Live in S. Fl? Why don't you move? The pros and cons...

[BIGSAGE136]

Hey Brother.

Have not heard from you in a while! Glad to see you are not dead.

I'm Tim from the Boynton dive with Roger and Rafael a few years ago (Jupiter divers). (And of course Kevin before he had his own op.)

FWIW, I DID rig a pony like yours. But a 13 instead of a 19. I do appreciate the help.

(you have no fickin' idea who I am do you?)

LOL.

You were solo on the Castor, we buddied with you on the reef.

Tim

Hi Tim!. I remember! Thoses ponies can come in handy on the way up cant they? Especially when its filled with 50%! MUCH safer, especially when you solo.

 

[ancientdiver]

The thing is, a whole lot of folks move down here naively expecting a tropical paradise. It ain't. It has good and bad, like every other place. New arrivals often are disappointed because their expectations were not grounded in reality. Many folks come to Florida and before long start complaining about how much better/cheaper/nicer (fill in the blank) everything is "back north". Well, to those folks, I can only say, "can I help you pack?" If I had a dolloar for everytime I have heard that whine, I would be living like Bill Gates. So if you move here, and I would really prefer you didn't unless you own a company with good paying jobs and you bring your company with you, then please try and not remind me of how much better, cheaper, nicer, smarter, ........ everything is back up north, ok? When you say that, folks like me are thinking, (A.) "then you must be a real moron for leaving a place where everything is so much better than here, or (B.) you are living here because you have taken pity on us poor bastards who are stuck here and you are trying to become a Nobel Laurette like Mother Teresa with her help of the impoverished of Calcutta, or (C.) you didn't save enough money to live the good life you have always dreamed of, and are bitter about it, so you feel compelled to take it out on all the poor saps who are cashiers at the grocery stores, and the waiters, and the medical professionals and the dive boat captains, and on and on and on, or (D), you have always been a jerk because it's what God made you at birth. Whatever the answer, please cut it out. Floridians have heard many lifetimes worth of complaints about how things pretty much suck down here, and are oh so wonderful "up north". We get it. We're peasants, you're noblemen. We're stupid for living here, you're smart for complaining about living here. So if you move here and find yourself thinking how great things were up north, please, please, please, before you ever utter those words a single time, pack your bags and move back to the paradise you so foolishly left. Florida: love it or leave it.

Regarding the conditions in Key West. The good weather brings a lot of "living on the fringe" transients, almost homeless types. Their presense lowers the quality of life for all of us - urinating in public parks, stealing bicyles from kids, panhandling, shoplifting, bumming money to live in a state of intoxication, trying to go from one high or drunken stupor to the next without having to dry out. Key West is absolutely crawling with wino/homeless/vagabonds. Ture dat. This is not a good thing folks, no matter what the hemophiliac liberals say about their constitutional rights. Perhaps the bleeding liberals should do something about the problem, and adopt one of these folks into their own home? I live in Florida. I love it. My town has a huge shelter system for the homeless, and an active job placement center, and it subsidizes payroll to local businesses to help get these people back into society in a positve way. But they absolutely would NEVER tolerate the kind of things one sees every single day in Key West, all day long, from its ARMY of homeless bums and drunks and dopers. I own property in Key West, but I don't live there. I couldn't - I'd end up being a midnight vigilante like Charles Bronson in the old "Death Wish" movies. Key West could help itself by arresting and convicting those folks who committ petty crime on a daily basis, instead of looking the other way and calling it part of the local culture - apathy is not a trait of native Floridians. Stinky, smelly bums arguing and cursing over a bottle in front of my kids is not something I would include in any vacation itinerary. Such shananigans turns people with money away. I have been going to Key West every year since 1973 and still do. It wasn't a town full of homeless druggies and drunks back then. And yet it gets harder and harder to find a parking space every year, so with all the traffic congestion I don't understand the recession it is experiencing. Slowly it has changed. All for the worse. Key West needs to move out of the 1970's - Jimmy Buffet left decades ago. Clean it up and the folks with money, the very thing Key West needs the most, will return.
Dive safe, have fun.

 

[Walter]

Prior to the 16th/17th century European contact, there were about 350,000 Indian occupants in Fl. So yes, the rest came from somewhere else

None of them are here. Those tribes are now extinct. The Seminoles came to Florida in the late 18th & early 19th centuries. Interesting, that's also when my family moved here.

Walter, you really crack me up. When I saw your post about come, visit, and leave I couldn't help but picture Jeff Dunham's "Walter" character.

He's my favorite.

If I can figure out how to make it happen I'm moving in next to Walter, just for the fun of it.

It'll be tons of fun. I'll show you around the swamps. Don't worry about the gators, they wouldn't hurt a fly.

Are you moving into the woods to the north or the woods to the south?

 

[Zieg]

Yes, South Florida is BAD. BAD I tell ya. Panama City, THAT is the place. Everyone needs to move to Panama City. There are plenty of Condos just sitting here empty. This place is wide open. Get in while the getting is still good. This is the place of the future.

Traffic? Not a problem. Only one bridge to worry about. Only a couple of roads to be concerned. It takes about an hour to get to the interstate. In fact, you can get a ticket here for "Aggressive Driving" by driving the way everyone does down south, almost everyone here drives like the blue hairs. But you are required to have a pickup. Don’t have a pickup? Not a problem, POS pickups are available in every yard. You can fit right in, in no time.

The diversity you get in SFla does not exist here. Don’t worry about it. Red Neck, that’s it. (It's a great place if you're a meth addict.) Mexicans? Well a number moved into the area during the construction craze. In fact, a billboard went up with a beer ad in Spanish. Nope, not here, it didn’t last a week before it was torn down. We do have some diversity here, on the navy base, but we are mostly engineers, so I guess we're a diverse bunch of nerds, BUT THAT’S IT.

Not too many restaurants to get confused over, not like SFla. We do have a Best Buy. If you need anything, well Pensacola is an hour and a half to the west and Tallahassee is two hours east. That’s it.

Diving? Well this is the place. Just up the road, about 45 mins. is Vortex Spring, the Cave diving Mecca of the world. Don’t want to dive in the Northern Gulf, go dive Vortex. Hey, we have jetties here. People drive here from hours away just to dive these jetties. Spearfishing here is Great (really). For all you Yankee dry suit divers, it gets cold enough here. No warm water weenies til the summer.

It does get just as hot here as it does in SFla. So don’t worry about that. But without the cool ocean breeze, we have something much much better, humidity. Comparatively you don’t have the humidity we have here. And it does get cold in the winter. This is the frozen tundra of Florida. The pine trees drop their needles all over the yard, the palms die, a real change of season. Hurricanes? Yep, our hurricanes are better here, after they cross that warm Gulf, they make those SFla canes look silly.

So all you complainers about SFla move here. Bring your money, buy condos, buy houses, drive the housing cost back up the way it was a few years ago. IN FACT, I have a house here you all would be very interested in. Remember, Panama City IS actually a part of Florida, not Lower Alabama like people think. So don’t move to South Florida, come to the paradise we call the Panhandle.

 

[Rick Inman]

Some census figures on langagues spoken in FL:

LANGUAGE_____________ _________ NUMBER______________ PERCENT
Population 5 years and over _______ 15,043,603 ____________ 100.0
Speak only English_______________ 11,569,739_____________ 76.9
Speak a language other than English 3,473,864 ______________ 23.1
Speak a language other than English 3,473,864 ______________ 23.1
Spanish or Spanish Creole_________ 2,476,528______________ 16.5
French Creole _____________________ 208,487 ______________ 1.4
French (incl. Patois, Cajun)__________ 129,118______________ 0.9
German____________________________ 89,656 ______________ 0.6
Italian_____________________________ 67,257______________ 0.4
Portuguese or Portuguese Creole______ 55,014________________0.4
Tagalog___________________________ 38,442______________ 0.3
Chinese___________________________ 35,071 ______________ 0.2
Arabic_____________________________ 32,418______________ 0.2
Vietnamese ________________________ 30,962______________ 0.2
Polish_____________________________ 24,850______________ 0.2
Greek_____________________________ 23,041 ______________ 0.2
Russian ____________________________19,729 ______________ 0.1
Other Indo-European languages________18,473 _______________ 0.1
Yiddish___________________________ 18,225_______________ 0.1
Korean___________________________ 16,702_______________ 0.1
Hebrew___________________________ 15,360 _______________0.1

 

[CaptEsteban]

" AncientDiver " pretty much sums up my idea , too. I love Fl. , but like any place, it has plenty of faults. Key West needs to have the last bridge entering it torn down !

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Hypothetically speaking, let’s say some day down the road, say 5 or so years from now, my wife and I were thinking of moving to S. Fl. and living on a boat.

And let’s say I’ve been reading all the online opinions of what it’s like to live in Fl., and am surprised how many people who live there seem to hate it.

So, what are the pros and cons of living in S, Florida? I’ve been reading a lot of cons: Too hot and wet in the summer, to crowed with transplants and tourists, too much traffic, horrific drivers, too much crime, too many bugs, too expensive, too many non-English speaking people, residents are not friendly, too much trash on the beaches, corrupt government officials... And of course the hurricane season which has people constantly wringing their hands, staring at the news in wait for the inevitable evacuation and destruction of their homes.

Ah, paradise...

And yet, so many people keep moving there and so many don’t move away?

I guess there’s some good, though. No snow to shovel, miles of beautiful beaches, warm clear water, wonderful diving, 50 miles from the Bahamas, culturally diverse, excellent dining, no show to shovel, no state income taxes, and did I mention, there is no snow to shovel?

So, for you residents, what is the good and bad of living in Fl.? Why do you stay? I’m originally from S. CA and a lot of people move there and hate it, too.

So talk me into, or out of moving to S. Florida.

I moved to South FL from the DC area about four months ago and here is my opinion:

Too hot and wet in the summer: I haven't lived here in the summer, but before I moved I was down here for 5 days at a time every month for about a year, so I've been here in the summer. Yeah it's hot, but no more than what I was used to in DC. A few times I would check the weather when I was heading home and DC would have a HIGHER percentage of humidty than FL.

to crowed with transplants and tourists: Yeah it's crowded, but not so much so that I would want to move away because of this.

too much traffic: The traffic here is a breeze compared to DC, and I drive from Broward into Miami everyday, and supposedly, Miami is where FL's "really bad" traffic is. I don't see it In my opinion slowing down to 30-40 mph for a few miles is NOT traffic. Try sitting without moving for about 15 minutes, then you move five feet, then you sit again for 15 minutes. THAT is traffic.

horrific drivers: Yeah the drivers here are the worst I've ever seen. That part does kind of suck.

too much crime: I think there might be more petty crime here, but less violent crime than other major cities. And that's just from what I've seen around Miramar and Miami. I can't speak for other parts of South FL and I don't have statistics.

too many bugs: I haven't seen that as a problem

too many non-English speaking people: There are less people here who don't speak English that I have encountered, than in Northern VA.

And I can't speak to the rest of your issues, b/c I don't have firsthand knowledge about it.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Also, this is a post I made in a city based forum over a year ago. That forum had more "I hate FL" type threads than I could count, and so I started this thread: (hopefully the links will transfer too)

Hi, my name is Emily and my family recently moved to FL and I will be moving down shortly. I have been coming to FL frequently since May because my boyfriend lives in Fort Lauderdale and I find a lot of posts on this forum fairly surprising.

I read the “why do you hate it here” thread in addition to several other disparaging threads, and I think people really need to move if they hate FL so much. I’m thinking you will quickly find that things really aren’t so bad in your little slice of paradise.

I live by/work in DC so spare me the traffic argument.

Crime…DC is always in the top five in the “murder capitol of the country” list (darn that Baltimore, always beating us out) so that is pretty silly argument from my perspective as well. Fort Lauderdale doesn’t even make the crime list at all. (United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offe...ime/index.html) Not to mention that one of the most dangerous gangs in the country (MS13) is taking over Northern Virginia. (MS13 Gang)

The rude people thing…well I was actually commenting about how much friendlier people were down there when I was down for two weeks over Christmas/New Year’s. When I went shopping at Publix, all the employees (and a few shoppers) actually said “good morning”

That would never ever happen here…ever. Believing people are rude is a subjective kind of thing, so it will be difficult to change anyone’s opinion on this.

The gripe I’ve seen on here that I hate the most is the “it’s boring and there is nothing to do here.” I truly believe if you are bored in South FL it’s because you CHOOSE to be bored and you would be unhappy anywhere. South Florida has something for EVERYONE!!

Partiers = Miami has TONS of night life if that’s what you're into, and Lauderdale has a few places too. (Miami Nightclubs - Find Nightclubs in Miami and Read Unbiased Reviews - NightGuide) (Fort Lauderdale Nightclubs - Find Nightclubs in Fort Lauderdale and Read Unbiased Reviews - NightGuide)

Drinkers but not really partiers = South FL has more bars than I can count…I don’t think this statement requires a link to back up my claim.

Relax people = The beach or sitting at the pool

Gamblers = Slot Casinos and gambling cruises (Fort Lauderdale Casinos in Fort Lauderdale FL Yellow Pages by SuperPages)

Sports fans = The Dolphins, the Marlins, Miami Heat, plus all the college teams in the area…and the best part is you don’t have to freeze your bits and pieces off just to watch a football game. I’ve been to three Dolphins games this year, including the Playoff game against the Ravens (stupid Ravens!!

) and had a great time at all three!

Travelers = Well other than the fact that you LIVE in an area that many people travel TO. You have instant access to super cheap cruises and the Caribbean, plus the same opportunity to travel anywhere in the world (no different that the rest of the country which is apparently so much better than FL) via one of the several airports in the area.

Active people = Soccer leagues, football leagues, basketball leagues, baseball leagues, swimming, golf, and cycling PLUS you have a ton of activities that most of the country can’t do like ocean kayaking, scuba diving, parasailing, beach volleyball, fishing, boating and sailing. Heck there are even ice rinks so you can play hockey! I’m very sorry you can’t ski and mountain climb in Florida…yup that means there is nothing to do in FL and it’s really boring.

Entertainment = Same as the rest of the country - movie theaters, stand up comedy (Florida Stand-Up Comedy Guide), concerts (American Airlines Arena), the Theater (The Broward Center for Performing Arts: Welcome) (http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/visit...re_theatre.asp), outdoor events year round (festivals, art shows, gardening, bbqs, etc), and TONS of restaurants all around South Florida.

History and Art = South Florida has plenty of museums and art galleries, so take your pick (||| MoAFL |||), (Fort Lauderdale Galleries | Yelp), (Miami-Dade County - Miami Art Museum), (www.mocanomi.org), (Miami Art Central), (Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science - Florida, USA. Ft Lauderdale, FL.), (Fort Lauderdale Fire Museum), (Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Art and History Museums - SoulOfAmerica), (Historical Museum of Southern Florida)

So to the people that claim Florida is oh so boring…please enlighten me. What exactly do you find so entertaining that you can’t do in South FL??

 

[DivingPrincessE]

Also, this is a post I made in a city based forum over a year ago. That forum had more "I hate FL" type threads than I could count, and so I started this thread: (hopefully the links will transfer too)

Hi, my name is Emily and my family recently moved to FL and I will be moving down shortly. I have been coming to FL frequently since May because my boyfriend lives in Fort Lauderdale and I find a lot of posts on this forum fairly surprising.

I read the “why do you hate it here” thread in addition to several other disparaging threads, and I think people really need to move if they hate FL so much. I’m thinking you will quickly find that things really aren’t so bad in your little slice of paradise.

I live by/work in DC so spare me the traffic argument.

Crime…DC is always in the top five in the “murder capitol of the country” list (darn that Baltimore, always beating us out) so that is pretty silly argument from my perspective as well. Fort Lauderdale doesn’t even make the crime list at all. (United States cities by crime rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) (http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/offe...ime/index.html) Not to mention that one of the most dangerous gangs in the country (MS13) is taking over Northern Virginia. (MS13 Gang)

The rude people thing…well I was actually commenting about how much friendlier people were down there when I was down for two weeks over Christmas/New Year’s. When I went shopping at Publix, all the employees (and a few shoppers) actually said “good morning”

That would never ever happen here…ever. Believing people are rude is a subjective kind of thing, so it will be difficult to change anyone’s opinion on this.

The gripe I’ve seen on here that I hate the most is the “it’s boring and there is nothing to do here.” I truly believe if you are bored in South FL it’s because you CHOOSE to be bored and you would be unhappy anywhere. South Florida has something for EVERYONE!!

Partiers = Miami has TONS of night life if that’s what you're into, and Lauderdale has a few places too. (Miami Nightclubs - Find Nightclubs in Miami and Read Unbiased Reviews - NightGuide) (Fort Lauderdale Nightclubs - Find Nightclubs in Fort Lauderdale and Read Unbiased Reviews - NightGuide)

Drinkers but not really partiers = South FL has more bars than I can count…I don’t think this statement requires a link to back up my claim.

Relax people = The beach or sitting at the pool

Gamblers = Slot Casinos and gambling cruises (Fort Lauderdale Casinos in Fort Lauderdale FL Yellow Pages by SuperPages)

Sports fans = The Dolphins, the Marlins, Miami Heat, plus all the college teams in the area…and the best part is you don’t have to freeze your bits and pieces off just to watch a football game. I’ve been to three Dolphins games this year, including the Playoff game against the Ravens (stupid Ravens!!

) and had a great time at all three!

Travelers = Well other than the fact that you LIVE in an area that many people travel TO. You have instant access to super cheap cruises and the Caribbean, plus the same opportunity to travel anywhere in the world (no different that the rest of the country which is apparently so much better than FL) via one of the several airports in the area.

Active people = Soccer leagues, football leagues, basketball leagues, baseball leagues, swimming, golf, and cycling PLUS you have a ton of activities that most of the country can’t do like ocean kayaking, scuba diving, parasailing, beach volleyball, fishing, boating and sailing. Heck there are even ice rinks so you can play hockey! I’m very sorry you can’t ski and mountain climb in Florida…yup that means there is nothing to do in FL and it’s really boring.

Entertainment = Same as the rest of the country - movie theaters, stand up comedy (Florida Stand-Up Comedy Guide), concerts (American Airlines Arena), the Theater (The Broward Center for Performing Arts: Welcome) (http://www.miamiandbeaches.com/visit...re_theatre.asp), outdoor events year round (festivals, art shows, gardening, bbqs, etc), and TONS of restaurants all around South Florida.

History and Art = South Florida has plenty of museums and art galleries, so take your pick (||| MoAFL |||), (Fort Lauderdale Galleries | Yelp), (Miami-Dade County - Miami Art Museum), (www.mocanomi.org), (Miami Art Central), (Fort Lauderdale Museum of Discovery and Science - Florida, USA. Ft Lauderdale, FL.), (Fort Lauderdale Fire Museum), (Miami-Ft. Lauderdale Art and History Museums - SoulOfAmerica), (Historical Museum of Southern Florida)

So to the people that claim Florida is oh so boring…please enlighten me. What exactly do you find so entertaining that you can’t do in South FL??

 

[Rick Inman]

I moved to South FL from the DC area about four months ago and here is my opinion:

Too hot and wet in the summer: I haven't lived here in the summer, but before I moved I was down here for 5 days at a time every month for about a year, so I've been here in the summer. Yeah it's hot, but no more than what I was used to in DC. A few times I would check the weather when I was heading home and DC would have a HIGHER percentage of humidty than FL.

to crowed with transplants and tourists: Yeah it's crowded, but not so much so that I would want to move away because of this.

too much traffic: The traffic here is a breeze compared to DC, and I drive from Broward into Miami everyday, and supposedly, Miami is where FL's "really bad" traffic is. I don't see it In my opinion slowing down to 30-40 mph for a few miles is NOT traffic. Try sitting without moving for about 15 minutes, then you move five feet, then you sit again for 15 minutes. THAT is traffic.

horrific drivers: Yeah the drivers here are the worst I've ever seen. That part does kind of suck.

too much crime: I think there might be more petty crime here, but less violent crime than other major cities. And that's just from what I've seen around Miramar and Miami. I can't speak for other parts of South FL and I don't have statistics.

too many bugs: I haven't seen that as a problem

too many non-English speaking people: There are less people here who don't speak English that I have encountered, than in Northern VA.

And I can't speak to the rest of your issues, b/c I don't have firsthand knowledge about it.

You sound so positive about Florida that you are obviously not a native (not that most of them are really natives).