Do Pittsburghers have a Florida attraction come winter time? (New Castle: renting, crime rates)

[TBonzie]

Truer words were never spoken. I've had 30 years in Fort Lauderdale and I'm getting the hell out. 9 straight months of heat, heat and heat are just too much, and that's not counting the hurricanes.

Originally Posted by Goinback2011

It's just too damn hot. And too damn bright. I still have some family down there who I visited I few weeks ago. I had to use my AC in the car and wore shades all the time except the dark of night.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Do Pittsburghers have a Florida attraction come winter time?

Most Pittsburgh snowbirds opt for Myrtle Beach and various other coastal Carolina towns during the winter months. Myrtle Beach in particular is well-known for having a heavy western PA presence during the months of January and February. There are a bunch of Steelers bars (particularly in North Myrtle Beach), and a drive through some of the coastal neighborhoods will reveal plenty of black and gold flags, trinkets, and the occasional blowup Steelers love-doll that people like to put in their yards. Heavy Yinzer presence for sure.

It's not surprising, as it's a: closer, and b: a LOT more affordable than Florida. So it just makes sense. Why drive for two days and spend $2,000 renting a condo for a month in Florida when you can drive 11 hours and spend less than a grand for a month in a beach-view condo dahn Myrtle?

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

Most Pittsburgh snowbirds opt for Myrtle Beach and various other coastal Carolina towns during the winter months. Myrtle Beach in particular is well-known for having a heavy western PA presence during the months of January and February. There are a bunch of Steelers bars (particularly in North Myrtle Beach), and a drive through some of the coastal neighborhoods will reveal plenty of black and gold flags, trinkets, and the occasional blowup Steelers love-doll that people like to put in their yards. Heavy Yinzer presence for sure.

It's not surprising, as it's a: closer, and b: a LOT more affordable than Florida. So it just makes sense. Why drive for two days and spend $2,000 renting a condo for a month in Florida when you can drive 11 hours and spend less than a grand for a month in a beach-view condo dahn Myrtle?

Is it warm enough in Myrtle Beach during the Winter months?

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

Most Pittsburgh snowbirds opt for Myrtle Beach and various other coastal Carolina towns during the winter months. Myrtle Beach in particular is well-known for having a heavy western PA presence during the months of January and February. There are a bunch of Steelers bars (particularly in North Myrtle Beach), and a drive through some of the coastal neighborhoods will reveal plenty of black and gold flags, trinkets, and the occasional blowup Steelers love-doll that people like to put in their yards. Heavy Yinzer presence for sure.

It's not surprising, as it's a: closer, and b: a LOT more affordable than Florida. So it just makes sense. Why drive for two days and spend $2,000 renting a condo for a month in Florida when you can drive 11 hours and spend less than a grand for a month in a beach-view condo dahn Myrtle?

Myrtle Beach, during the best snowbird months of January and February, would not hold much appeal to me because of the weather. Today, for example, MB has a high of 52/ low of 30 with all-day (cold) rain. Being a snowbird, to me, means that I would be able to leave my winter clothing home in Pittsburgh. With typical highs in the 50's, and the lows dropping into the 20's in a MB February, I would have to bring clothing for a Pittsburgh-like early December to Myrtle Beach. Less a few snowflakes, why leave Pittsburgh? I would expect beach communities in Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi would hold better weather options than MB during the months of the snowbird, if alternatives to Florida are being sought.

[Craziaskowboi]

I've been to Florida many times, and here are some of my notes:

You must have high heat tolerance to live there. December through March are the only months of the year with weather suitable for most people. April through November are warm to hot, and very humid. Expect scattered thunderstorms most days, beginning around mid-afternoon. I can't even play a round of mini-golf without being covered in sweat by the time I'm done. Even a walk at sunrise will leave a film of sweat on your forehead.

There's no "there" there. Most of the developed areas are a sprawling mess, and traffic is a nightmare as long as the sun is up. At night, however, the Interstates are fun to open the throttle on. The best downtowns in Florida are actually in Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Downtown Miami is actually kind of dead, and downtown Jacksonville is a study of urban renewal gone horribly wrong. Downtown Fort Lauderdale is more walkable and has more ambiance than downtown Miami, particularly along and near Las Olas Boulevard. Downtown Orlando has a lot of potential, and also has a nice setting near some lakes.

If you want to go to the beach but don't like crowds, avoid Miami Beach and Daytona Beach at all costs. Fort Lauderdale Beach is a good alternative to Miami Beach. It's cleaner, and there's even a Primanti Bros. on FL A1A opposite the beach. Cocoa Beach is a good alternative to Daytona Beach. It's my favorite of all the beaches on the peninsula, partly because it doesn't get quite as overrun with NASCAR nuts and idiot college kids. Elsewhere on the peninsula, Clearwater Beach and Sarasota Beach were kind of lame, honestly. Sorry to all the people who live in the Tampa Bay area.

In general, I prefer the beaches to the north and in the panhandle. Jacksonville is the least glamorous of all the major cities in Florida, but Jacksonville Beach and Fernandina Beach are both underrated. My favorite beaches of all, though, are the ones along the "Emerald Coast" in the Florida panhandle. Panama City Beach does get its share of idiot college kids, but it's nowhere near as bad as Daytona Beach. Everything between there and Fort Walton Beach is golden, though, and I highly recommend spending some time in Destin. If I had to retire to Florida, it'd be there.

[Florida Paradise]

There seems to be a quite a few Pittsburgers in the Ft. Myer area. They even have a Steeler bar dpwn there. I own a townhome in Ft. Myers, a few miles from the beach, and it is awesome... Alhtough I still have years and yers til I retire, I still make it down there a few times a year.

[Florida Paradise]

Originally Posted by MissShona

Well I'm a Pittsburgher (well Mon Valley really) and I lived in Miami for 7 years. However I was raised in a West Indian family; so there was no real culture shock when I relocated there (many, many Northerners I met down there complained endlessly about how they felt that living in Miami was like living in a foreign country).

I miss Southeast FL soooo much! To me, life is better there. But then again I can't stand winter and the homogeneous population in the Pittsburgh area makes me feel like a true outsider. Also the economy is much better there. Pittsburgh has jobs....but so many of them are low-paying, dead-end positions working for firms that take few risks, and therefore may be financially sound, but have stagnated in terms of growth. However I won't argue with the other opinions that FL in general has more crime, no sense of community, mega-highways that make owning a car a necessity, and expensive real estate costs (although you save on taxes and all other things affected by taxes...like gasoline).

Uh... Florida has very little opportunity for any kind of jobs, except "service" type. The economy tanked in 2009, when the housing market blew up and now almost 50 % of all homes are foreclosed or in some stage of foreclosure. Crime is up, cause no one can find a good paying job... and there is a surge in homelessness, cause many many people lost homes/jobs, so they can't find landlords who will rent to them. The only ones making out in the Florida market are those who are buying up property for investment or future retirement.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

I would expect beach communities in Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi would hold better weather options than MB during the months of the snowbird, if alternatives to Florida are being sought.

Actually, the weather in those areas is about the same during the winter months as MB. The only place you're really gonna find "true" summer weather during the winter (where you can swim, walk around in shorts, etc) on any given day would be south Florida, and even that's a stretch in recent years. Miami and even Key West has the occasional days where it doesn't get out of the 50's in the afternoon, and drops into the 30's and 40's at night.

[MissShona]

Originally Posted by Florida Paradise

Uh... Florida has very little opportunity for any kind of jobs, except "service" type. The economy tanked in 2009, when the housing market blew up and now almost 50 % of all homes are foreclosed or in some stage of foreclosure. Crime is up, cause no one can find a good paying job... and there is a surge in homelessness, cause many many people lost homes/jobs, so they can't find landlords who will rent to them. The only ones making out in the Florida market are those who are buying up property for investment or future retirement.

I guess it depends on how you define "service". To me, service jobs are retail, restaurants and hospitality positions. South Florida (and Orlanda & Tampa) have a lot of jobs in the following areas that others could consider "service", but that I personally find are their own industries:

1) health care (wherever you have large populations, you have jobs in health care)
2) sales (includes real estate and commodities)
3) import/export and shipping
4) transportation (again linked with population)
5) Education (you won't get rich from it...but it's enough to support yourself)

Outside of these areas, there is a job market for:

1) IT professionals
2) Law enforcement (for better or for worse)
3) Anything related to international business

If you visit any job board, the postings for careers in all of these areas far outnumber anything you see in Pittsburgh; including healthcare (in spite of the all-mighty UPMC )

As for many other areas of the state (i.e. Daytona, Southwest FL, Space Coast), I would agree that the economy is limited and there isn't too much going on.

Also as I mentioned before, I know a lot of ordinary people who lost their jobs in FL. All of them were able to find something else, and no one is homeless.

[Mugatu]

Originally Posted by Sealtite

Actually, the weather in those areas is about the same during the winter months as MB. The only place you're really gonna find "true" summer weather during the winter (where you can swim, walk around in shorts, etc) on any given day would be south Florida, and even that's a stretch in recent years. Miami and even Key West has the occasional days where it doesn't get out of the 50's in the afternoon, and drops into the 30's and 40's at night.

Actually, in recent years, Florida winters have gotten much warmer. Growing up there, I remember many cold winter days and more frequent freeezes when I was a kid. Now, 80 degree temps much of the winter are more common. 30's in South Florida is VERY rare now. Maybe once every few years. And if it does happen, it's very short lived. Give it 2 days and temps are back up near 80.