[jedwardjos]

Originally Posted by NYNewbie

I was in Lake Helen when the eye of Charlie ripped through. Electricity out. Phone dead. TVs out. Lines down in the yard. Trees devastated everywhere. Homes ripped in half. Then, the humidity of hell sets in the next day.

By the way, I loved the fact that after hurricanes FEMA brings in union electrical technicians from other states getting paid 3x their salaries to restore power. Meanwhile, Florida workers are paid no differently than before the hurricanes quite. Add to that the stories of Florida power techs getting fired because they had to take care of their families and homes following hurricanes - with no recourse, as they had no unions.

I've only heard of snow (ice really) dropping lines in the rarest of circumstances. I lost my electricity in Florida at least one a week - no kidding. The power supply was dirty and messy. So, I didn't even have to wait for storms to corrupt the electricity. But when it went off, you lost your air conditioning. Up north, if you lose your power, your heat still works.

What kind of heat still works if you lose your power?

[seeriously]

Originally Posted by HockeyMom72

Just one more reason I rather have snow and ice.

Here we go again..

[Magnulus]

NYNewbie, I support you... and I've lived in Florida longer than some posters here. Florida has a truckload of problems, most of them related to the conservative Republicans running this state. Even Democrats here tend to be more conservative than not. In Seminole County the only guy they could dig up to fight Tom Feeney was some guy that had worked for Tom Feeney and was disgruntled (and ran largely on a campaign of "I'm not Feeney" and failed)- what's that tell you?

The conservatives in Florida cannot wrap their brains around the concept of "sustainability" and "quality of life", unless it involves quality of life for millianaires.

[ReSpEcT]

Originally Posted by florida1

I think he was focusing on people's attitudes. They act like Florida is absolutley unbearable even though bad stuff happens everywhere. They single Florida out and never even mention the atrocities that take place elsewhere. I don't think he was suggesting that we ignore others. I think he was simply saying that people need to layoff on all the Florida bashing.

I think there is a misunderstanding here. I don't think this forum is supposed to be about "other" places outside of Florida because this is the Florida forum, so any complaints are valid here if they have to do with Florida's issues. We know there are issues here like there are in other places and sometimes one is worse than the other, but people also get onto people that post about Florida issues but do they do the same things in the other states forums?...Are other states problems more valid than people that post about thier problems of living in Florida on the Florida forum?...I think the post would be removed if we started talking about crime in Nevada or somewhere else so I say lets stick to the issues and solutions of the states' forum we are posting in

[ReSpEcT]

Originally Posted by CJFlorida

Well lets be fair, if blizzards are rare than so are hurricanes. Until 2004 most of Florida went 40-45 years without getting hit by a hurricane. Palm Beach County went 44 years of no major hits.

I lived up north for 30 years and lived here for the last 6. I remember being without power for 2 weeks during one blizzard....just like the poor midwestern folks are now.

I also remember being without power in Jupiter Farms for 10 days in 2004. We showered with water hung from a tree....basically camped out.

No contest, being without power from a blizzard or ice storm is a million times worse. People continue to die all during the power outage due to the temperatures. The death toll out west rises every day by 2-4 people.

Both are equally rare, blizzards and hurricanes hitting any one area.

I would disagree..i went through Hurricane Andrew which was in 1992 and there were some other hurricanes before 2004 that hit Florida within that 40-45 year gap, but were not as catastrophic as Andrew, but they always cause lots of damage which raises insurance prices and may even put some people out on the streets.

[floridasandy]

there are complainers in almost every city and state forum and they seem to be making the same complaints all the time. all i can say is too bad that they are not happy here, but plenty of people are!

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by floridasandy

there are complainers in almost every city and state forum and they seem to be making the same complaints all the time. all i can say is too bad that they are not happy here, but plenty of people are!

Although some portions of this thread are antagonistic and/or defensive, I am most impressed with the brutal honesty. Most of the posts have come from intelligent, well-informed individuals that share a common line of thought... the Florida of today is just not for everyone. The Florida economy is still geared to benefit the wealthy, but more specifically, the wealthy senior. Unfortunately, the "scraps" left for the middle class are most difficult to sustain oneself, much less the family. The sad fact is that Florida has so much to offer beyond the economics, but who will be able to afford to pay for it?

[compelled to reply]

NYnewbie, thank you for your references, although I'm not sure if the extra fluff was necessary. It kind of seemed "agenda pushing".

[hiknapster]

What agenda would he/she be pushing?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

What agenda would he/she be pushing?

I don't know yet, I meant "seemed", not "screamed". But I saw a lot of additional and some dubious statements and generalizations. Like the "Florida more dangerous than Iraq" and unreferenced "51.1% dropout rate" thing when the state's spot dropout rate is 3% and graduation rate is a (still obscenely low) 74%. And for the dropouts, 74-3=71%.http://www.fldoe.org/news/2006/2006_...opoutRates.pdf I do have to ask though, what is I-1 and I-19?

This thread is also named "give Florida a break" not "give an exaggerated analysis of why Florida is the biggest hell hole in the country".