[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

There also has to be a reason for leaving New England in the first place, but we never see that reason posted. Only the reasons for going back.

HOLY CRAP!!!!! I told you why I left NE back in 1994, but you must have a very short memory. Look it up... THERE is my rebuttal on that comment on why people left NE. It wasn't because i was unhappy there to make it clear, tired of twisted words...

[Ken E]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Have a lobstah roll for me, homey.

Headed over that way again today for a lobstsh feed. Life is good.

[kiggy]

My head is firmly on my shoulders where it belongs. I've lived in many different places in the US -- born in Chicago, then in Mississippi on the Gulf coast, then in Gloucester, Ma, and then in New Hampshire. With each move I knew exactly what the good points/bad points of each place. I appreciated each place for what it was, not what it's supposed to be. I view SW Florida the same lplace. I knew it would be broiling hot in the summer, so instead of moving there full time, we'll go 6 and 6. I didn't complain non stop that Florida was not New Hampshire. If someone transfers there because of family illness or for a job, that's a different story. However, if you go there and impulsively, with head stuck firmly in your butt, and move down there, then spend most of the time complaining that it's something other than foolish expectations, you deserve what you get. That's called being an accountable adult, people.

[ognend]

Originally Posted by td1026

So many people on this forum say "I can't wait to go back to NY/NJ/PA/MI/NH/OH to enjoy all the great things they have to offer". What exactly do these places or any others offer that Florida does not? It confuses me. Many people act like these places are safer or cleaner or less of a hell than Florida, some are, but most cities in the NE are hellholes compared to Florida's cities. A girl I knew once told me that NJ's cities are "less ghetto" than Florida's. I almost died laughing! Makes me wonder what rose colored glasses these people are looking through. Your opinions please!

I was uneducated about Florida, had not really seen much of it even though I had spent 5 years living in So FL.

There are at least two Floridas - the coastline and inland. The cultures are very different. A historic perspective might help here, the inland was a place where cracker cattle was raised, free range was the law etc. Some of it is lack of advertising - Florida prides itself on Disney and the coastline but we have a lot of parks all over the state featuring a lot of things people don't know about. Did you know that Florida had the first cattle ranches in the country? That original cowboys (crackers) cowboyed here first, not the West? Sure, John Wayne never made a movie herding cattle down to a port in South Florida to be shipped to Cuba (which was a huge business) but the first cattle drives occurred here, not in Texas or Oklahoma. A lot of that culture is lost now but people inland try to preserve it! There is the Florida cracker horse, a breed that is close to extinction, they were used to work cracker cattle which are smaller than today's cattle but much more resilient to parasites and hunger. Anyways, did you know that the country's largest ranch is in Florida? That's right - 300,000 acres of it!

The other part of Florida is the coastline - it has been under intense pressure from newcomers from all over - largely the coastline has been destroyed by development and with it the Old Florida way of life. Not that the coastline was never a playground for the rich .

With all of the above said, most people have the problem with the life along the coastline since they don't really venture to see the inland. There is intense pressure on the coastline, too many people concentrated in a finite area of space. The rich have their pockets, the poor have their pockets and increasingly the poor are pushed inland. But, they are still here. A lot of rich folks treat this place as a playground for six months of the year. When you treat it as such (and not as your home or community), it is easy to mistreat it or not care for it.

A lot of people come here with improper expectations. The other day someone said (on the West Palm Beach forum) that they wanted to move to Palm beach but what do they do about the Sun? Well, hmmmm... let's see, you are moving to the sunniest place in the country but your first question is how to avoid the Sun... Or, people who whine about the humidity, the rain, the heat etc. Duh!!! You are in FLORIDA. Once you have a basic problem with things like the Sun or the heat you start noticing other things, things that would not bother you otherwise. Like the driving. Or the crime... or....

Point is, every state has its problems. It's not like Missouri doesn't have them. Or Jersey or Massachusetts. You could not pay me any money to live up there but then again I don't know anything about those places - my decision not to live there comes probably from IGNORANCE.

OD

[hiknapster]

Authentic Florida. The one not destroyed by transplants and a bulldozer. That's the one I love.

There should be a certain amount of development, of moving forward. But the transiency of the coasts - and some inland areas - where people come down for awhile then leave, never truly caring about the state, is the part I hate.

Either way, bravo.

So few people understand Florida or really care.

Originally Posted by ognend

I was uneducated about Florida, had not really seen much of it even though I had spent 5 years living in So FL.

There are at least two Floridas - the coastline and inland. The cultures are very different. A historic perspective might help here, the inland was a place where cracker cattle was raised, free range was the law etc. Some of it is lack of advertising - Florida prides itself on Disney and the coastline but we have a lot of parks all over the state featuring a lot of things people don't know about. Did you know that Florida had the first cattle ranches in the country? That original cowboys (crackers) cowboyed here first, not the West? Sure, John Wayne never made a movie herding cattle down to a port in South Florida to be shipped to Cuba (which was a huge business) but the first cattle drives occurred here, not in Texas or Oklahoma. A lot of that culture is lost now but people inland try to preserve it! There is the Florida cracker horse, a breed that is close to extinction, they were used to work cracker cattle which are smaller than today's cattle but much more resilient to parasites and hunger. Anyways, did you know that the country's largest ranch is in Florida? That's right - 300,000 acres of it!

The other part of Florida is the coastline - it has been under intense pressure from newcomers from all over - largely the coastline has been destroyed by development and with it the Old Florida way of life. Not that the coastline was never a playground for the rich .

With all of the above said, most people have the problem with the life along the coastline since they don't really venture to see the inland. There is intense pressure on the coastline, too many people concentrated in a finite area of space. The rich have their pockets, the poor have their pockets and increasingly the poor are pushed inland. But, they are still here. A lot of rich folks treat this place as a playground for six months of the year. When you treat it as such (and not as your home or community), it is easy to mistreat it or not care for it.

A lot of people come here with improper expectations. The other day someone said (on the West Palm Beach forum) that they wanted to move to Palm beach but what do they do about the Sun? Well, hmmmm... let's see, you are moving to the sunniest place in the country but your first question is how to avoid the Sun... Or, people who whine about the humidity, the rain, the heat etc. Duh!!! You are in FLORIDA. Once you have a basic problem with things like the Sun or the heat you start noticing other things, things that would not bother you otherwise. Like the driving. Or the crime... or....

Point is, every state has its problems. It's not like Missouri doesn't have them. Or Jersey or Massachusetts. You could not pay me any money to live up there but then again I don't know anything about those places - my decision not to live there comes probably from IGNORANCE.

OD

[justNancy]

This might be one reason people leave Florida. Figures from the Dept of Labor.

[URL="http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm"]Unemployment Rates for States[/URL]

Florida is #48 out of 51 (50 states and Wash DC)

[hashbrown]

Originally Posted by justNancy

This might be one reason people leave Florida. Figures from the Dept of Labor.

Unemployment Rates for States

Florida is #48 out of 51 (50 states and Wash DC)

At least I don't have to shovel it.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Authentic Florida. The one not destroyed by transplants and a bulldozer. That's the one I love.

There should be a certain amount of development, of moving forward. But the transiency of the coasts - and some inland areas - where people come down for awhile then leave, never truly caring about the state, is the part I hate.

Either way, bravo.

So few people understand Florida or really care.

I agree, but the old Florida lifestyle isn't for everyone. I remember driving along 41 and only seeing cows grazing where there are now strip malls. However, business development generates money for the state and creates jobs. So I'm really ambivalent about it.

I feel the same way about growth as I do about pest control. (Sounds strange, but I'm serious.) On the one hand, if people treat their lawns and homes, they won't have palmetto bugs, spiders, ants and other creepy crawlers. If they use fertilizer and regular lawn care, the lawns are green and manicured. On the other hand, by using pesticides and fertilizer, we are destroying the natural order of things. Lizards, birds, frogs, armadillos and other creatures feed off of insects. Everyone cries that red tide is "natural." But, to me, the frequency of harmful algae blooms over the past decade is only natural if fertilizer runoff is natural too.

Pooping is also natural, but when beaches are closed because of fecal matter and high bacteria levels in the water, then something is unnaturally wrong.

I also wonder every time those mosquito planes fly overhead, what kind of poison they're dropping on us. Scientists have reported the devastating effect mosquito control has on honey bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.

Well, I'm getting a little off-topic, but if I were a Florida native, I'd be very sad about trading the natural beauty of the land to sprawl.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by hashbrown

At least I don't have to shovel it.

Yeah, you do have to shovel stuff here, but it isn't snow....

[ognend]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I agree, but the old Florida lifestyle isn't for everyone. I remember driving along 41 and only seeing cows grazing where there are now strip malls. However, business development generates money for the state and creates jobs. So I'm really ambivalent about it.

I feel the same way about growth as I do about pest control. (Sounds strange, but I'm serious.) On the one hand, if people treat their lawns and homes, they won't have palmetto bugs, spiders, ants and other creepy crawlers. If they use fertilizer and regular lawn care, the lawns are green and manicured. On the other hand, by using pesticides and fertilizer, we are destroying the natural order of things. Lizards, birds, frogs, armadillos and other creatures feed off of insects. Everyone cries that red tide is "natural." But, to me, the frequency of harmful algae blooms over the past decade is only natural if fertilizer runoff is natural too.

Pooping is also natural, but when beaches are closed because of fecal matter and high bacteria levels in the water, then something is unnaturally wrong.

I also wonder every time those mosquito planes fly overhead, what kind of poison they're dropping on us. Scientists have reported the devastating effect mosquito control has on honey bees, butterflies and other pollinating insects.

Well, I'm getting a little off-topic, but if I were a Florida native, I'd be very sad about trading the natural beauty of the land to sprawl.

Manicured lawns are a recent invention (and a bad one at that).