Do you regret moving to Florida?

Where the heck is ClassicRockr in this thread? I was sure he'd be all over this, since he is always in the process of getting ready to move from Florida, which he constantly rants about, back to Colorado.

As for me, I don't care for Florida, and I've been all over that state. The humidity is terrible, everywhere, and the whole state has this odd "feel" to it, people-wise.
 

Sorry, but that video is everything I never think about in my retirement. Nightclubs, booze, sex (you call that sex!?) I moved from frigid Chicago in 1979 and have lived in Houston ever since. I have been to St. Pete, Merritt Island, Hollywood and Lauderdale and would not live in any of those places.
 
FWIW: I'm a country boy, as is my buddy and his wife. They've told me that where they live (outside of Williston) that it is very country, culturally and otherwise. I would never live near any coast -- because of the congestion and probably dumb people.

The last time I went to Florida was in April 1972 (Daytona Beach) and from what everybody tells me it has changed A LOT since then, which isn't surprising. But, apparently, if you go inland -- at least in the northern part -- it is still very rural.

Could I adjust to The Villages lifestyle? Not sure. I plan on flying down in June/July and checking it all out.
 

Old Dummy said:
FWIW: I'm a country boy, as is my buddy and his wife. They've told me that where they live (outside of Williston) that it is very country, culturally and otherwise. I would never live near any coast -- because of the congestion and probably dumb people.

The last time I went to Florida was in April 1972 (Daytona Beach) and from what everybody tells me it has changed A LOT since then, which isn't surprising. But, apparently, if you go inland -- at least in the northern part -- it is still very rural.

Could I adjust to The Villages lifestyle? Not sure. I plan on flying down in June/July and checking it all out.
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You're right, nobody out here on the east coast but us dumb folk tripping over each other, best to stay away.

:wave:
 
Old Dummy said:
FWIW: I'm a country boy, as is my buddy and his wife. They've told me that where they live (outside of Williston) that it is very country, culturally and otherwise. I would never live near any coast -- because of the congestion and probably dumb people.

The last time I went to Florida was in April 1972 (Daytona Beach) and from what everybody tells me it has changed A LOT since then, which isn't surprising. But, apparently, if you go inland -- at least in the northern part -- it is still very rural.

Could I adjust to The Villages lifestyle? Not sure. I plan on flying down in June/July and checking it all out.
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JimW said:
You're right, nobody out here on the east coast but us dumb folk tripping over each other, best to stay away.

:wave:
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Old Dummy said:
LOL, it wasn't meant to insult anybody, sorry if it did. It's just a city vs. country thing.
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Its especially funny considering you named yourself OLD DUMMY :laugh:
 
Keesha said:
Its especially funny considering you named yourself OLD DUMMY :laugh:
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Well, there ya go.
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Moved to FL. 39 yrs. ago from PA. and do not go back on purpose no mo! LOL This is home and we love it here in SW FL. back then we were in our 30's low 40's now we're old and retired and slowed down quite a bit but still would not live anywhere else.
 
Aputernut17 said:
Moved to FL. 39 yrs. ago from PA. and do not go back on purpose no mo! LOL This is home and we love it here in SW FL. back then we were in our 30's low 40's now we're old and retired and slowed down quite a bit but still would not live anywhere else.
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Pappy said:
And this folks, is why I choose to live in Florida. Not a snowflake insight.
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Nice pix!

Does everybody deal with the summer weather okay? What about the bugs and snakes?
 
I've had a place in Gainesville, and one in Weeki Wachee, all the while keeping my house in the Ozarks. I have a love-hate relationship with Florida. Sometimes, I love it, other times... not so much. I do know that in a few more years, I'll be heading down that way again as the property I have in Arkansas is getting to be too much for me.
You're right about Williston being country there Old Dummy. I spent a lot of time out that way when I lived in Gainesville. Especially liked that huge old flea market.
I suppose my next move will be a bit south of Tampa on the gulf side. Weeki Wachee was ok, but it is a little warmer down a little.
 

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squatting dog said:
I've had a place in Gainesville, and one in Weeki Wachee, all the while keeping my house in the Ozarks. I have a love-hate relationship with Florida. Sometimes, I love it, other times... not so much. I do know that in a few more years, I'll be heading down that way again as the property I have in Arkansas is getting to be too much for me.
You're right about Williston being country there Old Dummy. I spent a lot of time out that way when I lived in Gainesville. Especially liked that huge old flea market.
I suppose my next move will be a bit south of Tampa on the gulf side. Weeki Wachee was ok, but it is a little warmer down a little.
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Thanks for your thoughts!
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What about bugs and snakes?
 
There are bugs and there are snakes. There are lizards. There are alligators. You get used to them.

I have a lizard who shows up in my shower on occasion. We get along just fine. The Spousal Equivalent, on the other hand, squeals like a little girl when he gets one in HIS shower. I always have to go in and trap it for him.
 
Reason I ask is that my buddy's wife got bit by chiggers. She had an allergic reaction to them and some symptoms may be permanent -- this was some months ago and it's still all up in the air.

Although I've been to Florida several times from '70-'72, I never saw any snakes -- poisonous or otherwise.
 
WOW, don't know how I missed this thread!!:dunno:

Anyway, wife and I have been here in Jacksonville, FL since the first of 2009. We visited first in Dec 2008 and were very drawn by the St Johns River for boating. Now, 10 years later, we are totally convinced that we made a mistake in moving here.

Been thru a few tropical storms, hurricanes Mathew and Irma. We stayed in our apartment during all of them. At first, could handle the heat and "added-on" humidity, but it has really gotten to us in the last year or so.

We were told that boating is done year-around here. Definitely NOT true, unless a person likes taking a boat out on the water when the high temp is 45 degrees on a day. We've also been told "if you want warmer winter weather, you have to live further south in Florida, definitely not the northeastern part. On Christmas morning of 2010, it was snowing in our apartment complex. Yes, you read right...ā€¦ā€¦..SNOWING!! I got out our video camera, zoomed in on some trees and it was coming down. Not sticking, but definitely snowing.

Turns out we aren't "beach people", but rather Rocky Mountain people. Lived 24 miles south of Denver for 5 1/2 years. Made numerous trips to the Rockies. Wife and I were raised in the snow areas of northeastern Indiana (me) and southeastern Michigan (her), so we already knew what snowstorms and blizzards were all about.

Many, many people like, even love, Jacksonville and Florida...ā€¦ā€¦...but, we aren't those people. We really miss the rodeo action, freshwater boating/fishing, mountain wildlife and the Western stuff we attended when we lived there.

Heck, we even still have our winter parkas that we bought when we lived in Colorado. Guess, somehow, we knew that we'd return. We did visit last July and didn't miss the Florida humidity at all. Driving down I-25, passed field after field of corn, tractors, round bales of hay and cattle grazing. Now, THAT'S my kind of scenery looking from a freeway!
 
Florida is going through another boom except this time it's people avoiding taxes and high cost of living else where and not the cold. Problem is that if too many move down in certain areas the cost of the living will go up and sooner or later a state income tax might have to be implemented or local taxes increased.

The transplants who wanted sun and fun might be more adaptable. People just avoiding taxes etc might find themselves bored and/or unable to adapt. Some people can't stand not having a full fledged changing of the seasons. Florida has it but some literally must snow.

Florida and other warm weather places used to be a hidden treasure because there was a slow steady trickle but people are moving/transplanting en mass.

I'm hearing stories of some places almost doubling the first housing boom home prices because of the demand. The peak of the boom brought California traffic. There are highways with a 65 mph limit that came to a crawl during the boom years without an accident or construction.
 
Forget for a minute, the hurricanes, pollution, storms etc, I think the biggest problem is coming down the pike. Water, or more importantly, the lack of it. At the last place I lived in Florida, every home had a well and a septic, and there were thousands of new homes being built in the area, and many of the existing wells were drying up and new ones needed to be drilled. Now it doesn't take a genius to figure that the water table in Florida can only support so many people. I believe this has a lot to do with some of the sink holes that have developed recently. Suck all the water and leave an empty space, and sooner or later, it'll have to cave in. :(
Yes, people are also correct about traffic. It became too dangerous to ride our motorcycles on most of the congested roadways.
Already, the infrastructure is becoming overburdened and outside of raising taxes, I see no way else to support the ever expanding population.
 
One thing that was a real shock to us, and probably should have been consider a "hint" was a fireplace in each apartment. Who on earth would think that anyone in Florida would need, or even have use of, a fireplace? We've used ours and have stepped outside and smelled other fireplaces going.

Other thing that attracts many to Florida, no Smog Inspection. Your vehicle could be spilling smoke out of the tailpipe and nobody would care.

Actually, I was told that Florida, other than the "Snowbirds", is more for the younger generation rather than the Baby Boomers and older today.
 
I lived most of my life in colder states, like Idaho and Washington, but have lived for about the last 10 years in northern Alabama.
I do miss the summers we had out West, and the lack of dense humidity in the air; but I sure do NOT miss all of the cold and snow we had each winter out there.
Here, we have a longer growing season, but not everything will grow (like rhubarb, which flourishes in the north), and all of the squirrels love to dig up any seeds that I plant, and something eats the ones that do come up .

I donā€™t know how I would like Florida, but I did take a trip for a week to Orlando last year, and the drive there and back home again was beautiful !
I was with my daughter, and we drove home up the west coast of Florida, and could see the ocean most of the way home. Some of the small towns we went through seemed like places where I would enjoy living, and being able to see the ocean every day if I wanted to do that.
The hurricane last year just about totaled many of those quaint little towns, so then i was glad that I didnā€™t live there after all.

I think that spending some time in the area where you are wanting to move to, is probably the best way to determine if it would work for you or not, because what one person loves, another person cannot stand, when it comes to where we want to live.
 
We have lived in Florida more years than anywhere else. In those 32 years we have known many snowbirds. Very commonly in time they get tired of maintaining 2 homes and they sell the one where they keep the snow shovel.
"You don't have to shovel heat".
 
Manatee said:
We have lived in Florida more years than anywhere else. In those 32 years we have known many snowbirds. Very commonly in time they get tired of maintaining 2 homes and they sell the one where they keep the snow shovel.
"You don't have to shovel heat".
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We have a home in Clearwater, but seldom get down to it. We actually used it more when we worked than we have since being retired. We are probably going to sell it soon. Our kids don't want it and I even offered it to my wife's side of the family and they don't want it either, but they are all hunters, so they prefer staying up north.
 


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