[RadRexx]

First of all, you can't get any decent pizza...at least on the east coast or in Broward County where I live. Too much NY influence here and it's all NY style pizza.

I moved to Broward (Coral Springs) from Chicago burbs in 1998. I never thought I would want to leave, but now I am considering it. When I moved traffic didn't seem as bad and it didn't seem as crowded, but now it takes me 40 mins to go 12 miles to work.

I love the ocean and the beach, but the beach is becoming less and less accessible due to traffic or the ever ongoing multi-million dollar condo projects.

I think the problem (at least my problem) with Florida is there is no sense of overall community. I am not Jewish, I am not Latin, and I am not from New York, so these three groups seem to make up separate quasi-communities down here, which I don't fit into. Not to say the people in those groups aren't friendly, but you still feel like an outsider if you aren't from their common background.

It seems people don't want to come here and integrate, they want it exactly like it was where they came from (notice my pizza comment). I grew up a die hard Sox (the real Sox that is the White ones) and a Bears fan, but when I came down here I became a Marlins and Dolphins fan. It's almost sickening when you go to a game vs. a NY team and half the fans are rooting for the NY teams. I long for the Friday night games at Comiskey when all the drunken fans are rooting for the Sox and not the freakin' Yankees.

Probably the last nail in the coffin is for me is my home owners insurance is going to jump from $1900 to $5000. Would I go back to Chicago? Probably not, but do I still want to live here for the rest of my life? I am no longer sure.

How is that for an ambiguous opinion?

[hiknapster]

I lived in Fort Myers for nine years. Nasty.

I'm from Mass. My husband is from Chicago. I wish I could live in Chicago. What a beautiful city. Don't give up your house.

I live in Knoxville now. Very friendly people...to your face. And don't dare say anything on the Tennesse forum! Yikes!

Stay in Chicago. I envy you.

[cotero@pasco.k12.fl.us]

I seriously ENJOY Pasco County Florida... my family "from up north" loves to come visit as well.... no regrets since Aug of 1989... Hurray for the Sunshine State!! Some of us are HAPPY CAMPERS!!!

Cheryl

[chisoxfan]

This thread strikes a chord with me as I am a Chicago-area native who moved here in 1987. I would agree with previous posters who have observed that there is very little sense of community in South Florida -- it's almost impossible to find the close-knit, neighborhood feel that Chicago is known for, and the various ethnic/religious/regional groupings stick to their own kind.

Amazingly, it seems like the only time there's really that sense of community here (at least in my neighborhood) is in the aftermath of a hurricane, when people really do go out of their way to help their fellow man and there's a feeling that we're all in this together (but watch out for the price gougers and scam artists coming out of the woodwork).

Would I advise someone not to move here? It depends on your situation. Know what you're getting into. If you have kids (my wife and I don't), you will have to pony up big bucks to send them to private schools for a decent education -- and it bothers me to say that as my mom and dad taught in Illinois public schools for a combined 60 years. Do you have a household income of at least $100,000 a year? Even that probably isn't sufficient to buy a nice house, and your salary probably won't increase fast enough to keep up with windstorm insurance rates. Do New Yorkers bother you? We're known as New York City's largest suburb. Non-English speakers? Be prepared for a steady stream of Spanish and Creole. Liberal politics? Get used to it in South Florida. Gays? We've got a ton here. Are you thin-skinned and do you lack resourcefulness? If so, you will have a hard time surviving here. Are you a live-and-let-live type of person who enjoys the melting pot? Come on down!

I don't think this area's problems (except for the insurance and maybe the schools) are necessarily any worse than in most other major metro areas. I enjoy the diversity. And there are many great reasons to live here -- warm weather, beaches, entertainment, pro sports, etc. The natural wonders of the Everglades are close by, Disney is three hours away, and the tropical funkiness of Key West is four hours away. Trouble is, more than 5 million people have been crammed into a 15-mile-wide corridor stretching from Jupiter to South Miami. Many move down here thinking it's a tropical nirvana and find out it's not so. And as a result, much of the populace is angry and stressed out. Some of us deal with it and make our way as best we can.

And P.S. -- One of the previous posters is right on target -- about the only type of good food you CAN'T get here is Chicago-style pizza.

[batman]

Originally Posted by arista

Dear potential Florida resident,

I currently live in Pembroke Pines, which is vastly growing city slightly northwest of Aventura. I have lived here for 12 years and I hate it with a passion. I am actually going to move to Chicago in March because I have visited it multiple times and have heard no one say anything bad about it aside from the cold. The people there are nice and friendly beyond belief, and living life there seems to have meaning. Let me tell you why you don't want to move to Florida, regardless of what was offered to your husband: Horrible Schools, Horrible Traffic, So many immigrants that it's impossible to get a fair paying job because most of the jobs are already held by illegal immigrants that are working for 4 dollars an hour, the people are rude and not only do they not care about other people, they hardly even care about themselves, it's the second highest ranking state in the nation for drug problems (according the the DEA's website), the home prices are far above what they should be, and renting an apartment is becoming almost impossible because everything has gone condo conversion. They are turning old, 1 bedroom apartments into condos and selling them for close to $200,000. The property taxes are insane along with the homeowner's insurance. 6 months out of the year it's hurricane season and raining torrentially. It's downrite miserable. It's relentlessly hot with about 2 weeks a year where it dips below 80 degrees. My electric bill per month for a 2 bedroom apartment is an average of $250 bucks a month due to the air conditioning. And on top of everything, if you want to visit anywhere else by car, you're going to have to drive about 11 hours to get to anywhere that doesn't look just like the hell hole I'm already in. I consider Florida to be the armpit of the US. Everyone here that isn't rich is getting out. There will soon be no middle class. A box of cereal now costs close to 4 bucks. A gallon of milk is about 4 bucks as well. In the business world, people get to the top not by being the best they can be, but by putting others down to get there. I'm not trying to talk trash, just personally, I'm getting the hell out of here. I would move sooner but my lease in my apartment isn't up until March. BTW, I'm renting a so, so 2 bedroom apartment in a so, so neighborhood for $1,260 bucks a month. I don't know how this compares but in March it would go up to $1,500 a month, not including anything. Beware, think twice before getting yourself stuck here.

i have been to florida 3 times allready and have met the friendliest people i ever encountered in my life. i have been to fort lauderdale, tampa, the keys, key west. and you say that you are moving to CHICAGO?!! THAT IS JUMPING, VERY LITERALLY AND VERY SERIOUSLY, OUT OF THE FRYING PAN AND INTO THE FIRE!!!!! ILLINOIS IS PRACTICALLY THE ABSOLUTE WORST AND RUDEST STATE IN THIS ENTIRE NATION!!! you may have heard that chicago was nice, but very sadly, that era has been terminated by former governor george h ryan. chicago, which had (at one time) been a very nice and friendly city, has been transformed into a slum, many areas of which are even WORSE THAN MIAMI!!! (surely, you've heard of places like humboldt park, cabrini green, the robert taylor homes area, and the south suburbs?!)

[Pixie Dust]

I too was born Chicago and raised in the western suburbs. My inlaws are from Skokie so I know what you mean when you say a large Jewish community. (If its still the same)

Try checking out North Miami Beach by I believe its Miami Heart Institute. I took some classes at that hospital and I will tell you that it is a large Jewish Community if that is important to you. It will be a long commute for your husband to get to work.

I will also add that I have lived here six years and I am ready to move. My home is up for sale and I can't wait until it sells. This is very different fofrm what midwesterners are used to. I LOVE Chicago but am not going back...the winters are too harsh for me. I am looking at property in the Carolinas. I wish you luck.

[oeabel]

Since we're moving down to Ft Myers/Naples from the burbs of Kansas City, I feel like we're in the same boat. I grieved for a week thinking of our neighborhood school, the kids on the block, the families we've gotten to know and the feeling of being a part of something so great. We also have a lot of family in Naperville, IL and I love it there as much as I love it here in Overland Park.

The thing is, we're moving to Florida regardless... I'm flying down in two weeks to find a house and I'm hopeful that we'll find something that will make all of us happy, even if it's not the same. I think it will be good for all of us and I like to think that we're going on a family adventure. I like the schools in Naples better so we'll likely go for the shack with good schools rather than the bigger house with bad schools.

That was a long-winded way of saying that I'm hopeful that attitude can overcome the need for having things the way we're used to them! I'm sure it will all work out for the best!