[Jarndyce]

Why is everyone so fascinated with Trader Joe's? Yes they have cheap, somewhat upscale food. But the selection N E V E R C H A N G E S!!! It's the same ol' same 'ol. I also don't like that the shelf life of Trader Joe's Milk is about half the shelf life of Regular Grocery Store milk. I suppose it's nice paying 30% less, but is that a good deal when you have 50% less shelf life?

I believe Publix is a solid grocery store. I visited one once...very nice and clean.

Does Central Florida (and Northern Florida) have Whole Foods or Wild Oats? Those are what you want. They have the best quality of food around. Sure, they are expensive. In fact, they are "aspirational"...they make you aspire to work hard and earn enough money to be able to walk in, buy what you want and not concern yourself with how much you're spending....ah...Whole Foods....truly Heaven on earth....

I think California is fading fast into irrelevancy. It has nothing to do with politics. It's Prop 13. This is a guillotine for California Development. There is no money for infrastructure. California is bursting at the seams. Most California towns have an interesting solution to school problems. Instead of fixing a school, a town will float a Bond issue on the Ballot "Save our Schools" or "Save or Roads" etc...and they'll ask for money to build schools or roads instead of repair and manage what they have. It's pretty much a civic scam. Every year there's a "crisis" that needs "bonds" to save the day....

In opinion, Florida has always (alright since the 80s) been on the path to prosperity and greatness. Whether or not it gets there falls squarely on the shoulders of its people. Will the citizens of Florida sit by, complain, and allow Florida to "frak" itself basically....or will they come together and find reasonable solutions to its problems. If taxes are needed, fine, but there better be accountability and oversight to go with those taxes....

[MetalNun]

Gypsychic,
Thanks for your comment. As I mentioned in my previous post, I lived in Largo (southwest FL) for about 7 years before moving up here to Panama City (the Boondocks). I have also lived in Sarasota, and have in fact traveled extensively around FL and have spent time in Jacksonville, Cocoa Beach, West Palm Beach, Miami and the Keys as well as the very popular and supposedly "liberal" central part of the state, Orlando, which is often touted as being more "modern" and "open-minded" than the northwest where I am currently living. Last year in Orlando one of my dear friends who suffers from mental illness and also happens to be gay, became disoriented due to his illness and found himself wandering around Orlando in his underwear. His wallet had been stolen. He was arrested, beaten and abused by the Orlando police. He had many injuries and the case is still under investigation. I think this is an example that FL even in its more modern areas is not quite as "civilized" as we might like to believe. My previous comments stand.

[MetalNun]

Jarndyce,

I notice you live in Central Cali but you seem to think FL has a lot going for us. "prosperity"?! You mentioned the school situation in CA. We have the same problems with our schools here, if not worse. We pay high property taxes for our schools but the money goes into politicians' pockets and the schools never see it! As for "more taxes," the jobs don't pay enough here. People can barely survive as it is. Instead the State gets money from our property taxes which keep going up. Last year my property taxes included an assessment of $1600 for "utilities" but I receive ZERO utilities from my city. I have a well and a septic tank and the city has no plans to extend utilities to my neighborhood (our city, Cedar Grove, is well known as being totally corrupt). Our local citizens organized to put an amendment on the ballot to change the City and we met all the legal requirements but Cedar Grove refused to acknowledge us, refused to allow the election, and instead, used the school money to hire a lawyer to fight the citizens' movement! It is a "good old boys network" which refuses to back down and the State Attorney will not do anything about it... I guess "the grass is always greener" depending on where you live, but after living in California and then moving back to Florida, the lack of infrastructure is, again, a bit of a culture shock. I am not personally obsessed with Trader Joe's. That store is just one example of what we do not have here. (We also do not have the other ones which you mentioned.) I guess basically companies do not open stores where the people do not have money. The selection is better in Miami/West Palm or even in Jacksonville where the economy is a little stronger, but overall FL is a far cry from CA. I don't mean to be "negative" but I think if people are planning to move here they ought to be aware of what they are getting into.