[Bob M]

I have been a snowbird for 15 years now and a Florida resident for about 10 years. I changed residencies solely for property tax reasons. Florida has a program called "Save our Homes" that limits the rise in the taxable value of you home based on the higher of two indices up to 3%. During the housing bubble my evaluation sky rocketed so that I was paying three times in taxes as a neighbor two doors down withe a similar house and real evaluation.

Homeowner insurance in Florida is typically much higher in Florida than in NH. And the closer you are towards the coast the higher it will be due to the threat of hurricanes. Your insurance could easily be ten or more times higher on the coast for the same coverage than inland. That was immediately after the three hurricanes hit the state. They are still higher near the coast but I don't know if they have abated any. Once I became a Florida resident my property taxes dropped significantly due to the homestead exemption and the save our homes program. My taxes continued to drop while my neighbors continued to rise until they equaled out on the valuations.

Auto registration is considerably cheaper in Florida. There is an initial one time charge for the plate itself, maybe $100, plus the registration but in subsequent years you just pay the registration. You do pay a sales tax when you purchase a car but I believe that it may be cheaper in the long run than paying the annual registration in NH. That won't be the case if you trade cars often.

When you transfer a car previously registered in NH that you have owned for at least 6 months you are not required to pay a sales tax to register the car.

I have found that automobile insurance in Florida is more expensive than in NH. I previously had a Florida car, a NH registered car, and one that we used to travel back and forth that was registered in NH. I moved from Laconia to Gilford several years ago and when I went to register my NH cars in Gilford I was presented a form to sign saying essentially that under penalty of perjury, being that I was a non resident, that the cars would essentially be back in their place of garaging every night. Rather than sign the form for my traveling car I just registered my NH car. When I got to Florida I registered my travel car in Florida. I saved on the registration but my six month Florida insurance premium with the same coverages was more than my annual premium in NH.

As for a husband being a resident in one state and a wife being a resident in another state, assuming that they are living together in the same household, that is illegal in Florida. I know because I inquired about it as I knew others that were doing it. I guess it is only illegal if you get caught. In order for me to get my homestead exemption I was required to get an official letter from the Laconia City Clerk verifying that I was no longer receiving my veterans property tax exemption.