Your First 90 Days in Florida: Move in the Right Order

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Most moving checklists are sorted by room. Florida rewards a checklist sorted by deadline. Some of what follows is paperwork with a hard date on it; some of it is seasonal; all of it is cheaper and calmer done in the right order than discovered in the wrong one. Here is the sequence I hand my own relocating clients — the first 90 days, in the order that actually matters.

Days 1–14: Become a Floridian on paper

The unglamorous fortnight, and the most valuable one. Your domicile is a paper trail, and Florida's benefits — the homestead exemption above all — belong to people whose paper trail says they actually live here.

- Driver's license and vehicle registration. Get the Florida license and title/register the cars. These are the first dominoes; half the list below asks for them.

- Voter registration and the rest of the domicile trail: update your address with banks, insurers, and the IRS; if you keep ties up north, plan the timing with an advisor rather than discovering it at filing time.

- Put two dates on the calendar now: own and occupy your Florida home by January 1, and file for homestead by March 1. Everything about Florida's tax benefit turns on those two dates — details in Florida Property Taxes & the Homestead Exemption.

- Insurance, started early. Homeowners quotes on the actual house, flood as its own question (Intracoastal and canal homes generally sit in FEMA's AE zone, oceanfront in VE, and federal flood coverage caps at $250,000 — most waterfront owners carry private flood above it). If you're still pre-closing, this belongs in your inspection period, not your first month.

Days 15–45: Learn the house you actually bought

- The systems pass. Service the AC (it works year-round here), confirm the roof's age and any wind-mitigation credits you're owed — impact glass, rated shutters, roof-to-wall connections, and a current wind mitigation inspection can take real money off a premium.

- If you're on the water: the dock pass. Seawall age and condition, lift capacity against your boat's loaded weight, depth at the dock face at low tide, and the bridge table for your route to the inlet. The lowest fixed bridge sets your ceiling; know yours before the boat ships south.

The full version of that homework — the five checks to run before you buy, not after — is here: https://reedkellough.com/waterfront-homework

- Hurricane kit, built in the calm. Florida's storm season runs June through November, and the time to learn your shutters, your generator, and your evacuation route is a quiet weekend, not a forecast cone. My hurricane-prep checklist exists for exactly this — build the kit once, in month one, and it never becomes an emergency purchase again.

Days 46–90: Learn the life you actually bought

- The city, on foot and by water. If you landed in Boca, walk Mizner Park and the downtown in the evening, not just at noon; if your search is still open between sides of the city, East Boca vs. West Boca is the map. Run your boat's actual route to the inlet. Eat where the locals eat on a Tuesday.

- The school verification, if it applies. Zones are address-specific and they change; verify any home's zone against the district's lookup directly rather than trusting a listing sheet — the school question and the neighborhood question are the same question here.

- The homestead filing, done and dusted. If you closed before January 1, file as soon as the county opens the window; don't let March 1 become a story you tell me later. Moving within Florida? Ask about portability — up to $500,000 of accumulated Save Our Homes benefit can travel with you, and for long-time Florida owners it's worth more than the exemption itself.

Frequently asked questions about the first 90 days in Florida

What should I do first when I move to Florida? The paper trail: license, registrations, address updates — and the January 1 / March 1 homestead calendar on your fridge. The beach will keep; the deadlines won't.

When do I file for the homestead exemption? You must own and occupy the home as your permanent residence by January 1 and file with the county property appraiser by March 1. Second homes don't qualify, however many months you spend in them.

Do I need flood insurance if my lender doesn't require it? On the water, treat it as its own decision rather than a lender's checkbox: federal coverage caps at $250,000, and most waterfront owners carry private flood above it.

What do most new Floridians forget? Portability, when they move within Florida; the wind-mitigation credits already built into their house; and the seawall — the one inspection that matters most on a waterfront home is the easiest to skip in a busy first month.

Your next step

Want this sequence as a printable checklist? It's free here: https://movetobocaflorida.com/relocation-checklist

The one-page version of this sequence is the 90-Day Move Timeline in the relocation library — the same order, distilled to a worksheet. The full picture is Move to South Florida Like a Local, and the Boca-specific companion is the complete relocation guide.

And one boundary, stated the way I'd want it stated to me: I'm licensed in Florida only — but if part of your move sits in another state, a home to sell before you land or family landing elsewhere, I keep a national network of vetted relocation specialists and referral partners, and I'm glad to connect you. Help first, always.

About the author. Reed Kellough is a luxury real estate advisor with Douglas Elliman and the Eklund|Gomes Team. Licensed in Florida (#3274276) and selling South Florida luxury and waterfront homes for 14 years — 200+ closings · 14 years — he is based in Lighthouse Point and works Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. The Boca Journal is his relocation field guide: the questions out-of-state buyers ask, answered the way he'd answer a friend. Follow along: @reedtherealtor.