Florida vs North Carolina (oceanfront, apartment, to rent)

[QuilterChick]

Originally Posted by Majami

I'm glad people are telling me Key West is not a funky/bohemian small town as if I have no right to an opinion or cannot judge these things for myself.

I still find Key West a funky place. Last time I was there was with my ex, we went to a speakeasy where the waitress gave us a book on sex jokes and positions to help us wait (we both felt that was a little too much and were not comfortable with it). We were also informed of a bar with clothes optional.

I know these are two specific examples, and a vibe of a place is something hard to convey with 2 specific examples. But everything from the architecture, to the isolation, to the atmosphere gives off a funky vibe to me. So sue me if you don't agree but I'm sticking to that one.

Agree w/u there Margaritaville is not paradise to those of us who like to wear clothing, or at least a bathing suit! Some of that going on in Asheville, home of the topless babes (can't call them ladies) -- who gather downtown every spring or summer. And, nothing to see that you'd write home about, or touch w/o being immunized.

[perry335654]

true, the number 1 hit city for hurricanes is the OBX then Morehead city NC, then the Bahamas....first fla city is #9...... interesting. Hurricanes/Tropical Storms what cities and islands get hit most (rankings)


So OBX is Cape Hatteras, that is real close with the initial acronym, wow!!

[Majami]

Originally Posted by perry335654

true, the number 1 hit city for hurricanes is the OBX then Morehead city NC, then the Bahamas....first fla city is #9...... interesting. Hurricanes/Tropical Storms what cities and islands get hit most (rankings)


So OBX is Cape Hatteras, that is real close with the initial acronym, wow!!

Yes, I stand corrected there.

However, I'm not sure if that's the reason it's undeveloped.

Looking at the rates (which I find more comparable than the rankings)

Cape Hatteras, NC - hit every 1.36 years
Morehead City, NC - hit every 1.54 years
Wilmington, NC hit every 1.74 years
Boca Raton, FL hit every 1.93 years
Miami, FL hit every 1.99 years
Hollywood, FL hit every 2.01 years
Boynton Beach, FL hit every 2.01 years

Is there really a significant difference between being hit every 1.74 years to being hit every 1.99 years?

Also, something to note. The top 4 Florida cities are all in the Miami MSA, the largest city and metropolitan area in Florida. So at least in the case of Florida, the biggest city is also the most vulnerable one - so development wasn't affected.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by Majami

I'm glad people are telling me Key West is not a funky/bohemian small town as if I have no right to an opinion or cannot judge these things for myself.

I still find Key West a funky place. Last time I was there was with my ex, we went to a speakeasy where the waitress gave us a book on sex jokes and positions to help us wait (we both felt that was a little too much and were not comfortable with it). We were also informed of a bar with clothes optional.

I know these are two specific examples, and a vibe of a place is something hard to convey with 2 specific examples. But everything from the architecture, to the isolation, to the atmosphere gives off a funky vibe to me. So sue me if you don't agree but I'm sticking to that one.

You can have your opinion all you want but Key West has not been a funky, bohemian, artist colony for almost two decades.

While it has pockets on unconventional, it has gone completely Disney.

[Majami]

Originally Posted by blueherons

You can have your opinion all you want but Key West has not been a funky, bohemian, artist colony for almost two decades.

Who gives you the authority to say that? You're just giving your opinion, like me. So you think it's Disney? Good for you. I don't.

[jetdoc3037]

I agree Majami, is there really any difference but at least for 'bragging rights' its NC...and Perry, you have me lost bud, I didn't come into the thread until way late so maybe I'm missing something.

Originally Posted by Majami

Yes, I stand corrected there.

However, I'm not sure if that's the reason it's undeveloped.

Looking at the rates (which I find more comparable than the rankings)

Cape Hatteras, NC - hit every 1.36 years
Morehead City, NC - hit every 1.54 years
Wilmington, NC hit every 1.74 years
Boca Raton, FL hit every 1.93 years
Miami, FL hit every 1.99 years
Hollywood, FL hit every 2.01 years
Boynton Beach, FL hit every 2.01 years

Is there really a significant difference between being hit every 1.74 years to being hit every 1.99 years?

Also, something to note. The top 4 Florida cities are all in the Miami MSA, the largest city and metropolitan area in Florida. So at least in the case of Florida, the biggest city is also the most vulnerable one - so development wasn't affected.

[Pincho-toot]

"Dealing with ice and snow" for like, 5 days on average? That too much for you, softy?

People in NC are nicer because Carolinians still maintain southern hospitality, which has been eroded in south Florida by the tons of aggressive New Yorkers.

The mountains in NC are not just for skiing. They're gorgeous in fall and spring. Great for camping in summer. Great for living for those into living out in the boonies. You can't compare them to the rockies, its not fair. It is like trying to compare Florida to Hawaii. Same genre, different songs. The Appalachian mountains do have more greenery than the Rockies, and some people prefer trees to giant intimidating cliffs.

Florida has the best beaches in the lower 48, however outside of water activities and theme parks, what much else is there that is so great? Clubs? I'll pass. Water activities are only fun in the summer, and I don't know who in Florida goes swimming in winter except for tourists from cold places. I ain't getting in the water if its under 85, sorry bub! I love cold air as in fall and winter weather, but I'm not going swimming in water when the air is not really hot enough either. I go swimming to cool off not shiver. If its 78 degrees its not hot enough to cool off.

[Majami]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

Florida has the best beaches in the lower 48, however outside of water activities and theme parks, what much else is there that is so great? Clubs? I'll pass. Water activities are only fun in the summer, and I don't know who in Florida goes swimming in winter except for tourists from cold places. I ain't getting in the water if its under 85, sorry bub! I love cold air as in fall and winter weather, but I'm not going swimming in water when the air is not really hot enough either. I go swimming to cool off not shiver. If its 78 degrees its not hot enough to cool off.

I go swimming year-round here in Miami. The water temperature on the surface tends to be above 75F, even in the coldest months so you can swim, it's a bit chilly though. If it's a nice day, and not one that's cold or cloudy I will be swimming.

Also my parents and sister came from Boston this Christmas, when we had nonstop 80s for the entire month, and the water temperature was about 80F, and funny enough they found it a bit too cold and didn't bother swimming, just lounged on the beach whereas I was swimming all the time perplexed they found it a bit cold.

But besides swimming, locals here in Miami Beach are on their waverunners, boating, fishing, diving, year-round. If you never lived on Miami Beach, you will never appreciate that lifestyle.

[Pincho-toot]

Originally Posted by Majami

I cannot imagine Florida gets hit with less hurricanes than North Carolina. If North Carolina does get hit more, it's probably not a big difference.

I think that what happened was North Carolina simply developed along industrial (rail) lines whereas Florida developed along leisure lines. This is similar why Atlanta is now the biggest city in Georgia when Savannah used to be.

But my point stands, if you want to live in a city in North Carolina, you really won't be close to either mountains or ocean. It's always a 2-4 hour drive here and there, meaning on the balance of a year, you will only go a handful of times.

Miami is Florida's biggest city, and it's absolutely pressed right into the ocean. In Florida you don't need to sacrifice urbanity for being near beautiful nature (in our case the water). In North Carolina you absolutely need to.

I have never been to Wilmington and Asheville, so this statement is maybe completely ignorant, but I had a look at these cities on google street view to see if they are 'real city' alternatives to living in either the oceans or the mountains in North Carolina. I know they're much smaller than Charlotte.

As far as Wilmington goes, it's not really coastal, it's what Norwegians would call on a fjord. It also seems so horribly small, and suburban, lacking any urban bones. I tried peeking around the "historic center" hoping to see another Charleston or Savannah, Wilmington sorely disappoints.

What was more disappointing was Asheville. In her core I just saw these big red-brick buildings, and wide streets. I was imagining a funky, Bohemian mountain town. Not really. And to add one more thing, I didn't even see mountain vistas from street view, except for one direction, and those looked more like hills. I saw more dramatic mountain vistas living in Los Angeles. Denver, which is really not in the mountains but a drive away (and an actual 'big city') has more dramatic mountain vistas than Asheville. At least what I saw on google maps.

I'm really scratching my head about North Carolina, it seems her cities are hopelessly mediocre at best.

A 2-4 hour drive is nothing, and to insinuate that its usually only done a handful of times? Maybe its because I now live in Texas and I got used to driving 2 hours back and forth on a regular basis so to me, 2-4 hours is nothing, especially on a weekend trip. Hell, even back in Florida my aunt would commute from her tiny little town in northern Florida 6 hours to Miami every month. You're telling me a handful of hours to the beach/mountains is too far? That's a steal! The closest mountains to me are in Arkansas and Missouri and the closest nice beach is just as far.

Forget it brother, North Carolina's the best state in the south Seasons, mountains, ocean, all pretty damn close!

[Majami]

A 2-4 hour drive is not 'nothing'. That's a 4-8 round-trip. Who will do that even every weekend? You will probably only go skiing 2-3 times a season.

Hell, if I lived in Miami and not Miami Beach, I'd probably almost never swim in the ocean. And that's only 30 minutes away. I prefer my things immediately around me, if need be I'll take a vacation to a true ski resort place and get my fix.