Why do people confuse lack of topography with lack of scenery when it comes to Florida? (Miami: house, to buy)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why do people confuse lack of topography with lack of scenery when it comes to Florida?
There seems to be a school of thought that I've come across on these boards that Florida is somehow lacking in natural scenery.
Now, show anyone one of Florida's beaches (preferably the more isolated ones) or the Florida Keys and I think such an argument could be easily debunked. But when I see some people criticize Florida as opposed to places such as Western North Carolina or Colorado or California, I think the argument is based on the general lack of topography (i.e. hills or mountains) that is prevelant in Florida.
I think that too is a faulty argument.
Yes, I won't deny that mountains are great to look at, and indeed are stunning at times. But hills and mountains are not the only thing to be considered when it comes to natural scenery.
I look at things such as slash pine forests (like Ocala National), the Everglades, the Florida scrub, shaded meandering rivers, or just about any of the natural springs in North or Central Florida and I find them truly stunning. I think Ichetucknee Springs or some of the other springs in that area are just as beautiful to me as the Grand Canyon or Rocky Mountains, albiet in a totally different way.
Plus I don't think Florida's scenery ends at the land. I love how the landscape interacts with the blue skies and the clouds.....I just don't see other states with as beautiful skies as Florida. The cumulous clouds that billow in the summer are in a sense mountains of their own right, ever changing.
The problem with Florida's scenery is that it isn't necessarily in your face like those of other states. Mountains are too easy, too unavoidable. But to enjoy Florida's scenery, sometimes you have to get off the road and up close into the nature itself.
Furthermore, believe it or not, Florida actually does have some places where there is decent topography. Think the northern portions of the Panhandle, or the areas around Clermont, north of Orlando.
I honestly think non-Floridians who complain about the lack of natural scenery in Florida probably came here to visit and never set foot outside either the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area or the amalgamated I-Drive mess south of Orlando, and base their opinions solely on those areas.
FL's actually pretty diverse in this area. Almost 75% of the population lives on the coast, so naturally there's going to be a lot of commercialism. But you go outside of these areas, and there is a lot more to see.
You got to admit, most of the state has zero scenery. I have lived here my whole life and seen everything. Yea, the coasts are cool and diverse in their own (sandy beaches, swampland, rocky, marshy, mangroves, etc), river ecosystems and lakes have their charm, but the vast majority of the interior of the state just sucks. Pine tree after pine tree gets old. In some of the "rolling hilly" areas around Ocala and up the I-75 corridoor between the Dade City exit and Gainesville are kind of neat. But when you have travelled as extensively as I have outside of the state, you come back and see what is lacking...
You got to admit, most of the state has zero scenery. I have lived here my whole life and seen everything. Yea, the coasts are cool and diverse in their own (sandy beaches, swampland, rocky, marshy, mangroves, etc), river ecosystems and lakes have their charm, but the vast majority of the interior of the state just sucks. Pine tree after pine tree gets old. In some of the "rolling hilly" areas around Ocala and up the I-75 corridoor between the Dade City exit and Gainesville are kind of neat. But when you have travelled as extensively as I have outside of the state, you come back and see what is lacking...
Maybe, but there are plenty of states that have neither mountains NOR beaches, let alone the unique fauna and flora to be found here so I got to say scenery ranks pretty high in my book. Not everywhere in the state of course.......
I am from a state that had both beaches, seaports, mountains, pine barens, lakes, glaciers, and almost everything but a desert. We had fall foliage (none in SOUTH Florida) and snow. With all that you can still golf, fish, boat, swim, etc., just like Florida, but just not year round. The other times of the year you could do other things. How about sledding or skiing down a mountain? Can't do that in Florida. Hell when it comes to that, I suppose you could even say CALIFORNIA has it all over Florida too. No shoveling snow, BUT you can have your beach lifesyle year round there too, and if you want to skii down a mountain, you can too! If that is not the case, WHY are there so many commericals of VISIT CALIFORNIA in Florida??????
If I had to pick a place where my criteria was warm weather and just not shoveling snow, I would pick California over Florida any day.
I am from a state that had both beaches, seaports, mountains, pine barens, lakes, glaciers, and almost everything but a desert. We had fall foliage (none in SOUTH Florida) and snow. With all that you can still golf, fish, boat, swim, etc., just like Florida, but just not year round. The other times of the year you could do other things. How about sledding or skiing down a mountain? Can't do that in Florida. Hell when it comes to that, I suppose you could even say CALIFORNIA has it all over Florida too. No shoveling snow, BUT you can have your beach lifesyle year round there too, and if you want to skii down a mountain, you can too! If that is not the case, WHY are there so many commericals of VISIT CALIFORNIA in Florida??????
If I had to pick a place where my criteria was warm weather and just not shoveling snow, I would pick California over Florida any day.
If Florida was as large geographically as California (as in, extended up the east coast into the foothills and Appalachians), this would not be an issue. People act as if they are trapped in the state or something. Want to see mountains, take a trip to Georgia.
The California beach lifestyle requires a wetsuit.
There isn't a single beach listed on the chart above that I would consider going into but for maybe one month a year. The water temperatures in the summer are less than the water temps in South Florida in the WINTER (which I don't dare go into).
California is beautiful, but Florida is as well in its own way. From the everglades, to pine scrub, coastal highlands, the hills and mossy oaks of the panhandle, and the coral reefs right offshore.
I am from a state that had both beaches, seaports, mountains, pine barens, lakes, glaciers, and almost everything but a desert. We had fall foliage (none in SOUTH Florida) and snow. With all that you can still golf, fish, boat, swim, etc., just like Florida, but just not year round. The other times of the year you could do other things. How about sledding or skiing down a mountain? Can't do that in Florida. Hell when it comes to that, I suppose you could even say CALIFORNIA has it all over Florida too. No shoveling snow, BUT you can have your beach lifesyle year round there too, and if you want to skii down a mountain, you can too! If that is not the case, WHY are there so many commericals of VISIT CALIFORNIA in Florida??????
If I had to pick a place where my criteria was warm weather and just not shoveling snow, I would pick California over Florida any day.
Nice place to visit, but would rather be where my children are and I can also have everything else I want. Want to buy my house in Florida for more than $150,000?
There seems to be a school of thought that I've come across on these boards that Florida is somehow lacking in natural scenery.
Now, show anyone one of Florida's beaches (preferably the more isolated ones) or the Florida Keys and I think such an argument could be easily debunked. But when I see some people criticize Florida as opposed to places such as Western North Carolina or Colorado or California, I think the argument is based on the general lack of topography (i.e. hills or mountains) that is prevelant in Florida.
I think that too is a faulty argument.
Yes, I won't deny that mountains are great to look at, and indeed are stunning at times. But hills and mountains are not the only thing to be considered when it comes to natural scenery.
I look at things such as slash pine forests (like Ocala National), the Everglades, the Florida scrub, shaded meandering rivers, or just about any of the natural springs in North or Central Florida and I find them truly stunning. I think Ichetucknee Springs or some of the other springs in that area are just as beautiful to me as the Grand Canyon or Rocky Mountains, albiet in a totally different way.
Plus I don't think Florida's scenery ends at the land. I love how the landscape interacts with the blue skies and the clouds.....I just don't see other states with as beautiful skies as Florida. The cumulous clouds that billow in the summer are in a sense mountains of their own right, ever changing.
The problem with Florida's scenery is that it isn't necessarily in your face like those of other states. Mountains are too easy, too unavoidable. But to enjoy Florida's scenery, sometimes you have to get off the road and up close into the nature itself.
Furthermore, believe it or not, Florida actually does have some places where there is decent topography. Think the northern portions of the Panhandle, or the areas around Clermont, north of Orlando.
I honestly think non-Floridians who complain about the lack of natural scenery in Florida probably came here to visit and never set foot outside either the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area or the amalgamated I-Drive mess south of Orlando, and base their opinions solely on those areas.
I remember when I visited a friend of mine who had lived in Florida for over 15 yrs and I was just in awe with the beauty surrounding me. The greenery, cleanliness, palm trees, beautiful weather, etc...I was so in my element! She on the other hand, never took the time to enjoy the things that an outsider such as myself did and lacked.
I guess when you have certain things at your disposal day in and day out, you tend to overlook what you are blessed in having.
I've been on the Florida forum for quite awhile and I haven't seen a lot of complaints about Florida in the "looks" department. Yes, a couple of people jumped right out of the woodwork when the thread started but that doesn't seem to be the chief complaint about the state. It certainly wasn't mine.
I come from quaint New England and live in beautiful East Tennessee but I thought Florida was beautiful in its own way. Oddly enough, I like the interior probably more than the overdeveloped coastline even more. Granted, when I first moved from Orlando to Fort Myers I was dismayed at how darn flat southwest Florida is but it is still pretty.
I like the unspoiled areas such as Everglades City the best, the places where the masses haven't been able to pave it over and the trailer parks and gated "communities" don't reign supreme. Florida's saving grace is that it's massive and the housing boom busted before too much damage was done. That seems to be its saving grace time and time again. Just when the stampede begins something goes bust. One day, though, they will probably run the entire state into the ground.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $53,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 1.5 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
