Can I just say I miss Minnesota?

ahh, what a lovely place to live. I use to live in Apple Valley. I use to bitch about the amount of taxes I paid. I use to bitch about how congested 494 was. I use to bitch about how cold it was. I use to bitch about how crowded it was (I was born in North Dakota). I use to bitch about how rude people were. I use to bitch about the cost of homes/rent.

Now I live near Tampa.....sigh. Dirty as hell, too many people for the infrastructure, shitty schools (but good teachers, I know them), rude as hell for the most part, hurricanes, in the summer it NEVER cools down, high 80's all day long (and yes there is a difference between dry heat I don't care what others say). The beaches are nice, but you smell like fish (at least at my local beach), give me a lake any day (and yes I know they have lakes here also, if you don't mind swimming with gators). Condos "starting" in the "low" 200's.

agh, if it wasn't for my husband's large close extended family that lives here we would be hightailing to back to good ol' MN.

I don't know how you can live in Florida. The heat & humidity would kill me. Yeah the winters can be a little much up here, but it gives you plenty of time to do indoor things I like: reading, hobbies, etc.

Don't worry though, with Pukelenty doing the best he can to destroy our great quality of life up here, we may be a cold Florida before long.

country. I thought Florida would have it just for vanity reasons alone, you have to be naked most of the year and even then you aren't all that comfortable.

Don't forget skiing, sledding, ice fishing. lmao people down here who have always lived here think I'm lying when I tell them that people have mini houses (some with heat!) on the lakes during the winter. ahhh memories of ice house parties.

:hi:

I'm buying a house in Seminole Heights (cross your fingers for me ;) ).

The summer heat is horrendous and I've avoided buying a house up to now, thinking I'd move west - near my mother in California. Unfortunately, the job situation is difficult to break into where she is (Paradise) and housing prices are out of sight!

About rude people - I've actually found most people to be very friendly. I go swing dancing 3-4 times a week and the folks I meet there are real nice. Here's hoping you find a crowd you enjoy :toast:

but work in Tampa. lol, sorry for my rant, yes there are some people who are quite nice.

Am crossing my fingers for you. Luckily the house we have was inherited for the most part (had to pay off some aunts and uncles).

Swing dancing!!! WHERE? Sounds like fun. Are you in the Seminole in the panhandle or the one in Pinellas (where I live). If so (lol, I'm trying to get as many people to come as possible), please check out this thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=145x4317

I'm there every Sat.

with craftsman style homes - similar to Historic Kenwood in St. Pete. It straddles 275 north of downtown Tampa.

Swing dancing is pretty big in Tampa/St. Pete. Most regular dances offer a beginners lesson before each dance. Check out this website for many dance dates/times... LindyHop411

I've had the St. Pete for Peace protests in my mind for a long time, but Saturday is my day to get together with my daughter and catch up on chores for the coming week. I can't make it Wednesdays after work either. I might come to something in Tampa if they ever have anything.

This Saturday my daughter and I are volunteering at the new WMNF radio station. We're helping them plant their native Florida landscaping.

That is where I grew up (Grand Forks area). Now I am a transplanted Vikings fan 45 miles south of Green Bay :-(

don't know why people bitch about ND. Nicest people I have ever known.

I actually grew up in Minto. We got a lot of your mail and you ours. Back in the old days before a computer read the addresses.

I lived for a short in Minneapolis and the only thing I didn't like were the mosquitoes. For a while I worked at a job where there were a number of recently transplanted Texans (this was in 1982, so W wasn't in the picture at all) and they'd moan about the high taxes in one breath and in the very next marvel at the public schools and parks. I'd ask if they didn't see the connection and they'd just stare at me stupidly and go back to complaining about taxes.

will never again bitch about taxes. Was too young at the time to see the correlation, but now that we rely on state and property taxes down here I understand.

I'm responding from St Paul, and am a transplant from the Gulf Coast.
People ask me if I get homesick, and I usually respond, "No. But I sure do get hungry."

How's the food in Tampa?

I DO understand your post. I LOVE Minnesota. Winter is spectacular, and the seasonal changes abrupt and vivid. The liberal community is LARGE, Educated, and active. Our DU Group is GREAT. but....

could you send me some oysters, crawfish, boudin', jambalaya, red beans n rice, and seafood gumbo.....AND some pecan praulines??? Please???

Yeah, I'm from South Dakota. And boy living in the Twin Cities is much better.