Rick:
Good luck with your decision on where to move. Like you, I was raised in southern CA but as an adult I have lived in many different places on the east coast and Midwest: Philadelphia, Columbus O, Chicago, Detroit, to name a few. I moved here three years ago and have found very few downsides to south Florida: though I live in the north end of Palm Beach county where things are a bit more laid back and traffic is much more manageable than Dade county.
One of the complaints I hear from many transplants is the ‘lack of seasons’: having grown up in CA where seasons don’t change all that much, I can say that I don’t miss having no snow and no bitter cold. I did not grow up with leaves changing colors and so don’t really care that I don’t see that sort of thing here. In fact, I love the near constant green of the plant life in south Florida. I believe the desire to see greater seasonal changes is one of the reasons for the half back phenomenon discussed earlier in this thread.
Some folks also complain about the humidity in the summer. Yes, it can be bad, but compared to other places known for humid summers such as Washington DC, Atlanta, Knoxville, etc., I don’t think it is all that bad in southern Florida given the near constant tropical breezes close to the coasts. Once you move a few miles inland, the tropical breezes seem to dissipate a bit and the humidity feels worse. As already mentioned, one must also dress appropriately during the summer months (or any other time of year). I love the fact that I can change into shorts, a light t-shirt or polo shirt and flip flops after a long day of work and be completely comfortable.
As a former resident of southern CA and current resident of Washington State, you are probably accustomed to varied topography, with hills, mountains, valleys, etc. close by. For me, one of the bigger negatives to south Florida is the complete ‘flatness’ of the land mass. You really don’t see much topographical features south of Ocala. While I have lived in other places that were flat (Chicago area), there were still beautiful undulating river valleys close by. It might take some time to adjust to the lack of elevation changes.
Related to the topography, if you are a sports car driver or motorcyclist, you’ll find south Florida a bit lacking from a driving or riding perspective. There are very few curvy roads and plenty of really bad drivers that force you to remain defensive at all times. If you are a cyclist (pedal bike) like many other people who live in Washington State, you’ll need to constantly be looking over your shoulder while you ride because of the lousy drivers.
Oceans, well you are used to oceans given you were raised in southern California. But the nice thing about Florida oceans is that they are much warmer and can be dove year round with fairly light wetsuits or no wetsuits in the summer.
As a former resident of southern CA, you probably grew up at least semi-multi cultural. There is definitely a multi cultural vibe in most of south Florida, but nothing that you’d not already be accustomed to. Much of time, I find it more difficult to communicate nicely with the NY and NJ population compared to the Cuban or Haitian population. Though in reality, most people I meet in Florida, regardless of where they are from, are fairly cool.
I am not sure I have done a good job of ‘selling’ south Florida, but I can say that it is hard to imagine living anywhere else.
