It seems to be the weather. Everyone loves the heat even though it’s disgusting and if you lose power you’re stuck sitting in a hot box until it comes back.

I’m a bit biased because I love cold weather but I really don’t think I’d survive down there, I’d miss winter too much.

No state income tax, good weather (with the exception of June, July, and August), the gas pumps allow you to lock the trigger so you don’t have to stand there like an idiot holding the pump. Last but not least the people are pissed off and drive crazy, so new englanders feel like they are amongst family.

Most of them are obsessed with Flo Rida and just pronouncing his name wrong.

Cheap, warm and easy to fly to.

Plus a lot of us have parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, friends down there etc.. quick flight. It’s kinda the easy place to go.

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It's definitely the weather. It's the closest place you can get to (lots of flight options to multiple cities) that has reasonably consistent warm winter weather. Even GA,SC, and NC are cold in the winter and north FL can be cold too. So RI's (and NY, NJ, CT, etc) flock to south Florida, east and west coasts. Most people I know are snow birds. They go down in October. Come back for holidays, then go back down for Jan thru April and return to RI to enjoy our summer. They also come back to take care of healthcare which is generally better here.

For a long time you could sell your highly taxed and mortgaged RI two bedroom and buy something cash in Florida with the scraps left from your sale in RI. Then get taxed low enough to actually live on social security.

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Its a cheap winter getaway. You can fly to several airports in Florida from TF green for under $100 and in less then three hours. Anywhere else with palm trees is far more expensive and difficult to get to.

Cheap, warm getaway.

Personally, I avoid Florida and people from there like the plague...

I have a couple of coworkers that love to go to Disney and Universal. One of them later bought a rental down there and I believe she plans to eventually retire down there. I'm not sure the allure either. I also have a boss who also plans to retire there. He told me he likes the warmer weather and is basically done with snow.

I moved to RI from LA for colder weather. I can not stand Florida! Too bad our winters are getting warm. Florida will be under water and too hot for human existence soon enough.

But why not Puerto Rico or Virgin Islands? They are much more pleasant with island breezes and just as close.

Yeah how do you handle it?

Growing up it seemed like once a RI'r hit retirement age they moved 2 Florida. I have 3 relatives that moved there, but 2 of them came back.

From what I have learned of old people, they are always cold if the temp is below 78 degrees, they are all on fixed incomes and it's supposed to be cheaper down there and the flights can usually be bought pretty cheap, even for direct flights.

I mean they also have Disney world down there and alligators! What's not to love?

I will second that!