Geez... Does anyone like living in SE Florida?!? (Jacksonville, Miami: sex offenders, high crime)

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Enigma777

I like South Florida a lot. We lived in Miami 15 years ago and for some reason believed we would like SW Florida so moved to Sarasota. We pretty much got stuck in our house during the RE crash. Now that the market is back, we are selling the house and moving back to Ft. Lauderdale/Miami area. There are definitely more jobs in my field there. What I like about SE Florida is that there is a younger demographic, a faster pace, a big variety of things to do, diversity of people, more tolerance for a diversity of opinions, caribbean-like water and beaches. It feels more active, vibrant and tropical to me, as well. Also love being surrounded by all that water. I'm really looking forward to moving back.

Nicely put!

[NowSoFlorida]

I don't like it,














I love living in south Florida.

[Skylark4]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

South Florida is the only part of the state worth visiting.

Everywhere else in FL is a boring backwater of crap.

Not true! Depends on what you want to visit for. Want to party with 100,000 people in winter with girls in bikinis? Try a tailgate in Gainesville. Playboy ranked FSU as one of top places to find that next cover girl. Like motorcycles AND racing? Check out Daytona. Want to just chill and drive on the beach and surf...St. Augustine.

None of that is in South Florida (ok the tailgate yes but its not the same level of partying) or California.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Skylark4

Not true! Depends on what you want to visit for. Want to party with 100,000 people in winter with girls in bikinis? Try a tailgate in Gainesville. Playboy ranked FSU as one of top places to find that next cover girl. Like motorcycles AND racing? Check out Daytona. Want to just chill and drive on the beach and surf...St. Augustine.

None of that is in South Florida (ok the tailgate yes but its not the same level of partying) or California.

Winter in North Florida and girls in bikinis? I don't see that happening.

[elle414]

Depends what you will be looking for and what you expect to have here...
In terms of weather, beaches, living in state where people are coming from everywhere- you got it here! Entertaining, activity- FLL and Miami have it a lot.
Weather- I am getting used to it; hate summer here- rain, humidity, lots of insects. Don't even mention snakes and alligators in our lake ones in awhile
No State tax- cool! but higher car & home insurance will "eat" that "saved" money. Growing property taxes is another story but that happens everywhere.
People: sorry guys, maybe it's my experience- a lot of not friendly & even rude.
Language: I found it abusive when someone starts speaking to me in Spanish without asking ¿Habla usted español? I found a solution: ¿Hablas ruso?. Seriously, if I have name common in Spanish (Greek origin btw) it does not mean I must speak Spanish! Nothing against languages, I speak fluently 4!

I think it takes a while to get use to live in South Florida. After almost 2 years I still miss the state where I used to live (not snowfalls there!), 4 seasons, etc.!


Good luck!

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

No, I'm not from a foreign country and no, I didnt move down from NY, so whats ur point? I said it because it's fact-- I've been all over the state from Jax to Orlando and tampa, sarasota, naples, ft myers, fl kets. It's all mostly boring crap aside from south FL. Just sayin.

That's your opinion.

What's my point? My point is I wouldn't value your opinion as much if you were coming from a crap country or some borough of NY...

[canceltriplea]

Originally Posted by Mr. Lee

I love south Florida and I have been many places but am happiest here. Other than the occasional hurricane, to me south Florida is a sort of paradise. My guess is many of those people who are not happy here would probably be unhappy anywhere they were and I have to wonder why the heck are they here in the first place.

Took the words right out of my mouth! I lived there briefly from Aug 2004 to Nov 2005 (left because of Hurricane Wilma) but I loved it. Had to keep pinching myself that I wasn't in a dream and that I was really there. It felt like I was living in paradise; well, actually I was! I relocated back to the Northeast...and now that my daughter is grown (18)...I'm ready to relocate back permanently! Give me back all that blinding heat and sunshine. I'm ready for it and any hurricane that should come my way! I LOVE South Florida!

[canceltriplea]

When I moved down there with my 8 yr old daughter in 2003 (she's now 18), I really had no real idea what I was in for but I'm the type that rolls with the punches. All I had for income was a decent child support arrangement but it was enough for me to raise her on. We lived in Oakland Park (off Andrews Ave) and she went to Lloyd Estates Elementary School. We both loved it. I loved not having to buy a wardrobe (school uniforms) and the fact that during the summer, they had a sliding scale based, 6am-6pm summer camp which she attended and loved.

What I liked about living in the Oakland Park area as opposed to other places I lived (Lauderdale Lakes/Coral Springs/Lauderhill) was that O.P was a gumbo mixture of ethnicities and incomes. I hate pretentious people and that's what I got when I moved to Coral Springs and kicked myself for every day and month I was there until I could move out.

What I loved as a mother about South Florida was the playgrounds and the insight and care that they took to do something I'd never seen before...covered playscape/playground areas! To see kids playing and having a good time without parents having to worry about their babies getting sunburned or suffering heat exhaustion really sat right with me. Every park I saw, no matter where I went was very well maintained. You couldn't find a run down park. Everything was well taken care of! I liked the fact that you could also find things to do that didn't cost a whole lot of money or any money at all. We loved going over to the marina's and watching the yachts or going to Eishenhower Bridge and watching the cruise ships roll in. We'd pack a lunch and go hang out at the beach for hours! Especially on the winter holidays. We loved it. We have some great South Florida memories!

Now that my baby is now graduated and grown, South Florida is my return destination. Sick and tired of the Northeast *dead* season which is starting to happen now. Give me back my warm/balmy/hot Halloweens/
Thanksgivings/Christmases & New Years Eves/Days and NYC/CT/MASS and the rest of these god forsaken places can have their wintery mix of snow, ice and COLD! Who needs it? I most certainly don't!

[runswithscissors]

Originally Posted by OptimusPrime69

South Florida is the only part of the state worth visiting.

Everywhere else in FL is a boring backwater of crap.

Yeah that's why the NORTH has all the top rated schools.

[blueherons]

I absolutely LOVE living in Florida!

I was born and raised in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina so I've grown up in a tourist centric environment and I was used to the long hot summers. In fact, the summers aren't as humid here just a little hotter.

We moved in January 2011 to Sarasota which I absolutely loved! I've been to beaches all over the world and have never been to one as nice as Siesta Key. The city is incredible with its arts and culture. It has a beautiful downtown and so many cool neighborhoods.

Fast forward to August and a job change for my husband and we moved over to Fort Lauderdale. My husband actually works in Miami but we wanted to live in FLL. Miami's lack of diversity did not appeal to us. Also, we have friends with second homes here and we love the area.

I never want to live anywhere but Fort Lauderdale!