he was giving me a trailer that had no pink slip. They figured it out in 5 minutes.

Welcome from St. Pete.

St. Augustine is a cool place. Puts you close to multiple places to spend a weekend at: Savannah, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and more.

After having lived in very dry places, I actually enjoy the humidity. Don't enjoy the mosquitoes but they come with the territory. I was pretty vigilant in spraying the lawn for mosquitoes and other insects. I've heard that mint keeps them away.

Meant to add if you have natural gas, consider a whole house backup generator. I have a generac 24kw unit. next week both electric hot water heaters being replaced by gas tankless. Neighbors had similar setup after hurricane Sally, our street had no power for 10 days. They had natal gas so house had power and the water was hot. Remember hurricanes hit and leave and it’s usually summer or fall and it’s still hot and humid and if you’re clearing debris and working you get hot and sweaty. They were letting most of the neighbors shower and do laundry. Southern hospitality is a real thing. Still invest in a number of gas cans and a portable generator of course. Don’t forget to run it every few weeks to a month to keep the fluids copacetic.

quote:

Originally posted by blindref:
Thank you for all of the welcomes and advice.

I brought down a 5,500 watt generator and I've got plenty of extension cords. We constantly lost power in PA. I'll need to pick up a couple of extra propane tanks and gas cans.

Don't forget the window AC(s) and/or portable AC(s) depending on your window type. Hurricane season is peak heat and humidity season and life is better with an air conditioned room to hangout as well as sleep in. Window ACs, Portable ACs, and fans sellout soon after a hurricane is forecasted.

The first time I lived in Houston, I had a 5500 running watt generator and used it to power 2 refrigerators, a microwave, a window AC, and several power strips (e.g. lamps). I had enough power leftover so I ran an extension cord to my neighbor's fridge. One upgrade you could make (I did it) to running a bunch of extension cords is a breaker panel lockout (just an example, match your actual electrical panel), an exterior generator plug, and a heavy duty generator cable (need to make sure plug style matched 230V plug on generator). Having lights, bathroom fans, electrical outlets, locked windows, etc. is a big step toward normalcy.

I'm back living in Houston for the second time and this time have a whole house generator. I sold my trusty old generator, but I kept the window AC in case my regular AC goes out in summer. I'm from the Upper Midwest and cannot sleep when it's 97F and 90% humidity.

Welcome to



All residents over the age of 21 are required by law to spend 99 44/100% of waking hours prepping for 'canes.

As you can tell ...

On the good news side, there is a new Buc-ee's near you.

What took you so long? My Dads family has been there since 1814.

quote:

Originally posted by ltz400:
On the good news side, there is a new Buc-ee's near you.

And he's still got Wawa!

quote:

Originally posted by ltz400:
On the good news side, there is a new Buc-ee's near you.

Actually 2 Buc-ee's near him, one closer up at International Golf Village towards Jax and one south in Daytona.

Welcome to Florida you'll love it and you're down here for the best weather, it has been a bit cooler this year.

Lots of good advice, agree with TatorTodds suggestion to get a direct connection for your generator to the main electric panel. Just turn off the 220 stuff and run the fans, lights, fridge, tv. We have propane for the stove and water heater so with the generator we have the ability to cook and take a hot shower.