hey all you florida peeps

[sandm]

so my sis just came back from a week in florida. they stayed on the gulf side landing in orlando, spending the day at universal, then the rest of the time at the ocean. well, after exploring the area, they want to pack up, sell everything and move there. it's a long-term goal, but seems they are kind of serious.
I know that you cannot explore all the in's and out's of the state on a week vacation, and clearly, all they are seeing are the good, and not the fact that you still have to work and have the associated problems, yardwork to consume time, etc..

just wondering if a few of you florida peeps would mind some offtopic conversations on the subject..

I want to ensure that they have the good and bad to make a decision


email me if you have some time to chat about your fine state

scott.donnelly@shopko.com
I'll forward the info to her..

[Razzman]

Just had some of my really close boating buddies move to Englewood, below Tampa, two weeks ago from Cali. Not by their choice, his dad is in failing health so they made the move. So far he hates it and wishes it were otherwise but it is what it is. I guess it depends a lot on where your coming from too I guess. They are the type that are out on the boat at least twice a week and he's bummed as there's nothing near him, says he ain't boardin' with gators either!

[KSmith]

Florida is a great place... if you like living on the surface of the sun, bugs the size of volkwagons, snakes that eat dogs, crocks that eat row boats, getting to rebuild your blown away house about every few years, learning a second language... stuff like that

Oh, and Ed lives in Florida too LOL

[wolfeman131]

Oh, and Ed lives in Florida too LOL

Now, let's play nice Kapt'n Smith.

[KSmith]

Now, let's play nice Kapt'n Smith.

I'm sorry, I beg forgiveness

[sandm]

ed has given me some insight into florida over the years and hoping he responds to this, as I would value his opinion since he's not native to that area..

anyone?? anyone??

[maxpower220]

Everything is dependent on your viewpoint. The only place that I have lived that I like better than FL is SoCal. The downsides: No state income tax, but about 7% sales tax. There is a state wide and the city usually has a little one too, so 7-7.5 is what most people pay. The unemployment in FL is the highest in the nation, the real estate market is the worst in the nation. That is a good thing if you are moving here and buying cheap. Population exploded in most parts of FL for several decades. However, the road infastructure did not keep up. Traffic is bad in all large cities. Since it never really freezes here, the bug population is large. It's a great place if you like summer and slightly cooler than summer. Some places have a "snow bird" season, which is when older people move south for the winter. This adds to the traffic problem (it's hard to drive effectively when you can't see over the dash). FL produces a lot of crops for the world, people from a country south of the U.S. does a lot of the labor. They are seldom insured when driving their cars. Tourism is the #1 industry in FL, so there are a lot of people who come to visit.

To this forum, you can ski year round. There is a lot of outdoor activities that you can do.

[rdlangston13]

if you move to florida you can have all the pro wake boarders and surfers ride in your boat like ed, you know, cause they all live there and hang with ed

[jpetty3023]

@sandm, Ed shows to be banned from the site, for now anyways. You might need to wait a few days for a response from him until he comes back as eDrama....

[kaneboats]

Bugs: Bug spray
Sun: sunblock and stay wet so go in the boat every day
Traffic: work at home, that's why we have the internet
Tourism: no state income tax and every time their cards are swiped it puts money in the state coffers
Old drivers: hide in the boat
Uninsured illegal immigrants: makes UM/UIM coverage expensive but they will also cut your grass for 5 bucks
Gators: After a few years you start rooting for them because the Seminole chop is so annoying
real gators: just don't boat at night. They sleep during the day and go out to eat every night.