# Retiring in Florida



## nwstein (Nov 8, 2009)

Hi,

My Mother is looking to retire in Florida, Tampa or Sarasota to be precise. She has a Green Card already so that is not the issue.

I am looking for help on finding out the health insurance options. I doubt she will be looking to retire 100% straight away as she speaks Spanish, French and Portuguese all things that could be put to good use as well as her English. Also, working will give her an in to settling down a bit.

I am looking for some help on the following things:


Health Insurance for a retire person or someone working part time
Property insurance for a 1-2 bedroom condo
what the major pitfalls are for someone moving to either place
What are the areas for her to avoid and which are the places that she should look at
any tips on Realtors

Thanks for the help


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

nwstein said:


> Hi,
> 
> My Mother is looking to retire in Florida, Tampa or Sarasota to be precise. She has a Green Card already so that is not the issue.
> 
> ...


How old is she now? And how many years of social security contributions has she made?


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## nwstein (Nov 8, 2009)

Fatbrit said:


> How old is she now? And how many years of social security contributions has she made?


She is 63 and she lived in the US 25 years ago. Not sure on the SS payments but she wasn't working then, she was looking after the kids, (harder than work).


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

nwstein said:


> She is 63 and she lived in the US 25 years ago. Not sure on the SS payments but she wasn't working then, she was looking after the kids, (harder than work).


If she hasn't lived in the US for 25 years, your questions are probably moot because she will have been deemed to have abandoned her permanent residency.

Over 65 and it's almost impossible to find health insurance since Medicare kicks in at that age. She needs 10 years (40 quarters) of social security credits to qualify on the same terms as regular folks. She can buy in without this after she has been a permanent resident for 5 years.

But as I say.....I believe it's all moot given your new facts.


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## Movin2UK (Oct 31, 2009)

nwstein said:


> Hi,
> 
> My Mother is looking to retire in Florida, Tampa or Sarasota to be precise. She has a Green Card already so that is not the issue.
> 
> ...


I just moved from the Tampa area. I was living and working in St Petersburg, Florida which is right across the bay from Tampa. I lived there for a year, now in Georgia about to move to the UK.

Can't give you any health insurance help. As a self employed person, I have found personal/individual insurance to be so confusing and so expensive. Best luck to you with that. As you might know, if she has any pre-existing conditions, coverage may be very hard to find if at all.

Housing - Depends on what is your mom's style. Sarasota is really nice and a little slower pace than Tampa. Tampa is a fun town but traffic is a nightmare. Much more of a young person's place. Having lived on the east and west coast of Florida, I will tell you there are not as many spanish speaking people on the west coast. St Pete Beach and adjoining beaches are really affordable and offer great sunsets. "South Tampa" is a nicer part of Tampa. Downtown St Petersburg is great for retirees and has lots of shops and stores within walking distance.

Property Insurance - Coastal communities and many communities in Florida are very restricted on homeowner's insurance. When I was in St Petersburg, I could only use one company. It's all the hurricanes that have ran off all the insurance companies. But, the west coast (Tampa and Sarasota) rarely see any major hurricane activity.

Realtor - I could get you the name of a friend and ex-neighbor who is a realtor in the Tampa/St Petersburg area if you would like.

It's a great place. My UK husband and I still have my house in St Petersburg and plan on moving back in a few years.

Best of wishes to your mother


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## gulfcoast (Nov 21, 2008)

Have a lovely refurbished condo on water in Sarasota but have work contract back in U.K. and have to offload quickly. Contact for photo's and more info.

Gulfcoast


My Mother is looking to retire in Florida, Tampa or Sarasota to be precise. She has a Green Card already so that is not the issue.

I am looking for help on finding out the health insurance options. I doubt she will be looking to retire 100% straight away as she speaks Spanish, French and Portuguese all things that could be put to good use as well as her English. Also, working will give her an in to settling down a bit.

I am looking for some help on the following things:


Health Insurance for a retire person or someone working part time
Property insurance for a 1-2 bedroom condo
what the major pitfalls are for someone moving to either place
What are the areas for her to avoid and which are the places that she should look at
any tips on Realtors

Thanks for the help[/QUOTE]


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## karenceris (Apr 24, 2009)

I left the USA to look after my Mum in the UK who had multi infarct dementia and have been away for a total of 14 years. Five years ago I tried to get my Green Card renewed but I had to start all over again as it was deemed that I had abandoned my residency. Soory not to have more positive news.


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## Gourockian (Nov 26, 2009)

nwstein said:


> She is 63 and she lived in the US 25 years ago. Not sure on the SS payments but she wasn't working then, she was looking after the kids, (harder than work).


If her green card dates back to when she worked in the US, it will have expired by now and will be of no relevance if she re-applies for one. If you leave the US for more than one year, your green card becomes in-valid.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Gourockian said:


> If her green card dates back to when she worked in the US, it will have expired by now and will be of no relevance if she re-applies for one. If you leave the US for more than one year, your green card becomes in-valid.


General statements can be so missleading.
Leaving the US without having applied for re-entry permit which allows absence of up to two years can be considered abandonment. GCs do not become "invalid". A GC can be reinstated under certain circumstances. Applicant has to prove that the extended absence was based on reasons out of his controll - sickness, company transfer ... Evidence of unbroken ties to the US such as properly filed tax returns, assets in form of personal real estate, upkeep of professional licenses ... is necessary.


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## Gourockian (Nov 26, 2009)

twostep said:


> General statements can be so missleading.
> Leaving the US without having applied for re-entry permit which allows absence of up to two years can be considered abandonment. GCs do not become "invalid". A GC can be reinstated under certain circumstances. Applicant has to prove that the extended absence was based on reasons out of his controll - sickness, company transfer ... Evidence of unbroken ties to the US such as properly filed tax returns, assets in form of personal real estate, upkeep of professional licenses ... is necessary.


Thanks for clarifying this and my apologies for giving misleading info.

I had indeed overlooked the situations you mentioned and was merely thinking back to two incidences I know of personally, where the individuals had to start from 'square 1' after being away from the US for more than a year.


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