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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums10 Reasons You Should Not Move to Florida—From Floridians Who Know!
10 Reasons You Should Not Move to FloridaFrom Floridians Who Know!
The state is sinking in more ways than one.
http://www.alternet.org/economy/10-reasons-you-should-not-move-florida-floridians-who-know
June 16, 2014 |
Florida is sinking and its not because of climate change. A new report, Florida A State of Embarassment, by the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans (FLARA), categorizes the reasons why seniors and young families should not move there.
The report cites crimes that prey on the elderly, regressive taxes, growing gaps between rich and poor, low spending for public schools and libraries, unmet job ands social welfare needs, high home foreclosure rates, poor emergency medical care, and more.
Behind Floridas palm trees, tropical birds and beautiful beaches is a state with a multitude of very serious problems that are being ignored by its political leaders, it begins. These problems undermine the potential for prosperity for Floridas residents and place their future at risk."
Here's 10 reasons why Florida is not all sunshine.
1. Ground zero for health care fraud. According to several reports by the FBI, Florida leads the U.S. in health care fraud, which it says is a $80 billion a year problem.
(snip)
monmouth3
(3,871 posts)out of school. Education was lacking even back in '89..
tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)I couldn't believe how much better the school system in in NJ! My children were actually behind given that it was so much better than Florida. Luckily, the awesome NJ teachers got them on track quickly.
senseandsensibility
(16,713 posts)lol....
tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)LOL!
Evil union teachers have done right by my kiddos!
kelly1mm
(4,719 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)but yeah, the kid is out of school. In fact, he fronts a pretty good band.
http://thevansaders.bandcamp.com/
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)But I can sell my home for 1.2 million in Arnold, Maryland and buy a very nice home in Leesburg, Florida or even the Villages for 200K. The taxes are not that bad considering that they don't have state taxes at all.....compared to Maryland.....oh wow....big time savings! Schools might not be great, but that is why I would not move there if I had school age kids.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Boom Sound 416
(4,185 posts)Been that way as long as I can remember.
It's been ground zero for health care fraud for the same reason.
fredamae
(4,458 posts)Hell, I decided I wouldn't ever even Visit FL years ago.....
Same with AZ, TX, ID, NV, UT..........wait, it might be easier to list the states I would visit.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)fredamae
(4,458 posts)Tanuki
(14,893 posts)Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)flamingdem
(39,304 posts)Florida Woman @_Flor1daWoman · Jun 11
Florida Woman Arrested For Shooting 'Missiles' Into Car; Actual Name 'Crystal Metheney'
:large
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)Whiskeytide
(4,459 posts)... in months. I'm sitting in my office laughing out loud by myself. Crystal Methany. OMG!
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)California Man Invents New Condom "Galactic Cap" Which Covers Only the Tip
California Man accused of naked home burglary
California Man Gets Prison for Ripping Off Girl Scouts
California Man rescued after getting stuck in ex-wife's chimney
California Man drives off with red-light camera
California Man sets new pepperoni roll world champion record, eater downs 31 in ten minutes
California Man uses stolen backhoe to destroy mobile home, claims he was going to return it when finished
California Man accused of posing as Navy SEAL to get $30,000 from charities
Foul Ball-Seeking California Man Absolutely Wrecks Old Woman
California Man suffering from 'constipation' actually had running vibrator in large intestine
California Man's poodle doesn't qualify as service dog in N.J.
Wife: California Man's arrest is case of mistaken identity...again ("It was Florida Man! I swear!!!!"
California Man damages historic Alaskan church, bites officer in rampage
California Man Busted in Fake Levi Strauss Jeans Smuggling Scheme
California Man breaks elusive five-minute beer mile, taking world champion away from Canadian
California Man charged $4,050 for 2 tacos from Del Taco
California Man With Worn Sock Fetish Arrested Again After Caught Near School
shenmue
(38,503 posts)I can't wait to get out.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)Underwater house.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)You may have a way out, if you don't need profit from selling the house in order to pay for relocating.
Warpy
(110,913 posts)but I'd gone around the neighborhood and counted the "for sale" signs and knew asking market value was not going to work. So I knocked 10% off the price and sold in a week.
The guy who bought it had a whole two years to crow about the deal of the century from that dumb woman before he, too, went well under water on his mortgage.
Warpy
(110,913 posts)when he was gone, it had a pool, central AC and you could bike to a beach (although there was no way to get through the wall of highrise condos to see the ocean, much less dip a toe into it).
Well, if it had been in any state but Florida, I might have.
If anyone here is nuts enough to consider moving there, watch this:
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Just add some hoe-down fiddle and jug-blowing, and your fool-proof.
Warpy
(110,913 posts)I was born there. Fortunately, my parents moved while I was a baby and didn't go back (except on vacation) until I was long gone.
Mojorabbit
(16,020 posts)geomon666
(7,512 posts)Pacific Northwest is calling to me.
Benton D Struckcheon
(2,347 posts)The Florida medical profession is just not up to the task of taking on truly serious illness. Everyone knows that.
Education? No one moves to Florida to pay taxes for schools. They move there to avoid that. Or any other taxes for that matter.
Basically, you'll live well if you're rich. If not, you're on your own.
Doctor_J
(36,392 posts)Nope. The problems are being deliberately caused by political leaders. Rick Scott is himself a criminal. So is JEB.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)Alex Sink and Charlie Crist.
Peacetrain
(22,836 posts)The south is too too hot.. I will take the snow anyday over oppressive heat... It might be nice in the winter, but people seem to be as stuck in their AC during the summer as those of us in snow country are in the winter with our heat.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)We've NEVER seen 100 degrees in Tampa. I've seen 115 in Cleveland.
Peacetrain
(22,836 posts)But it goes.. I am just not a warm weather person.. My brother loves it.. but then spends the whole summer inside avoiding it..
Mariana
(14,849 posts)Cleveland - July: High 83, Low 64
Cleveland - Aug: High 81, Low 63
Cleveland - All time recorded high temp: 104 on June 24, 1988 (not 115)
Tampa - July: High 90, Low 76
Tampa - Aug: High 90, Low 76
Tampa - All time recorded high temp: 99 on June 5, 1985
I think it's obvious which place is hotter in July and August. One isolated record high doesn't really count for much.
Submariner
(12,485 posts)from having the AC on 24/7. Thought it would be year round beach time for the 7 years I lived there.
The spirit crushing humidity kept me indoors from April into October. Got tired of sweating bullets and having put on a dry T-shirt 3-4 times a day.
LiberalElite
(14,691 posts)esp in summer. 90s in the day, 70s at night, with a chance of thunderstorms - day in, day out, day in, day out. I visited a friend frequently for a couple decades and told her the TV news programs could save money by taping one weather forecast and running it every day for months.
Baitball Blogger
(46,576 posts)If I were to start to clean up Florida, I would start with the lawyers. And not any lawyers, but those who cross the line between the public and private sector. You hold them accountable to their professional ethics and you'll see the landscape change.
MisterP
(23,730 posts)(though actually fish rot from the spine outward: do not ask me how I know this)
greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)Please leave, please???
PeoViejo
(2,178 posts)Lots of great food there.
Ghost of Tom Joad
(1,352 posts)MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)I understand what you mean!
The only true escape was riding horses in Mayakka State Park!
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)I wouldn't leave this state unless it was in a pine box.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)I don't have to shovel sunshine, and I can play golf and ride my motorcycle year round.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)But other than that, I love it.
I love the natural scenery and the weather. Including the summer weather. Especially the summer weather.
Even all the Florida Man craziness I find more endearing and entertaining than anything else.
tallahasseedem
(6,716 posts)I couldn't be happier that I did. Except for Christie, of course!
greytdemocrat
(3,299 posts)And I couldn't be happier
DrDan
(20,411 posts)except for the bagels, I am quite content to remain in the sunshine state
NJ has little to nothing to offer
Atman
(31,464 posts)Do I live in New Jersey for good bagels, or Florida? Hmmm....
There are 48 other states in the union besides Florida and New Jersey.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)I have also lived in Utah, California, Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, West Virginia, Nebraska, and of course, Florida
as well as 3 other countries
I like Florida . . .
do I like the politics? no
do I like our politicians? no
I like being outside doing something daily
I like the beach
I like no state taxes - thank you tourists!
I made the comparison to NJ because that was the context of the thread.
I mentioned bagels as that is the ONLY thing I can think of in NJ that I prefer over FL.
csziggy
(34,120 posts)High sales taxes are sold as putting more of a burden on the tourists, but they also hit the middle class and poor really hard. Florida has 0% income tax - while that is nice, it means that people who must spend their entire income on necessities carry a larger burden than people who have more discretionary income.
Florida taxes corporations at a lower rate than their sales tax, probably a major reason that Florida's funding is so low on things that matter to citizens such as education.
http://taxfoundation.org/state-tax-climate/florida
As a life long Florida resident, I would like to see a return to taxation of assets held only by the more affluent. Florida used to have an intangible personal property tax - investments were taxed on their value as of January 1 each year. It was eliminated in 2007 - oddly enough just before Florida's big budget woes began. Of course when the Republican led legislature eliminated this tax, they did nothing to supplement the lost funds.
Charlie Crist took office January 2, 2007, so some of the blame for Florida's lack of funding can be laid at his feet - though he was simply following the lead of his mentor, Jeb Bush.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)over $50K in investments was to be reported. But I don't think there was any way to determine who had that level of investments - except by voluntary reporting.
Our sales tax is 6.5% (Volusia). Considering 9 1/2 for Tenn, over 9 for Ark, nearly 9% for Ok, La, and Wash, we are not in bad shape.
csziggy
(34,120 posts)But it was easily avoided by setting up the right kinds of trusts. For customers who didn't have trusts some brokers would sell all the assets right after Christmas and then re-purchase them in January - and of course the brokers collected commissions on those sales and purchases every years. Nice scam!
It was not terribly onerous - the first $250,000 per individual was exempt and the rate was only $0.50 per $1000 of assets.
Here is a report that explains how it worked: http://www.cga.ct.gov/2007/rpt/2007-r-0197.htm
Leon has a higher sales tax - 7.5% - because we have a 1.5% local option sales tax. Leon has paid for maintenance and improvements on state roads out of our local taxes because the state will not maintain them. We also really like have decent quality schools in our county. I don't have children but I want the kids who live in my area to be well educated so I'm happy to pay that higher tax. I'd be happier if the multimillionaires who live in this county paid more into the budget to improve educate and infrastructure.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)unless reported by the individual?
For example, stocks purchased through an employee purchase plan . . . how would the state know if one owned them? Once you do report them, I see that they must be paid in subsequent years. But . . . if never reported in the first place . . .
Agree about supporting higher taxes. Better schools only lead to better property prices/values. So, we have no children at home, but another 0.5%-1.5% sales tax in support of schools only helps everyone. I wish more seniors would understand this and vote for the increases.
But to your earlier point, I don't think sales taxes in FL are out-of-line.
liberal N proud
(60,302 posts)I know when I am not wanted.
Lochloosa
(16,019 posts)liberal N proud
(60,302 posts)Even when I am in the right lane, it keeps people from passing.
Lochloosa
(16,019 posts)liberal N proud
(60,302 posts)I make several trips to Florida each year.
Lochloosa
(16,019 posts)randys1
(16,286 posts)DrDan
(20,411 posts)too populous already
and . . . to challenge one of the 10, we have no state tax in Florida . . . so not sure what that was all about
calimary
(80,700 posts)In dry periods and other efforts (groundwater pumping?) that extract moisture from the ground, sink holes are opening up and whatever's on top of them is caving in. So it appears to be literal as well as figurative. I forget where I read this but I believe it was a link I first saw here.
Lochloosa
(16,019 posts)When I was skipping High School
tom_kelly
(951 posts)but I'm single with no kids.
Atman
(31,464 posts)I still go back home a lot, and have lots of friends and family there. I posted this article on a private FB group for my ol' home town and, surprisingly, most so far concur. A couple have mentioned about moving away after a lifetime on the beach. Every time we go back it seems to suck more and more. I thought the locals would get riled up, but no, the mostly agree. You have the sunshine, sure...but as we saw last time we were there a couple of months ago, crime is crazy -- we stayed at my SIL's house in a very posh little neighborhood, a gated community without and actual gate (one entrance between the big stucco columns), and despite the seeming remote location and security of the private streets, they kept every door and window locked ALL THE TIME. If you went to the car for something, you had to lock everything behind you. I thought they were nuts. Then, on our second night there I was out in the front yard and a neighbor passed by, walking her dog. She introduced herself (probably more because I was a stranger and she was checking me out) and commented on the noise late last night, at about 2:30 am. Yes, we heard it. She called the cops because there were three "young men" wandering around the back yards.
No wonder they love "stand your ground" so much. This beautiful neighborhood and they live in a freaking shelter. Meahwhile, my little town up north doesn't even have a police department. And they think I'm crazy for living in the Northeast. At least I'm not scared all the time, or have 2lb cockroaches.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)He has ruined the state. He has put his own greed and the greed of his cronies ahead of the good people of Florida.
He had 4 years and only made the state worse! Time for him to go!
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)But, I fondly remember the days of Bob Grahm and Lawton Chiles, LynneSin.
joeglow3
(6,228 posts)The moved a couple years ago and the grade schools in Florida were YEARS behind where the grade schools in Nebraska were. They even looked at private schools and found them all to be shitty as well.
valerief
(53,235 posts)He was required that year/semester to take only two courses. One of them was Baseball.
Unfuckingbelievable.
madfloridian
(88,117 posts)Nothing.
Teachers here lost tenure, which is simply due process, in 2011. They have no guarantee of having a job from year to year. This keeps capable teachers from seeking jobs in the state.
New teachers are not I believe under the teacher retirement system. I believe they have to sign up for 401k plans.
http://www.tallahassee.com/article/20140223/POLITICSPOLICY/302230034
Charter schools are getting most of the state money for upkeep, for 2 years public schools got nothing.
MrMickeysMom
(20,453 posts)This is a 50 state initiative of those being fostered by the likes of Bill Gates. We're educators in PA who used to teach in FL
You are so right.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Maybe teaching Creationism goes faster!
joeglow3
(6,228 posts)Omaha has the worst income gap between blacks and whites in the nation. It is it's own sad state that needs to be addressed.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Schools in poorer areas struggle. Some majority black areas; some rural and white. Resources are scarce and parents are struggling to keep their own lives together. Teachers sometimes spend their day on things like, "please sit in your seats while class is in session."
Economically advantaged suburban schools do very well here. My public high school offered the International Bacculaureate program and my graduating class had 17 National Merit scholars, and we were only second in the state in that regard.
Meanwhile, a teacher I know had a mom in a poorer rural area offer to come in and straighten her out with a chainsaw for giving too much homework, and another whose child was struggling after coming from an elementary school in a poor suburban area explain that her son needed to re-schedule his 7th-grade math test because she'd given him permission to play video games all night and he was tired.
joanbarnes
(1,715 posts)packman
(16,296 posts)This is not the Alan Grayson state, "Hurry up and die"- we are full of pep and energy and all sorts of good things.
So:
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HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)Yes, I have had people ask me why I am crying on a plane to Florida. When I tell them I don't want live and come back to Florida, it shocks them. One couple who questioned me about it, thanked me and said they would reconsider relocating to Florida. Small comfort, but that did help.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Go to the springs. Or the Everglades. Or the Keys. Or St. Augustine. Or Destin. Or wherever. There's so much to be enjoyed wherever you might live. So enjoy it! Don't just sit around and moan.
I could be stuck around somewhere in BF, North Dakota....but I'm sure there's some pretty cool places around BF, North Dakota that I could get some pleasure out of visiting.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)year around biking, jogging, hiking
the beach
great seafood restaurants
some really good museums (SE Photo Museum in DB is one of the best in the country)
I just don't understand why anyone would stay someplace where they are unable to find ANYTHING good.
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)fact it's great. Yep, there are bad things, but there's a lot of good too!
DrDan
(20,411 posts)RKP5637
(67,032 posts)Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)I've seen peacocks walking down the street. Bald eagles snatching a fish out of the lake. Ospreys all over the place. Pelicans flying up the river. Families of Sandhill Cranes on the golf course I work at. Curlews and Egrets.
However, they did catch a huge crocodile about a mile south of my house. The furthest north they've ever caught one.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/long-rumored-crocodile-captured-in-lake-tarpon/2131063
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Birds especially, but you've got everything from bears to boars to bobcats. You've got key deer the size of dogs. And then at the southern part of the state, you have what amounts to mountain lions living in a lowland swamp. If that isn't the coolest thing ever, I don't know what is.
And then you have the alligators and crocs. Some people are scared, but honestly, you've essentially got what amounts to dinosaurs living amongst you. Also incredibly cool.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)shanti
(21,672 posts)Corals and cottonmouths, no thank you! My cousin recently moved to FL from WA, I told him he was nuts.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Grew up in FL -- know not one person ever bitten by any kind of snake. Saw a coral once. A few cottonmouths. One Eastern Diamondback. Never saw a copperhead in the wild. Mostly you see black racers and corn snakes, which are harmless and eat rodents and so forth.
I find the idea of hiking among Grizzlies in those Western States kind of intimidating -- the snakes at least are survivable.
All what you're used to.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)There are some corals and cottonmouths out there, but bites are rare. Not really different than copperheads or rattlers in most anywhere else in the country.
I came across a black snake on my lawn last weekend, but it was harmless.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)I'm amazed at the dearth of viewable wildlife. We just ran down to the Keys to kayak and snorkel for a week and saw
- Magnificent Frigate birds
- Black-crowned night heron
- Great White Herons
- Great Blue Herons (of course)
- White Crowned Pigeon
- Osprey (of course)
-Sea turtles
- Black-tipped reef sharks (two feet from the boat zipping around in the clear shallows -- got great pics)
- Nurse sharks
- One billion stingrays
- Tarpon, yellowtail snapper, green parrot fish, etc.
- Crabs and lobster, wandering around the dock
- Dozens of tiny, weirdly tame Key Deer, one of which stalked me and ended up licking a German who'd stopped to see what we were photographing
- Green iguanas (invasive, but hey)
We paddled the French Broad (easy progressives, it's a river) near Asheville a while back, and it was lovely. Saw a groundhog and some Canada geese. And a hawk, I think.
That's it.
Same thing on the Nantahala in N.C. Cool river -- almost no wildlife to be seen.
I get that people don't like our politics here -- neither do we. But frankly the pooping on Florida is pretty lame. We're a big, populous, purple state with insane natural beauty, mostly decent weather, and a lot of solid people, naked bath-salt munching cannibals aside.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)And I was snorkeling in the coral reef just 30 feet off shore.
The great thing is, you can actually do that. And it's incredible.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Like, just past the bridge? Near the spoil island? We just went to Looe Key again (out of Bahia Honda) and it was great. SO had a middle-ear thing happening and took ill, but up until then it was spectacular. Missed the sharks and the giant grouper that were on the other side of the boat, but got great pics of the yellowtail, tarpon, and parrotfish. The reef is hurting a bit ecologically, but it's still just beautiful.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)And that's the one your thinking about, just south of the 7 mile bridge.
The thing about the Keys is that despite all of the drop dead gorgeous blue water around you, it's not necessarily known for beaches to lie on. A lot of the shoreline is mucky on account of the mangroves that go right up to the water.
Bahia Honda is the exception to that rule. Beautiful sandy beach. Crystal clear water that is usually dead calm. And a very short swim out to see all the reef fishes. I happened across a barracuda the last time I was there.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)They weren't getting work done or anything. Just wandering around out back. The chick was maybe two feet tall?
HockeyMom
(14,337 posts)than spend 30 minutes with sweat running into my eyes in the Everglades. Been there, done that. I cannot take the HEAT, or Endless Summer. I quit MY job because I couldn't take being outside in the sunshine and heat for an hour a day.
I would rather be in ALASKA than Florida. It has nothing to do with the scenery. It is the WEATHER, in addition to being so far away from my kids and grandkids.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Even if you're not an outdoors type of person, I'm certain there are some really cool places to go within a couple hours drive.
I'm very well wired for the heat and humidity. Don't mind it a bit. And frankly, summers here aren't that much different than anywhere else along the east coast.
Now being away from family, I understand that might be frustrating. But no sense to take it out on the place that you live.
Logical
(22,457 posts)DrDan
(20,411 posts)simple task or not.
like I said . . . life is just too short to be that miserable.
Logical
(22,457 posts)You need to understand that. Or have people that need them where they live now.
DrDan
(20,411 posts)perhaps there are reasons that do not allow a move - of course - that goes without saying.
I stand, however, on my previous statement that life is short - and crying each time one returns home should trigger some changes. This poster just hates Florida from what I can gather from this and her previous posts. One thing I do understand - if I hated a place this much . . . I would move. I had that very experience while living in Topeka. Hated it. Moved.
When you are in your late 50s and out of work for over a year, you will go ANYWHERE for a job. However, once you reach a certain age, you know that you cannot work forever. When that time comes and you must retire, there is no point in staying in a place that you hate. May as well move back then. It becomes far too expensive in retirement flying or driving back and forth to see family, and be in a place you love.
Just biding my time for a couple of years.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)HAPPINESS is important over everything. You are only on this Earth for a short time and this person says they are MISERABLE......does it make sense to continue living miserable when you only have a certain amount of time.....crying on the plane upset about going home? Perhaps saving money on all the plane rides may help to relocate to the place they are most happy in......Remember ONLY one life and it is SHORT!
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)For almost all my adult life, my vote for President, statewide offices, and U.S. House has been essentially meaningless, because I've lived in such solidly blue areas.
It's nice being able to make snide remarks about Republicans and know there's a 75% chance that the stranger you're talking with agrees with you. Nevertheless, I was thinking that, to the extent I'm energetic enough to remain politically involved, it would be better to live where I might make a difference.
The dilemma, as alluded to in the linked article, is that if progressives avoid Florida because of its right-wing policies, then those policies will only become more entrenched.
EX500rider
(10,532 posts)....and I've lived in Maryland, Va., Calif., D.C., Arizona and Costa Rica.
Springs & Manatees!
Dali Museum!
New College! (where i went in Sarasota)
Daytona Speedway & Bike Week!
Fishing!
Everglades!
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Key West!
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Thanks for posting!
Lochloosa
(16,019 posts)And the Dali museum is a must see
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)than any *country* in the world.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)I'm not joking when I'd say going to a Florida spring is part of the perfect day for me.
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)RebelOne
(30,947 posts)and I can give many reasons for not moving to Florida -- big bugs, high heat and humidity, and high crime. I moved to the Atlanta area in North Georgia in 1989 and wish I had done it long before then. I live in a great town just northwest of Atlanta, with smaller bugs, a great climate and a low crime rate.
madville
(7,397 posts)It's mostly rural. The county I'm from and live in has about 20,000 people, my property taxes and homeowners insurance combined is about $1200 a year on a 1200 sf house on one acre of land.
I'm into astronomy and I love being 12 miles from the closest town of a few thousand people, the lack of light makes it way more amazing.
I also fish and hunt a bunch, great areas for that. Plus all my family is around here within about 100 mile circle, it's home.
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)wonderful springs and rivers. A very strong conservation community persists, despite the sprawling corruption of the current pirate in Tallahassee. And either coast was less than 2 hours away.
BeyondGeography
(39,284 posts)Like really flat. I have family in Sarasota and can see the appeal if you have a few bucks; it's very laid back compared with New York. But I love the countryside here in the Hudson River Valley, as well as the seasons. So much more variety for the senses and I'm used to it. Very attached to it, actually.
In a few years, I will retreat to my beautiful Columbia County and watch the nature show full time, which includes views of hills! Lots of them. To each his own.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Mind you, our politicians can't seem to find the money to connect the dozens of little trails around Central Florida, but they're pretty and extremely easy to ride.
BeyondGeography
(39,284 posts)I discovered the Venice trails on my last visit down there. Very heavily used by Republican-looking retirees, too. Not that I should jump to any conclusions based on looks alone, but I do anyway, based on the white 65+ numbers in 2012 and the fights my mother regularly gets in down there for supporting Obama.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)That's mostly a Miami thing. Browned to the shade of crispy French Toast, mostly men, thoroughly oiled, and wearing pretty much nothing. On bikes.
Been a while since I've been in town, and I'm sure most are fine people, but it still gives me shivers.
The I-4 corridor near Orlando is more purple. Still see the odd truck plastered with "Nobama" stickers and NRA emblems, but it's not entirely hostile to Democracy.
The trails here are used, but it's not heavy. I'd love to use them to zip around town, or just recreate, but the funding to connect them all keeps de-materializing. Serious cyclists are pretty common on the roads lately, but they are taking their lives in their hands, even with the bike lanes.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Its clouds are its mountains:
No one does clouds like Florida does clouds during the summertime.
That being said, there are some decent hills in the very middle of the state, ranging from Ocala down to Lake Wales. Not mountains, mind you, but substantial hills.
lpbk2713
(42,696 posts)tornadoes, oppressive heat and humidity, mold and mildew ...
Those aren't so bad next to assholes like Rick Scott and
other thieves and liars voted in to office by idiots who
have no problem voting against their own interests.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)Heat's a bit much in the summer, it's true. However, the worst heat I've experienced was in Nashville, Tennessee. Plymouth, MA came close.
Everywhere's hot in the summer, folks.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Separation
(1,975 posts)Florida was my last duty station. I couldn't wait to get out. My experiences were horrible there. It took 3 years to finally find a school for my autistic son. By then we only had a year left before I retired and was due to start that whole process over.
Thankfully we only lost %6 on our house. We managed to sell when those big companies were coming through and buying up whole neighborhoods tracts.
Not to mention just all the weirdness. We now live in Tn. up in the mountains. Got land that belongs to me and my family a modest house. Finally some piece and quite.
Will not step back in Florida voluntarily.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)flamingdem
(39,304 posts)RagAss
(13,832 posts)FLARA was thinking when they came up with this method. In the past we had to resort to spreading "alligator attack" stories to keep our families and friends from moving down here. Been here 20 years. I wouldn't trade this beauty for anything.
And - oh yeah - stay up north, it's much better.
Lochloosa
(16,019 posts)flamingdem
(39,304 posts)and what you like about FL?
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)That would be the land developers.
DirkGently
(12,151 posts)... those developers.
RKP5637
(67,032 posts)steve2470
(37,457 posts)housing prices in California ? Yeah.... I don't want to move 50 miles east of either SF or LA. That sort of defeats the purpose of moving to California, imho.
Florida doesn't look so bad when you think seriously about moving. I don't want to live in a rural area. I would want to live IN SF or LA or NYC or Chicago. None of them cheap cities to live in.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Humidity has its rewards.
steve2470
(37,457 posts)We have wildfires, but as you know, only when it's been really dry and really hot for a while.
WilliamPitt
(58,179 posts)DirkGently
(12,151 posts)LeftyMom
(49,212 posts)Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Maybe a handful of traditional roaches, but that's about it.
I'm beginning to think it's just a urban legend to keep the gullible dupes out. Although I think now Rick Scott has taken over that role. And unfortunately he's all too real.
But unlike a roach, he'll be gone soon. Hopefully within a year.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)But, my two lab mixes quickly eradicate them. Along with the geckos, squirrels possums, and the occasional cat.
cold-blooded killers.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)I remember sitting in her living room next to a potted plant and hearing a rapid flapping type sound. And my very, very first thought was, That's cool. There's a hummingbird inside the house.. And then my very next thought was, Wait a minute.... And off came my shoe.
Perhaps its because I living in a suburban area, but Florida's supposedly buggy reputation really hasn't manifested itself to me. The most annoying creatures around me are probably the rabbit sized bufo toads, who I constantly have to chase away from my garage door, lest they get inside and then die and stink up the place.
Probably the craziest Floridian insects I've seen are the Lubber Grasshoppers that are found all over the Everglades.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)scarletwoman
(31,893 posts)flvegan
(64,389 posts)Folks scared off by this should please stay away.
We have enough stupid people already. Thanks.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)Just a place where old people go to die.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Nothing against the Golden Girls, though.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)I like Key West, the most interesting spot in the state.
I like snorkeling off the Keys, I like the seafood.
Most of Florida, aside from the beaches, is pretty dull. Most of it is flat and forgettable. There is little in the way of historical areas, because most of it has been built so recently, and there is not much in the way of cultural attractions. Central Florida is a snooze.
I lived there for six months about 35 years ago, outside of Fort Lauderdale. Much of the area looks like strip-mall America, with no distinguishing individual characteristics for the region. Much of the population was highly transient.
Tommy_Carcetti
(43,085 posts)Florida has little in the way of historical areas....well, except for St. Augustine, the oldest permanent and continuous settlement on US soil.
Not to mention centuries old historical areas in places like Pensacola, Fernandina Beach, Fort Caroline (near Jacksonville), Matanzas Inlet, Fort Jefferson, various battlefields such as Olustee and battles from the Seminole wars. You have distinctive historical buildings such as the Breakers Hotel, Flagler College (formerly the Ponce De Leon Hotel), the Miami Freedom Tower, and many more. You also have Kennedy Space Center, which is ground zero for the space race of the 1960s and beyond.
For cultural attractions, you have places like the Ringling Museum, the Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Miami's Art and Design district, South Beach's Art Deco district, Steven Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, Cross Creek (the home of author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings), all just for starters.
Regarding Central Florida, I'm first to say that Disney World sucks balls and the touristy sprawl that surrounds it is hellish. But you also have the Ocala National Forest, the many natural springs that are just beyond beautiful, the St. John's River, the aforementioned Kennedy Space Center, cool little towns like DeLand and Mount Dora.
And sorry if it's too flat for your taste. But I don't think there's anywhere else in this country that has more beautiful skies:
And let's not forget the Everglades, truly a one of a kind ecosystem.
I'm sure if your limited experience with Florida was in the Fort Lauderdale suburbs, it could very well be boring and cultureless. But there is plenty more of Florida than just that.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)my experience being mostly in southern Florida, and around the Bradenton area on the West Coast, where my grandparents retired to. Not lots of culture and history in south Florida. As to the Everglades, well, I'm not too into swamps.
California, where I lived for 17 years, had the same historical issue in that the only old buildings were Spanish missions, however the cultural scene was much more vital. California has spectacular and varied landscapes, too. Florida has better beaches and much clearer and warmer water than California.
Each to their own. Florida is a nice place to visit, but ....