Your choice? Florida or California (condominium, movie theater, college)

[Trigger-f]

Hmm, too many couch potatoes in CA, scared of the above animals. Seals have moved off of Gaseteria, err Carpinteria, to northern areas or many have perished.

Imagine if Califronians lived in Australia..

[sourdough]

Originally Posted by Trigger-f

All signs of a healthy ecosystem. On the other hand..

Number of Starving Sea Lions in California 'Unprecedented'


"It’s also uncertain whether prey populations have died out or simply relocated.

"The influx of weak, sickly sea lion pups—3,110 as of May 20—has overwhelmed rehabilitation centers for the third year in a row. From San Diego to north of San Francisco, rescuers are busy retrieving pups (sometimes from city streets and oceanside bars), fattening up the ones that can be saved, and releasing them back into the sea [see video]. During the worst month, March, more than 1,000 pups rolled ashore, more than rescuers would normally see in an entire year.

Sea lions are considered sentinel species, which means they’re used as indicators of ocean health—and the indications aren’t looking good."

No food, probably the sharks moved elsewhere.. but still these are signs of a very unhealthy ecosystem (which explains the decline in shark attacks the other guy mentioned).

There has never been a shark problem in Carpinteria...http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-n...-over-time-map
The Seal pup problem is food related and due to water temperature change. Florida low lands will be impacted by temperature change…
Florida Map - Global Warming Sea Level Rise Map
Less land but ever greater numbers of everything. Friendly or not.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by tmg4me

Wow, This thread has been all over the place. Sharks, snakes, traffic and now religion.

Alot of these posts are so funny. No, I'm not a surfer. I'm not an athiest and I am DEFINITELY NOT for Shari law. Does Florida have sharia law now? Oy vey.

I love reading these posts. so cute and funny but I trully thank you all for your input. I'm learning alot.

Well, the angry mob is starting to gather methinks. So, you have gotten a LOT of feedback. A lot of it good stuff to ponder eh? If the thread totally derails now with graphic depictions of sharks and gators eating sea lions, and pythons swallowing dogs, .... just remember:

It's all about too many damn bugs!

Good luck with your decision

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by nslander

Then they wouldn't be rednecks.

Yes they would be. I assume your imagination gives you a totally inaccurate picture.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Trigger-f

Hmm, too many couch potatoes in CA, scared of the above animals. Seals have moved off of Gaseteria, err Carpinteria, to northern areas or many have perished.

Imagine if Califronians lived in Australia..

I don't have a couch on my boat. It's called a "settee".
(Yes, I really live on a boat in California. Have since the 70's. In all that time, not a single shark has snuck aboard in the night to steal my dog.)

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by Trigger-f

Hmm, too many couch potatoes in CA, scared of the above animals. Seals have moved off of Gaseteria, err Carpinteria, to northern areas or many have perished.

Imagine if Califronians lived in Australia..

Scared of their own shadow

[tmg4me]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

lmfao. Word.

In fact, roflmfao.

What does Redneck actually mean? They are hard working people that work outside in the Sun, like in Florida, and they get a sunburn on their neck. LOL

[tmg4me]

Originally Posted by Trigger-f

All signs of a healthy ecosystem. On the other hand..

Number of Starving Sea Lions in California 'Unprecedented'


"It’s also uncertain whether prey populations have died out or simply relocated.

"The influx of weak, sickly sea lion pups—3,110 as of May 20—has overwhelmed rehabilitation centers for the third year in a row. From San Diego to north of San Francisco, rescuers are busy retrieving pups (sometimes from city streets and oceanside bars), fattening up the ones that can be saved, and releasing them back into the sea [see video]. During the worst month, March, more than 1,000 pups rolled ashore, more than rescuers would normally see in an entire year.

Sea lions are considered sentinel species, which means they’re used as indicators of ocean health—and the indications aren’t looking good."

No food, probably the sharks moved elsewhere.. but still these are signs of a very unhealthy ecosystem (which explains the decline in shark attacks the other guy mentioned).

That is so sad What is causing their deaths?

[pacific2]

Originally Posted by tmg4me

Wow, This thread has been all over the place. Sharks, snakes, traffic and now religion.

Alot of these posts are so funny. No, I'm not a surfer. I'm not an athiest and I am DEFINITELY NOT for Shari law. Does Florida have sharia law now? Oy vey.

I love reading these posts. so cute and funny but I trully thank you all for your input. I'm learning a lot.

Baaaack on topic. If you have any interest in staying in SoCal, specifically Orange County, for the short-term while you explore this region at leisure, I would suggest Alicante Apartments in Aliso Viejo.
Aliso Viejo Apartments | Alicante Apartment Homes Aliso Viejo, CA

They offer leases from 1-12 months, and they are very dog-friendly (with breed restrictions). They are also well-managed, and it's easy to meet people there. Currently, 2 bedrooms start at about $2187. The beach is about 10-15 minutes away. Parks are everywhere.Grocery stores, Trader Joe's, restaurants and a movie theater are about .5 mile away from Alicante.

Some corner units have a large gated balcony that's perfect for a sun-worshipping pooch and a container garden.

I stayed at Alicante when I first moved from NYC to CA and was pleased with it.

Oops! I almost forgot to tell you that I never once spotted a gator at Alicante, but I did sometimes see coyotes during my early morning walks with my dog.

[tmg4me]

Originally Posted by BigSkyBound

If I had a dollar for every time I read, "I left the state of Florida and couldn't get out fast enough..." well I wouldn't have a mortgage payment. Everything is relative and I don't know what specific areas you are referring to, so with that said...

California is beautiful and the weather is great, but it's ridiculously expensive and most of my husband's family has moved out of the state for that reason. From others, I've heard that running to the bank, going grocery shopping and stopping at the post office on a Saturday was an all-day ordeal because of the horrendous traffic. No thanks. Again, it depends what area you choose to live and your particular lifestyle needs.

I mapped out a trip from Camarillo to Santa Monica and mapquest told me it was going to take 1/2 hour. Hahahahaha, silly 'ol me for thinking travel time was comparable to WI in terms of mileage. It took me ALL. FRICKEN. DAY. I dropped my hubby off at work in the morning, I drove to Santa Monica just in time to try on my wedding gown (super fast) and I literally had to turn around and head back to pick up my hubby from work.

Earthquakes. Fast, and a totally different vibe. High cost of living. Lack of rain. But you can't beat the weather. If we did live there, we would choose San Diego. I can't remember the name but we found an article that listed the best beach communities to live in California... for the life of me I can't remember the name of the community that was high on the list! If I think of it I will post it here. I lived in San Diego briefly and one thing I missed was good old fashioned midwestern values.


In Florida, depending on where you live of course you will want to pay attention to the crime stats, and even gated communities give nothing more than a false sense of security. Burglaries high on the list, but again it's all relative. I keep reading there's not much of a sense of community there, as there are many transplants and probably the highest percentage of registered sex offenders in the country.

Safety Harbor and Dunedin come to mind as lower on the crime stats but near water, if that's your thing. Tampa has never been hit by a major hurricane, if I remember correctly - that's a bonus. I believe flood/hurricane insurance is typically higher on the east coast as they're more prone to hurricanes -- ???

You have to take flooding and hurricanes and sinkholes into account ... bugs, alligators, pesticides sprayed in neighborhoods to keep the mosquito population down, extreme humidity, daily rainshowers.

Wow, I can't believe the traffic is that bad. What a waste of precious time to be sitting in traffic all day. California seems way over populated.
I was looking at the crime rates for different states and I couldn't believe that Florida is in the top 5th state for the highest crime. That is scary since I will be living by myself.
I don't think I can live with the weather of Florida but thinking if living near the beach might help a little bit.

Maybe I should look for a totally different state to move too. The only thing is the only people I know live in Florida and California so it would be hard to move to a state where I don't know anybody