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I respect your view. Based on what you stated in your location, from the Miami Lakes, I don't understand why you don't want to be associated with the South. Being someone who has lived there there whole life, what am I missing?
When you go more inland, Venus, Arcadia, Whachula, Alva, Clewiston, Myakka City, and the other small towns that are not well known, there tends to be more of a Southern life and culture. Especially when you go north of Ocala.
IMO where ever you go in Florida, it does not feel like the Northeast. There are still many places that have a southern mentality. And then there are places I have been to that feels like it is every man out for himself.
Well we have a very different climate, topography, and history compared to Northeast as well. So that goes without saying.
The simple reality for me, as well as millions of other Floridians, is that we have an identity that overall can't be considered in line with The South. In no way do I feel anything in common with typical dixie culture. I don't like country music, big trucks, crazy food, or idolizing a war that happened 150 years ago. I don't use the word "y'all" and don't know a single white person that does. I respect the church and the good things it does, but I prefer for them to stay the hell away from politics. Now I don't feel superior to these people who enjoy this stuff and disagree with me, but it just isn't the way I or many others were brought up. We are vastly different. It is to be expected when this state is as big as it is and has ~20 million people in it.
However, I appreciate the civility in your response. It's unfortunately not very common when these discussions happen. I received an anonymous reputation message which claimed that since I'm from the Miami area, then I'm not truly American. I find it amusing how somehow a person could jump to this conclusion. But if I'm not American, then what do you make of the people who to this day display the flag of a secessionist movement!
I am a proud American and a proud Floridian. But I am not a Southerner.
For cultural amenities, a more common progressive mentality, a decent food scene and other attributes ...
Golly, these are all the things I don't like about North Carolina. "Amenities" is a red flag to me. To me it indicates clumsy and artificial attempts to present highfalutin' atmospheres. And "food scene" is .... I won't continue.
Okay, let me tip my hand. I'm not from NYC, I'm from Western New York State. I still have NYC attitudes and I love being there but mostly I'm looking for a scene with that Rust Belt kind of mental health. And non-Top-40 classical music, revival movie theaters, guys who aren't afraid to work on a rusty car, people who don't necessarily buy into what the media says you should believe, good burgers, subs, and pizza, the roots and guts of people who have worked in manufacturing and had to build things that worked, great local radio ... I could go on ...
Golly, these are all the things I don't like about North Carolina. "Amenities" is a red flag to me. To me it indicates clumsy and artificial attempts to present highfalutin' atmospheres. And "food scene" is .... I won't continue.
Okay, let me tip my hand. I'm not from NYC, I'm from Western New York State. I still have NYC attitudes and I love being there but mostly I'm looking for a scene with that Rust Belt kind of mental health. And non-Top-40 classical music, revival movie theaters, guys who aren't afraid to work on a rusty car, people who don't necessarily buy into what the media says you should believe, good burgers, subs, and pizza, the roots and guts of people who have worked in manufacturing and had to build things that worked, great local radio ... I could go on ...
I won't get into your version of the definitions but given the new information would say you would blend most anywhere in Central Florida. I would avoid SE Florida and the Tampa Bay area as they're probably a bit too sophisticated for you in general.
Golly, these are all the things I don't like about North Carolina. "Amenities" is a red flag to me. To me it indicates clumsy and artificial attempts to present highfalutin' atmospheres. And "food scene" is .... I won't continue.
Okay, let me tip my hand. I'm not from NYC, I'm from Western New York State. I still have NYC attitudes and I love being there but mostly I'm looking for a scene with that Rust Belt kind of mental health. And non-Top-40 classical music, revival movie theaters, guys who aren't afraid to work on a rusty car, people who don't necessarily buy into what the media says you should believe, good burgers, subs, and pizza, the roots and guts of people who have worked in manufacturing and had to build things that worked, great local radio ... I could go on ...
Downtown Ocoee might be a good fit - not too much rust, but lots of broken down cars in driveways there ...
Cheap housing as well ...
I won't get into your version of the definitions but given the new information would say you would blend most anywhere in Central Florida. I would avoid SE Florida and the Tampa Bay area as they're probably a bit too sophisticated for you in general.
In that case I am going to say that Lakeland might fill the bill - check it out.
Downtown Ocoee might be a good fit - not too much rust, but lots of broken down cars in driveways there ...
Cheap housing as well ...
Lol @ broken down cars hahaha!
And yes, I agree... Ocoee/Winter garden/ Pine Hills area seems to be a major hub for people coming from NY. Very culturally diverse, lots of Caribbean and Arab folks (reminiscent of Far Rockaway in Queens and Eastern Pkwy in Bklyn.)
Golly, these are all the things I don't like about North Carolina. "Amenities" is a red flag to me. To me it indicates clumsy and artificial attempts to present highfalutin' atmospheres. And "food scene" is .... I won't continue.
Okay, let me tip my hand. I'm not from NYC, I'm from Western New York State. I still have NYC attitudes and I love being there but mostly I'm looking for a scene with that Rust Belt kind of mental health. And non-Top-40 classical music, revival movie theaters, guys who aren't afraid to work on a rusty car, people who don't necessarily buy into what the media says you should believe, good burgers, subs, and pizza, the roots and guts of people who have worked in manufacturing and had to build things that worked, great local radio ... I could go on ...
Central Florida away from the big cities. Real people there. Mind you real people are everywhere, but each has different likes and dislikes. I agree if you fit the media's idea of culture ..... well it isn't real.
People leave NYC for a lot of reasons. A whole lot. If you have ever lived there you would understand the hassle and inconvenienceof living there. I have no idea what transplants find so illustriousness about the place. There is a lot of American history there. George Washington marched his army to the battle of Long Island 2 blocks from where I lived. I've played in parks where there were Revolutionary battles. The Bronx has one of the finest zoological parks in the world, a fantastic version of Little Italy and a few other attributes. Queens is nothing spectacular in itself. Staten Island isn't anything to write home about and Manhattan is a concrete jungle spiced with history and some magnificent buildings. Of course the Broadway shows are in Manhattan and it does have its share of ritzy hotels and apartment houses. Central Park is nice to stroll through if you can avoid getting raped or robbed. It has some other things such as the subway, Brooklyn Bridge, the Staten Island Ferry and numerous small venues. Back in Brooklyn you've got some very glamorous hip neighborhoods which a decade ago were slums and some glamorous neighborhoods from the turn of the 20th century that will knock your socks off. In Brooklyn you've got some of the most dangerous places in the world. There are places where you could be walking and shot dead in a gun battle between other people quite easily. Coney Island which is in Brooklyn has just been rehabilitated after Hurricane Sandy came through. It was in need of a make over anyway. Oh, fine shopping. You can buy the same stuff from the same stores on the internet.
So, for except a whole lot of "special little places" and memories from the past, there isnt much worth being there for. It has a ridiculously high crime rate and the crime is everywhere you go. No such thing as a "safe" neighborhood there. The cost of living is crazy. Taxes, rent, car insurance, electricity, food, any kind of repair work, clothing, all services such as dry cleaning, laundromats, theaters, etc are very expensive compared to everywhere else. Traffic is insane, the roadways are full of potholes. The beaches are filthy, the water is polluted and the sand is about 50 percent crushed glass from the years of broken bottles and crushed glass that washes up from the ocean. The surf temperature is in the 60's until mid August where it gets into the lower 70's. Right now Coney Island surf is a 72 degrees.
So if a New Yorker tells you how great it is there ask them why in hell the left in the first place.
But there are still many people who love living in NYC and would never consider living anywhere else, and they have a long list of why they feel that way. They'll even complain about the things you mention, but that doesn't change the way they feel- they love it, warts and all. I guess those are the folks who may visit other states, including Florida, or become snowbirds, but they won't move out of NY permanently. I know my in-laws felt that way when they were alive, and I've met other NYers who did as well.
Sometimes I wonder if it's what you get used to, and if your life is generally going well you take the bitter with the better- of course that's true anywhere you live, not just NYC. I also think it's human nature to compare what you know and is familiar to you, what's ingrained into your being as part of your identity by virtue of longevity and familiarity, with other places, experiences and cultures outside your familiar realm. At least when you're exposed to them.
I also think it's human nature to compare what you know and is familiar to you, what's ingrained into your being as part of your identity by virtue of longevity and familiarity, with other places, experiences and cultures outside your familiar realm. At least when you're exposed to them.
You hit the nail on the head! A lot of people who move to Florida, as their only residence, lose their identity. Therefore, find it difficult to feel like they belong as they felt where they lived most their lives. And I would guess being older, it makes it more difficult to adjust.
The best of both worlds would be to have two homes, i.e. one in the northeast, midwest, etc and then some place warmer. Which many people do, so they don't have that unsettled feeling. Then there would not be all this unnecessary complaining/debates on CD!
I agree. There are many dyed in the wool people in NYC, as everywhere.
Some people have businesses there, the family home or just the familiarity would be good reasons to stay in a place. Having a certain way of like engrained in you could also cause someone to stay put. So many things have gone the way of the dinosaur there though and that has to make one think that is time for a major change.
There are so many different situations. You have older people who have been living in the same apartment for 50 years, the rent is pretty low and cannot be beat. People who bought houses in the late 60s and early 70s for $20-$35k are now sitting on $500k plus. They may have intentions of leaving it to family members as the value is only going to increase (providing you keep up with the maintenance of those houses). Careers may be a reason to stay. If you've been at a job for many years it is much more logical to wait until 65 and get a full boat retirement before considering a relocation. The longer you wait, the harder it is to make the change though.
On the other hand, there are the majority of those who are getting killed by ever increasing rents that are not under rent control (a deal that was abolished in the early 70's), do not have a career position they will retire from, no investments in the city itself, have had enough of the crime, the grime, the high cost of living, brutally cold winters, many hot and humid summer days, lack of recreational opportunities and other negative factors, some small, some significant. One thing a New Yorker never misses is "alternate side of the street parking". That means your car cannot be parked on one side of the street, or the other, 4 days a week for the purpose of street cleaning which may or may not happen. Street parking in all of the city is a at a premium. Loosing one side of the street for blocks and blocks makes finding a place to park your car quite an adventure. Other things that long time New Yorkers were accustomed to are gone. Kosher delicatessens, a staple source of food, are all but gone. Getting a simple NYC drink called an "egg cream" which has been around since the 1880's is virtually impossible to find. Heavy duty crime is everywhere. I'm not talking about property crime which also exists but murder. rape, assaults. robberies. muggings, shootings, stabbings. Speaking of stabbings a guy stabbed 3 people in the subway at Grand Central Terminal.
To each their own............
Quote:
Originally Posted by Travelassie
But there are still many people who love living in NYC and would never consider living anywhere else, and they have a long list of why they feel that way. They'll even complain about the things you mention, but that doesn't change the way they feel- they love it, warts and all. I guess those are the folks who may visit other states, including Florida, or become snowbirds, but they won't move out of NY permanently. I know my in-laws felt that way when they were alive, and I've met other NYers who did as well.
Sometimes I wonder if it's what you get used to, and if your life is generally going well you take the bitter with the better- of course that's true anywhere you live, not just NYC. I also think it's human nature to compare what you know and is familiar to you, what's ingrained into your being as part of your identity by virtue of longevity and familiarity, with other places, experiences and cultures outside your familiar realm. At least when you're exposed to them.
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