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To be perfectly honest, despite being Yankee through and through, I'd choose Texas over Florida. I don't like southern culture, but at least it's a culture. Florida seems like it's melded the worst aspects of North and South. Everyone I've met from there tend to be extremely selfish/self absorbed, with no real sense of community at all. The lack of a "sense of place" in anywhere but a few areas like Saint Augustine, Miami Beach, and Key West is jarring too.
These posts are very helpful-
Thanks for all the opinions, guys
I can see the good & bad to both places, lol
To some Texas may seem too Southern too red neck whatever......
but I love the Southern hospitality,
the slower paced lifestyle, and so forth.
Florida is a notoriously cheaper COL, (which appeals to me)
but with that there's a price- lots of transients & also as someone pointed out-
the notion that there's a lot of weirdos in Florida, lol
I was talking to someone from the Austin area a few months back-
when I asked him where the bad neighborhoods are he laughed.
He said he could see that I'm from a major city just by me asking that;
and he said there are no bad neighborhoods there.
But another friend who's travelled extensively told me that if I went to the
Tampa or even Orlando areas to be careful.
He said there's definitely bad areas there.
Crazy to generalize entire states for this comparison, but I'll give it a try!
In the comparison, I'm really just thinking about the large metros...
*Cost of living - FL
*Job opportunities (for actual good jobs) - TX
*Nice people/educated people/normal people - hmm, slightly in favor of TX
*Ease of living there - not sure what this means or how I'd really differentiate so...push!
*Beautiful places to go visit & explore (btw, I'm already aware of the beaches, lol) - FL
*Mild Winters-- I'm sure both are great --but which has a more tolerable Summer?? - FL summers are more tolerable since all the major cities except Orlando are on the ocean or Gulf.
*Not too busy or congested - slightly in favor of FL.
*Low crime - push.
Cost of living: There's a reason why Florida is more expensive. If you're educated and gainfully employed in Florida--which is hard to come by, don't get me wrong--then it's a wash.
*Job opportunities (for actual good jobs): Texas, especially if you're uneducated/unskilled.
*Nice people/educated people/normal people : Although there are lots of weirdos in Florida, people in Florida are more similar to people in the rest of the country, at least on the surface, since most are from the Northeast and Midwest.
*Ease of living there: Texas feels a lot more crowded than Florida, especially in the major cities. It's also a lot more conservative and religious than Florida, too--I'm not comfortable around that element at all.
*Beautiful places to go visit & explore (btw, I'm already aware of the beaches, lol): Florida, no question about it--far more things to do and places to visit for all tastes and preferences in Florida vs. Texas. Florida's a lot more beautiful than Texas, too. Don't get me started on day trips in Texas! From Dallas, you could make a nice day trip to, er, Oklahoma City...
*Mild Winters-- I'm sure both are great --but which has a more tolerable Summer?? WRONG--Texas has much colder winters than Florida. Ice storms are common winter occurrences in all major Texas cities, save, perhaps, Houston, which regularly sees frost, however. Texas doesn't have a body of water such as the Gulf of Mexico to temper/shelter it from arctic air masses like Florida. Summers are a lot cooler and easier in Florida, too--more breaks from the heat and humidity than in Texas (clouds, rain, sea breezes, passing "systems").
*Not too busy or congested: Again, most of the major cities in Florida, save, perhaps, Miami, feel a lot less congested than most of the major cities in Texas--less traffic, less pollution.
*Low crime: Austin is one of the safest major cities in the US, and there's no Florida equivalent.
I was originally leaning towards Florida, but Texas has always felt like it's where I should be....
I've lived in both Florida and Texas, and I vastly prefer Florida--prettier scenery, warmer winters, cooler summers, more to do within in reasonable driving distance and just in general, less polarizing culture, less redneck/conservative/religious, better roads, more laid back, less congested, less polluted, fewer hidden fees.
For me personally, Texas is just too Southern. Even though people say Texas is where a bunch of people from California and Chicago go for bigger, newer, cheaper housing, I disagree. Texas, especially in the smaller towns and rural communities, is very backwards. There's still too much "Bubba talk" and too many "Bible thumpers" for me to truly like it there.
My responses in bold.
Some parts of this post are indeed true, but you seem to be splitting hairs, especially in regards to climate. Ice storms, and other forms of winter precipitation occur every winter in Texas only in the Panhandle of the state, located in the continental interior region that is the Great Plains. For the rest of the state, ice storms are not common at all during the winter, especially the coastal areas, as well as the dry deserts. Houston, in the years it does see frost during the winter, sees it less then 5 times per year, and average winter temps are highs in the 60s, and lows in the 40s. Many parts of Florida, too, see frost and freeze regularly, especially the northern parts of the state, such as Pensacola, and Panama City, both of which are colder than Houston during the winter. Any you said that Texas doesn't have a major body of water like the Gulf of Mexico to shelter it from cold air-masses? You must have failed geography- Texas is RIGHT NEXT to the Gulf of Mexico! Summers in coastal Texas are are just like summers in Florida, rain, sunshine, and all; in the more inland portions of the state, summers are hotter, and drier , but are much less humid than in Florida, keeping the comfort.
Texas beaches as a whole may not be as beautiful to many as Florida beaches (though Padre Island can definitely compete), but the state makes up for it with wide topographical variety that can't be seen in Florida; the western parts of Texas have high mountain ranges, and peaks nearly 10,000 ft in elevation. There are also the canyons of the Big Bend, and Palo Duro, and don't forget about the Texas Hill Country. Also, the Texas coast has huge amounts of subtropical marshes, forests, and swamps not too dissimilar to what is seen in Florida outside of the Everglades. And with direct land connection to Central America, Texas has large amounts of exotic fauna and flora, many of which have their northernmost ranges in the state. Florida just doesn't have the variety of landscapes Texas has.
Also, the culture; Texas is wayyy less southern than Florida; unlike Florida, Texas has lots of western/southwestern influence mixed in with the native Southern culture, and a live-let-live mentality can be found in the cities across the state, unlike in Florida. EVERYWHERE in Florida has southern culture to at least some degree, even South Florida. But large swaths of Texas are DEVOID of southern culture, like the Western Pecos Region, as well as South Texas. Also, the cities in Texas, especially Dallas and Houston, are much more international and diverse than those in Florida, contributing to the lesser "southerness" in Texas compared to Florida.
Maybe I should do a year in Texas & a year in Florida, lol
Jacksonville is a real contender, for Florida but I'm not sure where in Texas yet....Austin?
My issue w/ that is it's super popular- which turns me off....
Any mid size cities in Texas that aren't super hyped up- but still very cool?
If those are my only choices, "starting over" would make me deeply contemplate my prospects for reincarnation.
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