Moving to Florida could use some help

Ironcovers · January 6

Hey everyone

If you were 28 years old single remote worker who played college golf and is moving from TX, where would you move to in Florida?

Would be renting an apartment or cheap house, and looking for lots of affordable golf options nearby to practice and play competitive golf. Qualifiers, mini tours, USGA stuff, etc. Say roughly $500 monthly golf budget

Would like to be somewhere close enough to the social scene, safe. Good options appear to be St Johns county area or Championsgate area in Orlando? Would really appreciate any thoughts below.

Thank you

Philfil · January 7

$500 a month in Florida is getting you 3 rounds of golf and a few buckets of range balls.

italianstallion · January 7

1 hour ago, Philfil said:

$500 a month in Florida is getting you 3 rounds of golf and a few buckets of range balls.

Yeah, unless you play absolute goat ranches, then you might get 4 rounds!

I’ve lived in Central Florida for 12 years now spending some time in Tampa but most of that in Orlando. In all seriousness it use to be that the rates April - May were manageable, June through September real good (use to be able to play the Ritz course for $80!), October - November on the rise back up, and Thanksgiving through March forget it. Nowadays anything nice in the tourist corridor of Orlando is going to cost you minimum $200 a round between Thanksgiving and March, and about $80-$150 a round outside of that if you’re lucky. Forget Tampa, tons of really bad golf courses out that way. Championsgate has a ton of really good players, especially Epson/LPGA players, but again you’re talking about a resort that will carry resort prices in the winter.

Orlando is great for tournaments and mini tour stuff, and there’s always USGA qualifiers in this town so you don’t have to go far. But typically $500 a month either means you’re playing 4-5 times at most per month at a decent course and hitting a bucket or two a week, just hitting a lot of buckets and playing once a month, or just playing a couple tournaments, as those can cost a ton here. During tournament season I play a couple amateur events per month which range from $140-$200 each, so during that time I’m actually not playing any casual rounds so I can afford the tournaments. I try and hit 2-3 buckets a week, and I also set up a hitting area in my backyard to help defray the cost. My advice if you decide on Orlando is to find a nice home base course outside the touristy areas with a decent practice facility, and either join there or just pay the rack rates as you go. Or call up a course and see if you can work out some sort of residency deal. Or just temper your expectations and focus on on-course reps at more affordable (but not as nice) courses.

Ironcovers · January 7

12 hours ago, italianstallion said:

Yeah, unless you play absolute goat ranches, then you might get 4 rounds!

I’ve lived in Central Florida for 12 years now spending some time in Tampa but most of that in Orlando. In all seriousness it use to be that the rates April - May were manageable, June through September real good (use to be able to play the Ritz course for $80!), October - November on the rise back up, and Thanksgiving through March forget it. Nowadays anything nice in the tourist corridor of Orlando is going to cost you minimum $200 a round between Thanksgiving and March, and about $80-$150 a round outside of that if you’re lucky. Forget Tampa, tons of really bad golf courses out that way. Championsgate has a ton of really good players, especially Epson/LPGA players, but again you’re talking about a resort that will carry resort prices in the winter.

Orlando is great for tournaments and mini tour stuff, and there’s always USGA qualifiers in this town so you don’t have to go far. But typically $500 a month either means you’re playing 4-5 times at most per month at a decent course and hitting a bucket or two a week, just hitting a lot of buckets and playing once a month, or just playing a couple tournaments, as those can cost a ton here. During tournament season I play a couple amateur events per month which range from $140-$200 each, so during that time I’m actually not playing any casual rounds so I can afford the tournaments. I try and hit 2-3 buckets a week, and I also set up a hitting area in my backyard to help defray the cost. My advice if you decide on Orlando is to find a nice home base course outside the touristy areas with a decent practice facility, and either join there or just pay the rack rates as you go. Or call up a course and see if you can work out some sort of residency deal. Or just temper your expectations and focus on on-course reps at more affordable (but not as nice) courses.

Thanks so much for detailed reply. Are there any areas of FL to move to and/or cheap home courses you would suggest then?

italianstallion · January 7

12 minutes ago, Ironcovers said:

Thanks so much for detailed reply. Are there any areas of FL to move to and/or cheap home courses you would suggest then?

The issue is if you're looking to be close to a social scene that usually means expensive these days in Florida. I don't know alot about the Jacksonville golf scene outside of a few more expensive clubs, but your thought process on looking there is a good one. Great city for young people with tons going on. Less of a tourist spot than Orlando so I would imagine you could find a value priced course that meets your requirements. In Orlando if you're trying to be close to a social scene that means downtown Orlando, but there are some towns on the outskirts that have daytime social scenes (Winter Garden, Sanford, Deland).

sabram · January 8

There are plenty of solid courses in the Orlando area that can be played for well under $200 during prime season (Dec-March) as long as you stay away from the most well known courses closest to the theme parks and convention center. I usually play three times a week and rarely pay over $90 for morning rounds. Even some of the big name courses can be played for a decent green fee if you are willing to play afternoons. A few of the better value courses are Highlands Reserve, Royal St Cloud, Winter Park 9, Legends Clermont, Orange Lake Reserve, Deer Island, Rio Pinar, Dubsdread, White Heron and Forest Lake. Among the more well known courses, you can get good afternoon rates at Southern Dunes, Orange County National, Championsgate Country Club and Mission Inn. There are many more less expensive courses the further away you get form the theme parks. Lakeland and Winter Haven area to the Southwest and the Maitland/Altamonte area to the Northeast of Orlando. You just need to do some homework to determine which area best suits your budget and social activities needs. I'd suggest visiting for a week or more and checking out some of the areas, courses and activities. The biggest problem with central Florida (besides the ever increasing green fees) is the ever increasing traffic. That's why you really need to check out the different areas around Orlando before choosing one to live in.

GolfnGatorNC · January 22

On 1/6/2025 at 1:00 PM, Ironcovers said:

Hey everyone

If you were 28 years old single remote worker who played college golf and is moving from TX, where would you move to in Florida?

Would be renting an apartment or cheap house, and looking for lots of affordable golf options nearby to practice and play competitive golf. Qualifiers, mini tours, USGA stuff, etc. Say roughly $500 monthly golf budget

Would like to be somewhere close enough to the social scene, safe. Good options appear to be St Johns county area or Championsgate area in Orlando? Would really appreciate any thoughts below.

Thank you

Sorry for the bad news but I've played a lot of travel golf (FSGA, mini-tours, qualifiers) around Florida from 2018-2024 and you're going to have a problem with your golf budget unless you find a good course/club to take a part time valet/bag boy job and they offer reduce/no fee golf as a benefit. For the travel golf, central FL would be your best place to live but the golf is not cheap there either.

The only option I can think of in your budget would be the panhandle area near Fort Walton Beach/Pensacola. Good golf especially if you want to day trip to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail course in AL.

After living in FL for the past 17 years, it was time to leave. Great golf weather in South FL but everything else either got stupid expensive (I could afford it but why am I paying $800/month in car insurance, $900/month in homeowners ins, $9k/year in property tax (that's with a homestead exemption for 24 years)), and/or way overcrowded. Note, I also lived in TX and worked at a course in Plano which was perfect for playing and practicing. The grass is not always greener in FL. Just do your research carefully. Good luck!

sabram · January 23

10 minutes ago, GolfnGatorNC said:

why am I paying $800/month in car insurance, $900/month in homeowners ins, $9k/year in property tax (that's with a homestead exemption for 24 years))

You must have been living in a very expensive neighborhood near a coast. I'm near Disney. My home owner's insurance and auto insurance bundled for two cars and a $400k house total $300/mo. Real Estate Taxes are less than 4K/yr.

5.9k · January 23

42 minutes ago, sabram said:

You must have been living in a very expensive neighborhood near a coast. I'm near Disney. My home owner's insurance and auto insurance bundled for two cars and a $400k house total $300/mo. Real Estate Taxes are less than 4K/yr.

I agree. I'm not wealthy by any means but my costs are no where near those mentioned. My homeowners is below the national average. My property taxes are quite low for a water front home. If you moved my house closer to the coast, then yes, insurance goes up. You just need to research costs in each area. In Florida costs vary greatly from place to place.

Warrior42111 · January 23

12 hours ago, sabram said:

You must have been living in a very expensive neighborhood near a coast. I'm near Disney. My home owner's insurance and auto insurance bundled for two cars and a $400k house total $300/mo. Real Estate Taxes are less than 4K/yr.

It's so hit or miss here. I'm Merritt Island and are moving within town. Once insurance denied us since the house had a claim 3 years ago (Water pipes), even though the problem was fixed and approved (full PVC and PEX lines) via permeants and sections. Now its 7000, a year through citizens until we can cover the skylights that would make it 3600 but, kicker is once covered it's now a renewal and all renewals are subject to mandatory flood insurance from them. so probably back to 7000. RE taxes can be cheap if using portability and homesteads properly. No idea how people are moving from out of state though without the ability to port. That saved us about 3500 on the RE a year

5.9k · January 23

1 hour ago, Warrior42111 said:

It's so hit or miss here. I'm Merritt Island and are moving within town. Once insurance denied us since the house had a claim 3 years ago (Water pipes), even though the problem was fixed and approved (full PVC and PEX lines) via permeants and sections. Now its 7000, a year through citizens until we can cover the skylights that would make it 3600 but, kicker is once covered it's now a renewal and all renewals are subject to mandatory flood insurance from them. so probably back to 7000. RE taxes can be cheap if using portability and homesteads properly. No idea how people are moving from out of state though without the ability to port. That saved us about 3500 on the RE a year

Sorry to go off topic. What's up with the skylights? I was with Citizens for a year just recently and have 2 skylights. The new insurance I have have no problems with the skylights. I also don't have a flood insurance requirement. I live on a lake. I'm up about 8 feet from water level but about 5 feet from the shore!

markheardjr · February 17

Cant' speak much to west cost of FL, but for east cost, for better competitive play and plenty of options I'd recommend south of Port St Lucie and north of West Palm beach. Jupiter area.

There is not much good public golf between Vero Beach and Jacksonville. Melbourne has 3 decent courses and 3 goat tracks, Vero has Sand Ridge 36 holes. Daytona has maybe 5-6 decent public courses. Orlando is too expensive during tourist season. There's a few hidden gems mixed in, but the best spot is south of Port St Luci / Stuart / Jupiter area. However, 3 of their good public courses converted to Private in the last 3 years. (Pt St Luci Trail, Fox Club and Lost Lakes.)