An Apology (houses, allergy, living)

[Petertherock]

Some of you may notice I haven't been posting here too often. I have been posting more in the Florida forums since that is where I hope to be living someday in the future. Those of you who know me know that I have had a lot of negative things to say about Maine. After dealing with one particular Florida basher in the Florida forums who not only bashes Florida but bashes anyone who has anything good to say about Florida I can see how people have gotten upset with me.

Personally, I can't stand the cold and snow for half the year. I can't stand having to wear heavy coats for the majority of the year. I can't stand only being able to swim in a pool for 3 months of the year. I can't stand always having the sniffles and having to say your prayers while pulling out into the intersection because of the 10 foot snow drifts that make it so you can't see on coming traffic. I can't stand not being able to go for walks without fear of slipping on the ice and breaking bones. I can't stand having my car roadsalt gray for 6 months of the year. I can't stand not knowing if my car will start when it gets into the single numbers and below zero. I can't stand not having any sun for weeks on end and having the sun set at 4pm.

But that's me. I have to realize that some people out there love to ski, love to ice fish, love to go snowmobiling, and some people love the snow covered trees and everything. Just as I would much rather have 90 degrees and humid over cold and snow a lot of people would rather see the below zero weather than the hot and humid weather.

I did do an interesting comparison though with someone who lived in Florida and couldn't stand the heat and moved the NH and after 1 winter hates it and will be moving back to Florida in June. She said even running her AC in Florida all the time her monthly electric bill was rarely over $100 and in NH her electric bill runs $125-$150 all the time plus she has to pay $250 a month for heating oil. She said the cost of living all the way around in Florida is A LOT cheaper than New England.

I know Florida is not for everyone...and I have talked to people like my boss who has lived in Florida and up here for a significant amount of time. He said yes, hurricanes are bad if you live within a mile of the coast. But honestly, some of the nor easters we get up here are worse than any hurricane he got in Florida. He said he has seen houses last through hurricanes and houses get blown apart. The difference was the homes that made it are the ones that the owner left the window cracked a little bit to even out the pressure in the home.

Look at the ice storm we had 10 years to the day ago. People went 2 weeks without power in some places. Every winter storm we have people lose power up here. Every nor Easter we get people lose homes along the coast. Just like in Florida hurricanes.

Also, if you look at the map...New England isn't immune from major hurricanes. In fact if you look at this map you can see that there has only been 2 major hurricanes in North Florida. While there has been 7 in New England.



Again, I am not trying to minimize hurricanes because I know they are and can be bad. But at least you can leave the coast during a hurricane....there's no where to go to escape nor Easter snow storms.

But anyway...since I don't like it when I have to deal with the person who always bashes Florida and anyone who likes Florida I will refrain from doing the same to people here who genuinely like Maine. When I post here I will try to be informative and not negative like I have been in the past. But for the most part, I will probably stick to the Florida forum where I am happiest.

[deerislesmile]

Peter- I hope that you do find your Happy Place in Florida (and if not Florida, than some place warmer than Maine!).

[Eastport4me]

Peter,

Life is a journey. Be true to yourself and follow your heart. If you have a dream or a goal...make it happen, keep working until you succeed. Sometimes we are only in a place for a season then we move on to a new experience, ie. town or culture.

[flycessna]

I met and old man and women once who were very friendly. They had striked up a conversation with my son who was 2 at the time. Both of them were in their 90's and had been married their whole lives. I was younger then i am now and fairly newly married. As we were talking I jokingly asked what was they key to being happy and living so long and having a successful marriage. I did not say that word for word but he got my point.....he very directly said to me....

They key to a long successful marriage was forgiveness and the key to a long happy life was light heartedness and just to be happy.

I walked away realizing what he was saying was that..in life nothing will be perfect and just the way you want it to be. Learn to appreciate what you have and not carry too much stress and bitterness. Forgive and accept.

Boy has that been hard to follow….but as I get older it gets a little easier. I am not crazy about Maine….and in fact…if you read my posts from when I started…. the overall positiveness of this forum has helped me appreciate Maine for what it is. I cannot change the weather, or the culture, but I can accept what it is and enjoy the things I do like.…..If I get the chance to move to Florida or just anywhere warmer…I will try and accept that for what that is. I know I’ll be leaving behind some wonderful things and people

good luck

[msina]

It's hard to apologize, I wish you good luck. I hope you find only good things in life. Fly, Great post. There's a lot of wisdom there. I'm glad you're around. You add a lot to the forum.

[CapeCodder]

Have you been negative...why I hadn't even noticed.

Be happy...if Florida is what you want...then you should be there and enjoy every minute of the warm sun. Enjoy your life!

Best wishes

[Abbymoulton]

They say it takes a big man to state an apology. I hope Florida is all you want it to be. Good luck and stay positive.

[maine4.us]

Good Luck Peter! I will tell you, the northern part of Florida will be much less of a culture shock for you than way down in south Florida. The St. Augustine area of Florida is a favorite area of mine. It has beach, character, and it a small town.

[genmomto5]

Thanks Peter. I hope you get to Florida and love it as much as I love it here. That said: I noticed the sniffles comment in your post. When we lived in NJ and MD my son was sniffling all the time. He resists taking any kind of pill (when he was little I'd have to chase him around and force stuff on him if he had something he really needed) so allergy meds were not workable for him. Anyway, we moved up here and no more sniffles. That kind of thing can be an allergy as much as cold weather. If you get to Florida and have the same thing you may want to check that out.

[forest beekeeper]

We wish you luck and happiness in your move.