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Trolling and posting negative comments does not help to make city-data a pleasant website to visit, it does not help the people who come here for information, and it does not help give you a good day either. It just wastes time and energy for everyone. One thing that is unfortunate is that the Florida forums are full of pointless negativity and attacking, which does not represent our state well. Many visitors have commented on this and I think we can do better.
You seem so sensitive about any form or mention of a Florida negative trait that you are implying its the same as trolling, its rather disingenuous to report to those seeking information about Florida only the wonderfully positive aspects of Florida,there are negative aspects to Florida that people seeking info on the place need to know before they make that decision to pack up and move there..
If you think some one airing a negative opinion of Florida is trolling report the post to a moderator and let them decide if some one is trolling or just giving constructive criticism..
You seem so sensitive about any form or mention of a Florida negative trait that you are implying its the same as trolling, its rather disingenuous to report to those seeking information about Florida only the wonderfully positive aspects of Florida,there are negative aspects to Florida that people seeking info on the place need to know before they make that decision to pack up and move there..
If you think some one airing a negative opinion of Florida is trolling report the post to a moderator and let them decide if some one is trolling or just giving constructive criticism..
That was not remotely what I said. If you read both my long posts (which you obviously didn't), I said many negative things about Florida myself. I believe honesty is the only way to be helpful on these forums, and every state has both good and bad.
My problem is that people don't read carefully, and then just look for something to disagree with to start a fight. The way they post is rude - that poster I commented about wrote a comment in a rude and insulting fashion, that also directly contradicted the quote he took from my post. He responded to the first line even though the next few sentences he included in my quote directly addressed his complaint. Poor reading comprehension and attention to detail gets irritating on the forums after seeing thousands of unnecessary arguments and flame wars on threads.
There is nothing wrong with encouraging a little civility in our posts, which should give nothing but the facts and our own personal experiences. Many instead waste time picking meaningless fights, insulting others personally whom they don't even know, and posting about stereotypes that they don't have any personal experience with.
It's too bad that even when I am encouraging politeness, there are people trying to engage me in an argument about even that! lol...
Excuse me StarFish if i'm a bit sensitive as well,The topic asked if one is glad they made the move to Florida which presumes a yes or no response, in post 27 i merely said it didnt work for me and that i now find Florida a nice place to visit, for that comment i was attacked most vigorously.Thus the reason i get irritated when people cast any one saying the slightest negative about Florida as a hater and basher a veritable troll.
I moved to Florida last year from Long Island, New York. Since then, I have loved every minute in Florida. I love the heat, the humidity, the shopping, road system, southwest Florida's gorgeous beaches, the people I work with, etc. there are very few things I don't like. What I don't like is December. Christmas did not feel like Christmas. I can see that it will take awhile it get use to. But besides that, the quality of life here is much higher then it was for me in New York. Moving to Florida was one of the greatest decisions of my life.
But I can't speak for everybody, nor will everyone's experience moving to Florida be as great as mine. we are all different and for some Florida isn't home, it's just a vacation destination. And that's okay. Don't let anyone discourage you from making the move if you feel it's what you need to do. All I know is I love being in this paradise and will not return back north.
I moved to Florida last year from Long Island, New York. Since then, I have loved every minute in Florida. I love the heat, the humidity, the shopping, road system, southwest Florida's gorgeous beaches, the people I work with, etc. there are very few things I don't like. What I don't like is December. Christmas did not feel like Christmas. I can see that it will take awhile it get use to. But besides that, the quality of life here is much higher then it was for me in New York. Moving to Florida was one of the greatest decisions of my life.
But I can't speak for everybody, nor will everyone's experience moving to Florida be as great as mine. we are all different and for some Florida isn't home, it's just a vacation destination. And that's okay. Don't let anyone discourage you from making the move if you feel it's what you need to do. All I know is I love being in this paradise and will not return back north.
I feel the same way as you. I simply adore south florida. I am really happy we have decided to move here and will hopefully retire here when the time comes.
I totally love Florida and we did move there last year. BUT the timing was horrible, etc. I got a job transfer there but I had to be there in about 3 weeks and that was asking my new boss for an extension. SO, we had to pack in blizzard conditions, rented too small of a u-haul so we had to leave things behind that our friends took care of thank God. Got there, I had to leave my husband immediately to go to work so there he was, left alone with no car, knew no one, I could go on and on. We stayed till May and moved back home. My husband was very homesick but when we got back we looked at each other and said what were we homesick for ???????????? Now, I am getting a SS check each month so now we could go down there at our leisure and have time to settle in as a couple instead of me working and such. We loved the area and we love Florida. It is the most diverse state there is, only my opinion. We want so much to move back in Sept. but are scared beyond words. Just wanted to vent. Has anyone ever been through this? Mistake to move there, moved back home, want to move there again....I think if we had been able to stay just a while longer I would have gotten my SS check down there and I wouldn't have had to work but I saw this as an opportunity to get to go to Florida with a job. Thank all of you for listening....
Excuse me StarFish if i'm a bit sensitive as well,The topic asked if one is glad they made the move to Florida which presumes a yes or no response, in post 27 i merely said it didnt work for me and that i now find Florida a nice place to visit, for that comment i was attacked most vigorously.Thus the reason i get irritated when people cast any one saying the slightest negative about Florida as a hater and basher a veritable troll.
I totally get it Jambo, no prob. That's why we should all keep pushing for more civility and less negativity and personal attacking, both in society and online. I only used the troll word with regard to that one poster because the post itself was worded in an attacking and rude way for no real reason - like the person was trolling for an argument or reaction without even really caring what I actually wrote. I definitely would not want to attack someone for disagreeing with me - this entire website is based on discussion, what would be the point if we're all supposed to have exactly the same viewpoint? lol I'd just be posting back to myself, all the time...
Thanks for clarifying, it helped me understand where you were coming from. You shouldn't feel unsafe in forums to discuss the points you have to offer to help people make informed decisions. I think it's fair to post here even if one's moved away, NOT to troll and just hate on FL out of boredom or unresolved bitterness, but certainly to contribute to the "No"s answering the question. Because truthfully, a lot of people who hated it would logically have left as you did, not stayed around and continued to be miserable - making the answers likely to be a little skewed possibly in their informativeness to the people likely to read this thread for info. It's just important to point out when one left a long time ago, or maybe under certain circumstances like maybe Hurricane Andrew, because things for residents are likely to have changed since then. But I also think the perspective of friends and of recent visiting, even though it's not as valuable as first-hand accounts of recent residency, is valuable and helpful. Sometimes something is so awful, you don't need to live there to know it still isn't right for you...
You know what I really love about Florida? I forgot to mention, as much as I hate the construction and ineptness of the traffic system and poor signage and dangerous driving all common to SFL, one thing I really do love about the driving is how wide the lanes are and how beautiful the towns I've been in go out of their way to make the driving experience.
Granted this may be a little skewed since most recently I was coming from major NE cities, but when I went back up North I felt like I could barely move the car without scraping it against another car or the side, everything was super narrow and there were hardly any shoulders to the roads, and of course cars were usually parallel parked on the sides of them too - so either you veer 6 inches and hit oncoming traffic, or you veer 6 inches the other way and hit a bunch of parked cars. Even if SFL driving is crazy (in no small part due to the tourists who think their road rules went on vacation when they did), I often feel a lot more relaxed driving here because I feel like there is more room to swerve away from psychos who could accidentally kill me!
And, up North in urban centers the roads were all surrounded by dirty concrete walls, and dirty buildings, and big ugly signs (usually covered in spray painted tags). Even in the small town areas mostly no thought was given to making the driving experience pretty - the roads are just roads, if you pass something nice great, if not, oh well. In SFL cities go out of their way (especially at the airport but even in outlying suburban areas) to put islands - that yes are constantly in your way! - all over every road, and fill them with flowers and beautiful trees. I appreciate that. It's not always practical from a driving perspective, but it makes the drive really beautiful, and I find that it makes being stuck in rush hour traffic for an hour quite pleasant with some music on. Harder to enjoy being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic in the North staring at a cold, smog-stained concrete wall. But staring at a palm tree and an overflow of healthy pink bougainvillea? Not so bad.
So wide lanes, and flowers in the middle of the roads. A definite plus in the driving experience. And I must say, Miami in particular I think is one of the most beautiful cities to drive through in the US, especially at night!
I love FL ever since my first visit 15 years ago but I gotta say I am and always will be partial to the summertime at the south jersey shore. I am selling a lot giving a lot away and downsizing my life in general.Even though i visit every 3 or 4 months its not enough! I am going for the permanent move to Florida next year. I already got the Fl house and going to be renting out the NJ shore house in the spring of 2015. I will be moving down to Florida Keys for good or at least until i retire in 20 years and start snow-birding! As for Florida there is nothing like going out back and hopping in your boat parked in the canal and heading out for a leisurely Saturday afternoon party at picnic island. Swimming in the Ocean on X-mas day cant be beat either. The summers are a wee bit hot in Florida but i myself can't stand the cold it actually makes some old injuries appear to flare up and ache more too. I would rather be in on or near the water and florida is the place to be for that kind of fun.
That was not remotely what I said. If you read both my long posts (which you obviously didn't), I said many negative things about Florida myself. I believe honesty is the only way to be helpful on these forums, and every state has both good and bad.
My problem is that people don't read carefully, and then just look for something to disagree with to start a fight. The way they post is rude - that poster I commented about wrote a comment in a rude and insulting fashion, that also directly contradicted the quote he took from my post. He responded to the first line even though the next few sentences he included in my quote directly addressed his complaint. Poor reading comprehension and attention to detail gets irritating on the forums after seeing thousands of unnecessary arguments and flame wars on threads.
There is nothing wrong with encouraging a little civility in our posts, which should give nothing but the facts and our own personal experiences. Many instead waste time picking meaningless fights, insulting others personally whom they don't even know, and posting about stereotypes that they don't have any personal experience with.
It's too bad that even when I am encouraging politeness, there are people trying to engage me in an argument about even that! lol...
That's about it in a nutshell, I can't find any other reason folks would act like that.
Any adult should know that not everyone sees eye to eye on all topics, and it's perfectly ok. They should also have gained by virtue of not being born yesterday that there isn't one location on G-d's green earth that could be classified as Utopia, every destination has its positives and negatives, and that is just reality. And what is one person's paradise could be another person's he!!...
That said, I found your post on living in the Keys one of the best I've read in this forum, your great detail into the pros and cons of living in the Keys could be included in a Monroe County Chamber of Commerce brochure available to anyone pursuing the idea of living there. And the fact that you obviously love it where you live, warts and all, IMO just adds credibility to your descriptions of the place.
I've lived in Florida for nearly 40 years- I spent one year living on Plantation Key- this was long ago, so I'm sure it's changed. A lot of what you said was true back then too, and while I discovered that living in the Keys wasn't for me, I can still appreciate the beauty of the natural surroundings there and laid-back life style of those who choose to make the Keys their home. Before I retired from my last job, I had occasion to work with some of the folks who lived and worked in the Keys ( anywhere from Key Largo to Key West), and every time I visited there, I was impressed all over again at how friendly and helpful they were. Nicest group of people you'd ever want to meet.
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