[jambo101]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Where would you rather live?

I'm happy up here in Canada with a yearly visit to Fla during Fla's winter.This week we were discussing whether we should come down at Xmas or Easter.

[LordyLordy]

A few things not many people think of when they think of Florida:

Florida was the original rancher/horseback state, people pushed cattle in FL long before all the famous cowpunchers came to be in the "outlaw West". Forget all the Texas bulls*it - they are so proud of their horses and guns and cattle but when you actually go to Texas you realize that the state is 96% private land and only 4% state lands - no place to ride your horse unless you are rich and own thousands of acres. Compare that to Florida with 30% of the land being public - you can ride a horse in one of the three national forests or in many of the state parks and then go home, change into your beach clothes and go swimming in the ocean. One moment you can be in Juno Beach, swimming in the ocean and having sushi in nearby Palm Beach Gardens, an hour drive you are in cattle and horse country like Okeechobee and the next you can get your kayak and go kayaking in the Everglades for weeks, not seeing a single soul, overnighting in the chickees. Need island life? The keys are right there? Want real forest? Tallahassee has 500,000 acres of Appalachicola. Rivers? No problem!

I always find it weird that people move their families to Florida and then whine about the weather, the insects, the wildlife. Duh! Next time do the darn research before you uproot and move to a TROPICAL PLACE where it rains and it's humid. Unfortunately, stupid people abound and will whine, regardless whether it makes them look like jackasses or not, just because they can.

Someone mentioned San Diego - sure, good luck winning the lottery to move there. Even with a PhD and work experience you may end up spending most of your salary on a 300 sq ft s*ithole rental. Is it worth it? Maybe to some of you.

Someone in a different thread complained about taxes on their newly built 370K house. 1) do not build a 370K house, you don't need it. 2) how stupid can you be to build a 370K house and think about the taxes AFTERWARDS? Should you not have done your research before you spent the money building? Duh.

Many counties in FL have a different property tax structure, do your research and choose carefully.

A lot of people complain about parts of FL being the "deep South" or "full of rednecks". I am educated, have lived all over the world and I am not particularly fond of people who let their dogs run loose, shoot their guns all night long or run their ATVs all day next to you. However, I am not fond of the Starbucks loving, "pave everything" crowd either. I find the former stupid and the latter sterile. There are some good things about the "deep South", there are some good things about being progressive. .What people need to do is do their research before taking that job and moving to that place, instead of expecting to show up somewhere and everything to work in their favor. Nobody will greet you with a red carpet, no matter where you show up - get over yourselves!

I have spoken.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by LordyLordy

I always find it weird that people move their families to Florida and then whine about the weather, the insects, the wildlife. Duh! Next time do the darn research before you uproot and move to a TROPICAL PLACE where it rains and it's humid. Unfortunately, stupid people abound and will whine, regardless whether it makes them look like jackasses or not, just because they can.

I'll certainly agree on doing the necessary and extensive research on Florida before moving there. I'm sure some move there without ever visiting the place and get swayed by the stories depicting Florida as paradise,no winter just warm sunny days spent sitting in the shade of a palm tree on the beach..
But not all of us had a choice in being there, Some were born there others like me were relocated there as children, others may be there for financial reasons or having to tend elderly parents, I;m sure many live in Fla. and dont like the place but due to various circumstances they're locked in in some way, And if you are locked in to a particular place you dont like or enjoy and for whatever reason cant leave its only natural to air your displeasure's,Call them whiners/complainers if you like but its a bit unfair to label people who have no choice about being there as stupid people.

[LordyLordy]

Originally Posted by jambo101

I'll certainly agree on doing the necessary and extensive research on Florida before moving there. I'm sure some move there without ever visiting the place and get swayed by the stories depicting Florida as paradise,no winter just warm sunny days spent sitting in the shade of a palm tree on the beach..
But not all of us had a choice in being there, Some were born there others like me were relocated there as children, others may be there for financial reasons or having to tend elderly parents, I;m sure many live in Fla. and dont like the place but due to various circumstances they're locked in in some way, And if you are locked in to a particular place you dont like or enjoy and for whatever reason cant leave its only natural to air your displeasure's,Call them whiners/complainers if you like but its a bit unfair to label people who have no choice about being there as stupid people.

Well, most people I knew in FL were transplants for jobs. I would say it is the most transient state not because majority of people have some special circumstance such as taking care of an elderly parent but because most come to FL with an idea that is totally wrong.

At the end of the day - it is all about taking personal responsibility for the choices you make. We lived in FL for years and moved to TX because I got a great job offer I could not pass up on. I can say plenty of s*itty things about TX, however, instead, I am working on going back to Florida as soon as possible.

With all the things I do not like about Texas, there are parts of it I want to experience and see, such as Big Bend, for example. Every state has something pretty and something s*itty - you have to be realistic and move on when s*itty outweighs the pretty, without whining.