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Where to start?
So many complainers here one would think crime and bad weather was invented in Florida!
First of all I'm a midwesterner (Chicago area). So I write this from a place where it's been cold, windy, snowy, dry, grey, and miserable since about October.
It will continue to be miserable in one way or another until just about before June. If you do that math, that's about 8 months of winter-like weather.
Now that said, one would think all that nasty winter weather would make one hell of a nice summer. But no, our summers are rainy, hot and humid. We get more rain than Seatle. So we have two seasons. Hot, and cold. Take your pick!
At least in Florida you have wonderful winters!
Crime? Please. Crime is everywhere, even in remote one stop light towns of Alaska. Crime didn't start in Florida, and it won't end in Florida. Sure you have your crime hot spots however every state and city does. All cities large and small are fighting crime.
COL? Are you kidding me? The whole country has become an expensive place to live. But lets compare! Florida to any-town-midwest. What does you're $200 per square foot buy you compared to the midwest?
We get tornadoes, winter snow storms, ice storms, thunder storms, wind storms, heat waves (heat index) and cold snaps (wind chills). The midwest only has a handfull of weeks during the year where you can actually enjoy the outdoors.
Florida gets? Hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, heat waves. You can pretty much spend all of a Florida winter outdoors.
You see, your cost of living may be the same, however you're getting much more for you dollar.
I haven't spent more than 30 consecutive minutes outside since October! It's been too cold to be outside. My heating bill last month was $500. How much was yours? You need heat in the winter, and AC in the summer here in the midwest. It gets hot and sticky here too!
So excuse me now, I have to go warm up my car, because in 20 minutes I'm driving home. I have to leave an hour earlier because of the weather. It was raining and 35 degrees about 3 hours ago. The rain turned to ice and the roads turned into ice rinks. Power lines are broke. So then it started to snow, and snow, and snow.
Now it's about 15 degrees with 30 MPH winds, and a wind chill of about -30 with 6 inches of snow on the ground and climbing.
I have drive carefully because in these conditions the chances of you slipping off the road or being in an accident is about 20x greater than normal.
The proceding isn't true right now, but it's a very common occurance any time from November through April. Actually that exact thing happened last week. Right now it's a balmy 35 with a wind chill of 25. This folks is warm for February!
So go ahead and complain about how "expensive" Florida is, and how "dangerous" Florida is. Just don't complain to those who'd give thier right arm for 75 degrees in January, oceanic views only hours away at any given time.
You know why cars are manufactured in the midwest? So you drive outta here!
I'm from the Midwest, and you are exagerrating in some respects. In the Midwest, spring and autumn are great. Growing up in St. Louis, I LOVED April, May, and October. Winters are very cold and summers are very hot. This is due to the fact that you are so far from the ocean, which normalizes the climate.
There is a difference with the crime in Florida, compared to other places in the country. Crime is usually confined to certain areas, in other states. This is not the case in Florida. You have ghettos right next to million dollar houses. No one is safe.
Cost of Living? The reason people are upset in Florida is because the cost has skyrocketed in the last few years, but wages have not kept pace. Florida wages are similar to the Midwest, but the cost of living is higher. If you cannot understand this simple fact, I don't know what else to say.
If you can't handle going outside in October, in Chicago, you're a wuss.
Where to start?
So many complainers here one would think crime and bad weather was invented in Florida!
First of all I'm a midwesterner (Chicago area). So I write this from a place where it's been cold, windy, snowy, dry, grey, and miserable since about October.
It will continue to be miserable in one way or another until just about before June. If you do that math, that's about 8 months of winter-like weather.
Now that said, one would think all that nasty winter weather would make one hell of a nice summer. But no, our summers are rainy, hot and humid. We get more rain than Seatle. So we have two seasons. Hot, and cold. Take your pick!
At least in Florida you have wonderful winters!
Crime? Please. Crime is everywhere, even in remote one stop light towns of Alaska. Crime didn't start in Florida, and it won't end in Florida. Sure you have your crime hot spots however every state and city does. All cities large and small are fighting crime.
COL? Are you kidding me? The whole country has become an expensive place to live. But lets compare! Florida to any-town-midwest. What does you're $200 per square foot buy you compared to the midwest?
We get tornadoes, winter snow storms, ice storms, thunder storms, wind storms, heat waves (heat index) and cold snaps (wind chills). The midwest only has a handfull of weeks during the year where you can actually enjoy the outdoors.
Florida gets? Hurricanes, tornadoes, thunderstorms, heat waves. You can pretty much spend all of a Florida winter outdoors.
You see, your cost of living may be the same, however you're getting much more for you dollar.
I haven't spent more than 30 consecutive minutes outside since October! It's been too cold to be outside. My heating bill last month was $500. How much was yours? You need heat in the winter, and AC in the summer here in the midwest. It gets hot and sticky here too!
So excuse me now, I have to go warm up my car, because in 20 minutes I'm driving home. I have to leave an hour earlier because of the weather. It was raining and 35 degrees about 3 hours ago. The rain turned to ice and the roads turned into ice rinks. Power lines are broke. So then it started to snow, and snow, and snow.
Now it's about 15 degrees with 30 MPH winds, and a wind chill of about -30 with 6 inches of snow on the ground and climbing.
I have drive carefully because in these conditions the chances of you slipping off the road or being in an accident is about 20x greater than normal.
The proceding isn't true right now, but it's a very common occurance any time from November through April. Actually that exact thing happened last week. Right now it's a balmy 35 with a wind chill of 25. This folks is warm for February!
So go ahead and complain about how "expensive" Florida is, and how "dangerous" Florida is. Just don't complain to those who'd give thier right arm for 75 degrees in January, oceanic views only hours away at any given time.
You know why cars are manufactured in the midwest? So you drive outta here!
Peace.
You are wrong about the crime issue. Yes, there is crime everywhere but there are not that many places where criminals actually migrate to ply their trade like they do in Florida. It is no accident they are here, they come here on purpose and the chances of being a victim is also no accident, they are here looking for you. They catch criminals all they time and they are always from out of state here to commit their crimes, sell drugs, commit frauds on tourists the elderly and so on. Your argument is a common one but when it comes to Florida and I am sure a few selected places your argument doesn't hold water.
If you read the other thread about hiring workers and repairmen, you will see the chances you will be ripped off from by a random worker , contractor, builder is almost more likely then not in Florida. Then they file a bankruptcy and in no time are down the street doing the exact thing again. Florida operates in it's own alternate reality when it comes to crime. Here for many it is a career choice.
St. Louis is not Chicago. The lake and the jet stream make for nasty weather patterns. Lake affect snow and Canadian weather movements create dangerous weather conditions.
There is no way you can understate the horrible weather here. 12 months a year.
Once again, same thing happens here with respect to crime. Maybe more so because of the amount of senior citizens falling for social engineering type crimes. But poor neighborhoods across the streets from mansions are here too.
Yep, I'm a wuss! Especially this past last October. Just because the weather blows doesn't mean you have to accept it. But that's what they do in the midwest. They accept the pounding and turn a blind eye to it all.
St. Louis is not Chicago. The lake and the jet stream make for nasty weather patterns. Lake affect snow and Canadian weather movements create dangerous weather conditions.
There is no way you can understate the horrible weather here. 12 months a year.
Once again, same thing happens here with respect to crime. Maybe more so because of the amount of senior citizens falling for social engineering type crimes. But poor neighborhoods across the streets from mansions are here too.
Yep, I'm a wuss! Especially this past last October. Just because the weather blows doesn't mean you have to accept it. But that's what they do in the midwest. They accept the pounding and turn a blind eye to it all.
I'm from Libertyville, so yes, I think I can speak to the difference between Florida and Chicago.... Now let me ask where in Florida YOU have lived before we begin the comparison???
Yes, the winters are long.... I used to jokingly refer to the late March and early April snowstorms as "Indian Winter".... Spring and Fall are wonderful there and I think you're really selling it short. One odd phenomenon that I'll give you is that mosquitos are FAR worse in suburban Chicago than in Florida.... Don't know why, but DAMN!!!
As far as home prices I'd imagine you'd have to go pretty far out these days to get a decent and affordable house, but then again, Chicago is about 4 to 5 times the size of Orlando, so let's offer a little perspective here....
GO CUBBIES!!! GO BEARS!!!!
Keep in mind that people that are discontented with Florida, for the most part, aren't looking to move to Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland or Minneapolis... Just somewhere more temperate with regards to weather...
St. Louis is not Chicago. The lake and the jet stream make for nasty weather patterns. Lake affect snow and Canadian weather movements create dangerous weather conditions.
There is no way you can understate the horrible weather here. 12 months a year.
Hah. I've been to Chicago many times. It's not that different. There are far more similarites than differences. The major influences on the weather patterns are Canadian fronts, the Gulf of Mexico, and the usual west-to-east weather patterns. Yes, Chicago has some lake effect snow, but that actually has a rather minor effect on the overall climate. Temperature and precipitation levels are very similar to most other Midwest cities.
You're suffering from a "grass is greener" syndrome.
Quote:
Once again, same thing happens here with respect to crime. Maybe more so because of the amount of senior citizens falling for social engineering type crimes. But poor neighborhoods across the streets from mansions are here too.
I've been to Chicago, it is not nearly on the same scale as Florida. In Florida, it is everywhere.
Quote:
Yep, I'm a wuss! Especially this past last October. Just because the weather blows doesn't mean you have to accept it. But that's what they do in the midwest. They accept the pounding and turn a blind eye to it all.
Move to Florida and experience the unrelenting heat, first hand. You'll never have a nice cool summer day. And yes, you do get those in the Midwest. You can count the cool days on one hand, here in southwest Florida, and I'm talking about the entire year. You'll never have a cool summer day, ever. You'll miss the seasons, trust me.
Ah, yes. Another northerner who reads these posts and gets mad when he doesn't like what he sees.
As I've mentioned before, most people that now live or have lived in Florida come from very cold climes. You are not telling them something that they don't already know. But they are telling you some of the harsh realities of Florida. Take heed or don't. You are free to move about the country.
Today, I had a lengthy conversation with an elderly gentleman in Knoxville. When he lived in Florida some con artist posing as an investor took all of his savings. He and his wife have nothing left and live on their social security checks. It broke my heart.
Ah, yes. Another northerner who reads these posts and gets mad when he doesn't like what he sees.
Or maybe just a different perspective trying to show you how lucky you are in some respects.
Coming from Chicago, I think he probably knows what crime is about, btw. And I'm sorry about your senior friend getting ripped off, but it's not something peculiar about "Florida" that attracted the crook, but rather the existence of high numbers of old people who are gullible and easier to take advantage of. If the center of retirement switches to another state, those who prey on the elderly will simply turn their attention elsewhere.
Never invest your money unless its with an insured, reputable investment house, period.
Chicago? My husband was born there and lived there the first twelve years of his life.
He has a huge family, all from Chicago.
Chicago has incredible food, events, entertainment, shopping, museums, architecture and people.
One other point: I bet there are a lot of Floridians that would love to trade paychecks with him.
So yes, I know his perspective, as do many Floridian transplants and I would take Chicago over Florida, every time.
Then why don't you go to Chicago?
My husband and all of his siblings were born and raised there.
They all moved out as soon as they could, and his parents bought a place in southern Florida. Chicago is a fantastic place to visit, no argument there.
But permanent residence? I don't think so. The winters are brutal.
Preying on seniors happens everywhere--certainly it happens in Colorado.
If you have an anti-Florida axe to grind, so be it. But some of the stuff y'all come up with is not exclusively Floridian.
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