Authors’ Billboard Blog Traci Hall October 6th
Carving out time this morning on the balcony with coffee, enjoying the cooler temperatures that Floridians wait all year for. We’ve had so many people move to Florida that rent prices are astronomical. Pulled from the web: Net migration to Florida appears to have peaked at more than 404,000 people in 2020, and it’s expected to be only about two-thirds of that by 2032 — or more than 262,000 people—per year.
Buying a home is also hard, and now because of Hurricane Ian and the 47 billion in projected losses (I’ve also read 75 billion!) we will lose more companies willing to insure the property. After my divorce (ten years ago this December!) I rented, and I love the freedom of that. If something breaks, you call the owner, and they fix it. I turned 55 this year and my new husband and I go round and round over buying or renting. In this market? I think renting is the safer bet.
That said, the rent prices are climbing so high that we are considering staying in a place where the elevators breaking is a common occurrence and the dog upstairs barks nonstop. To move is a pain, and expensive, and I think of the expression: better the devil you know than the one you don’t. Florida had one of the most dramatic rent increases in the nation, with no wage increase to back it up. My dream has always been to live on the beach, where I write my stories. Family have warned that Florida is sinking, so when I finally buy, to be inland.
If we buy lol. I am seeing a lot of plusses in the rent column. And maybe being exactly on the beach might not be so wise. Florida homes built to withstand hurricanes seemed to do all right in this latest storm!
As a reader as well as a writer, I was pleased to get an email from the Southern Bookseller Review—they posted updates on bookstores around the area hardest hit by Hurricane Ian. The best thing we can do for these guys is to buy books from them and keep business going. https://thesouthernbooksellerreview.org/southern-bookseller-directory/
Reading is an escape, and what we do matters! I am writing the third book in my Misty Beach series, Mistletoe on Misty Beach. Book one can be found in Irresistible Christmas: Pets to the Rescue
I hope wherever you are, you are safe and happy <3
Traci
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From cozy mysteries to seaside romance, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall writes stories that captivate her readers. As a hybrid author with over sixty published works, Ms. Hall has a favorite tale for everyone.
Mystery lovers, check out her Scottish Shire series, set in the seaside town of Nairn, or the Salem B&B Mystery series, co-written as Traci Wilton. Her latest project is an Irish Castle cozy as Ellie Brannigan. Whether it’s her ever-popular By the Sea romances, an Appletree Cove sweet romance, or a fun who-done-it, Traci finds her inspiration in sunny South Florida, living right near the ocean.
Traci wants to hear from you!
Traci@TraciHall.com
Thanks for the interesting perspective. I fully understand vacillating between buying and renting a house. I have lived in several waterfront places. One was in Ocean City, MD. I spent 6 years there listening to the waves lap on the shore. Nothing else like it. I am further inland now (only due to climate change).