[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by aewan68

Seeing my Wife and I lived in FL 30+ years combined, it's hard to flick a switch especially since the CA vs FL saga continues. Problem is, we don't hate FL at all, we both miss it. It's bittersweet more for us than anything I carry guilt I could not make to work anymore, we left because of me and I know she misses it because she lived there a lot longer than me.

I understand what you are saying as I never thought Orlando would go bonkers as it did. We left Orlando in 05.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by aewan68

Well it's moving northward and by 2070 or later it will probably all will be underwater, not that any of us will care. Now if you can only plan your kids future with projected beach front property yet to be developed.

Agreed. Thankfully there is a huge buffer north of me. It will get more populated south of me in Pasco County but I dont see such high volume growth here in Hernando County except for those who will need to commute to Pasco. I am 45 miles north of Tampa and a lot of people commute to Tampa from here. I think (hope) that we are about the fringe of a reasonable commute. West of me is the Gulf and east of me are ranches and farms hen there is protected forest so I think we are OK for another 20 years.

I'm not convinced sea rise will be so great over such a short time. When lower Manhattan starts breaking out the rafts then it will be time to get out of Dodge. No problem though as we will be completely liquid (no pun intended).

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by aewan68

Seeing my Wife and I lived in FL 30+ years combined, it's hard to flick a switch especially since the CA vs FL saga continues. Problem is, we don't hate FL at all, we both miss it. It's bittersweet more for us than anything I carry guilt I could not make to work anymore, we left because of me and I know she misses it because she lived there a lot longer than me.

Perhaps northern FL could have been an option?

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Perhaps northern FL could have been an option?

No jobs in my line of work, I'm too specialized.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by aewan68

No jobs in my line of work, I'm too specialized.

That is your problem. Gives you limitd options

[SouthSota14]

Originally Posted by Happiness-is-close

Sometimes OP it takes moving away and experiencing a different state to understand how good the state you left is. I am born in Florida and lived most of my life here but in my adulthood I have been able to live in many other states across the country. Sure, there are things about Florida that I wish were different, but I can say with 1000% confidence that ours is one of the best states in the nation.

My advice is to move somewhere else and then you can make good comparisons. I have lived in Georgia, Texas, Colorado, and Illinois, and to me Florida is better than all of those places. When I moved to each one I thought I would fined some type of paradise that I was seeking, but each one had things about it that I couldn't stand and Florida didn't have those things.

There were some things that Florida didn't have that other places did though. I wish Florida had an economy like Colorado and Texas (well, Dallas and Austin. Houston and other parts of Texas are too dependent on oil), for instance, but it doesn't. At the same time Florida has much lower cost of living than Colorado, and it doesn't have the pervasive social conservatism that Texas has. I wish Florida had mountains like Colorado and Georgia, but those places don't have the gorgeous beaches and water everywhere that Florida has.

In my case, I returned to Florida thinking that maybe I made a mistake.. My stepdad was living in Bradenton area at the time. I wanted to try living in St Pete. I liked a lot about it in some parts (not all). But I somewhat found that things maybe were going on the natural course of things when I relocated to the west coast with my mom and her new husband. Because I still found some of the same problems in FL even the 3rd time around. I technically moved in and out of FL 3 times between 2004-2011 and back to FL in 2015 up until now. I could leave Florida again only this time I wont be back. 3 seems to be the lucky number.. 3 times will either work or it wont. I may even be due 1 more move in FL too depending. I am currently in Sarasota, I could give St Pete a 3rd shot. Maybe that will be the charm but if its not, out of FL I go for good. I got one more shot I'd say. Either I make it here in Sarasota or I relocate to Gulfport or somewhere like that. It may be more my vibe. People change too.. if people don't change and know who they are 100%, the decision gets easier but for some, its not that easy. So ya I am at a crossroad where I may return even to the west coast if my parents stay out there and don't move to MA like my mom is pushing for, but her husband isn't. So ya I could go to Washington State if I'm lucky. I'd welcome it too because the education level is still higher unless you're further out maybe. Then you can find pockets like Palmetto or Ft Myers but you gotta go FAR. I like the overall progressive feel of the NW more. Even if FL isn't 100% conservative like Texas, its still a problem though how FL is still very establishment in thinking. In TX, at least they wear it on their sleeve even if I wouldn't like Texas. I think FL has more sneaky, shady types to tell you the truth. The conservative agenda here is large despite what you may say. There are very few liberals where I am at or those who think more forward. Its 20% maybe or less if so with the other 80 being establishment democrats and Neocons, evangelicals. They just aren't as loud about it as TX but loud enough. You can still be called a muslim.

[SouthSota14]

Originally Posted by BadgerFilms

Okay first of all, nearly all outdoor activities that are viable in Florida are water related. Florida doesn't have the hiking culture of Colorado or even Tennessee. And it's not just about mountains. The type of forests Florida has is generally not the type most people flock to go hiking in. Florida has great beaches, but its forests are about the same as in southern Alabama or Mississippi. People don't flock to Mississippi to hike in the woods. They'd rather do that in North Carolina or Michigan. Almost all of Florida's outdoor activities are related to rivers or the ocean. And yes, Florida does rock for things like ocean kayaking, scuba diving, saltwater fishing, sailing, but that's just one aspect of life. When you live somewhere, you also have to work there, if you have kids, your kids have to go to school. Healthcare is also a thing. There's a lot more factors that go into quality of life than whether or not you can go windsurfing. Factors like traffic, insurance rates, crime rates, the works.

Iowa is flat and landlocked (it's actually hillier than Florida and it has the driftless region which I've never been to but pictures show it to be very scenic, but I digress) but so what? It may not hold a bastion of outdoor activities but it's also so centrally located that a drive to the Colorado mountains, Minnesota lakes, Wisconsin Dells or the big cities of Chicago, St. Louis or Minneapolis are all easily accessible. It has low crime, low traffic, great drivers and a good economy. People in Iowa are generally happy people. They're also unpretentious and not obsessed with the superficial crap people in places like Miami or Orlando are often obsessed with. They're far more humble.


If you gotta trash Iowa to praise Florida, you're doing it wrong. Especially since Iowa has like 4 million people only. There are places where people are generally worse off like West Virginia, which btw has amazing options for outdoor activities that are impossible in Florida, like skiing. Outdoor activities are great, but you need a good economy, low crime and a sense of community to make a place nice.

THIS.. This is the glue right here that will stop a lot of transient moving from place to place. As a society we're lost. It has a ways to go.. I wont describe my methods because they're a bit extreme. But yes, low crime, a sense of community, a good economy is VITAL because then if you know you're getting foodstamps or welfare/SSI.. Its all your own doing. It however isn't all your own doing though if a place has a lot of social ills and bad stuff.. I mean where in America is closer to the model you want that will survive? I say New Hampshire. Maybe WA state near Seattle. parts of MA are. WA and MA seem like it has a lot in common. Both have spots where one can find jobs but the spots that are depressed are usually further or the no go zones near the cities still don't stop it totally from being a depressed wasteland. You just don't go to those places that's all. But some places, they're depressed all over no matter what. So alcoholics in say Tewksbury MA wont look as bad as what goes on in the deep south, even if its a problem by northern standards.

[SouthSota14]

Originally Posted by PDF

Exactly. Des Moines is a great city...I'd pick there over anywhere in Florida.

Traditionally, I would think of Des Moines or Omaha as more pure cities than most in this country. As good maybe as you're going to get outside of some other hotter economic hubs anyhow. Better than the deep south, better than Florida, better than Indiana or MO I'd say. Better than most if you can handle the tradeoff of not having good seafood. Then I can see Des Moines as a laid back type place with maybe even some jobs. I'd probably put it up there with Pittsburgh. Not the worst place you can be for reasonable cost.

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

That is your problem. Gives you limitd options

Yep, but it does not have to be that way there, things could be better still, diversified like it is here but everyone cannot live anywhere they want all the time when they are working for the man.

I could have moved to other places where the job market in my field is great but I was not interested in the alternatives like Texas or going back to the Northeast. I pondered the South again, but been there done that already.

I suppose I grimace often when I read about Rick Scott and his attempt to lure jobs from here to FL, which I was doing last year at this time and years prior, seems the CA vs FL feud goes far beyond C-D. In between the feud Texas is dropped a few times as the 3rd player. It's good to see Rick Scott trying, but I don't think he is too successfull in luring any company from here. Even with how expensive it is to do business here, companies are not pulling out in high numbers, no mass exodus and I don't think much of the state could handle a big influx of companies and required high skilled employees to fill the roles if many choose to not relocate or if they attempted to start over, would probably break most companies and send them into financial ruins.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Wants to Lure Jobs From California | NBC 6 South Florida

Florida governor wants to take California jobs home with him - LA Times

Gov. Scott, try to create jobs in Florida instead of stealing them from California - LA Times

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by aewan68

Yep, but it does not have to be that way there, things could be better still, diversified like it is here but everyone cannot live anywhere they want all the time when they are working for the man.

I could have moved to other places where the job market in my field is great but I was not interested in the alternatives like Texas or going back to the Northeast. I pondered the South again, but been there done that already.

I suppose I grimace often when I read about Rick Scott and his attempt to lure jobs from here to FL, which I was doing last year at this time and years prior, seems the CA vs FL feud goes far beyond C-D. In between the feud Texas is dropped a few times as the 3rd player. It's good to see Rick Scott trying, but I don't think he is too successfull in luring any company from here. Even with how expensive it is to do business here, companies are not pulling out in high numbers, no mass exodus and I don't think much of the state could handle a big influx of companies and required high skilled employees to fill the roles if many choose to not relocate or if they attempted to start over, would probably break most companies and send them into financial ruins.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott Wants to Lure Jobs From California | NBC 6 South Florida

Florida governor wants to take California jobs home with him - LA Times

Gov. Scott, try to create jobs in Florida instead of stealing them from California - LA Times

Yes indeed. Just look at those poor, underpaid people out there everyday jamming up the highways. Sickening how they try to make it through this miserable life in Fl. I knew Wyoming was the way to go. How did you survive 30 years "combined" here?