advice from people who have been to florida

[Flordianative]

Please save your money! Fl is not as nice as some think i have lived here most of my life say 30yrs and I want out it is very costly to live here. If you want to live in Fl stay in north east Fl. It cost just as much as south Fl but not as much crime say in St Augustine area just south of jacksonville but north of Daytona Beach.You will Get Plenty of nite life.Be perpaired for almost 100 degree weather about 6 months of the year with humidty at about 95 percent .this means even if your sitting in the shade on a breezy day you will start to sweat in about 45 seconds of walking outside. It's rough be sure to drink plenty of water you will need it....My Advise stay where your at i know so my people looking to leave Fl it's not even funny . We are justtrying to save enough money to get out of here....

[eufo]

Originally Posted by millyp

Hi, I'm a 20 yr old trying to leave iowa for a few years...i want to go to florida..i would like to know where people from up here liked...didn't like.....know anyone under 30 who moved down there and had success?

I grew up in Des Moines. I've lived several places since then. I've been in South Florida since early 2002. Incidentally, the "real" South Florida is the strip of cities on the Atlantic coast, not the Gulf coast as someone else mentioned. This side has a very very small redneck population, mostly what you'll find is a very large hispanic and black population mixed with white non-hispanics.

I will warn you that life here is not easy for the newcomer. Most people become discouraged and leave because of the lack of well paying jobs and relatively expensive housing. But if you tough it out and catch some breaks, it is very livable and I love it.

Real estate here is in a slow motion crash. Renting is surely the way to go for now. If you choose South Florida, I recommend Broward county very close to the coast or far west near the Everglades.

Best of luck.

[zippywoo32]

My wife and I moved to Tampa from Iowa a while back. There is no comparison, Florida is by far a better state to live in. I lived in Iowa for 39 years. The only things Iowa has going for it is that it is a safer state to live crimewise and the education is better. But Florida is trying to change that.
Also if you like snow Iowa is a good place to be.
There are so many great things here like the sun shines almost everyday with the exception of 3 or 4 days a year. Everything is so alive and green. I never was a person who had to have cold snowy winters to appreciate spring and summer. I can't forget the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. Also the wildlife is spectacular. There is so much to do here.
Like anywhere else if all you want to do is party and blow money it will get real old fast. But being that I have been there done that I know that it can happen no matter where you live although it might happen a little faster here.
In some respects it is more expensive to live here. I was like one of the persons earlier who said lots of people are moving. That is not 100% true. There are some people moving but there is still allot more moving in....But if our JOKE of a state government doesn't pull their heads out it could get ugly.
Someone said something about rednecks earlier. They are more in the smaller towns but they are there. The so called rednecks in Iowa and the midwest have no clue what a real redneck is. They don't want to be one either. Outside in the country areas you see the confederate flag and lots of people wearing those STUPID yankee go home t-shirts. I still can't stand the excuse they give that its their heritage. Thats a bunch of hogwash.
All I am trying to say is that there is some bad here but I would say that 95% of Florida including most of its citizens is awesome and I would not live anywhere else.

[Not Iowa]

It depends on what industry you are looking to move into. Give a few more items on your wish list and we can help you out. I lived in the south for a few years and absolutely loved it, even with the insane humidity - who cares, the winters were great. Good luck!

[Woodsy1]

You're only 20, so you can afford to spend some time here and there making a false start or two, but I don't think Florida will be high on your list to settle in . The idea of no winter and living on the beach somewhere certainly has its allure, but seriously, you will pay dearly for anything near the water, the traffic is terrible like you wouldn't believe, and wages are crap. And watch who you hang out with. Florida is the winter destination for every con man, bum, and criminal in the eastern half of the US. If you stay, it's common to end up somewhere on the interior of the state with some kind of service job. If you don't go with money, expect to sweat your ass off for someone who does Workers are a dime a dozen in Florida, so don't expect a whole lot of job security. You will find yourself competing with immigrants and retirees who ran out of money and went back to work. They will work for less and employers know it. You could spend a lot of your life trying to get somewhere in Florida, and ultimately come to the conclusion that you're living in a place that pretty much devotes itself to entertaining tourists and retired people with very little else holding it all together. Nice to place to visit, but I don't recommend living there unless you go to retire, and even then I wonder. So many elderly people in one place tends to slant the culture in ways that might not be totally healthy.

From Florida you might want to trail on up through Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisianna...lots of interesting people and places to visit along the way,
(and those southern gals are pure pleasure to be around,) The gulf coast is pretty much the same all the way through the deep south, though the rules change a bit in Lousianna. Don't ask, you'll figure it out when you get there.
I think your best bet is to continue on to Texas after you've had all the grits you can stand, and take a good long hard look at what's going on around Dallas. It's more of a midwestern type city in a lot of ways, and I think you will find it to be more compatible with your Iowa upbringing, minus the snow shovel, of course. Climate wise it's not a whole lot different than what your'e used to-hotter a little longer in summer, not nearly so cold in winter. Same kind of thunderstorms. A lot more lakes to go to if you're into water sports. The Dallas economy is broad spectrum so there are lots of varied opportunities and lots to do for a young man. If I had it to do over, I believe I'd spend a whole lot more time there than I did. Hindsight is 20/20! Wherever you end up, you'll be grateful for the good education you got in Iowa. It will serve you well.

PS Don't bother telling them how you did it back in Iowa. They really
don't care.

Originally Posted by millyp

Hi, I'm a 20 yr old trying to leave iowa for a few years...i want to go to florida..i would like to know where people from up here liked...didn't like.....know anyone under 30 who moved down there and had success?

[Chicago60614]

I've had 3 different friends from the midwest all leave and go to Florida - and the 3rd one just moved back to Chicago in June.

They all had different reasons for getting sick of it, but they all had a lot of reasons. I was suprised, I thought people liked florida. I think it's just getting really crowded and expensive. The one thing they all keep going on about is the weather. It's obviously warmer in Florida for 6 months of the year than it is here.

[Woodsy1]

Not to diminish your enthusiasm, but you have much to learn about Florida, grasshopper.

Originally Posted by zippywoo32

My wife and I moved to Tampa from Iowa a while back. There is no comparison, Florida is by far a better state to live in. I lived in Iowa for 39 years. The only things Iowa has going for it is that it is a safer state to live crimewise and the education is better. But Florida is trying to change that.
Also if you like snow Iowa is a good place to be.
There are so many great things here like the sun shines almost everyday with the exception of 3 or 4 days a year. Everything is so alive and green. I never was a person who had to have cold snowy winters to appreciate spring and summer. I can't forget the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. Also the wildlife is spectacular. There is so much to do here.
Like anywhere else if all you want to do is party and blow money it will get real old fast. But being that I have been there done that I know that it can happen no matter where you live although it might happen a little faster here.
In some respects it is more expensive to live here. I was like one of the persons earlier who said lots of people are moving. That is not 100% true. There are some people moving but there is still allot more moving in....But if our JOKE of a state government doesn't pull their heads out it could get ugly.
Someone said something about rednecks earlier. They are more in the smaller towns but they are there. The so called rednecks in Iowa and the midwest have no clue what a real redneck is. They don't want to be one either. Outside in the country areas you see the confederate flag and lots of people wearing those STUPID yankee go home t-shirts. I still can't stand the excuse they give that its their heritage. Thats a bunch of hogwash.
All I am trying to say is that there is some bad here but I would say that 95% of Florida including most of its citizens is awesome and I would not live anywhere else.

[iluvlucy]

it might be a great place to live when your 20 and single with no worries but it's no place to raise kids. I lived in Hollywood FL for 3 years and between the homeless bums, con men at every intersection, prostitutes everywhere or I should call them what they really were, crack whores, overcrowded schools, **** poor education, I could go on and on. People who vacation there love it, try living there it's not so great. It is not beautiful and green like someone else said. The roads are good but the heat blew out all 4 of my tires in the 3 years I lived there. Fleas and bugs omg!! Palmettos, flying cockroaches, fire ants ugh! I didn't know I was allergic to the fire ants until I was swarmed by them and ended up in the hospital. If you have pets you will have to treat them for fleas year round, cuz they never die off. Yes, there is plenty to do if you have the money to do so. Two seasons there, rain and heat and let me tell you it's unbelievably hot and humid!!!

[zippywoo32]

Originally Posted by Woodsy1

Not to diminish your enthusiasm, but you have much to learn about Florida, grasshopper.

Thank you old wise Woodsy1