[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Biorin

As some vaguely interested in moving to Florida (and not because I'm 90... because I'm 80), how much of a concern is this stuff?

Well, it's not smart to live here and ignore hurricanes but you don't need to buy the glass. Any home built from the mid-late 90s or later should have some form of protection, usually shutters. My house was built in 1998 and has (heavy) galvanized steel shutters that need to be carried around the house and put up when a storm in on the way. I had someone out them up last summer when Matthew was on the way but had to take them down and bring them to the garage myself. I hadn't needed to put them up in the previous 10 years but put them up 3 times in 2 years before that. After taking them down this year, I concluded I didn't want to do it again - I AM getting older.

Presuming they are put up properly the steel shutters are probably about as safe as you can get but are a hassle to put up. Motorized metal shutters are an option but probably cost as much as impact glass if you need to run electric to them. There are other options in between (accordion shutters, clear plastic type shutters, fabric) but I think glass is the way to go for us. Aside from never worrying about protection (including when on vacation), they will add to the value of the house, cut electric costs pretty significantly (energy efficient) and allow light to come in instead of behind shuttered.

Bottom line - not something to obsess over, but if moving here, I'd try to understand what the home you are buying or renting has for protection and find something that has something already. Too late to figure out when a storm is on the way. There are some good videos on uTube showing how the impact glass protects vs. regular glass.