Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I lived for over 50 years in Florida and never had a run-in with an alligator. And that includes wading up to my chest in water at golf courses as a kid to get golf balls. They were the least of my worries
Do not tell them that. We have them in our back yard, we feed them the neighbors pets and Northerners that come to visit. Sorry to be flippant, but saying you do not like Florida because there are alligators is like saying, I do not like Australia because they have funnel web spiders.
Pertaining to alligators, maybe people are thinking of the recent incident where a 2 year old child was snatched by an alligator at the Disney World Resort in Orlando Florida, with the alligator carrying the child out into the water and away, leaving the child dead.
From reading and observing, I see that alligators can be found in any Floridian small pond, accumulation of water, tiny lake, and other bodies of water in Florida on residential and commercial properties..
Thankfully, the alligators cannot get into Sam's club, because everyone knows you need a membership to get inside.
Florida, home to frequent hurricanes and flying cockroaches (aka palmetto bugs). I think I'll pass.
I had to laugh when I read this. I was on assignment in Miami one July and I had a large Palmetto bug in my hotel room that I couldn't kill. I went to the desk and complained and they told me....oh it's just a Palmetto bug. I swung around and said "You can call them any pretty little name you want, but they are nothing but giant cockroaches and I want it OUT of my room!!"
I agree....Florida was nowhere on our retirement radar. Too hot and humid in the summer, hurricanes, sink holes and bugs, bugs, bugs.
I've seen the ones with a dark tan, laying on the beach. Absorbing UV radiation all day, waiting to get skin cancer, really isn't my thing.
What else do the retired people in Florida do? Play bridge? Sounds like a pretty boring life to me.
My mother's friends (80's) go golfing, fishing, play tennis, play cards, go boating or kayaking, dancing and one takes care of her grandchildren 3 days a week. They are never bored and they never have to shovel snow (unless you live in the Northern part of Florida - they have had snow this year )
So many people assume Florida is full of old people and yes, it used to be that way but not anymore. Probably the only "bored" people are those who have medical issues that keep them housebound. Keep this in mind: it's easier to wipe off sweat than it is goose bumps.
Now about those palmetto bugs: yes they freak me out also but I rarely see one unless I'm outside near palmetto trees which is never. I have a monthly pest control service and the only bugs I ever see IN the house are the occasional ants.
Otherwise, I am laughing at all the generalizations of Florida, like it's all the same everywhere you go. It's a big state -- 65K square miles -- and runs the gamut from your East coast "New Yawker" scene to the southwest Gulf coast with its majority of Midwesterners and yep, many hick towns inland. The person who said it's butt-ugly has never lived where I live, which is one of the most beautiful areas I've ever seen and I've lived many places including Southern California. But it's OK, please continue trashing it, we don't need more people coming here.
I couldn't rep you again so here you go.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Sorry to be flippant, but saying you do not like Florida because there are alligators is like saying, I do not like Australia because they have funnel web spiders.
How to Spend Your 100th Birthday
)
