[Red3311]

Originally Posted by o_O

I like how you continue to blame the state of FL, the economy, the people, basically anyone and anything other than yourself for your utter misery down here. You make near minimum wage; must be FL's fault!

LOLWUT? Why are you stalking my posts anyway? You can always add me as a friend with the toolbar at the righthand side of your screen if you wish, but please dont follow behind my posts and make dumb remarks. I dont blame FL for any of the aforementioned stated above, I blame silly Northerners like you that turned this place into a dumpster then brag to all your northern friends about how you "moved to paradise".

[lofel]

whats the florida year around weather?people cant be moving there for just 3 months

[Florida-Dude]

Originally Posted by lofel

whats the florida year around weather?people cant be moving there for just 3 months

I wear shorts and sandals year around.

I dont own a jacket.


Year around awesome weather.

[Florida-Dude]

Originally Posted by Swimmom32

Your lucky then, an X co worker/friend of my hubby moved to s florida with a pretty nice job, was laid off after 16 months he makes 140k min has been out of work now 7 months cant find anything an had 1 offer for 85k which isnt enough for them to live on...I dont care what people say we lived there 3 years and it is quite expensive, he recently got a job offer back in NJ for more than he was making before...Cost of living is very comparible NJ to S Florida except for the property taxes our cost of living was pretty similar as well...good paying jobs are hard to find in S florida....

Lucky? Don't agree.

Many I know have very good paying jobs here. Sure some do not.

140k per year he should be able to live for a year or more just on his extra money and not work.

He cannot live on 85k then he has some issues of his priorities wrong.

So it is Floridas fault he cannot make it on 85k?

COL for me is less living here then where I moved from.

Why would you move to SFla if you knew the COL before you moved there?

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by Florida-Dude

Lucky? Don't agree.

Many I know have very good paying jobs here. Sure some do not.

140k per year he should be able to live for a year or more just on his extra money and not work.

He cannot live on 85k then he has some issues of his priorities wrong.

So it is Floridas fault he cannot make it on 85k?

COL for me is less living here then where I moved from.

Why would you move to SFla if you knew the COL before you moved there?

They knew well before they moved COL, they didnt anticipate him loosing his job, and not being able to find something comparable 2nd they have kids and renting and if you want good schools you will pay for the area, bottom line is no one is saying its Florida's fault but obviously those that dont see anything wrong with economy there and low wages its waste of time as I dont feel it needs defending...

[bmw335xi]

As someone who has moved 10 times to a wide variety of cities mostly in the US, but also in Australia, I can say Florida, specifically South Florida (Jupiter to Miami) and Orlando are great places to call home. I'm currently in San Francisco, but have previously lived in Orlando (Dr. Phillips Area) and South Florida (Boca Raton).

Can anyone guess where I plan to finally set my long-term roots?

You guessed it! Orlando or South Florida!

The quality of life is great... for me at least. Real estate is very cheap (compared to many of the cities I've lived in), you can buy a beautiful home with a yard and pool on a landscaped street. This is miles away from say San Francisco where $500k will get you a 1000 sq ft home on streets where you will likely see homeless and trash at least once per day. There are beautiful beaches, cheap flights to Europe, Central America and South America. You have the ability to grab very cheap last minute cruise deals. Everything is green 365 days per year! Parking is very easy and most of the time free. The weather doesn't hurt your bones or crack your skin. There are plenty of attractions thanks to all the tourist. You have a huge amount of outdoor activities such as canoeing, boating, water skiing, jet skiing, kite boarding, boogie boarding, swimming, tubing etc. People are pleasant, of course not everyone, but overall I experience slightly more friendly people in these areas than most of the cities I've lived. What else...

So the bad things because no place is perfect and I always chose to move, I was never forced too, so obviously I didn't find either part of Florida 100% perfect. The number one complaint I have is............ restaurants. Whether you go to Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando or Tampa... they just don't compare to San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, NYC, San Diego or LA. Everything is spread out, which was a reason I moved. I wanted to experience living in some urban cities and while it is great to be able to walk out your door and go to a bar or restaurant, it gets old over time. Say you buy something big and now you have to find parking and you end up driving block after block. You then have someone hit your car while you were gone as they were trying to squeeze out of their space. Public transportation gets old fast because when you use it a lot, you will see a lot of people you never thought would use it. Homeless with crap in their pants literally and then they sit down and you think about how many people like that sat down where you are sitting. Or the occasional crazy that is yelling at the air, or the one pulling out a knife and licking the blade... my point is the vast parking lots in Florida make life easier I've come to realize.

Anyways... that about does it.

[Red3311]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

As someone who has moved 10 times to a wide variety of cities mostly in the US, but also in Australia, I can say Florida, specifically South Florida (Jupiter to Miami) and Orlando are great places to call home. I'm currently in San Francisco, but have previously lived in Orlando (Dr. Phillips Area) and South Florida (Boca Raton).

Can anyone guess where I plan to finally set my long-term roots?

You guessed it! Orlando or South Florida!

The quality of life is great... for me at least. Real estate is very cheap (compared to many of the cities I've lived in), you can buy a beautiful home with a yard and pool on a landscaped street. This is miles away from say San Francisco where $500k will get you a 1000 sq ft home on streets where you will likely see homeless and trash at least once per day. There are beautiful beaches, cheap flights to Europe, Central America and South America. You have the ability to grab very cheap last minute cruise deals. Everything is green 365 days per year! Parking is very easy and most of the time free. The weather doesn't hurt your bones or crack your skin. There are plenty of attractions thanks to all the tourist. You have a huge amount of outdoor activities such as canoeing, boating, water skiing, jet skiing, kite boarding, boogie boarding, swimming, tubing etc. People are pleasant, of course not everyone, but overall I experience slightly more friendly people in these areas than most of the cities I've lived. What else...

So the bad things because no place is perfect and I always chose to move, I was never forced too, so obviously I didn't find either part of Florida 100% perfect. The number one complaint I have is............ restaurants. Whether you go to Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Orlando or Tampa... they just don't compare to San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, NYC, San Diego or LA. Everything is spread out, which was a reason I moved. I wanted to experience living in some urban cities and while it is great to be able to walk out your door and go to a bar or restaurant, it gets old over time. Say you buy something big and now you have to find parking and you end up driving block after block. You then have someone hit your car while you were gone as they were trying to squeeze out of their space. Public transportation gets old fast because when you use it a lot, you will see a lot of people you never thought would use it. Homeless with crap in their pants literally and then they sit down and you think about how many people like that sat down where you are sitting. Or the occasional crazy that is yelling at the air, or the one pulling out a knife and licking the blade... my point is the vast parking lots in Florida make life easier I've come to realize.

Anyways... that about does it.

tl;dr

[Spring Hillian]

I agree. So few are making that magical minimum wage here. It does seem that there are posters here on CD that have no skills and little ability and are stuck in low paying jobs. They wont blame themselves for their situations, it is easier to blame someone or something else. Those folks would be in the same boat no matter where they lived. The ones who complain the most seem to have little chance of changing their lives. Sad situation for them.

Originally Posted by Florida-Dude

Seems many here blame the state and our people for their poor decisions that have lead to them struggling living here.

Odd thing is if you really look into it I drive by tons of new beautiful vehicles every single day. I see huge expensive homes all over Florida. These people certainly are not making minimum wage.

If you are making minimum wage it is not Floridas, the people or any other reason other then you are not doing what a large portion of people who live here are.

Go into any neighborhood and seeing the huge beautiful homes, with 3-4 nice new cars in the drive way and those people are not making minimum wage or even close.

If you do not like it here then move. I love it here and have no problem when I moved here with finding a good paying job that far more exceeds what me and my family need.

[toocoldhere]

I moved from South FL to GA one year ago and can't move back for 3 more years. I regret leaving FL so much. I can't take the cold weather here in GA even though they still consider this a "tropical" climate here in GA. There people here in GA are the NICEST people though . I live in McDonough GA and its one of the most beautiful places I have seen, it's picturesque. If you have a family and want to live in a beautiful, friendly town with great school districts, this is THE place. It's about 80% white and 20% African American and other cultures, but there is no hate here and everyone really helps each other and is so unbelieveably friendly. This is the bible belt here, but not in the way that you might imagine: It's just that people here attend their churches, are involved in helping their community, and really take to heart what the bible teaches. No one tries to get you to come to church with them, or anything like I would have imagined. My problem is...I miss South FL terribly. I have lived there most of my life and I'm in my late 40s. I also absolutely can't handle the colder weather here, even though its just 4 months out of the year, and still nowhere close to the cold weather in the northern states. I also can't seem to get used not having the commotion that was all around me in South FL. McDonough is a suburb, but also somewhat rural. There more I talk about it, the more I love this place, but I feel like I have to move back South FL. I'm used to being near the ocean, and even though I didn't take full advantage of being so close to the beach, I always knew it was there. Somewhere on one of these forums, a guy talks about people have to stop feeling sorry for themselves and get up and go, do something, get involved, etc. etc. That's the attitude you have to have, because being miserable isn't going to help. If you're not happy where you are, make a plan for how and when you can move, but, in the meantime do your best to enjoy where you are, because, you may get sick and die in a few months, or get into a car wreck tomorrow. People have to try to make the most out of their situation, that's what I'm trying to do. Once I get my health insurance I am definately getting on some antidepressants. They are a big help.

[cw30000]

I finally convinced my wife to give Florida a look. She is finally sick of the cold here.

I cannot wait. I am sick and tire or paying high tax here in NJ. Even if my family don't eat, we still have to put out over $1,000 just to pay for the property tax. Sewer tax and garbage pick up are extra. The tax I am paying is enough to cover my tax, insurance and mortgage in Florida.

The only thing I don't like is the tap water in Florida. A good filter will help.