[LauraB]

Originally Posted by cflmmo

Hi daysysforme - I've lived in Florida most of my life, but recently visited Southern California and LOVED IT!

I know I only visited California as opposed to just living there, but I can tell you a few differences I noticed:

1. Florida is very diverse and some areas are old and dirty while other ones are very clean. I live in Central Florida (Orlando area) and overall is extremely clean compared to LA. I've never seen street signs with graffiti before until I visited California :-)

2. Again, Florida is very diverse and some areas like Brevard County (East of Orlando) were recently listed as having top air quality - and Tampa Bay (West of Orlando - Gulf of Mexico) has one of the worst.

3. People are friendlier in California (believe it or not). The further South you drive, the more rude they get. People in the Ft. Lauderdale area are the worst. I hate going there but love the shopping. But the store clerks are rude and treat customers like crap. That is usually not the case in Orlando.

4. People drive better in California. Be prepared to have other cars "pushing" you off the roads, road rage, driver's don't use signal lights to make turns or cut in front of you, tourists stop in the middle of the freeway and drive on reverse RIGHT ON THE FREEWAY if they skipped their exit (even though they can always take the next exit - go under the overpass and jump back at the freeway again). We are known as the "headless driver's State" :-)

5. Food at the grocery stores here is a lot cheaper. I stayed in Torrance and spend almost $70 in groceries for ONE meal for 4. I don't know how you guys can eat there! It was cheaper to eat out every day than cooking...

6. Florida is flat, isolated, not much to do but the same - no mountains, etc.

7. If you are not used to Humidity and bugs you will HEAT IT here

8. No personal income tax :-)

9. Lots of diversity - I mean it. Hispanics living here are not all from Mexico as opposed to California. They are from all over America! When I visited California I noticed most Hispanics where Mexican and I found it kind of weird because here in Florida is not like that at all.

10. Our beaches are AWESOME! I was very disappointed with Southern California beaches.

Which part of California are you from? What exactly are you looking for?

Hmm actually it's not always easy to just "leap" onto a freeway or take the next exit, because 90% of it is toll, and when I first got to FL we had no change pulled up to a toll booth that's supposed to offer change and they rudely told me i was screwed and i had to drive through and recieve a fine since I couldn't reverse down the entire 417.

Other than that I agree most heartdly

[LauraB]

I moved to FL from CA and hate it, but 99% of the FL forum is right there with me (mostly NY, east coasters though).

The only good thing is watching the sexy men dressed as the "magi" at The Mummy Ride till I proceed to wait 45 mins in line.

But on a serious note, i'm not from So Cal but it seems to be just as pricey maybe a little less, insurance is frightening, if you have (there were a few others) a license from Oregon, they make you do all kinds of funky tests because they don't honor it, taxes are strange, the way of life here is VERY different.

One post was VERY CORRECT about DIVERSITY!

You have to be bi-lingual to have a job over 3.00 an hour, the pay table is DISGUSTING compared to CA and if you read most of the forums it's self explanitary about people trying to get out but now that they live here they can't.

Make sure you get a solarium the bugs are quite scary, and unless you lived towards the desert regions be prepared for maximum heat.

But in the end we will probably be moving back to CA we came here to get away from the lifestyle there, and moved into it 10x worse at least in CA they offer a bit more pay for being bi-lingual but it usually wasn't a requirement.

Healthcare is not the same, be prepared for a time warp back in time.
It was a SERIOUS culture clash to see the healthcare differences between here and CA.

Hope this helps, not trying to be rude to FL, just being honest.

[radfly]

Originally Posted by daisysforme

Wondering if anyone out there has left California to live in Florida? How much of a difference is it? Is it cleaner, fresher, better air quality, people friendly just wondering?

Hello I moved here from Sonora CA. in Oct. I was in the sierras and just loved it as far as the seenery. I am now in Riverview Fl. people are nice and it is much cheaper housing here. There are no state income tax here but the property taxes and auto insurance are over double. The wages are less than half of CA. and seems at this time harder to find full time work. I am currently working two part time jobs. Overall I am more happy here in Fl. Ca. just became to expensive and seemed to be very stressfull to me. The people here seem much friendlier but drive like idiots. Ca. drivers are much better. As much as I loved the mountains in Ca. I dont think I would ever return to live.

[Floridamex]

Originally Posted by radfly

Hello I moved here from Sonora CA. in Oct. I was in the sierras and just loved it as far as the seenery. I am now in Riverview Fl. people are nice and it is much cheaper housing here. There are no state income tax here but the property taxes and auto insurance are over double. The wages are less than half of CA. and seems at this time harder to find full time work. I am currently working two part time jobs. Overall I am more happy here in Fl. Ca. just became to expensive and seemed to be very stressfull to me. The people here seem much friendlier but drive like idiots. Ca. drivers are much better. As much as I loved the mountains in Ca. I dont think I would ever return to live.

There are mountains in GA.SC.NC., why do all the people come to Florida?

[Need_affordable_home]

Florida is cheaper but we have insane hurricane insurance and property taxes are pretty high too. Jobs pay alot less in FL than CA, id make sure of this before making the move! What pays $100k in CA may pay only like $50k to $70k in FL! Youll have hurricanes to deal with, we get them every year while earthquakes are rare in CA. Some people say FL is becomming like CA, if you dont like CA you wont like FL either.

[cee]

i think the biggest misnomer of california is the diversity.. sure, it's diverse, but i have never seen such modern day segregation in my life.

[dennismpat]

I'm a Californian who has lived in Orlando before, as a kid a LONG time ago. I come to this forum to see how things have changed in the past 35 years, and boy, have they ever!

The pace of life in Florida is slower than in California, that's for sure. People are friendlier, and you can actually get to know your neighbors. From reading the threads here, it seems that it's cheaper to live there, but homeowners insurance has gone way up due to recent hurricanes (you'll be trading in unpredictable earthquakes here for predictable hurricanes there). Pay for comparable jobs is less as well.

Be prepared for all the various critters that fly and crawl over there (there's a thread about the Florida bugs, which is both informative and entertaining ). Also, coming from California and not being used to humidity, be prepared for it in Florida, along with summertime thunderstorms almost daily, whereas here in California most of our rain falls during the winter.

I wish you and your family all the best! Keep us posted on how you're settling in.

[lacaligirl]

My family moved to the Sarasota/Bradenton area in September from Los Angeles. I just found this site and have read all the good and bad things about this place.

Here are my good and bad things.

1. The housing market in California is out of sight. We moved from a 1,400 square foot townhouse to a 3,600 square foot house with a front and back yard for $50,000.00 more than what our townhouse in L.A. sold for. You can get more for your money here.

2. The schools in Florida are worse than L.A.'s and that's hard to believe. We ended up putting our children in private school.

3. You can breathe! The air is so much cleaner here. And quiet. I don't hear the loud L.A. noise. And much much cleaner than L.A. I haven't seen alot of trash lying around on the streets.

4. People can't drive. I really found that hard to believe and I'm glad that someone else wrote that also. I have seen more accidents here since I moved than I ever did in L.A. And it's not because of the little old ladies with blue hair that I had heard about. It's everyone, young and old. I think they must teach tailgating in high school. I would rather sit on the 405 during rush hour traffic then drive around here.

5. With that said, traffic is nothing compared to L.A.! So that's also a good point. You can get places and not have to worry about what time you need to leave so you will not get stuck in rush hour traffic.

6. People are more family oriented here than what I was use to in L.A. You see more families doing activities together.

7. The weather has been hard to get used too. The humidity kills me but I am sure I will work that out in time. Everything is backwards here, weather wise. It's rains in the summer here, where in California it's in the winter. It's greener in the summer than winter (reverse of California).

8. I read where some people said the crime was bad. I can't really say much on that because crime is low compared to L.A. It's nice where we live. I feel safe with my children outside playing and I even walk the dog at night. I would never do that in L.A.!

9. Insurance is running us the same here as in L.A. We really thought our car insurance would be lower but it's not. We have flood insurance but that is almost like having earthquake insurance.

10. Hurricanes. I know people from here will say that they would rather have hurricanes than earthquake but not me. At least you don't have to wait for days to see if a hurricane is going to land in your area or not. An earthquake comes and goes. Doesn't last for days. Thank God we didn't have any problems this hurricane season.

11. Food is cheaper here. You can go to a nice restaurant and not worry about paying big bucks for food that is so small you wonder where it is on the plate!! Groceries are cheaper also. We get more for your money here.

12. Gas is cheaper!! Way cheaper!!!!!!!!

13. I'm looking for a part time job and the pay here is alot lower. Of course the area is smaller than L.A. so the job market isn't as big either.

14. I really don't think people are nicer here. I think they look at you as an outsider. And snowbirds are really treated harm from all the editiorials I see in the paper. I think Californians are more opened minded and willing to accept you for whom you are.

15. I hear people speaking ENGLISH! I will not even go into that detail as you can imagine living in L.A., which I have called Latin America on a few occasions.

Overall, we have a much better life than in L.A. But to be honest, I really miss the fast pace lifestyle! It's so much slower here. There are so many more opportunities and things to do in L.A. But I'm sure in time I will get use to it all. You just have to make the best of what God gives you. Good luck in your move.

[dennismpat]

Originally Posted by lacaligirl

10. Hurricanes. I know people from here will say that they would rather have hurricanes than earthquake but not me. At least you don't have to wait for days to see if a hurricane is going to land in your area or not. An earthquake comes and goes. Doesn't last for days. Thank God we didn't have any problems this hurricane season.

Yes, that's what I could remember from living in Florida. During hurricane season, it was a waiting game, which could get stressful--like waiting for the other shoe to drop, so to speak. As you mentioned, at least with earthquakes, they're usually over before you realize what happened.

Originally Posted by lacaligirl

Overall, we have a much better life than in L.A. But to be honest, I really miss the fast pace lifestyle! It's so much slower here. There are so many more opportunities and things to do in L.A. But I'm sure in time I will get use to it all. You just have to make the best of what God gives you. Good luck in your move.

Glad to know life is better for you in the Sunshine State. All the other things you mentioned, I'm sure you'll become adjusted; you just need to give yourself time. As you said, make the best with what God gives you!

[pianogal]

recieve a fine since I couldn't reverse down the entire 417.

Did you receive the fine? The toll authority does not send out fines unless you are a repeat offender - i.e. more than 3 -4 times in a row skipping payment. I know because I have done it - called them about it and they told me not to worry about it.