[cal bear]

[quote=verobeach;4791847]3 times?!? Did you think it would be different each time?

We're talking about 3 times over a 15 year period. Family ties in Florida made living there tempting, but more importantly, Florida's proximity to the Caribbean was, and sometimes still is, alluring. However, willy nilly development in Florida is disgusting - it seems as if developers own the state. And I abhor the bent psycho-politics of Miami's Cuban community.

Don't get me wrong, life in Cali is an economic challenge, but the opportunities, especially educationally, for me, far outweigh its drawbacks. Community colleges charge between $12-20/unit - gosh, my tuition at San Jose State was cheaper than that of community colleges in NY (my place of origin) and Florida. I just don't see the commitment in those places to make college affordable - I came to the conclusion that many of these states truly don't want people on the bottom to lift themselves up educationally.

I agree, people have different desires and motivations depending on who and where they are in life. But for me, what I have become here, I know, could not have happened in most other places.

No, there are no Stanfords, UCBs,or UCLAs in Florida. Think about that when celebrating living in a state without income taxes.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by BacktoFLigo

All of the above...

Well then clearly you haven't lived or experienced enough of Florida.

I lived in Tallahassee for three years, and while it does not snow, you do get a "change of seasons." I had to throw water on my windshield a few mornings because I didn't have an ice scraper for my car.

Meanwhile, walking on Palm Beach just two evenings ago, the sea breeze made it absolutely pleasant (oh yeah, and I could actually swim in the water. Anything less than about 75 degree water is just too damn cold to go in).

[Alphaman]

Wow almost 50/50 results on the poll, I wonder how many really lived or lived here who voted.....I guess we will never know.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by Alphaman

Wow almost 50/50 results on the poll, I wonder how many really lived or lived here who voted.....I guess we will never know.

Yeah, I was wondering about that, too.
And to me, North Florida is just so different from our southern part of the state.

Cal bear, that willy-nilly development you abhor can certainly be dreadful, but some of the worst examples I've ever seen of it were in SoCal, where the accompanying traffic was deplorable.

As for affordable college, fully 75% of my kid's tuition at Florida State is paid by the state of Florida because of his academic excellence.
Also, you must have heard of FAFSA? If you qualify, you'd get the help you need. I know several kids who have.
Perhaps we don't have UCLA, but University of Florida, FSU, and University of Miami represent us quite well.

[ChrisA70]

I agree with the cold water up north, WAY too cold, the east coast beaches here in Florida are great. I always liked Vero Beach too...

I lived in Melbourne, Orlando, Bradenton, and here in Cape Coral. The best place I thought was Melbourne/Palm Bay. Seabreeze was always going. I hated Orlando, too congested and REALLY hot there in Winter Park. I never wanted to go north of Orlando, thought about Talahassee, but it never happened, no way would I go to Jacksonville.

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Well then clearly you haven't lived or experienced enough of Florida.

I lived in Tallahassee for three years, and while it does not snow, you do get a "change of seasons." I had to throw water on my windshield a few mornings because I didn't have an ice scraper for my car.

Meanwhile, walking on Palm Beach just two evenings ago, the sea breeze made it absolutely pleasant (oh yeah, and I could actually swim in the water. Anything less than about 75 degree water is just too damn cold to go in).

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Yeah, I was wondering about that, too.
And to me, North Florida is just so different from our southern part of the state.

Cal bear, that willy-nilly development you abhor can certainly be dreadful, but some of the worst examples I've ever seen of it were in SoCal, where the accompanying traffic was deplorable.

As for affordable college, fully 75% of my kid's tuition at Florida State is paid by the state of Florida because of his academic excellence.
Also, you must have heard of FAFSA? If you qualify, you'd get the help you need. I know several kids who have.
Perhaps we don't have UCLA, but University of Florida, FSU, and University of Miami represent us quite well.

Agree, the northern part of the state is different from central and south Florida. Is all based on personal choices and up north the economy and crime are not the same as down south. Great reference on FAFSA...

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by BacktoFLigo

I agree with the cold water up north, WAY too cold, the east coast beaches here in Florida are great. I always liked Vero Beach too...

I lived in Melbourne, Orlando, Bradenton, and here in Cape Coral. The best place I thought was Melbourne/Palm Bay. Seabreeze was always going. I hated Orlando, too congested and REALLY hot there in Winter Park. I never wanted to go north of Orlando, thought about Talahassee, but it never happened, no way would I go to Jacksonville.

If you compare how clean the waters are in the gulf compare to the north east, we can easily say that the gulf is more attractive..

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

crime are not the same as down south.

Once again, that is a MYTH ! Per-capita it's about the same state wide.

Total Index Crime by County, 2007

[ChrisA70]

If you compare the water from the EAST coast of Fl to the gulf, that is a huge difference too. The water looks so much cleaner and bluer over there from Melbourne down. I think the gulf water is pretty brown and not attractive over here. And there are about NO waves over here...

The water up in the northeast is not dirty... The sand up there is darker making it look like that. It's very clean, we don't get red tide up there ever... It's just too cold to swim in for me.

Originally Posted by sunrico90

If you compare how clean the waters are in the gulf compare to the north east, we can easily say that the gulf is more attractive..

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by BacktoFLigo

If you compare the water from the EAST coast of Fl to the gulf, that is a huge difference too. The water looks so much cleaner and bluer over there from Melbourne down. I think the gulf water is pretty brown and not attractive over here. And there are about NO waves over here...

The water up in the northeast is not dirty... The sand up there is darker making it look like that. It's very clean, we don't get red tide up there ever... It's just too cold to swim in for me.

I lived in Satellite beach for 4 year, Patrick AFB on the beach and the water was murky 80% of the time. I worked at cape Canaveral and the remote areas only allowed to authorized personnel did not compare to the Gulf (no tourist allowed). I lived in the area so I can tell about it.

We have a white sand in our area and is called the Emerald Coast.