[Pammyd]

Originally Posted by mikeandaija2009

Hi.....just popped into the forum wondering how CT life is. My wife and I moved from Manchester to Southwest Florida a year ago. We don't care for it down here at all. Look on the web and check out the weather up north, I dream of the day I can leave the house in a sweatshirt again. Happens here but not for a while. Still warm, 90,90,90,90 everyday. You get used to it but not the monotony. The weather forecast is about as boring as can be. They go 90,90,91,90,92, and then throw in an 89 degrees at the end to break up the cycle. I ran into the grocery store the other day, literally, to pick up a couple things quickly. Strange to see pumpkins and apple cider displayed in the front when I'm in shorts and the sweat is rolling of my forehead. They make an attempt to have a season change down here....doesn't work for us. People are different here, not what we are used to at home. I can go on and on. Interested to see and here how life is in CT. We are coming home but my wife can't transfer her job for another year. Stuck till then.

I have a dear friend who moved from CT to Florida over 22 years ago and she was just here for a visit. I asked her if she liked it down there and she said, "Out of the 22 years we have been in Florida, I have hated it for 20". Her husband got transferred down there for his job and they never left. She is counting the days until he retires and then they are selling their home and purchasing a mobile home that they can travel back up North in.

CT has had funky weather for about 2 wks now; especially for October. Today it is going to be 81 degrees and then by Sunday we will be in the throes of Fall big time with 56 during the day. The leaves are gorgeous now..lots of red, gold, yellow and they are falling. Everyone has pumpkins on display or a scarecrow or two and the festivals are all happening. Southington is in the midst of their Apple Harvest Festival and the Durham Fair just happened a week or so ago. It is truly Fall here except for the last two wks of warmer weather. My fun thing to do is go into the middle of a huge pumpkin field and pick that perfect pumpkin to carve and put on display and you are right. The folks here are different from folks from the southern part of the USA.

Hang tough and hopefully that transfer will come through soon. In the meantime...warm greetings from a fellow Nutmegger here in Connecticut.

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Come on, Jay. Florida has some of the world's most beautiful beaches, and crystal clear, blue water. Siesta and Longboat Key near Sarasota. Jupiter. Key West. I agree that the interior strips in the state are an eyesore and the heat is oppressive during the summer (but beautiful in Dec, Jan, Feb), but you have to give the state credit for a lot. There are many, many stunning areas in Florida.

I would second the above - there are plenty of beautiful places in Florida. I've been to both Siesta and Longboat Key, and Gulf of Mexico Drive/St. Armens Circle (Sarasota) was really beautiful.

CT is a strange place I've found: About 50% of the population likes to be outdoors, loves the warm part of the year (April through Oct), loves feeling the sun, being near/in the ocean, hiking, walking...etc. The other 50% are kind of "indoor people" they love when it gets cold outside, they prefer indoor activity, reading, sipping hot drinks in the winter, they love the fall , cloudy weather...etc. There is nothing wrong with either one, but the line is pretty sharp in CT, you like it one way or another it seems.

[JayCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Come on, Jay. Florida has some of the world's most beautiful beaches, and crystal clear, blue water. Siesta and Longboat Key near Sarasota. Jupiter. Key West. I agree that the interior strips in the state are an eyesore and the heat is oppressive during the summer (but beautiful in Dec, Jan, Feb), but you have to give the state credit for a lot. There are many, many stunning areas in Florida.

I know that but I am not a beach person and I dislike the heat and humidity. I also hate bugs, traffic and sprawl which both coasts of Florida have a lot of. This is of course my own personal opinion and others may not agree. Outside of Disney, Florida is just not for me. Jay

[wavehunter007]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I know that but I am not a beach person and I dislike the heat and humidity. I also hate bugs, traffic and sprawl which both coasts of Florida have a lot of. This is of course my own personal opinion and others may not agree. Outside of Disney, Florida is just not for me. Jay

Florida has no "heat and humidty" for about half the year (Nov - April). In fact, the winter is the "dry season" in much of Florida. Day after day the weather is sunny, dry, and mild, highs from late Nov through late March are only in the mid 70's.

"Bugs"...maybe in the woods/jungle, but I've not had a problem in built-up areas. Florida is alot more cleared in may areas than CT, I've had worse bug bites in the wet forests of CT in spring than I ever did if FL.


Traffic is an issue in "some areas"....but no worse than areas on I-95 in SW CT. Also, the roads are bigger, newer, and can handle the traffic in FL, unlike the narrow old fasioned roads like the Merrit or the two lanes of I-95.


Finally, some of us have personal preferences just as you do: We hate cold, cloudy, winters, with wet snow everywhere. It never gets cold enough for snow to stay frozon long enough in CT, so we get that sloppy, dirty, snow that only adds to the bleak winter landscape. Of course, like you, that is only a personal prefernce.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I know that but I am not a beach person and I dislike the heat and humidity. I also hate bugs, traffic and sprawl which both coasts of Florida have a lot of. This is of course my own personal opinion and others may not agree. Outside of Disney, Florida is just not for me. Jay

Heat and humidity: CT has plenty of that. And in the winter months, Florida is not all that bad.
Traffic: CT is one of the most congested states in the country. Unless you're in the immediate vicinity of a large city in FL, traffic will not be that bad.
Bugs: The only bug problem in FL is the love bugs. Other than that, there are FAAAAAAAAAAR more bugs in CT.

To each his own, but given what you said you don't like, it doesn't sound like you know Florida very well. Many of the problems you cite are just as bad, if not worse than in FL.

Don't get me wrong, I can see the negatives to Florida (chains everywhere once you go inland, poor schools, a lot of uneducated people). But I can also see the good things about it too.

[Zuriel]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

Heat and humidity: CT has plenty of that. And in the winter months, Florida is not all that bad.
Traffic: CT is one of the most congested states in the country. Unless you're in the immediate vicinity of a large city in FL, traffic will not be that bad.
Bugs: The only bug problem in FL is the love bugs. Other than that, there are FAAAAAAAAAAR more bugs in CT.

To each his own, but given what you said you don't like, it doesn't sound like you know Florida very well. Many of the problems you cite are just as bad, if not worse than in FL.

Don't get me wrong, I can see the negatives to Florida (chains everywhere once you go inland, poor schools, a lot of uneducated people). But I can also see the good things about it too.

You make some good point...except about the bugs. I recently moved back to CT in May after three years in FL. I couldn't disagree more about the bug situation. I distinctly remember video chatting with my brother this past February from my back patio and being destroyed by the bugs....yeah February. By April, it's so bad that it made me not want to spend time outside.

I've spent a lot of time outdoors since I moved back to CT. From May until now...I have never felt it was as bad as earlier this year in FL. Thank god I missed that FL summer.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Zuriel

You make some good point...except about the bugs. I recently moved back to CT in May after three years in FL. I couldn't disagree more about the bug situation. I distinctly remember video chatting with my brother this past February from my back patio and being destroyed by the bugs....yeah February. By April, it's so bad that it made me not want to spend time outside.

I've spent a lot of time outdoors since I moved back to CT. From May until now...I have never felt it was as bad as earlier this year in FL. Thank god I missed that FL summer.

Bugs are not a problem in the Sarasota coastal areas (where my family has a home). We live on the coast in Connecticut, and mosquitoes are everywhere.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

If bugs aren't a problem in Florida, why is every pool enclosed?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve

If bugs aren't a problem in Florida, why is every pool enclosed?

To quote a few Floridians:

Originally Posted by BahamaBreeze

In South Fl you will find more pools without screens than in Central Fl.
One reason is that there is a seabreeze on the coast that helps, in the summer it also really helps with the heat. Also, the more close to nature that a house sits on, the more "wooded" "reserve" etc then of course the more frogs, creepy crawlers and whatnot you will find in or around "your" pool.

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

Screens also reduce the amount of wind-blown debris that lands in a pool. Our pool is surrounded by Royal Poincienas, Beshovia, and Black Olive trees. Keeping it clean was impossible until I started using pool robots. Unfortunately, the landscaping would make adding a screen enclosure difficult, and they don't last though anything more than a minor hurricane anyway.

Originally Posted by Songbird42

They also cut the glare of the sun to some degree, you will still get a burn if your in the water. Also some people have cutouts in the corner of there
lani's where they plant some palm trees or whatever, worst thing you can do
a good wind or hurricane and look whats in your pool!!!! I've even had snakes
crawl under the doors of my screen enclosure and wiggle all around the screen enclosure. I think its also a HOI thing for liability. You don't want strangers swimming in your pool.

[Wilton2ParkAve]

Total spin. Especially when they are marketed and sold for "keeping bugs out". Fences also do a pretty good job at keeping "strangers out". Also for the record, screens actually retain heat so we can toss the first rebuttal out.