I dont get it ?

[Spring Hillian]

I hear you. I am from NYC. Nobody close to me lives there anymore. They are either here or elsewhere but not there. We have Skype, email, and a magic thing called "airliners".

When I do go back to NYC I am there purely as a tourist. I dont even bother going to the old neighborhoods anymore because they are no longer mine. It was those surroundings that I wanted to get away from in the first place. To get to the people closest to me I need to go to Ft. Lauderdale. That is where most of them are. After 25+ years this is home and always will be.

Originally Posted by Tamatem

How strange it is that so many of your posts I feel the exact opposite of. I wonder why that is. I moved here when I was 23, and after shuffling around a bit in various places between then and now - I still do not miss my family nor CT. They are all up there, and we see each other once in awhile (every few years), talk fairly often. That's enough for me. As far as missing "my surroundings"? I do not have some sort of fond memory of CT. I have been pretty content everywhere I have lived, however despite FL not being my original surroundings, this is the place I felt most at home. So I came back.

Time to snow in FL :P

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by PhotoProIP

So, what you're saying is that people in 99% of the cases don't miss their relatives? friends? former surroundings? yeah, I'll believe that when it'll snow in Florida! LOL
How cold hearted do you think people are?

What are you replying to even?

He never said 99%. Why would you say that?

[PhotoProIP]

Hey....all of our family is here; so "we" don't have anyone to miss except those who died in the past. I am strictly referring to folks we know from our kids school, who can't seem to get on FL's page at all....and all they talk about it "up north, we did this, and had that and blah blah blah....", and "our kids miss their grandparents, and uncles etc"....we have 5 neighbors all from NY, and NJ and NONE of the wave "Hello!"...."I" don't get it!

We have an Asian neighbor and he is the nicest guy ever! The renters across the street are some sort of abusers cause the cops were up here one day booking the father! We don't talk to them, as we don't associate ourselves with the kind of people that attract law enforcement! But, most people in here keep to themselves for whatever reason...we never had this issue in Miami being surrounded by folks who were born and raised there. Transplants have issues fitting in; not all of them, but a LOT of them.

[PhotoProIP]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

He never said 99%. Why would you say that?

Because he was determined to disagree with me, when we don't share the same background, surroundings, and roam around the same people. and Frankly...I don't know many people who don't talk about "where they came from" and refuse to embrace where they "live now"! I compare Florida with Florida.....but if "up north" was so fantastic, then why are you here?

[Longford]

Originally Posted by cjrudy

I dont get it, if its really that bad why do these people live there ?

[FloridaKash]

We miss our lifelong friends and family back home. But with that said, we have our own family here and have made some good friends. I have no desire to go back to Alaska until I can live there in the summer and live elsewhere in the winter.

My point - some people can live away from what they know and who they know better than others.

[nskeeter]

I live in the Clearwater/Largo/Safety Harbor area of Florida. There are plenty of positives and negatives to go over. Like how crappy it is to get stuck in traffic with 90+ degree weather feeling like 120 degrees with the humidity. Or the fact that a lot of areas have growing drug problems and gang violence. Especially in Tampa and south Saint Pete. Considering the the Pinellas County area is one of the more densely populated areas of Florida. As % of people grow so do the % of crimes and what not.

I don't suggest riding a motorcycle here. There are far to many people. A majority of the people don't pay attention or don't care about other people on the road. The road is theirs and everyone else is just in their way. It's like a cesspool for every other state to come to. So much of our population are older people who literally come here to retire and pass away. The evidence is in the amount of pharmacies per square mile here and the amount of hospitals you can drive to within 20 minutes of any location here.

However there is the fact that there are so many beautiful sunny days year round despite being lightning central lol. But the Beaches here are beautiful and after you get away from the driving portion the people in general can be great. Tourism is our income here so most of the businesses cater to new people but also know how to take care of the locals. There are plenty of areas to visit like the Sponge Docks or the Pier on Clearwater beach. Which, by the way, has a large amount of local restaurants that are absolutely delicious. Fresh sea food is the best sea food. Also, Fort Desoto is a great are to visit and spend the day. While down in that area, it would be suggestible to visit the gorgeous Dali Museum.

All in all what kills Florida for me as a place to live and instead I would rather just come back for vacation, is the fact that i just cannot endure the humidity anymore on a constant basis and the fact that I have a literal allergy to the sun in long exposure. I don't tan. Even with sun block spf 45 (anything higher for anyone is pointless) it doesn't protect me from breaking out and getting physically ill from normal non overactive exposure. So I don't get out and enjoy the otherwise beautiful weather all that much.

This all however is based off of my personal experiences and should be take with a grain of salt. I'm usually a pretty optimistic person. But after traveling back and forth to Florida as a young child and living here 8 years as an adult. My sights are set on more of the north west location like Idaho or Montana. I love the mountains and cooler/less humid air. So, my wife and I are looking to move that way in a few years after saving up for a house. Like I said, this is all based off of personal experience and opinion. You may come here and love Florida for the beautiful birds, beaches and sunny days. Either way i wish you the best of luck.