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My wife and I are born and raised in the D.C. area. She left the area following the 1979 President's Birthday snowstorm. Anyone that is familiar with D.C. traffic knows 1" can cripple the region, and that one sent her packing. She spent 15+ years in south Florida, but returned after we met in 1995 to be closer to family (and me). Part one of our "agreement" upon her return was I'd keep her warm at night. To date, that has not been a problem! Part two of our "agreement" was that someday she (we) would relocate to a warmer climate, and that Florida was her #1 choice.
As I've shared my experiences and thoughts about relocating with co-workers, friends and family, the overwhelming response to Florida is - "Gawd, it's just too hot and humid there. And the critters. And...and...". Like it's not unbearable around DC in the summer? Give me a break.
We have worked many years to identify areas around the country to relocate when we're ready. What we realized is that there is no perfect place. Well, actually there is. It's the one that works for you at that particular time in your life. And strengthened by that awareness, we have set our sights on the Pensacola region to begin the next phase of our lives together.
My wife and I are born and raised in the D.C. area. She left the area following the 1979 President's Birthday snowstorm. Anyone that is familiar with D.C. traffic knows 1" can cripple the region, and that one sent her packing. She spent 15+ years in south Florida, but returned after we met in 1995 to be closer to family (and me). Part one of our "agreement" upon her return was I'd keep her warm at night. To date, that has not been a problem! Part two of our "agreement" was that someday she (we) would relocate to a warmer climate, and that Florida was her #1 choice.
As I've shared my experiences and thoughts about relocating with co-workers, friends and family, the overwhelming response to Florida is - "Gawd, it's just too hot and humid there. And the critters. And...and...". Like it's not unbearable around DC in the summer? Give me a break.
We have worked many years to identify areas around the country to relocate when we're ready. What we realized is that there is no perfect place. Well, actually there is. It's the one that works for you at that particular time in your life. And strengthened by that awareness, we have set our sights on the Pensacola region to begin the next phase of our lives together.
That is a nice area. My wife and I considered it, but chose the East Coast, Central FL as it does not get quite as cold and is nearer to many things we want to do. We did like the area around Pensacola. Enjoy.
you are right; with your view of the people, stay where you are.
I spent 10 years in South Florida - I think I was exposed to pretty much everything. Florida used to be a nice place - there were cattle ranches, horse ranches etc. etc. all over the state. However, most of those sold off for developments. You know, trees don't grow to the sky - you cannot have an infinite amount of people coming into the state and the state still remain the same. If you believe that this is possible, well, you are deluding yourself.
SoFla is a zoo with not much of career opportunities. Middle class in SoFla is thin, you either own the lawn or you mow the lawn. If you try going north away from the towns, you end up surrounded by the camo wearing crowd, dogs running loose, a**holes spinning their ATVs on the dirt roads etc. etc. There may be a few nice places left but as the population is growing daily there - Florida is now ranked #3 most populous state in the Union with 20 million people, it surpassed New Yawk and is closing in on Texas (with 27 million people). However, Texas is about 4 times the size of Florida. This means population density in Florida is 4 times higher than Texas! What this means is that soon people will be living on each others heads
With the population density increasing - there is more and more pressure on the resources. If you moved to Florida for its nature and beauty, well, more people, more asphalt, less nature. 10 years ago you could go to Juno Beach in the middle of the summer in the middle of the working week and be almost by yourself on the beach - the damn snow birds would be gone for the season. Now you do the same thing and the beach is packed even in dead summer heat - people are not leaving anymore, they are staying.
The unincorporated rural area we used to live in near West Palm was considered the "boonies". A few years back they approved two gigantic developments on both sides of it, in total 3-4,000 homes!! Bye-bye boonies...
Heck, we lived 5 miles from a Wildlife management area - about 60,000 acres. You could only get to it via a dirt road and often 4x4 was necessary. Now they are building a shooting range at its entrance and planning to asphalt the road to it. This means EVERYONE and their mother will be there. Not only that but you will be listening to non-stop gunfire while trying to hear the birds. Byy-bye that too....
Florida is also having problems with water quality and water availability. Hard to imagine with all the rainfall no? The Everglades have been raked over with canals and drained all for the benefit of the farming industry - or should I say, big sugar industry? Lake Okeechobee is an environmental disaster that each year sees releases of highly polluted runoff water being released into estuaries and finally the ocean, creating toxic bacterial growth spurts that close beaches. There is no political willingness to solve this even after there was tax payer money apportioned to fix the problem by restoring the natural flow of water south of Lake O.
They recently approved exploratory fracking in Big Cypress preserve! Hello!
Ever heard of the Sabal pipeline? They are putting that one across the state too...
Between widespread political corruption on local and state level, corporate interests (big sugar, FPL, etc.) and influx of people, the state is looking more like a throwaway condom state and less like a place to live. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Every second newcomer I met in SoFla was from Jersey or New Yawk or Massachusetts or... Usually some thug who barely scraped together $500 for gas to get down to West Palm and try their luck working in a restaurant or don't know what. Three months later they are broke, looking for a way to do something shady. Either that or it is a wealthy retiree or second or third home owner/investor, again from the same places.
Thank Henry Flagler for developing the state and bringing all the rude north easterners in. When you start off with the notion of a throwaway party/vacation state, this is what you end up with at the end... Instead of naming streets after Henry and glorifying him, they should be teaching the children in school about the true costs of the vision of a vacation state for the rich and famous....
Last edited by HeartWantsWhatItWants; 11-28-2017 at 05:48 AM..
I spent 10 years in South Florida - I think I was exposed to pretty much everything. Florida used to be a nice place - there were cattle ranches, horse ranches etc. etc. all over the state. However, most of those sold off for developments. You know, trees don't grow to the sky - you cannot have an infinite amount of people coming into the state and the state still remain the same. If you believe that this is possible, well, you are deluding yourself.
SoFla is a zoo with not much of career opportunities. Middle class in SoFla is thin, you either own the lawn or you mow the lawn. If you try going north away from the towns, you end up surrounded by the camo wearing crowd, dogs running loose, a**holes spinning their ATVs on the dirt roads etc. etc. There may be a few nice places left but as the population is growing daily there - Florida is now ranked #3 most populous state in the Union with 20 million people, it surpassed New Yawk and is closing in on Texas (with 27 million people). However, Texas is about 4 times the size of Florida. This means population density in Florida is 4 times higher than Texas! What this means is that soon people will be living on each others heads
With the population density increasing - there is more and more pressure on the resources. If you moved to Florida for its nature and beauty, well, more people, more asphalt, less nature. 10 years ago you could go to Juno Beach in the middle of the summer in the middle of the working week and be almost by yourself on the beach - the damn snow birds would be gone for the season. Now you do the same thing and the beach is packed even in dead summer heat - people are not leaving anymore, they are staying.
The unincorporated rural area we used to live in near West Palm was considered the "boonies". A few years back they approved two gigantic developments on both sides of it, in total 3-4,000 homes!! Bye-bye boonies...
Heck, we lived 5 miles from a Wildlife management area - about 60,000 acres. You could only get to it via a dirt road and often 4x4 was necessary. Now they are building a shooting range at its entrance and planning to asphalt the road to it. This means EVERYONE and their mother will be there. Not only that but you will be listening to non-stop gunfire while trying to hear the birds. Byy-bye that too....
Florida is also having problems with water quality and water availability. Hard to imagine with all the rainfall no? The Everglades have been raked over with canals and drained all for the benefit of the farming industry - or should I say, big sugar industry? Lake Okeechobee is an environmental disaster that each year sees releases of highly polluted runoff water being released into estuaries and finally the ocean, creating toxic bacterial growth spurts that close beaches. There is no political willingness to solve this even after there was tax payer money apportioned to fix the problem by restoring the natural flow of water south of Lake O.
They recently approved exploratory fracking in Big Cypress preserve! Hello!
Ever heard of the Sabal pipeline? They are putting that one across the state too...
Between widespread political corruption on local and state level, corporate interests (big sugar, FPL, etc.) and influx of people, the state is looking more like a throwaway condom state and less like a place to live. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Every second newcomer I met in SoFla was from Jersey or New Yawk or Massachusetts or... Usually some thug who barely scraped together $500 for gas to get down to West Palm and try their luck working in a restaurant or don't know what. Three months later they are broke, looking for a way to do something shady. Either that or it is a wealthy retiree or second or third home owner/investor, again from the same places.
Thank Henry Flagler for developing the state and bringing all the rude north easterners in. When you start off with the notion of a throwaway party/vacation state, this is what you end up with at the end... Instead of naming streets after Henry and glorifying him, they should be teaching the children in school about the true costs of the vision of a vacation state for the rich and famous....
Florida is just state where NY, NJ, CT, MA residents flee to or want start their life over. FL is now extended version of Northeast corridor
I spent 10 years in South Florida - I think I was exposed to pretty much everything. Florida used to be a nice place - there were cattle ranches, horse ranches etc. etc. all over the state. However, most of those sold off for developments. You know, trees don't grow to the sky - you cannot have an infinite amount of people coming into the state and the state still remain the same. If you believe that this is possible, well, you are deluding yourself.
SoFla is a zoo with not much of career opportunities. Middle class in SoFla is thin, you either own the lawn or you mow the lawn. If you try going north away from the towns, you end up surrounded by the camo wearing crowd, dogs running loose, a**holes spinning their ATVs on the dirt roads etc. etc. There may be a few nice places left but as the population is growing daily there - Florida is now ranked #3 most populous state in the Union with 20 million people, it surpassed New Yawk and is closing in on Texas (with 27 million people). However, Texas is about 4 times the size of Florida. This means population density in Florida is 4 times higher than Texas! What this means is that soon people will be living on each others heads
With the population density increasing - there is more and more pressure on the resources. If you moved to Florida for its nature and beauty, well, more people, more asphalt, less nature. 10 years ago you could go to Juno Beach in the middle of the summer in the middle of the working week and be almost by yourself on the beach - the damn snow birds would be gone for the season. Now you do the same thing and the beach is packed even in dead summer heat - people are not leaving anymore, they are staying.
The unincorporated rural area we used to live in near West Palm was considered the "boonies". A few years back they approved two gigantic developments on both sides of it, in total 3-4,000 homes!! Bye-bye boonies...
Heck, we lived 5 miles from a Wildlife management area - about 60,000 acres. You could only get to it via a dirt road and often 4x4 was necessary. Now they are building a shooting range at its entrance and planning to asphalt the road to it. This means EVERYONE and their mother will be there. Not only that but you will be listening to non-stop gunfire while trying to hear the birds. Byy-bye that too....
Florida is also having problems with water quality and water availability. Hard to imagine with all the rainfall no? The Everglades have been raked over with canals and drained all for the benefit of the farming industry - or should I say, big sugar industry? Lake Okeechobee is an environmental disaster that each year sees releases of highly polluted runoff water being released into estuaries and finally the ocean, creating toxic bacterial growth spurts that close beaches. There is no political willingness to solve this even after there was tax payer money apportioned to fix the problem by restoring the natural flow of water south of Lake O.
They recently approved exploratory fracking in Big Cypress preserve! Hello!
Ever heard of the Sabal pipeline? They are putting that one across the state too...
Between widespread political corruption on local and state level, corporate interests (big sugar, FPL, etc.) and influx of people, the state is looking more like a throwaway condom state and less like a place to live. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Every second newcomer I met in SoFla was from Jersey or New Yawk or Massachusetts or... Usually some thug who barely scraped together $500 for gas to get down to West Palm and try their luck working in a restaurant or don't know what. Three months later they are broke, looking for a way to do something shady. Either that or it is a wealthy retiree or second or third home owner/investor, again from the same places.
Thank Henry Flagler for developing the state and bringing all the rude north easterners in. When you start off with the notion of a throwaway party/vacation state, this is what you end up with at the end... Instead of naming streets after Henry and glorifying him, they should be teaching the children in school about the true costs of the vision of a vacation state for the rich and famous....
Yes So FL is bad, but it isn't the whole State. Many really nice areas in FL.
The whole Country is growing and popular areas are getting more dense. That will not change. If you want inexpensive and rural move to Arkansas or MS or Kansas or well the middle of the Country. If you want a more desirable location like CA or FL, realize that all areas will fill up and change, so either chose wisely or be prepared to move away from the popular areas into less popular areas. The world changed after WWI and WWII as people saw other parts of the Country, manufacturing boomed and they moved where before they could not. No changing that.
I left SoCal where I was born and raised in CA and grew up in a beautiful area, OC, and it is as bad as So FL now. No changing that, it is life. I am moving to an area of FL similar to Newport Beach, CA in the 70's.
Yes So FL is bad, but it isn't the whole State. Many really nice areas in FL.
The whole Country is growing and popular areas are getting more dense. That will not change. If you want inexpensive and rural move to Arkansas or MS or Kansas or well the middle of the Country. If you want a more desirable location like CA or FL, realize that all areas will fill up and change, so either chose wisely or be prepared to move away from the popular areas into less popular areas. The world changed after WWI and WWII as people saw other parts of the Country, manufacturing boomed and they moved where before they could not. No changing that.
I left SoCal where I was born and raised in CA and grew up in a beautiful area, OC, and it is as bad as So FL now. No changing that, it is life. I am moving to an area of FL similar to Newport Beach, CA in the 70's.
North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Mississippi will welcome him or her
Yes So FL is bad, but it isn't the whole State. Many really nice areas in FL.
The whole Country is growing and popular areas are getting more dense. That will not change. If you want inexpensive and rural move to Arkansas or MS or Kansas or well the middle of the Country. If you want a more desirable location like CA or FL, realize that all areas will fill up and change, so either chose wisely or be prepared to move away from the popular areas into less popular areas. The world changed after WWI and WWII as people saw other parts of the Country, manufacturing boomed and they moved where before they could not. No changing that.
I left SoCal where I was born and raised in CA and grew up in a beautiful area, OC, and it is as bad as So FL now. No changing that, it is life. I am moving to an area of FL similar to Newport Beach, CA in the 70's.
Ok - where are you moving to?
There are a few nice places left in Florida but will not be nice for long. The place is growing fast and getting overrun, as I said. You are correct though - a lot of the desirable places got ruined that way. However, once they get overpopulated, they are not so desirable, are they?
North Dakota, South Dakota, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Mississippi will welcome him or her
Why would I want to go to the midwest? If I wanted that, I would have moved to rural Florida, most transplants there are rednecks from Missouri, Illinois, Ohio etc.
I found my 7 months per year paradise in south/central Virginia. 32 acres of mixed woods and pasture 10 minutes from a town of 5,000 people and 40 minutes from a town of 100.000 people. Close to national forests, parks etc. Sparsely populated. Still cows everywhere grazing, horse farms, a lot of people beekeeping and growing their own food. You could get that in North Florida for a similar price. Only difference? The people. Rural south/central Virginia is generational and people stick together. Florida is all transplants, most of who don't have any price in the state (since they were not born there).
The remaining 5 months of the year we spend in the desert of the south west United States. Totally different culture/places than the east coast. Arid, no people, harsh and beautiful.
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