Great Winters, Nearly Intolerable Summers
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7/30/2009
I moved here a little over a year ago after living in Miami Beach, New Orleans and Los Angeles. I wanted to try living in a smaller community with more nature around and a lower cost of living.
DeLand is a good place in many respects because it has a walkable grid and a central downtown area. Rent is cheap and the university and the skydiving keep the atmosphere a little more diverse than what you might experience in other areas of Central Florida.
However, the climate has been a little less impressive than I'd originally expected. The winters are mostly wonderful; however on a few nights, you can expect lows of about 25 degrees Fahrenheit, which kills bougainvillea and other tropical plants that thrive in South Florida. In the summers, rain is a near daily phenomenon; in fact, sometimes the skies can appear threatening the entire afternoon, and the mugginess is more severe than South Florida, which is more temperate and has refreshing sea breezes.
Central air is a great way to deal with these fluctuations, but unfortunately the local electric/gas utility, Progess Energy, is a for-profit company with no competition, and their exorbitant rates reflect this. The Florida Utility Commission is all too happy to approve their frequent rate increase requests because they create additional tax revenue for the state.
I rent a 2 bedroom bungalow built in 1925 for $795 a month, water included. It's not uncommon for me to experience electric bills of $175 in the summer and $220 in the winter, even though I use the heat only an average of one week per month at set the inside temperature at 78-80 degrees. Therefore, as you find yourself wooed by the reasonable rents, be sure to plan on spending a lot on electric and gas!
The payoff is that you're close to many natural springs and the Ocala National Forest. The ocean is about 30 minutes away, and orlando is a 45 minute drive. The unemployment rate is in the double digits, so it's good to either be retired or have an independent income.
Doug | DeLand, FL