God's Waiting Room?? (Miami, Tampa, Orlando: fit in, transplants, for sale)

seeriously · 04-12-2007, 06:13 AM

I read a reference to Florida as "God's Waiting Room" on another thread and I just want to put in my 2 cents as a fairly new Florida resident. I've had this saying thrown at me a few times mostly from friends and relatives up north who seem afraid to live their own lives. Picking up and moving to Florida, away from all that is familiar, takes a certain something. Yes, it's lonely at first and foreign in a lot of ways. And sometimes it's easier to find fault than it is to fit in. But what all transplants to Florida have in common is the desire to seek out happiness for themselves. The first thing I notice when I go back to the northeast is that everyone there is carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders. The weather has them down, their heating costs are high, their kids are taking advantage of them, and they're the caretakers of the world. I've fantasized about moving back, spending quality time with my grandchildren, eating lobster rolls and fried clams, but the reality is, I'd be snowed in for a good part of the year, depressed from the grayness, and I'd be babysitting for my grandkids while my kids are off having fun. What I've learned is that the world doesn't come to an end if you live your own life. Grandkids don't forget you, if anything, you become more exciting because you exude a vibrance that was squelched up north.

If anyone has an, "I'm happier in Florida" story, please contribute here.....

TheRollingSurf · 04-12-2007, 06:24 AM

I think we had sun for 2 hours already this month in MI. I'm happier just thinking about FL. 27 days of this left and counting until move. I'll be amazed if I can make it that much longer here. 8 months of cold and gray sucks the life out of you here.

cmsvmom · 04-12-2007, 07:48 AM

Well I am going back to Florida after way too many years in NY/NJ. And I am really looking forward to it. Finally, back to normal!

I work at home, online. So no commute. Pack it up and take it with me. I live in a small cape in NJ which is older and on a tiny lot in a decent area but not desirable at the moment because of taxes and corruption. For $100,000 LESS than I will sell it for (and I will sell it under market value to get the hell out of here) I can buy a 3 br 2 bath newer brick home in the panhandle. The combined property taxes and insurance are about half what I pay here. And there is no personal income tax, so even if there is corruption, I am not paying into it so much as I am here.

Florida is not for everyone. And my kids originally threatened to not come to see me because "its hot and they have bugs" but now are planning Christmas at the beach.

"God's waiting room" used to be said in my young days about South Beach. Back then it was truely decrepit. Now it is the jet set hotspot.

I find there are a lot of naysayers here in NJ who are just sooo scared of hurricanes, heat, bugs, alligators, etc. Then there's a grudging "oh, well, I guess you know then" when I remind them I grew up there. Then a reminder that they have a friend living in, uh, what's the name of that town, uh, ...And then they will usually name something close to Miami, Orlando, Palm beach, Tampa, or Port St Lucie. And, uh, well, THEY don;t like it. When they want to know where the panhandle is (yeah, they don't know florida has a panhandle) and I tell them, then the dixie stereotypes fly.

Fine with me if they stay here, cold, miserable, taxed to the max, working to afford a house, and jealous. And fine with me if they move - to Miami, Orlando, Palm beach, Tampa, or Port St Lucie!

TheRollingSurf · 04-12-2007, 08:08 AM

Yes Michigan taxes will kill a family. My property taxes have increased from $1500 a year to $6,800 in 5 short years. Add that to the increase in interest rates from the sub prime lender crooks. Michigan is starting to resemble a ghost town. The people that are still here are so worried about thier familys future, it's horrible. I've had enough. I'll come back for Christmas and hunting but other than that I'm done with this dieing State.

TheRollingSurf · 04-12-2007, 08:11 AM

Sorry Vero I didnt mean to hi-jack your topic. Well I guess it does fit a little as Michigan is God's new waiting room. People are going to kick the bucket from stress.

MyHomeIsInOcala · 04-12-2007, 08:14 AM

Well, I have heard of Florida being called "God's Waiting Room" for MANY years... For the most part, we do like it here, we came back to three ring circus this time (housing, insurance & taxes), but if we stayed here past our 5 yr time-frame, I would not be bitter about spending the last 50 or 60 years of my life in a small Florida town or a rural area outside of most of the Northern and North-Central cities (especially my winters).

There is too much living to do, so get out there, stroll around and enjoy it!

Margel · 04-12-2007, 08:24 AM

I recently visited Florida checking on my home's progress being built. I stumbled upon Dunedin and saw a lot of seniors strolling along holding hands, fishing, riding bikes, going in and out of restaurants looking happy and content. The seniors where I live in Philadelphia are prisoners of their homes during the winter and do not seem half as active or happy. If this is God's waiting room, then what a place to wait! I think Florida has something for everyone if you enjoy warmth and an active life style for most of the year.

cmsvmom · 04-12-2007, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRollingSurf

Yes Michigan taxes will kill a family. My property taxes have increased from $1500 a year to $6,800 in 5 short years. Add that to the increase in interest rates from the sub prime lender crooks. Michigan is starting to resemble a ghost town. The people that are still here are so worried about thier familys future, it's horrible. I've had enough. I'll come back for Christmas and hunting but other than that I'm done with this dieing State.

Hey surfer, that is worse than NJ. Mine only almost doubled in 8 years. And they were high to begin with. Sub prime predators are all over the place here. I am paying about 6800 on a 2 br cape with no garage on a 50x100 lot in a decent area of a town no one wants to live in unless they have to. And my kids attended private school. There are a lot of for sale signs here - the so called "immigrants" old timers complain about from the phillippines and carribbean are leaving because they want better public schools.

YOu can hunt in FL - for some game. Deer are everywhere, and when I was a kid, quail hunting was popular. But I guess you might want the experience of hunting with the friends you have gone with over the years.

TheRollingSurf · 04-12-2007, 08:40 AM

Thanks Vero and your right the friends you take to hunt camp make the experience not the actual hunt. I have a 20 acre cottage in Northern MI and some life long memories have been made there. I'll make some new FL friends and take them with me once a year.

TheRollingSurf.com

seeriously · 04-12-2007, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Margel

I recently visited Florida checking on my home's progress being built. I stumbled upon Dunedin and saw a lot of seniors strolling along holding hands, fishing, riding bikes, going in and out of restaurants looking happy and content. The seniors where I live in Philadelphia are prisoners of their homes during the winter and do not seem half as active or happy. If this is God's waiting room, then what a place to wait! I think Florida has something for everyone if you enjoy warmth and an active life style for most of the year.

Margel, I agree. I see happy and bright faces on the older folks in Florida. Sure they have aches and pains but they're having fun. In the northeast they all seem burdened by their personal problems. Problems don't go away because you move to Florida but somehow they get pushed into the background and fun becomes the focus for many.