[marcopolo]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

Marco,
Funny, I was struggling with the opposite feeling. Up north here I have 3 acres. not a lot, but good enough. I love to mow. I have a commercial duty 52" exmark zero turn mower...I can mow the three acres in well under 1.5 hours.

At my Florida home, since I'm not there full time yet, I pay a very good mowing service. I have about 1/3-1/2 acre down there. I wouldn't bring my mower down there of course, and without my huge garage, I don't think I'll buy a mower down there. I'll miss mowing. My guys down there mow, trim, edge and blow the clippings most every week for $55.00 per month. At that price, my wife says to let them do it. For an avid Do it Yourselfer like me, that is hard. We'll see.

All my neighbors down there relax all day, (most, but not all are older). Some set up lawn chairs just to watch me work.... They especially seem to like when I climb my palms to trim them, or get on the roof to do stuff. I seem to be the neighborhood entertainment. Oh well......back to work!

FaithfulFrank, I know plenty of people with your same preferences. It is a wonderful world we live in, where we can each carve out the life that suits us.

We're in the middle of our first year of 1/3rd Florida, 2/3rds up north, and we really need to keep it that way for two or three years while some other issues settle out. After that, we'll either be Floridians or snowbirds--but we'll lay our heads down in a condo every night, either way.

My old neighbor was sort of like you. He mowed his lawn three times a week in the summer. One day he told me his wife gave him hell for getting on the roof (he was 70 then) and I told him I was thrilled to see him on the roof. When he asked me why, I said "because you can't mow your grass when you are up there."

I've been reading your posts and wish you the very best as you make your grand adventure come true.

[old_cold]

So many people have nasty things to say about sno-birds, but, Faithtful Frank...we gotta do a lot of your list and then turn around and do the ones mentioned above, in Florida too!
Sob...sob...(Yeah, I know, not too many are going to sympathize

[chaotix]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

I'm sure some might disagree, but I think those of us who currently live up North are much more controlled by the seasons, compared to those who live down south.

For example, today, and this weekend up here in NY are looking forward to what may be one our last really nice weekends of the year. Here are some of the things most folks will be doing this weekend.

1) Wrapping shrubs and landscaping to prevent being ruined by ice and snowload.
2) Cleaning gutters so ice does not build up in them, causing thousands of dollars of damage.
3) Getting the snowblower ready. Soon we will also winterize the mowers, etc, so they start again next May.
4) Remove all liquids, paints, etc from the garage, (Except flammables) and put them in the basement so they do not freeze.
5) Mow the grass shorter the last time so as to not promote snow mold.
6) Winterize car, installing winter wiper blades, perhaps snow tires soon, along with your emergency survival kits, etc.
7) Change furnace filter and getting a furnace/boiler tune up.
8) Trim trees, etc, so the next ice storm does minimal damage.
9) Silicone and sharpen snowshovels, ice choppers, etc.
10) Seal driveway.
11) Clean windows, because you will not be able to again until May.
12) Check weatherstripping, caulking, etc.
13) Get a good coat of wax on all cars to fight rust/salt.
14) Buy ice melt for all walkways.
15) Pick out fresh Christmas tree now to cut later to minimize hours of tromping through snow looking for the perfect one.
16) Check inventory of long underwear, flannel shirts, gloves, hats, mittens, scarfs, Boots, etc.
17) Put away all summer clothes.
18) Winterize pool if you haven't already.
19) Put up Christmas lights now before snow cover.
20) Clean garage out so your cars will fit in them.

I'm sure there is more, but I need to get ready for work.
Down south I know there are chores of course, but the mildness of seasons do not demand doing anything "right away"......it is more of a constant thing, without seasonal distress.........

Frank

It's the most wonderful time of the year Frank. . . it was great weather this weekend, in my community, most were outdoors doing many of these chores on your list, we were closing our pool & doing windows, others had yard sales, kids riding there bikes, others playing basketball, rollerskating, etc, others triming their trees, gathering wood, mowing/seeding lawns, halloween decor, leaf/mulch, etc, etc, etc, it's a great overall feeling, sense of belonging, if you will, not knocking Florida because that will most likely be our destination sometime in the near future, but I wouldn't trade this feeling for any sunshine, just yet, bring on the snow.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by 1coolcustomer

Really it's not that bad if you think about it. The worst of it starts around the end of May, early June. So June, July, August, September and now it's great outdoors, a little hot in the late afternoon.

I can deal with 1/3 of the year being miserable when the payoff is open windows and getting by with ceiling fans the rest of the time.

It is more than a 1/3 of the year. The recent "fluke" weather with low humidity and temps around 80 had people outside.

Now the heat and humidity are coming back.

FL is nice in the winter. That is about it.

[BlueWillowPlate]

***MOD CUT***

Originally Posted by Ken E

The sun sets everywhere. Why do people get so excited watching the sun go down in Florida? It's usually pretty uneventful.

I'll share another benefit of living in Florida.
This is the only state where I have seen the Green Flash.

[faithfulFrank]

I just cleaned up this thread. Folks, we need to all understand that we are all different, and prefer different things. Bashing is NOT allowed here. That is a friendly warning.
Lesson here is that we live in a free country where we can live wherever we want. Can't we just be happy about that? If things like jobs, family, etc keep you from being where you want, then learn to be content until you can do something about it.

Folks need to understand that some folks ARE doing something about their goal of going where they want, but for various reasons it may take some time...weather it be family things, jobs, etc. For me, I look forward to living in Florida, but I'm not cursing NY. I cannot move for awhile yet, but I am daily working "the plan". I need to stay here until after a certain retirement date. I'm daily working on getting the house ready for market, building my future Florida business, etc. And until the move, I will put up with what I do not like about NY, (like snow, cold, $6k property taxes, rust, etc) and savor the things I DO like about NY, like the fall leaves, great fresh apples, hills and natural beauty, etc. Basically like I said before...the bible verse, "Be content in whatever state I am in" (NY or Fl)

When I move to Florida I will put up with the things I don't like about it and I will NOT complain...(like hard to find good pizza, no Wegman's, no Perry's ice cream, higher water cost, no basement under my house, etc), because I MADE THAT CHOICE and will realize that no place is perfect this side of Heaven. I will also enjoy the many new things I LIKE about Florida.....knowing that life is all about trade offs and as long as I have my health and freedom, I am blessed.

[TampaKaren]

Hi Frank. I just read your exhausting list. But, it sounds like you've got a plan! For me, I feel very fortunate that I get to live In Florida year round. October is usually a month of lower temperatures and less humidity and it's a great time to be outside. I was up at sunrise this morning. The birds were chirping and a foggy haze was hovering over the grounds. What a peaceful feeling that gave me. We have a small winter vegetable garden. The bush beans and snow peas are blooming themselves silly. If I'm lucky, I'll have fresh veggies on the Thanksgiving table. There are many benefits in life if one keeps a positive attitude. Life's too short to be miserable.

[FloridaKash]

Couple nice things about living up north compared to down here. More people up north tend to have more tread on their tires since they change out their tires in winter, or at least need tread to get around in winter. I swear, more than 40% of the cars I see in parking lots down here have tires that are bald (usually only in the front because they don't rotate their tires).

You constantly have to maintain your garden down here. Trip trees back, fight growing ivy and what not. Still mowing the lawn and I am still cleaning the pool each week. Not sure if I will have to keep mowing the lawn throughout winter.... not sure how that works here. I will be pressure washing the pool deck this week as it appears to have been neglected for years.

Things I don't have to do down here.

Change over to studded tires.
Rake a bunch of leaves.
Snowblow/shovel
Scrape Ice off windshield
Drive in a freezing car that warms up just as I get to work.


Its all a trade off. I have my own requirement on the weekend. Flip Flops only, no shoes. Considering its almost mid October and I wore flip fops, shorts and a T-shirt to the store this weekend.... I am very happy. Especially because back home people are complaining about scraping ice already. Not to mention its been cloudy and rainy there.... hahaha... suckers.

[GABMER]

After 20 yrs in Florida I can say weather is not everything. I am leaving and thrilled about it!

[cheerbaby112]

Originally Posted by FloridaKash

Couple nice things about living up north compared to down here. More people up north tend to have more tread on their tires since they change out their tires in winter, or at least need tread to get around in winter. I swear, more than 40% of the cars I see in parking lots down here have tires that are bald (usually only in the front because they don't rotate their tires).

You constantly have to maintain your garden down here. Trip trees back, fight growing ivy and what not. Still mowing the lawn and I am still cleaning the pool each week. Not sure if I will have to keep mowing the lawn throughout winter.... not sure how that works here. I will be pressure washing the pool deck this week as it appears to have been neglected for years.

Things I don't have to do down here.

Change over to studded tires.
Rake a bunch of leaves.
Snowblow/shovel
Scrape Ice off windshield
Drive in a freezing car that warms up just as I get to work.


Its all a trade off. I have my own requirement on the weekend. Flip Flops only, no shoes. Considering its almost mid October and I wore flip fops, shorts and a T-shirt to the store this weekend.... I am very happy. Especially because back home people are complaining about scraping ice already. Not to mention its been cloudy and rainy there.... hahaha... suckers.

O my you werent here for last years winter were you? I had ice and frost on my car in Tampa and my car was freezing! It got into the 30's its was cold.