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I've read where some people claim the water in Ironwood is disgusting and smells like rotten eggs (I'm assuming it's sulfur). I don't know if you and your family are still in the area or not, but I figure you could still tell me if that's true or not. Also, if you are still there, you would have a lot more perspective a couple YEARS in than your earlier comments.
Any help at all on these matters would be greatly appreciated. My family and I are (REALLY) wanting to move there in the next month or so. Also, could you tell me (roughly) what the heating bills are like in the winter? I have had electric powered central heat and air my whole life. Never had to deal with the different gas methods of heating.
Thank you SO much in advance!
The water doesn't smell like sulfur but we would never drink it. We live in ironwood township and see on a different water system than the city of ironwood. City water smells and tastes like bleach. Township is cloudy as hell. We use it but don't drink or cook with it. Your furnace will run for about 8 months out of the year here. We are on a plan with xcel energy where they average it our monthly through out the year instead of paying by how much you use monthly because that can be scary. PS, I've lived here my whole life and run a business here. I can fill you in on anything you want to know. I just posted above about things as well.
We moved to Ironwood in May 2012 permanetly. We bought a house here in 2011. We are from Chicago. Previous to that we lived in lower Michigan. It is a beautiful area but, boring sometimes. If it was not for Sin City Hurley and the nightlife, I would have already went nuts...
So accurate. Haha. Wondering if I know you, as everyone knows everyone (and their business) here!
Lol I should change my user name I guess. I'm not sure about the pub, but Silver Road (?), the main drag in Hurley five minutes away has a ton of them! It's been about 15 years since I graduated from college--I think that's the last time I went bar hopping. It used to be the place all the miners went at night I guess. I forgot to mention the Ironwood Theatre....my daughter and I just went to a performance the other night, and it was a youthful group of guys that sing and do beat box, etc. It was actually really cool. It sounds like the UP is definitely the place for you....especially with all of the outdoors activities. We are anxiously waiting for spring and the opportunity to hike! Good luck with your plans!
I've lived in ironwood my whole life. For me this stinks as I absolutely detest winter. Ironwood gets far more snow than other areas because we are so close to Lake Superior so we get lake effect snow. We also deal with a lot of sub zero temps. If I'm being honest wih you, I feel like the area is dying economically. The issue is that nobody wants new business to come in. We have finally decided to make a move and head south in the next two years, but I pretty much know all there is to know about this area! Housing is affordable. We bought a house in our early 20s with only one of us working and have lived here for about 9 years. If you want lower property tax, look for housing in Ironwood township as opposed to the city of ironwood. We really only have 1 grocery store and a Walmart as our Kmart is now closing so you have to travel (or internet shop) if you need anything specific. As for pubs, we are on the border of hurley, WI which shamefully has about 12 strip
Clubs in a row followed by about 15 more regular bars across the intersection. There is no shortage of alcohol. It is a highly participated "sport" in the area due to lack of other things to do. If you like cold weather and outdoor activity, there are numerous ski hills and cross country ski trails as well as a bunch of snowmobile and snowshoe trails. If you don't like snow, don't come- it's like hell on earth. Other places complaining about blizzards can't compare. Nobody here bats an eyelash if they wake up and Can't find their Vehicle due to the weather the night before. Other than drinking and snow activities if it isn't below zero, there isn't a whole lot more to do in the winter. If we had long summers, I would love it here. Summer is amazing but extremely short. We have Lake Superior and you really can't beat it. Feel free to ask me any other questions. Sorry if I'm negative- I kind of hate living here!
Thank you VERY much for taking the time to write out such a thorough/thoughtful response, Bethany! Honestly, while it DOES kind of sound a bit negative, it sounds HONEST, too. And THAT is what I was hoping for.
I'm going to ATTEMPT to condense this reply to ALL of your responses (wish me luck! lol).
As far as the winters go, that is absolutely no problem (at least for me...can't say for sure about my wife and kids just yet! lol). I absolutely LOVE the cold AND the snow! I've lived in the UP on two occasions, both times in the dead of winter. Yes, it was Escanaba, and from everything I've ever heard, they have the mildest winters of just about ANYWHERE in the entire UP. But still, it was enough to give me a taste of life up there. Besides, I did get out to some other areas while I was there.
The only true negatives for me would be what you said about the water (we drink and cook with bottled water here in Lake City, Fl. because of the quality, too), and especially what you said about the town's outlook on new business. We were wanting to head that way to start a business. We're very well aware of the economy and job market in the entire region. While things are pretty bad nationwide, it does seem to be even worse in Michigan, and especially worse in the UP.
We have several different ideas for businesses that we thought would either work there (in Ironwood specifically), or that we could at least do FROM there.
Your comment gives me reason to consider a different town/area altogether.
Seeing as how you have taken the time to give me some very helpful insight into your neck of the woods, I feel it's only fair that I return the favor. What part of Florida are you considering moving to? I've lived ALL OVER Florida, but mostly in the North Central Florida area. Right outside of Gainesville, to be exact.
I don't know if you've ever been here during "summer", but if you haven't, allow me the chance to warn you...it is absolutely BRUTAL. Not even kidding. If you were to look at the average temps on City Data (or other forums, even), it makes it sound like it isn't so bad. I believe they claim Gainesville is (roughly) 90 degrees for June, July, and August. That is a COMPLETE LIE! It's much closer to 100 degrees on a daily basis. Factor in the humidity and it is EASILY 110-120 every single day for approximately 4-6 months out of the year.
I don't know if you've ever been out West, but I'm sure even if you haven't, you've heard people talk about it being a "dry heat"? Well, those people are absolutely right. I've been in Phoenix (and L.A., as well as a dozen other major cities out that way) when it was (ACTUAL temp) 125 degrees and it felt MUCH better than Gainesville feels on a (TRUE) 90 degree day.
To say it is EXTREMELY HOT and humid in Florida (sadly, this is NOT limited to the Gainesville area...it's the ENTIRE STATE) is the biggest understatement in the world! It's truly miserable here.
Other little tidbits about Florida that you won't hear about in the brochures:
*Pretty much EVERYTHING here wants to KILL you! No, seriously. From the insects (Brown Recluse and Black Widows...among MANY others) to the reptiles (alligators that can grow to 18 feet long, rattle snakes, water moccasins, coral snakes, copperheads, etc.) to the ocean life (sharks, sting rays, and about a million other VERY deadly animals) to the street thugs (mostly in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, etc., but clearly they can be ANYWHERE) to the Florida panthers (mountain lions here are called panthers lol) to the black bears (yes, I know they're up there in the UP, too) to the mosquitoes the size of cockroaches to the hornets, yellow-jackets, and bees (Africanized honey bees...yes, the "killer bees" are here!).
It's literally very common to walk out and find a gator in your pool (if you're fortunate enough to have one...we do not) or step on a big, fat, MEAN cottonmouth water moccasin when you step out onto your front porch at night. By the way, just in case you didn't already know this, water moccasins are MUCH meaner than rattlesnakes. They're literally the most aggressive snake in all of America (and possibly the WORLD). That's a verifiable FACT. I couldn't even begin to count how many times I've been chased by them. One good bite from one and you could be dead.
If I sound negative about Florida, it is because I absolutely hate this state with a purple passion. I'm 39 years old and I've lived the majority of my life here. Now that my wife and kids (3, 5 and 6) are wanting to move up north, I can't possibly get out fast enough, not for my liking anyways.
Honestly, I would STRONGLY urge you NOT to move here. There are people who absolutely love it here. I will never be one of them. My #1 complaint about this horrific state? The HEAT & HUMIDITY! You could literally strip down butt naked and join a nudist colony and you're STILL going to be disgustingly hot and sweaty here. You know how people complain about winters in the U.P. lasting upwards of 9 months out of the year? Well, down here, SUMMER lasts that long. While you're freezing your butt off up there right now, this probably sounds like heaven on earth. Just wait until you get here, though. You can't say you weren't forewarned.
Just remember this: You can always put on MORE clothes to get warm, but you can only take off so much. And as I said, you could literally strip down bare naked and you're STILL going to be hot here.
Thank you again for everything! I'm sure we will BOTH have plenty more questions for one another. I know for sure I will anyways.
Iron Mountain, MI is a more economically viable area with better paying jobs than Ironwood, MI. I've been through both places extensively. I would recommend exploring other options instead of only considering Ironwood.
Thank you VERY much for the response. Honestly, we have considered Iron Mountain, and we're not ruling it out. We are actually so big on Ironwood because of the cold/snow. I know, makes no sense to most people. Especially considering that we're coming from Florida! Lol.
We've also not ruled out the possibility of the Marquette area. We're aware that it's much more expensive than the Western U.P., but eventually, we're hoping that money won't be nearly as big an issue as it is right now. Which is kind of why we were wanting to move to Ironwood (at least temporarily). We figure it would be baptism by fire...only by SNOW/COLD lol. It would teach my wife and kids that if they could survive a winter or two in Ironwood, it wouldn't be that bad at all in Marquette!
Do you happen to know much about K.I. Sawyer? I realize I probably just said the equivalent of a curse word, if you DO know much about the area. Depending on who we talk to, it's supposedly the arm pit of the U.P. Others have completely different stories of the place, though. While we don't want to live in a dump, we're really not nearly as focused on that aspect as we are the general safety of the place. Don't get me wrong, we're coming from the South and we absolutely DO believe in our Second Amendment rights down here. We would not be heading up there without our guns.
We're also intelligent enough to realize that owning guns doesn't make us bulletproof from a cowardly thug who shoots us in the back, or otherwise gets the drop on us, so to speak.
I just really would like to get as much perspective as possible before packing up and moving my family across the country. We realize that there is positives and negatives with ANY city or town. Our own little town is not without its share of both. It just so happens that the bad (at least to us) far outweighs the good here. If all things are equal (as far as crime rates go), we'd be much happier living in K.I. Sawyer than Lake City, Florida. If you check out our crime rates, you will see that we have quite a bit of crime here for a town of this size (I believe the current population is right around 12,000).
Again, ANY advice you can give us would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Thank you VERY much for the response. Honestly, we have considered Iron Mountain, and we're not ruling it out. We are actually so big on Ironwood because of the cold/snow. I know, makes no sense to most people. Especially considering that we're coming from Florida! Lol.
We've also not ruled out the possibility of the Marquette area. We're aware that it's much more expensive than the Western U.P., but eventually, we're hoping that money won't be nearly as big an issue as it is right now. Which is kind of why we were wanting to move to Ironwood (at least temporarily). We figure it would be baptism by fire...only by SNOW/COLD lol. It would teach my wife and kids that if they could survive a winter or two in Ironwood, it wouldn't be that bad at all in Marquette!
Do you happen to know much about K.I. Sawyer? I realize I probably just said the equivalent of a curse word, if you DO know much about the area. Depending on who we talk to, it's supposedly the arm pit of the U.P. Others have completely different stories of the place, though. While we don't want to live in a dump, we're really not nearly as focused on that aspect as we are the general safety of the place. Don't get me wrong, we're coming from the South and we absolutely DO believe in our Second Amendment rights down here. We would not be heading up there without our guns.
We're also intelligent enough to realize that owning guns doesn't make us bulletproof from a cowardly thug who shoots us in the back, or otherwise gets the drop on us, so to speak.
I just really would like to get as much perspective as possible before packing up and moving my family across the country. We realize that there is positives and negatives with ANY city or town. Our own little town is not without its share of both. It just so happens that the bad (at least to us) far outweighs the good here. If all things are equal (as far as crime rates go), we'd be much happier living in K.I. Sawyer than Lake City, Florida. If you check out our crime rates, you will see that we have quite a bit of crime here for a town of this size (I believe the current population is right around 12,000).
Again, ANY advice you can give us would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I am not familiar with K.I. Sawyer, but have heard it referred to as a "poverty trap" as it is a more isolated area further from Marquette that has fewer jobs now due to the closing of that facility. In terms of Iron Mountain, it just seemed like people cared more for upkeep, maintenance, and appearance of the town overall- perhaps a bit more pride in the town. However, median household incomes are noticeably higher in Iron Mountain than Ironwood, meaning Iron Mountain has more of a stable blue collar middle class with lower unemployment rates and lower poverty rates. The demographics of the two are slightly different as well with Ironwood having a higher elderly population and fewer young people, while Iron Mountain has about the same percentage of the county population (Dickinson) that is under age 18 as it does for those age 65 and greater. Also, if you need to get to a "larger" city, Green Bay is a directly south of Iron Mountain via a state highway.
I am not familiar with K.I. Sawyer, but have heard it referred to as a "poverty trap" as it is a more isolated area further from Marquette that has fewer jobs now due to the closing of that facility. In terms of Iron Mountain, it just seemed like people cared more for upkeep, maintenance, and appearance of the town overall- perhaps a bit more pride in the town. However, median household incomes are noticeably higher in Iron Mountain than Ironwood, meaning Iron Mountain has more of a stable blue collar middle class with lower unemployment rates and lower poverty rates. The demographics of the two are slightly different as well with Ironwood having a higher elderly population and fewer young people, while Iron Mountain has about the same percentage of the county population (Dickinson) that is under age 18 as it does for those age 65 and greater. Also, if you need to get to a "larger" city, Green Bay is a directly south of Iron Mountain via a state highway.
One thing I learned a long time ago about jobs, is that you're never going to get rich (or even be well off, for the most part) working for other people. As of right now, we're not rich doing what we've been doing, either. Having said that, I have pretty much always been able to find ways of making decent money (yes, LEGALLY lol) by providing services that pretty much anybody CAN do, but most won't humble themselves to do. We currently have a housecleaning service. Sounds great, huh? Yeah, I didn't so, either. BUT...we make $50/hour doing it (between the two of us).
Having said that, we realize that most places in the U.P. (if not ALL places up there) it would be nearly impossible to make that kind of money cleaning houses up there. SO...I got into making these crystals ("Chroma crystals" is what it's technically called), that are similar to REALLY nice, classy picture frames. The smaller ones go for around $25-30 and some of the larger ones can bring upwards of $80-100 a piece.
Enter Mackinac Island and their numerous gift shops. One of which claims to work with over 200 local artists. Yes, I realize that the Marquette area isn't exactly "local" to Mackinac Island, but it's a heck of a lot more local than Lake City, Fl. I have also had very decent success with selling them on Craigslist in the past, and would expect it to be no different there.
I also have read where K.I. Sawyer has a severe lack of snow plowing services, as well as a DIRE need of restaurants (we've considered opening one on base...at least a "pop-up" home based one to see how successful it could be from an actual "sit-down" facility. Also, my wife has been networking with several other moms in the neighborhood and they say there is a HUGE need for babysitters/daycare services there. As I told my wife, if we did that, it would be money upfront for each kid she watches (at least until she gets to know the parents better).
As I said, we're not nearly as concerned with employment opportunities (other than the obvious reasons of our customers being able to afford our services/products) as we are with the overall safety and general wellbeing of the area.
As far as nightlife and whatnot, we're not the least bit concerned. We're probably the most "boring" people in America. Neither of us drink or do anything like that. My wife homeschools our children. We're big on nature and hunting, fishing, and just plain outdoorsy stuff. That's one of our biggest draws to the U.P. Here in Florida, it's truly too hot and humid for at least 8 months out of the year to get out and do much of anything. Throw in the mosquitoes and snakes and you have the perfect recipe for just staying in and dreaming of living in a place where you can actually get OUT and do something!
By the way, we have been planning a big move for the past SIX years. I have researched pretty much EVERYWHERE from Maine to Washington state. We were nearly dead-set on moving to Rapid City, South Dakota for the past couple years. In the end, though, there was ONE place that continued to haunt my dreams...and that was Michigan's upper peninsula. It just seems to be one of those places that grabs you and never lets go. Even my wife has been bitten by the bug and she is 100% positive that the U.P. is where she wants to spend the rest of her life.
Now it's just a matter of narrowing down our search for a particular area up there. We were fairly sure that Ironwood was the place we wanted to land (again, at least temporarily). The more we learn about Marquette, though, the better it sounds.
At any rate, we're POSITIVE we want to be somewhere in the U.P. As much as I loved Escanaba, we strongly considered there, but we ALL want to be somewhere that gets MUCH more snow than Esky. Houghton/Hancock, Ironwood, Iron Mountain, and Marquette (and the surrounding areas) ALL seem to fit that bill. We're really wanting to leave sometime next month, if our finances allow it. Needless to say, we are just itching to hit the road!
Thank you again for all the helpful advice! I'm going to send you a friend request (or whatever it's called on here), if you don't mind.
One thing I learned a long time ago about jobs, is that you're never going to get rich (or even be well off, for the most part) working for other people. As of right now, we're not rich doing what we've been doing, either. Having said that, I have pretty much always been able to find ways of making decent money (yes, LEGALLY lol) by providing services that pretty much anybody CAN do, but most won't humble themselves to do. We currently have a housecleaning service. Sounds great, huh? Yeah, I didn't so, either. BUT...we make $50/hour doing it (between the two of us).
Having said that, we realize that most places in the U.P. (if not ALL places up there) it would be nearly impossible to make that kind of money cleaning houses up there. SO...I got into making these crystals ("Chroma crystals" is what it's technically called), that are similar to REALLY nice, classy picture frames. The smaller ones go for around $25-30 and some of the larger ones can bring upwards of $80-100 a piece.
Enter Mackinac Island and their numerous gift shops. One of which claims to work with over 200 local artists. Yes, I realize that the Marquette area isn't exactly "local" to Mackinac Island, but it's a heck of a lot more local than Lake City, Fl. I have also had very decent success with selling them on Craigslist in the past, and would expect it to be no different there.
I also have read where K.I. Sawyer has a severe lack of snow plowing services, as well as a DIRE need of restaurants (we've considered opening one on base...at least a "pop-up" home based one to see how successful it could be from an actual "sit-down" facility. Also, my wife has been networking with several other moms in the neighborhood and they say there is a HUGE need for babysitters/daycare services there. As I told my wife, if we did that, it would be money upfront for each kid she watches (at least until she gets to know the parents better).
As I said, we're not nearly as concerned with employment opportunities (other than the obvious reasons of our customers being able to afford our services/products) as we are with the overall safety and general wellbeing of the area.
As far as nightlife and whatnot, we're not the least bit concerned. We're probably the most "boring" people in America. Neither of us drink or do anything like that. My wife homeschools our children. We're big on nature and hunting, fishing, and just plain outdoorsy stuff. That's one of our biggest draws to the U.P. Here in Florida, it's truly too hot and humid for at least 8 months out of the year to get out and do much of anything. Throw in the mosquitoes and snakes and you have the perfect recipe for just staying in and dreaming of living in a place where you can actually get OUT and do something!
By the way, we have been planning a big move for the past SIX years. I have researched pretty much EVERYWHERE from Maine to Washington state. We were nearly dead-set on moving to Rapid City, South Dakota for the past couple years. In the end, though, there was ONE place that continued to haunt my dreams...and that was Michigan's upper peninsula. It just seems to be one of those places that grabs you and never lets go. Even my wife has been bitten by the bug and she is 100% positive that the U.P. is where she wants to spend the rest of her life.
Now it's just a matter of narrowing down our search for a particular area up there. We were fairly sure that Ironwood was the place we wanted to land (again, at least temporarily). The more we learn about Marquette, though, the better it sounds.
At any rate, we're POSITIVE we want to be somewhere in the U.P. As much as I loved Escanaba, we strongly considered there, but we ALL want to be somewhere that gets MUCH more snow than Esky. Houghton/Hancock, Ironwood, Iron Mountain, and Marquette (and the surrounding areas) ALL seem to fit that bill. We're really wanting to leave sometime next month, if our finances allow it. Needless to say, we are just itching to hit the road!
Thank you again for all the helpful advice! I'm going to send you a friend request (or whatever it's called on here), if you don't mind.
Yes, thank you for the request, I already responded. If you are interested in Marquette, it is my favorite town in the UP as it has a good amount of variety from the many locally owned shops and restaurants to the Farmer's Market. It draws a younger crowd with Northern Michigan University there and it seems like the Downtown is on a continued upswing when I was there last. The location by Lake Superior can't be beat and access to outdoor recreation is as good as it gets in the eastern 1/2 of the US. Also, you have city limits and township areas, an important delineation to keep in mind when it comes to services provided, property taxes, local schools, etc for particular areas. In terms of long-term growth potential, Marquette is probably better positioned than most other places in the UP. So my ranking would be Marquette>Iron Mountain>Houghton/Hancock>Sault St. Marie>Escanaba>Menominee>Ironwood. This is just my personal ranking, take it for what it's worth. Other people may have differing opinions.
Thank you for accepting my friend request. I will probably hound you fairly regularly now until we get up there. Lol.
Yes, Marquette has always been made to sound like one of those rare, almost magical kind of places. Not quite big enough to be considered "too big", and not small enough to be made fun of for being "too small". I honestly don't think I've ever heard a negative thing about that town. Which speaks volumes in itself.
I have read many of your comments on Marquette on other threads, as well as a guy (at least I'm thinking it's a guy?) by the screen name of "darstar". He has made it seem as if it's one of the best places in all of America to live. I realize that ALL cities and towns have their drawbacks, and I'm sure Marquette is no different. But it definitely sounds as if they have less than most places.
Your ranking honestly sounds very similar to my own. Keeping in mind, of course, that I've never actually been to most of those places. I have nieces, a nephew, and an ex-sister-in-law that lived in Menominee and they always spoke very highly of it. Sault St. Marie is one of the coolest towns I've never been to, what with the locks and all.
I just can't wait to load up and point our Suburban northward! Until then, I will simply have to live vicariously through all of the comments and threads posted by those who are fortunate enough to already be there.
Thank you VERY much for taking the time to write out such a thorough/thoughtful response, Bethany! Honestly, while it DOES kind of sound a bit negative, it sounds HONEST, too. And THAT is what I was hoping for.
I'm going to ATTEMPT to condense this reply to ALL of your responses (wish me luck! lol).
As far as the winters go, that is absolutely no problem (at least for me...can't say for sure about my wife and kids just yet! lol). I absolutely LOVE the cold AND the snow! I've lived in the UP on two occasions, both times in the dead of winter. Yes, it was Escanaba, and from everything I've ever heard, they have the mildest winters of just about ANYWHERE in the entire UP. But still, it was enough to give me a taste of life up there. Besides, I did get out to some other areas while I was there.
The only true negatives for me would be what you said about the water (we drink and cook with bottled water here in Lake City, Fl. because of the quality, too), and especially what you said about the town's outlook on new business. We were wanting to head that way to start a business. We're very well aware of the economy and job market in the entire region. While things are pretty bad nationwide, it does seem to be even worse in Michigan, and especially worse in the UP.
We have several different ideas for businesses that we thought would either work there (in Ironwood specifically), or that we could at least do FROM there.
Your comment gives me reason to consider a different town/area altogether.
Seeing as how you have taken the time to give me some very helpful insight into your neck of the woods, I feel it's only fair that I return the favor. What part of Florida are you considering moving to? I've lived ALL OVER Florida, but mostly in the North Central Florida area. Right outside of Gainesville, to be exact.
I don't know if you've ever been here during "summer", but if you haven't, allow me the chance to warn you...it is absolutely BRUTAL. Not even kidding. If you were to look at the average temps on City Data (or other forums, even), it makes it sound like it isn't so bad. I believe they claim Gainesville is (roughly) 90 degrees for June, July, and August. That is a COMPLETE LIE! It's much closer to 100 degrees on a daily basis. Factor in the humidity and it is EASILY 110-120 every single day for approximately 4-6 months out of the year.
I don't know if you've ever been out West, but I'm sure even if you haven't, you've heard people talk about it being a "dry heat"? Well, those people are absolutely right. I've been in Phoenix (and L.A., as well as a dozen other major cities out that way) when it was (ACTUAL temp) 125 degrees and it felt MUCH better than Gainesville feels on a (TRUE) 90 degree day.
To say it is EXTREMELY HOT and humid in Florida (sadly, this is NOT limited to the Gainesville area...it's the ENTIRE STATE) is the biggest understatement in the world! It's truly miserable here.
Other little tidbits about Florida that you won't hear about in the brochures:
*Pretty much EVERYTHING here wants to KILL you! No, seriously. From the insects (Brown Recluse and Black Widows...among MANY others) to the reptiles (alligators that can grow to 18 feet long, rattle snakes, water moccasins, coral snakes, copperheads, etc.) to the ocean life (sharks, sting rays, and about a million other VERY deadly animals) to the street thugs (mostly in Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, etc., but clearly they can be ANYWHERE) to the Florida panthers (mountain lions here are called panthers lol) to the black bears (yes, I know they're up there in the UP, too) to the mosquitoes the size of cockroaches to the hornets, yellow-jackets, and bees (Africanized honey bees...yes, the "killer bees" are here!).
It's literally very common to walk out and find a gator in your pool (if you're fortunate enough to have one...we do not) or step on a big, fat, MEAN cottonmouth water moccasin when you step out onto your front porch at night. By the way, just in case you didn't already know this, water moccasins are MUCH meaner than rattlesnakes. They're literally the most aggressive snake in all of America (and possibly the WORLD). That's a verifiable FACT. I couldn't even begin to count how many times I've been chased by them. One good bite from one and you could be dead.
If I sound negative about Florida, it is because I absolutely hate this state with a purple passion. I'm 39 years old and I've lived the majority of my life here. Now that my wife and kids (3, 5 and 6) are wanting to move up north, I can't possibly get out fast enough, not for my liking anyways.
Honestly, I would STRONGLY urge you NOT to move here. There are people who absolutely love it here. I will never be one of them. My #1 complaint about this horrific state? The HEAT & HUMIDITY! You could literally strip down butt naked and join a nudist colony and you're STILL going to be disgustingly hot and sweaty here. You know how people complain about winters in the U.P. lasting upwards of 9 months out of the year? Well, down here, SUMMER lasts that long. While you're freezing your butt off up there right now, this probably sounds like heaven on earth. Just wait until you get here, though. You can't say you weren't forewarned.
Just remember this: You can always put on MORE clothes to get warm, but you can only take off so much. And as I said, you could literally strip down bare naked and you're STILL going to be hot here.
Thank you again for everything! I'm sure we will BOTH have plenty more questions for one another. I know for sure I will anyways.
It's so awesome that we are opposites because it gives us both amazing opportunity to learn things we might not have otherwise figured out! I'm curious what kind of business you're looking to open here. Strangely enough, I'm a business owner as well (not sure if I mentioned hat already, sorry if I repeated!) so o have a lot of insight into that. It would help me to know what kind of things you're looking to do.
Some people might drink the water here. It really depends how picky you are. We personally don't condone having flouride in drinking water, and there is in the township where we live, so we just choose to avoid it altogether. As for the weather here again, this is not your average snow. We get far more than everyone else. Again, a lot of people like this. For me it's just OVERKILL. And unfortunately I have major seasonal mental issues when I don't see the sun. There is little in the winter here.
We have been debating South Carolina for a move. We really want to be near the coast, but somewhere affordable. I don't want to be too far inland because of the heat. Basically, I want to live somewhere where I can be outside most of the year. Here, you have to stay inside because it's too cold (sometimes not even permitted out due to the risk of frostbite on exposed skin!) but I also don't want to relocate somewhere that I would be forced to stay inside due to heat as well. I don't think I would be so sensitive to humidity as we also have some humid Summers up here due to the lake being right be us. But we're looking for balance.
IF we chose Florida, which would probably only be because of my sister who also wants to relocate away from here, it would only be near the gulf coast or panhandle area. We don't want to be completely disconnected from the rest of the country, and I don't want the unbearable heat and animal aspect from inland. We're really leaning towards looking elsewhere than FL, but I want to ask questions from numerous areas to get an idea.
This is one of the hardest things I have ever had to decide and I don't know that I was ever feel 100% before just going and doing it.
We should really stay connected though! We can help each other out!
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