This is the chapter the brochures skip. Read it anyway.
Northeast Florida sits on the Atlantic coast, which puts it in the theoretical path of hurricanes, and no honest person will tell you otherwise. The region's curve of coastline has historically deflected many storms that threatened it, and the First Coast has seen fewer direct major hits than most of Florida's coastal markets. But fewer is not none. Living here means owning a hurricane plan the way a New Englander owns a snow shovel: rarely glamorous, occasionally essential.
Now the money. Homeowner's insurance in Florida is a genuine line item, not a rounding error, and it has risen sharply statewide in recent years. Your premium will depend heavily on the age of the roof, the construction, the elevation, and the flood zone, and you should get an actual insurance quote on an actual house before you commit to it, in the same phone-call session where you fall in love with the kitchen. Flood insurance is a separate policy from homeowner's insurance, a fact that surprises almost every newcomer.
Then the other side of the ledger, because honest math has two columns. Florida has no state income tax. For a working family relocating from a high-tax state, that single fact can offset a great deal of insurance premium. Property taxes are moderate, and Florida's homestead exemption and Save Our Homes cap give primary residents real protection against runaway assessments. Many newer communities carry HOA fees and, in master-planned developments, CDD fees. Ask for the CDD figure on any house you tour in a planned community. The agent should volunteer it. If they do not, you have learned something about the agent.
