[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

Comparing New York City to Spring Hill (or anywhere else in Florida) doesn't make sense......

Of Course NYC is way more expensive than Spring Hill......Spring Hill isn't even popular with Floridians, it's nowhere near the coast and there's nothing but small businesses and homes there.....

New York City is pretty much the most expensive place to live in this country.....comparing it to ANYWHERE doesn't make sense.....

Spring Hill is RURAL......compare it to areas that compare...

No wonder Florida is so important to the Republicans during elections.......it's full of people who will blindly defend it from anyone who says it isn't paradise.....

By the way, I moved to Florida in 1987, it was a WAY BETTER place then- Now, it is just a cheap, pastel, poorly constructed veneer over a state that is SO FAR behind the times and has no substance......

If you are in to the following things....you should move to Florida:

Pastel "key westy" looking strip plazas that are 3/4 empty
Endless fast food restaurants
Tons of Walmarts
Terrible wages compared to many other places
Huge, empty condos along the coast that used to be hotels, marinas, ect
confederate flags
giant fake boobs
huge tires on pick up trucks
girls with big hair
styles from 10 years ago
7 minute red lights
90+ degree Gulf water temps for 3+ months during summer
Nothing but chain restaurants: Chillis, Outback, Carrabas, ect

Excellent post!!!! I could not agree more.

You forgot.

Miles of used car lots
Billboards lining every road adding to the beauty

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

$677 for one car is more than I pay a year for one car here. You pay more in a month for one than I pay for two. Must be some reasons behind that.

There is... I do not live in the middle of the woods, I live in Lee county which includes Lehigh Acres, one of the most crime ridden dumps in FL, and also Fory Misery, another crap hole of a city, therefore my rates here suck.... and Florida is an insurance ripoff..... Keep cheering for FL. I have been here with these discussions before, FL is not paradise like you make it out to be.

[ChrisA70]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

I've been visiting FL since 1972. Stationed in Pensacola in 75, numerous vacations from 79-86 We moved here in 1988 to Orlando. There was a publicly accessible WWW in 1994. I was on line in 1984, Compuserve Information Service. I got plenty of info about FL in 1986 when we started our planning. Good solid info from people in Orlando. Yeah, FL changed a lot since then. So has the rest of the country. I have no argument about comparing FL to NY or any other place. Everybody else does that. You can't compare the northeast to FL, its two different worlds. FL, to me, is a great place. When we sold our Orlando home in 2005 we had the ability to go anywhere in the U.S. Leaving FL was not even in the cards for us. Yep, summers can be really hot. You really have to like warm weather to be here. I have no complaints about FL. It's exactly what we wanted in our lives. Has been for 23 years.

Enjoy MA!!!!

Ohhhh I see a retiree. Well it all makes sense now. Sure this place is great unless you have to work, bring up a family. Get to sit by the pool all day.

I will enjoy MA, I do everytime I go to visit, this time I can go where I want to be, and be close to family. And cool off!!!!!

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by whitelotusnmt

My parents & I are kicking around the idea of leaving NJ for FL in a few years. I currently live in a community 15 minutes from everything & the Jersey Shore, and would like to be close to the beach. I work as a massage therapist & think it would be good to be somewhat close to Orlando, as I believe I would have better luck finding work in that area, where tourists would be taking advantage of spa services.

I'm thinking of the Cocoa area..I like that it's on the coast, and admittedly I am a bit of a space nerd & like the idea of being able to watch the rockets launch, etc. But more practically, how is that area to live in? I would be looking to purchase a condo, preferably $140k or under. I am in my early 30's & would like to be in a nice safe area where there are other people my age. I have no problem working in a spa environment in a resort, but my focus as a massage therapist is also rehabilitative therapeutic massage, so I would also like access to sports/orthopedic doctors, chiropractors, holistic practitioners.

My parents are retired, Mom has arthritis that's getting tougher to bear during the winters up here, plus it's just getting too expensive to live. They currently live in a similar area to where I am now...Target right up the road, supermarkets, restaurants very nearby, etc. They are mostly homebodies, but would enjoy active adult community living, with most stores/restaurants, etc. near to them. They are very active in their Roman Catholic parish, so that would be important as well. The other thing is my mother also suffers from neurological difficulties & it's of highest importance they have access to a nearby hospital & a choice of good physicians in that specialty. They probably would not want to be far from the amusement parks since they have loved vacationing there (and if my brother makes the move that is likely where he will go, although we would both want to be close to them).

I appreciate any advice you guys could give me, thank you!!

Hi whitelotusmt - I got to the end of the thread with people arguing back and forth, and forgot what you originally asked about! Unfortunately that happens a lot here, people disagreeing on whether Florida is nice or not - that is all subjective. The fact is, there are plenty of people here who love it including me, a native, and others for whom it has not worked out.

Anyway, have you considered Sarasota? This is where me and hubby live now. It's a beautiful small city with a lot of amenities and a lot of great health care due to a large retiree population. There are young people here too, we have three small but major colleges, and a lot of young professionals. Lots of wholistic, alternative health care and spas, lots of restaurants, really most everything most people could want. It might be worth looking into. there is a lot of good info on the Sarasota forums, especially posts by SoFLGal - she posts lots of good links.

Good luck to you!

[Spring Hillian]

OK. I guess that's why we call this area "The Nature Coast".

Originally Posted by D-R-B

Just looked at a map..........Yep, Spring Hill is not near the coast.....same place it's always been.

[Spring Hillian]

Retiree? Nope. Working guy.

Some people have good reasons to want to be someplace else.

I just don't see what is holding them up from going to where they will be happier.

However, bashing a place due to homesickness, lack of family, etc is ridiculous. Obviously, you are in the minority and simply use this forum to vent your frustrations. There is nothing that pleases you here. So many find it just the opposite.

Originally Posted by ChrisA70

Ohhhh I see a retiree. Well it all makes sense now. Sure this place is great unless you have to work, bring up a family. Get to sit by the pool all day.

I will enjoy MA, I do everytime I go to visit, this time I can go where I want to be, and be close to family. And cool off!!!!!

[cw30000]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

I have family/friends in New Jersey, Massachusetts, and New York. Some of them have lived in Florida before and completely agree with me. They are WAY better off financially in the North East.....I`ll give you an example:

My friend owns a BEAUTIFUL 5 bedroom, 3 story cape that sits on 8.2 acres just 40 minutes out side of New York City in Northern New Jersey...he pays $8000 per year in property taxes.

My sister owns a 3 bedroom typical florida split plan ranch on a lot just big enough for the house to sit on.......less than 2/10ths of an acre, located 30 minutes west of Tampa......she pays $3600 per year in taxes.

If the cost of living is so much higher, and the weather is so much worse, than why do people still live up North??......

Us folks down here in Florida are probably just smarter than everyone else......right?...........hmmmm.

Your friend is not telling you the truth then. If he is sitting on a 8.2 acres and only paying 8k in tax, that mean he is getting farm subsidy. To qualify for farm subsidy, you must own a land greater than 5 acres if I recall correctly. Without subsidy, he will be paying like 100k just in property tax.

People live where jobs area, and that usually in big cities. Why are big city always up in NE? It is because the original 13 colonies are all in the NE. Big city form at port.

[Spring Hillian]

Not saying its "paradise". For me its a great place to live and I wouldn't live anywhere else. I enjoy what FL offers me. I choose the area we live in now and I choose Orlando when we first arrived. Like Ive said on this forum many many times before, if you don't like it, leave. Very simple concept.
The hatred that you have must make your life very difficult.

Originally Posted by ChrisA70

There is... I do not live in the middle of the woods, I live in Lee county which includes Lehigh Acres, one of the most crime ridden dumps in FL, and also Fory Misery, another crap hole of a city, therefore my rates here suck.... and Florida is an insurance ripoff..... Keep cheering for FL. I have been here with these discussions before, FL is not paradise like you make it out to be.

[D-R-B]

Originally Posted by cw30000

Your friend is not telling you the truth then. If he is sitting on a 8.2 acres and only paying 8k in tax, that mean he is getting farm subsidy. To qualify for farm subsidy, you must own a land greater than 5 acres if I recall correctly. Without subsidy, he will be paying like 100k just in property tax.

People live where jobs area, and that usually in big cities. Why are big city always up in NE? It is because the original 13 colonies are all in the NE. Big city form at port.

Nope....he`s telling the truth. Sussex County New Jersey, just outside of Vernon. Been there a bunch of times, in fact....his homeowners insurance is between $650-$800 dollars per year, also much cheaper than Florida......

But I suppose he is lying to my face about that as well?.....I`ve known this man for years...he's not lying.

[Spring Hillian]

Of course home insurance is cheaper. Insurance rates are based on risk. I would think the risk of a hurricane is quite slim in Sussex County NJ.

Originally Posted by D-R-B

Nope....he`s telling the truth. Sussex County New Jersey, just outside of Vernon. Been there a bunch of times, in fact....his homeowners insurance is between $650-$800 dollars per year, also much cheaper than Florida......

But I suppose he is lying to my face about that as well?.....I`ve known this man for years...he's not lying.