The worst of Florida (photos and stories)! (Orlando, Holly Hill: home, subdivision)

[shanshine]

I stumbeld upon this site while I was looking for reasons to feed to my husband why its time to move to FL and after reading this thread I am thoroughly convinced that most of the people complaining have never left the state.

I was born in raised in MD lived here all my 29 years and alot of things I hear complaints about are things that happen everywhere to everyone.

In MD we still have the same crap you guys have just sometimes the circumstances are a little different.

Lets see..

Power line complaints....hurricanes take yours out, well ours get taken out by ice that builds up on them or heavy snow would you rather have no power when its 90 degrees or no power when its 5 degrees?????

We have the homeless beggars on every street corner, the wanna be gang groups that spray paint up overpasses, bridges and abandoned buildings.

Construction on anything takes just as long here as it does there...hell they still arent finished at the airport thats been going on for over 6 years!!!

Oh and they mention on the mercedes emblems being stolen for the gang member to wear them as jewelry??? How about having your IMPALA emblems stolen for the same reason??? I mean damn at least yours were MERCEDES emblems LOL

[heatwave13]

Well, I'm out of Florida now and am loving it. Life in Tennessee is much more relaxed for us, MUCH more reasonable cost of living, less traffic and less "stuff" to deal with, and we still have mild, pleasant winters here. I haven't seen snow in four years. I still go back fla. to visit family and stuff, but I just shake my head as I see what has become of some of my old stomping grounds. So, yeah, all ya'll from up north come on down to paradise, LOL, ha, ha, ha..........

Just do your homework VERY carefully before ya'll come down for good.

[shanshine]

Originally Posted by heatwave13

Well, I'm out of Florida now and am loving it. Life in Tennessee is much more relaxed for us, MUCH more reasonable cost of living, less traffic and less "stuff" to deal with, and we still have mild, pleasant winters here. I haven't seen snow in four years. I still go back fla. to visit family and stuff, but I just shake my head as I see what has become of some of my old stomping grounds. So, yeah, all ya'll from up north come on down to paradise, LOL, ha, ha, ha..........

Just do your homework VERY carefully before ya'll come down for good.

I think what most people dont think about is life is different in a city.....I love being close to everything. Food, airport, shopping, banks, historical sites, museums etc.....but its a different kind of life. My parents moved to the Outer Banks NC and it is a different world.....but they also dont have alot fo the things I consider luxuries like a HUGE airport close by. I love the city and will definatley always live close to the city. We are currenlty looking at houses in FL with at least 2 acres in between Lakeland and Tampa. One thing I could guarentee is that I would never even consider living in Miami.

I am sure that TN is nice but it also isnt a hustle and bustle kind of place from what I have seen. But if that is what you like good for you Me I am a hustle and bustle kind of girl

[pianogal]

Shanshine, I think you hit the nail on the head. I grew up in rural SC....that is NOT the life for me. I love the fact that I have 6 different Dillards in the Orlando area - almost ANY store you need to buy anything. I LOVE Harry and David's, the Pottery Barn, Polka Dotz (where you can buy ANYTHING Vera Bradley makes) Brighton, Tiffany's, Lord and Taylor's and I could go on and on with my favorites. Most of them couldn't be found in the whole entire state of NC, SC, GA (except Atlanta) or TN - would I be happy there? NO WAY.

It's great when you want to travel and since I live 10 minutes from one of the busiest airports in the world, I can get great travel deals. I can leave my home and in 25 minutes be on board a cruise ship at Port Canaveral. I can ice skate, roller skate, skateboard at a park, skate on many of the new paved trails in the area. I can see a Broadway show, visit a Museum or hang out at a club. I can even go to one of 8 or 9 Theme Parks in the area - not to mention Dinner Theatres galore and some FIRST CLASS restaurants.

If I want to feel rustic, I'll go to De Leon Springs and cook my own pancakes at the Old Mill Pancake House and then paddle down the river or go camping right on the beach at several of the state parks. Or go to Manatee Springs to see the manatees and other wildlife, etc. etc. etc. Or I can just go to the woods beside my home and see deer, wild turkey, even boar! Or the field down the road where about 50 head of cattle graze every day and I see them feeding the goats on my way to work.

I can't imagine living in a little town where they roll up the sidewalks at 5:00. Been there - done that - bored me silly!

But we're all different and that's what's great! I'm happy for the people who love the little towns. I'm not putting them down - if that's what you like it's wonderful for you. What I don't understand is the attitude that if you actually like Florida you are stupid and ignorant or you're a realtor or you're just sticking your head in the sand.

[shanshine]

Originally Posted by pianogal

Shanshine, I think you hit the nail on the head. I grew up in rural SC....that is NOT the life for me. I love the fact that I have 6 different Dillards in the Orlando area - almost ANY store you need to buy anything. I LOVE Harry and David's, the Pottery Barn, Polka Dotz (where you can buy ANYTHING Vera Bradley makes) Brighton, Tiffany's, Lord and Taylor's and I could go on and on with my favorites. Most of them couldn't be found in the whole entire state of NC, SC, GA (except Atlanta) or TN - would I be happy there? NO WAY.

It's great when you want to travel and since I live 10 minutes from one of the busiest airports in the world, I can get great travel deals. I can leave my home and in 25 minutes be on board a cruise ship at Port Canaveral. I can ice skate, roller skate, skateboard at a park, skate on many of the new paved trails in the area. I can see a Broadway show, visit a Museum or hang out at a club. I can even go to one of 8 or 9 Theme Parks in the area - not to mention Dinner Theatres galore and some FIRST CLASS restaurants.

If I want to feel rustic, I'll go to De Leon Springs and cook my own pancakes at the Old Mill Pancake House and then paddle down the river or go camping right on the beach at several of the state parks. Or go to Manatee Springs to see the manatees and other wildlife, etc. etc. etc. Or I can just go to the woods beside my home and see deer, wild turkey, even boar! Or the field down the road where about 50 head of cattle graze every day and I see them feeding the goats on my way to work.

I can't imagine living in a little town where they roll up the sidewalks at 5:00. Been there - done that - bored me silly!

But we're all different and that's what's great! I'm happy for the people who love the little towns. I'm not putting them down - if that's what you like it's wonderful for you. What I don't understand is the attitude that if you actually like Florida you are stupid and ignorant or you're a realtor or you're just sticking your head in the sand.

AMEN!!

When we move to FL we are going to be doing the same thing we do in MD WORKING!!!

[tampaguy03]

Originally Posted by firemed

Oh yes I do love the real pictures of paradise !!!!!! And someone please tell me where the clean beaches are! look in the background and you will see the endangered Florida construction Crane !

Clean beaches? On the west coast how about Honeymoon Island, Caladesi Island, Fort DeSoto North Beach, Sanibel and Captiva Islands?

[BlueWillowPlate]

Originally Posted by tampaguy03

Clean beaches? On the west coast how about Honeymoon Island, Caladesi Island, Fort DeSoto North Beach, Sanibel and Captiva Islands?

Plenty of clean beaches in the Panhandle, too,water as well as shoreline.
Sampling results for Gulf County:

http://esetappsdoh.doh.state.fl.us/i...px?county=Gulf

But this is the worst of Florida thread, so to stay on topic:
In my little redneck town, there is no public swimming pool, and the only fitness center is not a community one. There is one supermarket, and there are two mom and pop markets that don't sell much more than hamburger, cigarettes and Bud Lite. There is no movie theater.
Alcohol is not to be sold within the city limits, not even at restaurants, on Sunday. There is no Dillard's. There is no mall. The closest airport is 35 minutes away. There is no building higher than 3 stories.
But there are 33 churches here.

[MaryLou2007]

Originally Posted by heatwave13

Well, I'm out of Florida now and am loving it. Life in Tennessee is much more relaxed for us, MUCH more reasonable cost of living, less traffic and less "stuff" to deal with, and we still have mild, pleasant winters here. I haven't seen snow in four years. I still go back fla. to visit family and stuff, but I just shake my head as I see what has become of some of my old stomping grounds. So, yeah, all ya'll from up north come on down to paradise, LOL, ha, ha, ha..........

Just do your homework VERY carefully before ya'll come down for good.

Sir/Madam:

We just came back from vacation in Gatlinburg, TN. It was nice to see some nice folk in TN again after 5 years dealing with unfriendly folks in Orlando. You are right, even in the moutains, the weather was amazing (mild, yet a bit cool), much better than the humidity in Orlando.

Anyone considering moveing down here should get a LOT more info than we did when we made out move. Here are some things to watch out for:

1. First of all, you need to make sure the job you will get down here pays the same as your home state (which never happens). Counting on GETTING a job down here that pays the same will be disastrous!! You will have a real hard time finding a job in the first place, much less one that pays OK.

2. Traffic: We (idiots) only drove around our hotel and surounding areas while in Orlando. Mind you, we were at the parks (or asleep) during rush hour traffic. We thought "Orlando is smaller than Denver, traffic will be ok". BIG MISTAKE! Traffic is horrible, I have seen some pics of traffic here (city-data.com/forum/florida/29775-those-hwo-dont-believe-florida-traffic.html)

3. Cost of living: The fact is, the cost of living in Central Florida is very very high, much higher than anywhere else we have lived in (we have lived in Baltimore, St Louis, Kansas City, St. Pauls - now Orlando) and Orlando is very very expensive. Have you even looked at the rental rates? I have 2 employees in my company that live in motel rooms because that is all they can afford, this seems normal down in FL though.

4. Crime: The City-data info is VERY useful, but it is not very up-to-date or accurate. I checked data from last year and this year and they need to rev-up the # of muders and robberies. They did a "year in retrospective" for Orlando and the robbery and burglary rates they showed on TV were almost triple of what the city-data site was. I AM NOT CRITCIZING THE SITE. I just think they cannot keep updating the crime in Orlando, too much of it at one time.

5. Jobs: The new jobs are paying less and less. We have an internal posting for a Business Manager, BA + 4yrs exp in management and personell, they are offering $32k per year and you have to pay 80% of your own health insurance IF you elected top get coverage. 3 years ago, they were hiring people at $32k as well, so how come salaries don't get adjusted???

DO YOUR HOMEWORK, DON'T BE SILLY AND MOVE DOWN BY COMING DOWN TO VISIT, YOU WILL MAKE A MISTAKE, WE ARE LOSING $ TO GET RID OF OUR HOUSE JUST SO WE CAN MOVE!

[spunky1]

Originally Posted by pianogal

Shanshine, I think you hit the nail on the head. I grew up in rural SC....that is NOT the life for me. I love the fact that I have 6 different Dillards in the Orlando area - almost ANY store you need to buy anything. I LOVE Harry and David's, the Pottery Barn, Polka Dotz (where you can buy ANYTHING Vera Bradley makes) Brighton, Tiffany's, Lord and Taylor's and I could go on and on with my favorites. Most of them couldn't be found in the whole entire state of NC, SC, GA (except Atlanta) or TN - would I be happy there? NO WAY.

It's great when you want to travel and since I live 10 minutes from one of the busiest airports in the world, I can get great travel deals. I can leave my home and in 25 minutes be on board a cruise ship at Port Canaveral. I can ice skate, roller skate, skateboard at a park, skate on many of the new paved trails in the area. I can see a Broadway show, visit a Museum or hang out at a club. I can even go to one of 8 or 9 Theme Parks in the area - not to mention Dinner Theatres galore and some FIRST CLASS restaurants.

If I want to feel rustic, I'll go to De Leon Springs and cook my own pancakes at the Old Mill Pancake House and then paddle down the river or go camping right on the beach at several of the state parks. Or go to Manatee Springs to see the manatees and other wildlife, etc. etc. etc. Or I can just go to the woods beside my home and see deer, wild turkey, even boar! Or the field down the road where about 50 head of cattle graze every day and I see them feeding the goats on my way to work.

I can't imagine living in a little town where they roll up the sidewalks at 5:00. Been there - done that - bored me silly!

But we're all different and that's what's great! I'm happy for the people who love the little towns. I'm not putting them down - if that's what you like it's wonderful for you. What I don't understand is the attitude that if you actually like Florida you are stupid and ignorant or you're a realtor or you're just sticking your head in the sand.

Many people like the area because there are a lot of shopping malls. I guess I just don't get that. . I can use the internet and not have to deal with the crowds and crazy drivers. As far as wildlife, in Central Florida I always feel sorry for deer, bear etc. because there time is limited, most get hit by cars trying to cross the road, it is so sad. The heat and humidity put a real damper on hiking and outdoor activites for many months, and if that doesn't deter one the snakes and critters will. . . But hey, to each his own.

[lionking]

Originally Posted by Need_affordable_home

A 2 bedroom house in WPB costing $200k that looks like a trailor. That is one of the worst things about (south) Florida

unreal its true.But then again do a realty search 300,000 to 325,000 for Los Angeles and see what you get.....