[kyle19125]

I'll throw out that I too didn't have much choice in moving back here (native Floridian) because as an only child I had to tend for an elderly parent who ultimately passed away last year and once everything is settled estate-wise I do plan to get out. I will say that outside of southern Florida and off the coasts that much of interior Florida is very little different than the southern half of Georgia or South Carolina in terms of climate, topography and demographics other than providing higher crime, more congestion and a disproportionately high cost of living in correlation to salaries. Many Central Floridians think they're a sophisticated lot living it up in an environment few have access to which is the case if one actually thinks that amusement parks are part of everyday life there, particularly given the cost to get into the parks on a regular basis. Many of the cheerleader types are on the Orlando Forum and love to characterize their experience as THE reality, which to those who have lived elsewhere typically nowhere near it. I encourage all potential transplants to perform due diligence, and visit as a local (not a tourist) before making the decision to move here. It really is two different worlds.

[Sweetbottoms]

The "fantasy " of potential future fla residents/vacationers - on the beach everyday after work piña colada in hand watch the sunset every night while strolling amount palm tree lined streets in summer eating a grouper sandwhich freshly caught 3 hours before, people catering to their every whim in tropical shirts and Tommy bahama straw hats.

Reality- 108 degree heat index with 98% humidity working a seasonal job to pay your $1,200 a month so far from the beach ydon cant even smell a sea breeze and hoping you don't get laid off come April... Oh and that guy in the tropical shirt isn't that happy to serve you. He just wants your money.

[thunderkat59]

I'm only replying to this 'cuz it showed up on the forums front page.

We were forced to move to SE Florida and stayed for 3 years. Three looooooooooong and painful years.
The heat was no big deal, lots of states have 90-100 degree heat. What was a big deal was the other stuff. . .

Here are my observations:

Rampant crime. Everywhere has crime, but usually there is sort of general consensus of places to avoid. In SE-FL, there was no such thing. Gangs were shooting people just over the bridge from Palm Beach on Flagler. We lived in an exclusive area in N. Palm and had three police events in three years.

Everything is a scam. Even getting the oil changed in your car is a crap-shoot. Realty ---- forget it !

Service based economy. Low pay, RTW state. A Masters will get you 15.00 an hour. If you find a 'real' job, it will operate at a standard that would be unacceptable from NC on up.

Transient population. You wont know your neighbor. No Sense of community at all.

No culture. None. Pain Clinics and Plastic Surgery mills outnumber arts based entities by about 5 to 1.

The most hard-to-take factor for me: Mean people. People just seemed totally apathetic to other people and let you know you are just something in their way. A car try to run you over to get a parking spot and heaven forbid if you hold them up from making a right turn at a light. The same people who engage in this passive-aggressive, anti-social behavior do it outside the car, too.

Of course, there were exceptions, but as an area, this is my opinion of SE-FL, overall. As much as Im sure Floridians who will respond to this will say they're glad Im gone, I can assure them that the "Welcome to GA" sign on I-95 was the most glorious road sign Ive ever seen

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I see topics every day posting about moving to Florida and the usual list goes something like,
,We hate the cold so we are moving to Florida
Wheres the best place to live in Florida?
Must be near the beach
Must be safe area
have the best of schools
plenty of jobs
Affordable housing etc.
This doesnt sound to me like people who have really done much research on their upcoming move so i thought i'd keep em honest with a few things they may not have considered in their research .
Another issue i might warn them about is coming to Florida with no actual proficiency in a given job,the job market is tough and if you going after no experience necessary jobs you maybe living in your car sooner than you think..

You get the same thing with many other state forums, people want the perfect location with plentiful jobs that pay well above the median income, the best schools, no crime and want it to be very affordable living. In other words, they are looking for something that does not exist.

You stated in your first post about all the threads that talk about how wonderful the move to Florida was and acted as if there weren't dozens of Florida bashing threads also. You also didn't want people coming in and posting if they had a good move and are now happy in Florida. How is that "keeping em honest"?

You could have just bumped one of the other Florida bashing threads, someone else can just bump a Florida pumping thread and keep the cycle going.

[tilli]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Generalizing much?

Speaking from my experience. You're welcome to speak from your's. I happen to be quite happy in Florida and would not to be anywhere else, as you should remember from my other posts or from reading the last paragraph of the one you quoted. But it is not all great. In my neck of the woods and elsewhere I have lived in the state, the traffic IS awful. The wages ARE low. The bugs ARE gigantic. The transplants ARE grousers. I don't really care if people support the Yankees instead of the Rays, but that is also true. Tourists ARE obnoxious and so are snowbirds. Of course we are generalizing. Who has time to list every individual example? Yet my post was actually intended to point out that there are more important positives to me personally that outweigh the negatives, as you'd find if you read it in its entirety in the spirit it was intended.

I really don't believe that people quit jobs, careers, give up local family and friends not to mention a secure atmosphere where everything is familiar, pack up and move to Florida.

I know quite a few who have done exactly that. People do it every day. They buy into a dream of Florida and have no idea what the reality is actually like. I imagine the same is true of every place that is romanticized in popular culture, like California or NYC.

[RMD3819]

What we are talking about here is what I refer to as dreamer posts.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with these. The problems start when the OP starts debating what they want Florida to be like vs what they are being told it is actually is.

Mike is right, other forums get these also.

Alaska-I want to move into the wilderness and build my own cabin and live off the land. I have no money, job, construction or survival skills. How do I get started?

Hawaii-I want to live on the beach and do odd jobs. I have no money or job skills. How do I get started? These folks get a lot of dreamer posts. You think we have it bad on the Florida forum? Read the HI forum. We have it easy here.

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

I too am a former NYker. Brooklyn. Yep, gets awful hot and humid there in NYC for sure. NJ too.

Tropics = bugs.
South = hot.

For those who can't stand it, there is always someplace else for them.

Brooklyn here too

[Marielamb]

If you love Florida so much, you don't need to be on this thread. If there are so many threads bashing life in Florida, maybe thats because lots of people don't like living here. Maybe lots of those people don't have much of a choice on where they live since the job or family is here.

Speaking from personal experience, I have found living in this state to be barely tolerable. Heat (even at midnight, even in april, even in october, neverending heat...)bugs, horrible drivers, rude people, stupid people, swindlers and scammers, the smell.... I moved here for my husband's job from a place that we LOVED. I think lots of people who love Florida either never lived anywhere else, or came from some real dump, or a place where is snows 9 months a year. (there are states between upper new York and Florida, FYI...)

But not fair to tear down people who don't have a good experience here in florida. This is a forum for airing all concerns and questions. Florida is not everyone's cup of hot, swampy tea.

[Spring Hillian]

Great post.

Originally Posted by Prettygyrl777

Well let me compare apples to oranges (lol). My family is originally from NYC. My dad moved us down here in the 90's with his real estate business. He made a great living and (amid some protest) we did make the most of moving to Florida. I was a teenager so of course I wanted to stay in NY. I was so bored the first few years that we lived here. But when I became an adult, I realized that my parents made the best decision ever.

I LOVE Florida more than the average person, I think (especially for a transplant). Life seems slower, more relaxed and everything does seem 'sunnier'. I make a nice living but when I'm not working, I try to enjoy the perks to the fullest. I still feel like a tourist when I take weekend trips to Orlando, Miami, St. Augustine, etc. I woudn't have considered myself a 'beach person' before coming here, but since I've been in south florida, I'm there at least once a week. It hasn't gotten 'old' yet. Maybe one day it will. I don't know...

We all know nothing is perfect- LOL Goodness knows that stories I have about certain parts of this place. That's life. However, when I've gone up to NY to visit family and friends, I can't help but say, I couldn't imagine myself living here again. It seemed so gray and gloomy...traffic is horrendous...people are just oblivious to each other. It's just depressing (Ok, no offense to anyone). But that's my honest impression.

[Spring Hillian]

All you have is people seeking more information. With the internet it is impossible not to be able to get the information you need, but having seen the opinions of others can greatly help.

I would like to know where anybody with no actual proficiency in anything can make a living.

No matter where you are the job market is tough in this country.

What you do not know about posters asking these questions is affecting your perception.

If you think it is easy living in NYC, you havent lived there.

Originally Posted by jambo101

I see topics every day posting about moving to Florida and the usual list goes something like,
,We hate the cold so we are moving to Florida
Wheres the best place to live in Florida?
Must be near the beach
Must be safe area
have the best of schools
plenty of jobs
Affordable housing etc.
This doesnt sound to me like people who have really done much research on their upcoming move so i thought i'd keep em honest with a few things they may not have considered in their research .
Another issue i might warn them about is coming to Florida with no actual proficiency in a given job,the job market is tough and if you going after no experience necessary jobs you maybe living in your car sooner than you think..