[doggiebus]

Coastal California truely has the best year round weather in the country, I agree.

[121804]

I have never heard a bad thing about SF area except for RE prices, but it seems SF has always been pricey when it comes to buying a home.

Spent some time in San Diego. The temp rarely fluctuated b/w 60-80 for 6months. It was almost too perfect

It seems in SF & SD people can get both the sun & the snow b/c of the mountains. No wonder RE is the way it is there!

[Floridabound09]

Originally Posted by 121804

I did graduate. I also earned my MaEd as did my husband. I have also served my country as a commissioned officer in the US Army.

I spent last winter in NE OH with family as my husband was commanding a tank company in NW Baghdad, watching friends & peers get blown up, and he himself get injured. I was in OH for we have a child to raise. In January, it was warm enough to take a 6 week old out for a stroller ride. As the case in Feb & March. I know this as this was the way I stayed sane as I got 7 different phone calls in a 8 week period of men who were killed in my husband's company. I also was always outside last winter for there were times my husband could not call for weeks at time due to missions. It was my saving grace being in Ohio.

We are here due to job circumstances. We did not want to come here but it was in our temporary best interest due to the exceptionally good job my husband was offered after his commitment with the Army was up. My husband was home & had less than 50 days to assimilate back into US culture, finish his commitment with the Army & find a job to support his family. I am damn proud of him. I supported him regardless of this being the destination. NOW we have the chance to move on to better things & after what we have gone through, we deserve it. Especially my husband.

We live in SW FL. Do some research on the place. Spend more than a vacation in Fort Myers. Try going to Edison Mall. Even better, take your kid to a Red Sox spring training game & take a look around at the area...yeah....paradise.... Look at some posts just recently about Naples. I am VERY specific in the area I am speaking in regards to FL. I not do feel that all of FL is a pit the way SW FL is.

I do know NE OH got socked with a nasty snowstorm this past Easter in April. I do know that there were some cold spells. I am a big enough person to admit that it is not "perfect" up there nor is it "perfect" in FL.

Please remember you wrote a specific post on how you are retiring here. You are not raising a young family in SW FL. Two COMPLETELY different things. Yet you still insist on cramming it down people's throats that if they only worked they could live the life of luxury here. You are not reading what people are saying. Have you EVER had to earn a living in Florida. NO. So, your assumption is just that and an irresponsible one.

I have stated to you congrats on being able to live the life you want to in a state you want to.

Just take into consideration your opinion is just that...an opininon.

Others have opinions also. Their opinions are just as valid as yours.

It gets cold in Ohio. It gets hot in Florida.

I will be raising a child in Florida....I am moving to Fla with a 9 year old! She will be 11 when I am able to retire.
( I am not retiring from work, I am retiring from a job !!! )

Been to all the spring training sites in Fla at least once and many of them allot. Been to the stadium in Ft Myers many times and got a ball signed and tossed to me from Nolan Ryan many years ago there!!
Allot of good memories going to the game for years. Love the old stadiums.

Sure people are allowed to have opinions, but someone who has not spent any time in the cold should not be able to compare hot vs cold. For me, I have spent ALLOT of time in both and like the heat far better.

By the way, we had out kids late because we worked our 20 and 30 life away, not only worked a job but ran a business full time 20+ employees for 13years, plus finished more education to be able to make more money while doing all that.

I have worked 50 years in 30, enjoy the ocean, the heat and like your husband deserve to relax and be in the place that I want to be while making sure my family gets to enjoy what they like, ocean, heat and no more cold or snow.

All I can post is what I know and I know from being in Fla allot that the people I speak with tell me people are so laid back and lazy they cannot keep workers, as posted before they want earn big bucks and have no skills doing it. They want to make there own hours and expect top pay for having no education or skills.
I get told by a Corp Exec all the time in Orlando that his company cannot keep workers because they WILL NOT even take on FREE schooling to learn a trade or even get an assoc degree.
Its not Florida that causes people to not make any money, its the people who dont want to put in the effort or think they should make 15.00 sitting on there butts doing nothing.
As I stated before Florida has more opportunities to make money then the huge majority of other states.
I firmly believe I could move to Fla and find a job within a day, have turned down many already for when I do retire, but also know that I could find a decent wage job or start a business without much trouble.

I get upset that people blame the state of Florida for their problems when the problem is right in front of them.
I do see the other side, but do also know firsthand that most of the people who bash Florida are the problem, not the state.

Maybe you can answer this, why is it people who hate Florida and want to leave Florida post all the time how bad it is but yet they are still there? For me, if it was that bad I would make some changes.

If people can move to Florida from Ohio in a junk car and 200.00 bucks and make it ( I have tons of those stories ) then why cant they leave Florida with the same?

I commend and thank your husband on service to our country.

[121804]

Originally Posted by Floridabound09

Maybe you can answer this, why is it people who hate Florida and want to leave Florida post all the time how bad it is but yet they are still there? For me, if it was that bad I would make some changes.

See, Floridabound, you are coming into the state with the knowledge, skills, & some monetary backing. A lot of people come here without the experience you have due to your job, the time you have put into your job & confidence. Many are just hoping this will be it b/c it is sunny & warm. Maybe they come here just hoping and it doesn't work out.

I come from the philosophy of never quitting a job until you have new job. Think it is easier to look for a job when you have a job. Hence, we stay here until my husband gets adequate employment where we want to live. Luckily, this is turning out to be the case.

For some, there is the scary reality that bills have to be paid. Maybe they can't find employment elsewhere. Maybe they don't have the nerve to uproot their families. What if they don't have a strong skill set? They could be stuck in a rut & not happy. They are voicing their unhappiness. Maybe some are contractual held to their jobs. Who knows. I am not trying to make excuses nor state what others are doing; but maybe what I said above could hold true for some. And let's be honest: some like to complain for the sake of complaining.

The two main employers of SW FL are construction & low paying service related jobs. The construction jobs are starting to be lost in boatloads. The average cost of a home in SW FL has got to be in the area of $200-$225k if not higher. Please tell me how someone making $8/hr or less than $50k a year can afford a home & upkeep of a home with that salary. They can't nor should they even be taking out a mortgage.

There is no professional industry whatsoever in SW FL. If one is a lawyer or doctor, great. And there is also little to no higher education to be found remotely nearby. [FGCU is struggling to stay afloat & their nursing program just got put on probation]. There are very few museums or cultural activities. To use Sanibel for every activity gets old after awhile. A 2yr old doesn't last long at an outdoor mall [there are 3 very nice outdoor malls in Lee County]. Collier County is being investigated for changing test scores. Charlotte County has two high schools rated "C". I don't find the crime to be as insane as some make it out to be. And then there is Cape Coral. That is a whole other story. But this place is a mess. And it is sad, very sad to see. Maybe I am angry b/c we were hoping, somehow, this place would work out. My husband is blessed to have an excellent job. I get to be a stay at home mom. We are lucky. Moving here was not the #1 choice, but we also had some hope it would work.

We are making changes b/c we are in a position to do so. It will not be easy, but we are doing it.

And just so you know, it has not been easy on me being an OSU grad. We were stationed in TX when OSU lost to TX and we were in FL when OSU lost to FL.
While any huge undergrad school can get knocked for its academics, it is hard not to admit that OSU has some excellent grad schools. In particular the law school & medical school.
And when I was in college, Ohio was the worst place to live in my opinion. I envied anyone who lived in San Diego or LA. For some, life comes full circle.

AND TO GET THIS POST BACK ON TRACK>>>FLORIDA IS REALLY HOT IN AUGUST. Heat index of over 100 every day gets wearing. It is not fun by any means.

[sahara]

Isnt it about time for FPL to start raising the rates again, they can always claim too many people are using their A/C.

[lorriem]

Everyone in FL should feel lucky that we do not have rolling blackouts. In CA when to much power was used we would have by zone a blackout for a few hours. We were told in advance but it was still no fun.

[INeedAChange]

that may be part of Florida's future, unfornately...
it still won't stop me from moving there though

Originally Posted by lorriem

Everyone in FL should feel lucky that we do not have rolling blackouts. In CA when to much power was used we would have by zone a blackout for a few hours. We were told in advance but it was still no fun.