People who moved from Connecticut......please! (Miami, Fort Lauderdale: mortgage, credit, how much)

[hat456]

Hi, my family and I are looking to move from Connecticut to Weston. Can't stand CT. Cold and boring. We are originally from New York and are shocked at how much more "New England" it is here. Stuffy! How do you like it down there? More action? Is it lively? We are also considering Raleigh, but friends that just came back said stay away, a warmer CT! Thanking you.....

[ruski]

Originally Posted by hat456

Hi, my family and I are looking to move from Connecticut to Weston. Can't stand CT. Cold and boring. We are originally from New York and are shocked at how much more "New England" it is here. Stuffy! How do you like it down there? More action? Is it lively? We are also considering Raleigh, but friends that just came back said stay away, a warmer CT! Thanking you.....

My wife is from CT, near New Haven. We lived in NYC, then Yonkers, then we moved to Weston back in 2000.

I like to visit CT and NYC, but it always feels great to come back home to Weston.

There are plenty of things to do in Weston and in South Florida in general.

[hat456]

Thanks so much for your response. We used to live in Edgemont area of Scarsdale, right near Yonkers. I really appreciate New York, but just want it in small doses. As for CT, it is nice. I mean nothing really bad to say about it, buy nothing really great either. It is getting difficult too because the cost of living is rising, and now with taxes and possibly the credit for mortgage interest being taken away, it is becoming more like Westchester all the time. Also, winters are that much worse because there are more wooded areas here, and I feel like I am literally living in the sticks!

South Florida seems very exciting to me, and beautiful too. I've heard people complain about crime, etc.. but being from New York, do you feel its out of control down there? Never really bothered us in New York.

Also, we have 2 pizza places in NYC. I would love your thoughts on independent eateries down there, and how they do compared to the chains?

I appreciate any thoughts....

[ruski]

You won't find pizza like Sally's or Pepe's down here in South Florida. But you can still find good pizza. Some are actually very good.

Crime... depends on where you live. South Florida is a patchwork. You need to learn where to not go. But same can be said about parts of NY tri-state area. Some towns have less crime, some more. Some almost none.

[hat456]

I'm assuming Weston is good in terms of crime, from the threads I have read. We will be visiting next week on our way down to Key West to get a feel for Weston and the area. It looks beautiful - I can't wait. I'm sure you remember this is a terrible time of year up here.

[ruski]

I was in CT during the first big snow storm of this winter, day after Christmas. It was fun, for a while.

[hat456]

Yeah, and then it gets old...and dirty. Honestly, its more the way it effects peoples' mood than anything else. Not enough sunlight hitting the brain or something. I was talking to an older women at my son's basketball game, and she said she doesn't even try to escape the winter anymore because she gets so depressed when she gets back, that its not worth it. I wanted to hug her! I used to live in Hawaii long ago and will never forget how great I felt, and I didn't miss the winter for the most part. Hopefully, we will be able to sell our businesses, and get down there soon.

I don't know if you have seen this, but I thought it was hilarious!

Living in Connecticut:

August 15 - Moved to our new home in Connecticut. It's so beautiful here. The ocean & Sound look so majestic. I can hardly wait to see it snow covered. I'm going to love it here!

October 14 - Connecticut is definitely the most beautiful place on earth. The leaves have turned all the colors and shades of red and orange. Went for a ride through the park and saw some deer. They are so graceful. Certainly they are the most wonderful animals on earth. This must be paradise, I LOVE IT HERE!!

November 10 - Deer season will start soon. I can't imagine anyone wanting to kill such a gorgeous animal. Hope it will snow soon. I love it here. Those red and orange leaves have covered my yard. Looks like a magnificent multi-colored carpet. HOW BEAUTIFUL. Raking and cleaning up the yard will be an opportunity for invigorating exercise in the cool crisp air.

November 15 - Ah, more leaves and more exercise. WooHoo!

November 18 - Jesus, still more leaves. Guess it's best to wait until they've all fallen before I rake again.

November 25 - Finally, all of the trees lost their leaves and with today's final raking it's over for this season. Chiropractor suggested I use a lawn maintenance service next year. Only four blisters became infected. Should probably remember to use gloves.

November 30 - What the heck? Where did all of those leaves come from? Had a little wind last night, lost power, and the lawn is covered again. Oh well, they'll just have to wait until spring.

December 12 - It snowed last night, FINALLY. Woke up to find everything blanketed in white. It looks like a postcard. Kids had a snowday - hot coco, baked cookies, watched movies. We went outside and cleaned the snow off the steps and shoveled the driveway. Had a snowball fight (I won) and when the snowplow came by and we had to shovel the end of the driveway again. What a beautiful place. I Love Connecticut!

December 14 - More snow last night, I love it. Kids had another snow day with cocoa, cookies! The snow plow did his trick to the driveway again. I love it here.

December 19 - More snow again last night. Can't get out of the driveway to get to work. Stuck with the kids. ****ing snowplow.

December 22 - More of that white crap fell again last night. Another snow day for the kids - screw hot coco. As if dealing with the leaves weren't bad enough, now I've got blisters all over my hands from shoveling, must remember to wear gloves. I think the snowplow hides around the corner and waits until I'm finished shoveling the driveway. The jerk.

December 25 - Merry ****ing Christmas. More ****ing snow. If I ever get my hands on that SOB who drives the snowplow, I swear to god... Don't know why they don't use more salt on the roads to melt the ****ing ice.

January 4 - More white crap last night. Have cabin fever except for shoveling out the driveway after that plow goes through every time. ****ing gloves got wet and then froze on my hands. Doctor said it was just a mild case of frost bite, disfiguration is probably only temporary. Can't go anywhere, car is stuck in a mountain of white crap. The weatherman says to expect another 10 inches of the crap tonight. Do you know how many shovels full of snow 10 inches is?

January 5 - The ****ing weatherman was wrong. We got 34 inches of that white crap. School was closed, and it took me 2 hours to drive 6 miles today because of morons, then came home. Kids built a snowman, I knocked it down. ****ing ice dams. Water.

January 7 - Finally got out of the house today. Went to the store to get food and on the way back I hit a damned deer that ran in front of my car. Did about $3000 damage. ****ing beasts should be killed. Wish the hunters had killed them all last November.

May 3 - Took the car to the garage in town. The thing is rusting out from all the ****ing salt they put all over the roads.

May 8 - Found out I had Lyme Disease from the ****ing deer.

May 10 - Moved to Punta Gorda, Florida.

[CTGirlNoMore]

Originally Posted by hat456

Yeah, and then it gets old...and dirty. Honestly, its more the way it effects peoples' mood than anything else. Not enough sunlight hitting the brain or something. I

I couldn't agree more. The sun is out today and it's supposed to be in the 50's (haven't been outside since I got to work at 7:30am, so don't know how it feels out there), but just seeing the sun as bright as it is, is making my mood happier. I feel so much better this morning than I have in a while.

[MiamiLIFE]

Originally Posted by CTGirlNoMore

I couldn't agree more. The sun is out today and it's supposed to be in the 50's (haven't been outside since I got to work at 7:30am, so don't know how it feels out there), but just seeing the sun as bright as it is, is making my mood happier. I feel so much better this morning than I have in a while.

Florida is great, but it is very different than the northeast. I live in NJ and work in NYC. I travel to FL often for business and have been to most of the major cities across the state many, many times. Weston is a great community, but not near the beach. Still very nice family community. Florida is different than up north in that the neighorhoods change very quickly from good to bad. People from up north get shocked by this because they're not use to such rapid transitions. I would encourage you to check out Palm Beach Gardens in addition to Weston. PBG is a very nice community. In terms of things to do, I think there is lots to do...you just have to be willing to jump in your car. Fort Lauderdale has some good nightlife, Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach is great, City Place in West Palm is fun, Brickell Ave in Miami and of course South Beach when you really want to paint the town.

The other thing that could be an adjustment for you is that the people in FL aren't as educated as up north so you come across a lot of folks you wouldn't meet in the northeast. That is also a thing northeasterns need to adjust to. But again, Weston and PBG are areas where you are less likely to run across those problems. By the way, Juno Beach near PBG is a really great beach. I go there all the time. My sister lives there.

[hat456]

CTGirlNoMore,

I couldn't agree more. But when people say, "It's gorgeous today!", I say to myself, "These people are polar bears! I'm still freezing!" But, yes, the sunlight makes my day that much better. Oh, wait, I just looked outside and the sun is gone again. Damn. Are you still looking to move down to FL?

MiamiLIFE,

Thanks for the info. Actually, I will visit PBG, and Jupiter also. But for some reason, I'm getting the sense that Ft. Lauderdale has some more pep to it?? And it seems Weston has some great schools, rated higher than my schools here in CT. But I am taking my time and researching because my children are entering high school and don't want to move them during these years, if I can help it.

Also, taking note of the difference in education level. I lived in HI a while ago and the same goes for there. Everyone coming there to escape life, get lost for a while. But, CT is not all Ivy League, and with everyone grumpy for a big chunk of the year, I might prefer happy people to smarter but miserable people. Don't get me wrong, CT people are good and solid, but many don't seem like they want to be here all that often. Its just something about "Old Man Winter".