[LBirkdeA]

Linda, it's so true that our lives here are dictated by the weather. I thought about Colorado and I'm going to look at it again. Walkability is another big issue for me. I hate spending so much time in the car.

[Spring Hillian]

When r u moving?



QUOTE=lindabrookes;36688802]We have lived in Florida for 14 years but have recently spent 2 months just outside Denver, Colorado. What a huge
difference:

Sunny days in the 80's with absolutely no humidity
Hardly any bugs, didn't see any roaches and only 1 mosquito
Huge ... HUGE selection of stores and restaurants
Designated cycle trails everywhere
Sidewalks everywhere
State parks and open spaces for walking, cycling, hiking etc .... everywhere
Lot's and lot's of cute little towns with walkable main streets, cute stores and restaurants

No beaches or ocean, but that's ok I'm not a water baby. I really enjoyed not having to plan my day around when it would be cool enough to be outside, I could put my make up on and it was still in place at the end of the day instead of it having sweated away 5 minutes after application. I loved the greenery and the openness, it made me realise how overcrowded much of FL feels, and how much my life is dictated by the weather there. I have lived in Pensacola, Tampa and St. Pete and haven't really enjoyed any of them. I guess the whole Florida Living experience just isn't my thing.[/quote]

[lindabrookes]

Spring Hillian.......... We sold our house, so very soon I hope

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by lindabrookes

Spring Hillian.......... We sold our house, so very soon I hope

I wish you and yours only the best in your future endeavors.

[lindabrookes]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

I wish you and yours only the best in your future endeavors.

Thank you

[lindabrookes]

Originally Posted by LBirkdeA

Linda, it's so true that our lives here are dictated by the weather. I thought about Colorado and I'm going to look at it again. Walkability is another big issue for me. I hate spending so much time in the car.

We were based in Lone Tree, so it was about 30 minutes by car to Denver and 30 minutes by car to the mountains. However you didn't have to go to the mountains if you wanted to be out and about in the fresh air. Colorado seems to be really well set up for people who want to spend time outdoors, and while we were there, there were many people out walking, cycling etc. I spoke to a lady at the local dog park there who had moved from California, and she told me they have 300 days of sunshine. She also told me that they don't usually get huge amounts of snow in that area either, and if it does snow it only stays around for a couple of days. Some days in the winter the temps can get up to 60 degrees.

Having moved from the UK where you can walk almost everywhere, I like you hated having to spend so much time in the car when we moved to Florida. Colorado is certainly somewhere you might want to consider, at least go and visit, especially this time of year now the trees are changing color .... it's incredibly beautiful. Good luck wherever you end up

[ssg II]

Originally Posted by LBirkdeA

Fl1150, that was not helpful at all. You probably didn't read the thread because I already mentioned that we did everything there is to do. I understand the charms of a small coastal town. However, I can't get over the apathy, complacency and incompetency of people. I want my children to grow up knowing that humans can operate on a whole other level. I don't idealize NYC, but I know it makes people better. I feel sorry for you and for anyone who thinks this post is about finding activities and entertaining yourself.

I live in Flagler County, though I wouldn't live in Palm Coast if you paid me! But that's not the point. You are so right about the apathy in this county. Most of Palm Coast is ......well, just coasting on their pensions, or their parents' pensions or they're too busy with day-to-day living to care. (With the exception of all the Republican facets at each other's throats! So entertaining at election time! ) As far as complacency & incompetence, I travel a lot and it's everywhere.

My best friends live out of the area, but most of my buddies here were work-related and I've been out of work for awhile. So...I decided to volunteer with a couple of organizations when I first became unemployed. One turned out to be very cliquey, but through the other, I've made some sincere friends. People who really care about each other and their commitment. Maybe that's an avenue for you to explore.

Or maybe you just need a city atmosphere, which Palm Coast will never have.

Just remember why you left NYC in the first place. There IS real life here. You just have to look for it. Good luck to you!

[Zaba]

Originally Posted by lindabrookes

We have lived in Florida for 14 years but have recently spent 2 months just outside Denver, Colorado. What a huge
difference:

Sunny days in the 80's with absolutely no humidity
Hardly any bugs, didn't see any roaches and only 1 mosquito
Huge ... HUGE selection of stores and restaurants
Designated cycle trails everywhere
Sidewalks everywhere
State parks and open spaces for walking, cycling, hiking etc .... everywhere
Lot's and lot's of cute little towns with walkable main streets, cute stores and restaurants

No beaches or ocean, but that's ok I'm not a water baby. I really enjoyed not having to plan my day around when it would be cool enough to be outside, I could put my make up on and it was still in place at the end of the day instead of it having sweated away 5 minutes after application. I loved the greenery and the openness, it made me realise how overcrowded much of FL feels, and how much my life is dictated by the weather there. I have lived in Pensacola, Tampa and St. Pete and haven't really enjoyed any of them. I guess the whole Florida Living experience just isn't my thing.

Florida is sort of becoming the chain link fence of retirement spots. Sensible, but not the option chosen by the types of people who you'd want for your next door neighbor.

Remember chain link fences? You still see them on commercial and industrial properties but once upon a time, they were around pretty much every residential house that had a fence, and why not? They're totally functional, practical and achieve the desired objective better than pretty much all the other fencing options. Then, people started to realize that for all its practical advantages, chain link fence just sucked, felt icky and now, we're back to painted wooden pickets again because in spite of being less durable, its much more pleasant to live around.

Florida offers killer climate and cheap real estate and for a certain generation of people, that was enough. Simple objective, simple solution. Work, retire, pension, Florida, sun, grandkids, die.

These days, retirees are much more nuanced in their considerations. They want more than just 'warm weather'. They're even willing to consider places that might have winters because of the other things it offers, hell, they may prefer places that have winters, thus the serious upticks in property prices we've seen in the more picturesque towns of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine...

The old guard of retirees were perfectly cool with their chain link fence retirement state- and to be sure, plenty still are- but this next wave, they are very different in what they want out of life and frankly, Florida doesn't offer what a lot of them have come to expect, particularly in the way of cultural amenities.

You mentioned Denver, which is a ridiculously cool state. Boulder is about heaven on earth. Used to be, the lifestyle dynamics offered by places like Denver weren't even considered by the older generation of retirees. This wave, about half of them are after precisely that and couldn't care less if palm trees come with it or not.

[1insider]

Then you have those of us who are cursed with the ocean addiction and must have a daily application of warm salt water on our skins. I don't have many choices in this country other than Hawaii or Florida. For me and others like me, the surfing, diving, fishing, boating and just nearby presence of the ocean outweighs all other considerations. I wonder what life would be like without this affliction. I'd be free to live anywhere and could explore this culture thing.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by Zaba

Florida is sort of becoming the chain link fence of retirement spots. Sensible, but not the option chosen by the types of people who you'd want for your next door neighbor.

Remember chain link fences? You still see them on commercial and industrial properties but once upon a time, they were around pretty much every residential house that had a fence, and why not? They're totally functional, practical and achieve the desired objective better than pretty much all the other fencing options. Then, people started to realize that for all its practical advantages, chain link fence just sucked, felt icky and now, we're back to painted wooden pickets again because in spite of being less durable, its much more pleasant to live around.

Florida offers killer climate and cheap real estate and for a certain generation of people, that was enough. Simple objective, simple solution. Work, retire, pension, Florida, sun, grandkids, die.

These days, retirees are much more nuanced in their considerations. They want more than just 'warm weather'. They're even willing to consider places that might have winters because of the other things it offers, hell, they may prefer places that have winters, thus the serious upticks in property prices we've seen in the more picturesque towns of Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine...

The old guard of retirees were perfectly cool with their chain link fence retirement state- and to be sure, plenty still are- but this next wave, they are very different in what they want out of life and frankly, Florida doesn't offer what a lot of them have come to expect, particularly in the way of cultural amenities.

You mentioned Denver, which is a ridiculously cool state. Boulder is about heaven on earth. Used to be, the lifestyle dynamics offered by places like Denver weren't even considered by the older generation of retirees. This wave, about half of them are after precisely that and couldn't care less if palm trees come with it or not.

As the old saw goes, "different strokes for different folks". People should live, or retire to, as the case may be, in a location they love. And if that happened to be the same place for everyone, can you even imagine how crowded that place would be??