[AJ1972]

I guess it depends on where you live in Florida but I'd definitely recommend having some lightweight gloves and maybe a windbreaker in any place besides South Florida, especially if you spend any time outside at all.

I live in SE Florida and we have gloves and scarves, etc.
But that's because we go ice skating. LOL

[flburgos]

mass is beautiful if you love gray skies.mass is beautiful if you like having your feet buried in snow and buried in your home with no equity.mass is beautiful if you like to meet people that don't shower for a week because it 's too cold out,not me of course.mass is beautiful if you love waking up 2 hours early because you know you're car is buried in snow.mass is beautiful when a snow plow totals your car during a storm and you don't have full coverage insurance.mass is beautiful when you walk out to your car and find out your locks are frozen and you broke your key inside the lock.mass is beautiful when you slip on ice and break your neck.mass is beautiful when you're at fenway park in a t shirt in april.etc..etc..i can go on

[verobeach]

Originally Posted by flburgos

that's what we want a lot of outdoor activity here in n.e we are couped up in the house like chipmunks waiting for spring.this morning i go to warm up the car and it was pitch dark out.okay so i leave home in the darkness and when i return from work i'm in darkness.trust me it is as bad as it sounds.

In Florida, you might find yourself couped up in the house like chipmunks from May until October waiting for Fall. I love Florida in the winter, who doesn't? But summers are hot. Just come here realistic that you'll have to take the good with the bad.

[momma123]

Margel,
to answer your question. Dumb mistake on my part. Don't like tenn. because of the weather in winter gray and gloomy. No decent jobs. High food taxes. Anyway you live and learn. By the way i will be moving back to fl. this july. I will never move out of that state again

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by luvthatmouse

I am from NY and DH is from the Boston area. I have also lived in MD while going to college. We have lived in the Orlando area for a little over 3 years now. We have friends here from all over (CT, NJ, NY, CA, MA, etc..)

Pros Florida:
Nice weather from October-May
Lots to do (beaches, Disney, Universal, Sea World, boating, scuba, snorkeling, etc..)
Many restaurants to choose from (and yes some very good ones)
Many events going on year round
Many cruise ports close by
Good airports-clean!
Beautiful skys
Beautiful beaches
Many birds
Wildlife
Great/many golf courses
Flat for biking
No state tax (remember NH has no state tax AND no sales tax)
Homestead exemptition
Good seafood
Cleaner than up north but getting worse every day
Hour more of sunlight


Pros Northeast:
Better pay (big pro for life quality!)
Better benefits packages
More unions to protect workers
Much more culture (Broadway, Boston Pops, lectures at great colleges, ethnic restaurants, etc..)
Change of seasons
Lots to do
Better sports teams/venues
Better concert venues/more choice
Good seafood
Great restaurants
Better hospitals/doctors (FL Health is pretty good)
Older, quality homes and buildings (what has happened to building!? It
is all crap now)
Sking/snowshoeing
Great hiking
Close to many staes/Canada (can drive easily)
Wonderful schools (Harvard, Boston U, Fordham U, NY U, Johns Hopkins, Bronx Science, St Johns, Queens College, RISD, etc..)
Better public transportation

Cons Florida:
Awful pay!
Right to work state
High insurance
High property taxes and sales tax
Expensive electric (bad in the summer)
Expensive groceries
Awful produce, meat and fruit (yes I was shocked too-they must ship it all to other places)
Hurricanes
Weather from June-October
Many bugs
Humidity all the time
Poorly, quickly built homes (many issues with mold, roofs, etc..)
Strip mall sqwall
Drivers are God awful and scary
Red Tide-we are ruining the beaches- one of the staes strong points
Awful schools
Crime getting bad
Many pedefiles in the theme park area
Drug/gang problems
Bad public transportation
Some have lazy outlooks/attitudes towards work, etc..
Still a lot of racial prejudice in the south

Cons Northeast:
Weather from January-April (too long, too gray and dead)
Ice storms
Expensive to live
Expensive homes
Expensive rent
Dirtier
More people crowded into smaller spaces (not true in the more rural areas)
High taxes
Oil and gas very expensive to heat in the winter (use a wood stove?)
Pot holes/bumpy/older roads
Faster pased (have to be a quicker, smarter person)
Shorter days

Mouse,

Your post is subjective and prone to your personal choice in some areas, but you have written with more balance over two general areas (the entire northeast vs the entire state of Florida) than virtually any post that I have read. I could dispute or agree with your opinions on virtually every level if I was to look at specific areas, but you have capsulized most of the issues that are on the "front burner" of any family looking to move to/from Florida. Excellent, well-thought post!!

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by CJFlorida

Yet medical doctors have come from schools in the ghettos, and unemployed bums have come from the best schools in the country.

Hmmm, what could be the x-factor here? Perhaps involved parents who supplement their kid's education with reviews and study sessions every school night??

Of course, we all know that. You have made this point before in another thread. Of course there are success stories from any school, I mean OBVIOUSLY! Not every kid at a 'bad' school is doomed for a life of flipping burgers and not every kid at a 'good' school is going to be a medical doctor. I think it is fair to say that EVERYONE already knows that!
You do realize, however, that not all parents are going to play teacher at night with their kids, right? Having the best educational opportunities during the day at school should be a priority of every state and every school district and it should be a priority of every parent to find the best schools for their kids. Many kids come from parents who either work two jobs, work at night, or do not have the education themselves to help the kids at home. These kids should have the same opportunity at a good education as any other kid.
The point here, in this thread, is that the state of Florida education is, overall, poor. That is, the schools themselves and what opportunities lie for the kids in the schools. What the parents do or not do at home should not even be an issue when it comes to states and districts working towards better schools and a better education for kids.

[Alphaman]

The comparison should be the northeast or the southeast To say that the northeast has better public transportation. Well not in Rhode Island I was born and raised and it is terrible in that state now Boston and NYC are a whole different ball game.

Yes jobs can pay more in the northeast but if you have only a high school education It doesn't really matter where you go the pay will be crap unless you are really lucky.

[momix5]

Can i just say that on Long Island my son struggled with spelling, I was told by the teacher that that was okay, he would do just fine, and by the way that district last year only 48% of the children passed the ela for english.

[novanative75]

Originally Posted by momix5

Can i just say that on Long Island my son struggled with spelling, I was told by the teacher that that was okay, he would do just fine, and by the way that district last year only 48% of the children passed the ela for english.

There are bad schools everywhere, no on is arguing that point. However, Florida, as a whole, is in a poor state of education. I live in one of the wealthiest counties in Florida and the school system is horrible. Again, it is the overall state, we all understand that there are bad schools and districts everywhere.

[Wendyb0077]

I was born in the Bronx 1954. Makes me pretty old huh! moved out of there in 1972 and never looked back!

Originally Posted by Tarastomsgirl

I lived in th Bronx for a short stint and was born there, and go back several times a year, anywhere in Florida is PARADISE compared to there