[Sunny-Days-in-Florida]

Some people are just jealous of people with money.

[Doctor Octagon]

Originally Posted by airboatbill

I WAS BORN IN FL.in the 60s and grew up there it was the best times of my life.I left the state after school in the late 90s.Ive been home a few times and get lost in own home town oviedo. its grown into a mess.old fl is still in my heart but what it is now I dont know. my whole family mom dad and so on still live there so I still visit but that it. maybe one day I will come home. god bless fl and good luck there,kitty

Oviedo and Old Florida is awesome. I was also born in FL (and proud too!). But the FL you know and love is not what FL is like any longer, unfortunately. You can still find it (a little bit), but it's mostly disappeared, thus the move to places like GA, SC, and NC.

[Doctor Octagon]

Originally Posted by annerk

So what would you suggest? They leave the Mercedes parked in the garage and by an old Ford to drive around in for $500 so they don't offend someone?

That's part of the problem with peole these days, they get offended because someone has something nicer than they do. that's life and the sooner people figure it out, the better off we all are. Most wealthy peole I know donate more money to charity every year than I make in five years. And I should judge them?

The problem is, they buy expensive cars, houses, then complain about everything. They wont the seniors discount at Mcdonalds so they can save $.50 and they WONT GIVE A DIME TO THE SCHOOLS in their community.

Then many of them say we are so lucky they came down to FL or we'd be walking around barefoot with no shoes on.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by Sunny-Days90

Some people are just jealous of people with money.

Others see them as something to be robbed. Better avoid conspicuous consumption in the coming inflationary depression.

[KathyA11]

Originally Posted by ferretlady4719

Kathy, I guess we don't match the stereotype, huh? I thought it was us *women* who were supposed to be afraid of snakes, while guys were OK with them!

So much for women being the weaker sex...

It's exactly the same with my husband & I. I think snakes are great (actually most reptiles are pretty cool), but my dear hubby - he does NOT like them at all. Whenever we ran into snakes in FL, he would call me to shoo them away. (I'm talking harmless species, such as black racers, king snakes, etc -- though I did trap & release a small pygmy rattler once...) I don't fault him at all though - I'm the same way about spiders - even the tiniest spider will throw me into fits . So he "rescues" me from spiders & I "rescue" him from snakes - it's all good!

I think we were separated at birth! I've always been terrified of spiders (and most other bugs. too -- I'm not looking forward to the creepy-crawlies that I hear live in Florida). Earthworms are no problem, though -- I'll pick them up with no gloves. They're a wonderful sight for a gardener. My husband, though -- I relocate them for him, too.

I had a darling ball python named Ziggy when hubby & I first met - once things grew serious between us, it became a choice between keeping Ziggy or keeping my sweetie - he's that leery of snakes! Obviously, I kept hubby & luckily, I knew a couple who were amateur herpetologists & they gave Ziggy a great home.

I'm sure he's happy there, too.

My guy's an animal lover -- we have 4 dogs and 3 parrots. I hope to add to the parrot flock once we move.

[KathyA11]

Originally Posted by mango23

Really? I see gators all the time. You can even run into a gator on the golf course. I lived near a river that has direct access to the glades and we used to get gators come up in the back yard before we had a seawall. I will say, I have never seen a poisonous snake outside of the glades.

My in-laws live near a golf course on Sanibel, and they constantly see gators in their back yard (they just sent us a photo of two, tailtip-to-tailtip). My other brother-in-law lives on a golf course in Ft. Myers, and he send up photos of the snakes that live in the water hazards.

We have no intention of living near water -- not with dogs who would challenge anything that entered their territorry.

[KathyA11]

"New Hampshire once again tops the Most Livable State rankings. This is the fifth consecutive year that the Granite State has earned this honor. New Hampshire excels in a number of important quality of life measures. The state boasts low crime, low poverty, high income levels, and a well educated population. Trailing New Hampshire at the top of the rankings list
were Utah, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Iowa."

One thing they all have in common -- cold winters. No thanks. I've had enough of that and want to enjoy myself in warmth.

[KathyA11]

[quote=DailyJournalist;8958005]There are many other factors that are important to families and singles looking to relocate to any state. Some of these factors are good wages, job opportunities, cultural amenities, 4 seasons, and public transportation options. This is why you are seeing a decline of people moving to Florida from states that offer these amenities. Jobs and wages are more important than weather in this economy./quote]

And if you don't need any of the above? My husband is retired; I'm retiring at the end of next month. Jobs are a non-starter for us. Cultural amenities? I can order books from Barnes and Noble anywhere in the US. Public transportation? That's lacking in a good part of the country, not just in Florida.

[airboat5]

you two enjoy your retirement. I hope we live long enought to see ours. good luck

[hdinia]

Without reading thru all the other replies - I will say "because they want to." I know that if I had an opportunity to move there I probably would. (Meaning, both of us having jobs lined up, our house here sold and somewhere lined up to move into.) Mostly it's for the warmer temps but even more so I would like to be near the beaches, even 100 miles away would qualify as "near" for me! I have lived in Iowa my whole life and have seen plenty of corn and soy bean fields!