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Too many people gripe without providing specifics. I'm not accusing you of that, but there's no shortage of it here. So, I think it could be helpful for folks who comes across this thread later if you can provide some specifics. Knowledge is power, or so they say...
Thanks. You know, that's a good point. I expect it to start all kinds of city-data style recriminations, but you're right, it could be worth it for someone else. I'll at least qualify this by saying these are my experiences and perceptions. Many of them were and some of them still are... flawed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HWTechGuy
1) What were your reasons for wanting to leave back in 2007?
I agreed to leave in 2007 because I was disillusioned. My job was going down the toilet, and truthfully I was a much more angry person then and much of what I disliked about Broward/Dade was magnified out of proportion. To me at the time, south Florida was full of angry people, terrible traffic, and the spectre of unrecoverably lost employment. It may still be, but my attitude didn't help.
We had a lot of friends in Minnesota, the job market appeared to be very healthy up there and my wife talked a good game about how things would be with schools, lifestyle, etc, etc. I certainly don't blame her but in retrospect I could have been more objective. Radical change seemed to be a great option. So we sold and left. I should note that we had visited many times, both in winter and summer.
Within a year it was very, very clear that we had made horrible mistake.
Mistakes WE made
1. We bought a house.
2. We bought a house that needed way more work than we bargined for.
3. Every other comment that future posters will make.
Things we didn't plan on
4.The job market collapsed for us.
5. Our friends (two specifically) dropped off the grid when we became unemployed. We were pretty careful not to be needy or complainy or anything like that but once we couldn't afford outings, etc., we never heard back when we reached out.
6. Social transplants have a rough time up here. I don't need constant validation from others, but I've never experienced this kind of thing before. Minnesota is not the only region with this issue, but it does have it. See the MN forums for details.
5+6 = No social network.
7. Many personal failings that future posters will assume.
I attempted to make it work. I eventually got a job that split my time between Minneapolis and Chicago and eventually full time local employment. Progress on the house was made. I've always been an outside person. My wife too. You can have fun out here in the winter time too so I made the effort. I concentrated on the kid's hockey, supporting my wife's interests and working on the house. I learned how to skate. I learned how to get up off the ice with a bruised rear end.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HWTechGuy
2) What are your reasons for wanting to return here in 2014?
After a while I realized a couple of things.
1. Cold weather isn't the end of the world, but I never really did get into winter as much as I though I would. So when winter takes up nearly 6 months out of the year, that means that a huge chunk of life is spent not doing the things I DO like to do; be in green woods, be on the water, enjoying outdoor motorsports, riding my motorcycles, etc.
2. I had no friends. I would meet people from work for things but that's as far as it went. If I never had friends before or was not self actualized to whatever degree I am I would probably have gone into depression. But that's not the case. My Facebook friend list has a total of one Minnesotan. Everyone else is from somewhere else that I've lived.
In the end, I don't expect to make soulmates out of everyone I shake hands with. But I do want to enjoy where I live even if I don't have a huge network of friends, although I'll be closer to the friends I still have in Florida and I enjoy seeing them when I visit.
I miss alligators. I miss the woods around Ocala. I miss getting beer-buzzed at the Freezer in Homosassa. I miss Daytona. I miss Sebring. I miss how when you're out in the middle of Lake Okeechobee on a hazy morning it's like sitting on a big mirror with no horizon. I miss the rain and the heat. I miss boar hunting.
In the end I'm not from here (Minnesota) and I never will be. That's no way to live, so I'm pretty stoked about my time here coming to an end.
Last edited by whatever; 12-16-2014 at 03:42 PM..
Reason: Formatting
Thanks. You know, that's a good point. I expect it to start all kinds of city-data style recriminations, but you're right, it could be worth it for someone else. I'll at least qualify this by saying these are my experiences and perceptions. Many of them were and some of them still are... flawed.
I agreed to leave in 2007 because I was disillusioned. My job was going down the toilet, and truthfully I was a much more angry person then and much of what I disliked about Broward/Dade was magnified out of proportion. To me at the time, south Florida was full of angry people, terrible traffic, and the spectre of unrecoverably lost employment. It may still be, but my attitude didn't help.
We had a lot of friends in Minnesota, the job market appeared to be very healthy up there and my wife talked a good game about how things would be with schools, lifestyle, etc, etc. I certainly don't blame her but in retrospect I could have been more objective. Radical change seemed to be a great option. So we sold and left. I should note that we had visited many times, both in winter and summer.
Within a year it was very, very clear that we had made horrible mistake.
Mistakes WE made
1. We bought a house.
2. We bought a house that needed way more work than we bargined for.
3. Every other comment that future posters will make.
Things we didn't plan on
4.The job market collapsed for us.
5. Our friends (two specifically) dropped off the grid when we became unemployed. We were pretty careful not to be needy or complainy or anything like that but once we couldn't afford outings, etc., we never heard back when we reached out.
6. Social transplants have a rough time up here. I don't need constant validation from others, but I've never experienced this kind of thing before. Minnesota is not the only region with this issue, but it does have it. See the MN forums for details.
5+6 = No social network.
7. Many personal failings that future posters will assume.
I attempted to make it work. I eventually got a job that split my time between Minneapolis and Chicago and eventually full time local employment. Progress on the house was made. I've always been an outside person. My wife too. You can have fun out here in the winter time too so I made the effort. I concentrated on the kid's hockey, supporting my wife's interests and working on the house. I learned how to skate. I learned how to get up off the ice with a bruised rear end.
After a while I realized a couple of things.
1. Cold weather isn't the end of the world, but I never really did get into winter as much as I though I would. So when winter takes up nearly 6 months out of the year, that means that a huge chunk of life is spent not doing the things I DO like to do; be in green woods, be on the water, enjoying outdoor motorsports, riding my motorcycles, etc.
2. I had no friends. I would meet people from work for things but that's as far as it went. If I never had friends before or was not self actualized to whatever degree I am I would probably have gone into depression. But that's not the case. My Facebook friend list has a total of one Minnesotan. Everyone else is from somewhere else that I've lived.
In the end, I don't expect to make soulmates out of everyone I shake hands with. But I do want to enjoy where I live even if I don't have a huge network of friends, although I'll be closer to the friends I still have in Florida and I enjoy seeing them when I visit.
I miss alligators. I miss the woods around Ocala. I miss getting beer-buzzed at the Freezer in Homosassa. I miss Daytona. I miss Sebring. I miss how when you're out in the middle of Lake Okeechobee on a hazy morning it's like sitting on a big mirror with no horizon. I miss the rain and the heat. I miss boar hunting.
In the end I'm not from here (Minnesota) and I never will be. That's no way to live, so I'm pretty stoked about my time here coming to an end.
I didn't understand what was happening in this thread, until it got explained downstream. This post clears things up a lot.
First off, I want to say congratulations!!! I don't think it was a complete mistake for you. You now know for sure. Now you don't have to wonder anymore. Now you can come back and fully enjoy the great state of Florida.
I am very happy for you. I am also glad that your experience and your willingness to share it can show other people that the grass is not always greener on the other side. Actually, it shows our grass is pretty darn green right where we are.
Thanks. You know, that's a good point. I expect it to start all kinds of city-data style recriminations, but you're right, it could be worth it for someone else. I'll at least qualify this by saying these are my experiences and perceptions. Many of them were and some of them still are... flawed.
I agreed to leave in 2007 because I was disillusioned. My job was going down the toilet, and truthfully I was a much more angry person then and much of what I disliked about Broward/Dade was magnified out of proportion. To me at the time, south Florida was full of angry people, terrible traffic, and the spectre of unrecoverably lost employment. It may still be, but my attitude didn't help.
We had a lot of friends in Minnesota, the job market appeared to be very healthy up there and my wife talked a good game about how things would be with schools, lifestyle, etc, etc. I certainly don't blame her but in retrospect I could have been more objective. Radical change seemed to be a great option. So we sold and left. I should note that we had visited many times, both in winter and summer.
Within a year it was very, very clear that we had made horrible mistake.
Mistakes WE made
1. We bought a house.
2. We bought a house that needed way more work than we bargined for.
3. Every other comment that future posters will make.
Things we didn't plan on
4.The job market collapsed for us.
5. Our friends (two specifically) dropped off the grid when we became unemployed. We were pretty careful not to be needy or complainy or anything like that but once we couldn't afford outings, etc., we never heard back when we reached out.
6. Social transplants have a rough time up here. I don't need constant validation from others, but I've never experienced this kind of thing before. Minnesota is not the only region with this issue, but it does have it. See the MN forums for details.
5+6 = No social network.
7. Many personal failings that future posters will assume.
I attempted to make it work. I eventually got a job that split my time between Minneapolis and Chicago and eventually full time local employment. Progress on the house was made. I've always been an outside person. My wife too. You can have fun out here in the winter time too so I made the effort. I concentrated on the kid's hockey, supporting my wife's interests and working on the house. I learned how to skate. I learned how to get up off the ice with a bruised rear end.
After a while I realized a couple of things.
1. Cold weather isn't the end of the world, but I never really did get into winter as much as I though I would. So when winter takes up nearly 6 months out of the year, that means that a huge chunk of life is spent not doing the things I DO like to do; be in green woods, be on the water, enjoying outdoor motorsports, riding my motorcycles, etc.
2. I had no friends. I would meet people from work for things but that's as far as it went. If I never had friends before or was not self actualized to whatever degree I am I would probably have gone into depression. But that's not the case. My Facebook friend list has a total of one Minnesotan. Everyone else is from somewhere else that I've lived.
In the end, I don't expect to make soulmates out of everyone I shake hands with. But I do want to enjoy where I live even if I don't have a huge network of friends, although I'll be closer to the friends I still have in Florida and I enjoy seeing them when I visit.
I miss alligators. I miss the woods around Ocala. I miss getting beer-buzzed at the Freezer in Homosassa. I miss Daytona. I miss Sebring. I miss how when you're out in the middle of Lake Okeechobee on a hazy morning it's like sitting on a big mirror with no horizon. I miss the rain and the heat. I miss boar hunting.
In the end I'm not from here (Minnesota) and I never will be. That's no way to live, so I'm pretty stoked about my time here coming to an end.
Welcome back, Whatever. Florida is a unique state, really the most unique in the country. I highlighted some of the things you miss; and there are so many more things that people find they miss once they move. It sometimes takes a big move (or sometimes even an "almost" move) to make one realize where they really want to be. So when you come back here you will have more appreciation for it than ever before. We once almost moved to Asheville, NC, had a second home there, I was set to move. But BEFORE I EVER DID I realized the thought of it was making me sad - I love the beautiful beaches here; the tropical fauna and flora, the modern architecture, the lakes, woods, rivers - water in abundance. The beautiful weather - I don't mind heat, and the winters are awesome. Asheville was beautiful with it's mountains, but too cold for me 8 mo. out of the year, and the trees were dead for almost as long. It has it's pluses, but I never regret that we sold that house and moved to where we are now, beautiful Manatee County, near the water.
I have changed the title to reflect what the thread is about.
Actually, the title could have been more accurately entitled; "Moving back to Florida will make me happy."
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