Born in Michigan, moved to Port Richey, Florida at 10 and escaped back to Michigan at 19.
I hated being a teen in Gulf Coast Florida. It was spectacularly loathsome. The idea is that Pasco and Hernando Counties were designed specifically to drive teens away from the area at graduation.
I think I would appreciate the area now at 46, but I still see a vacuum in income stability. I do not want to work in customer service and that appears to be the top employment model.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:smokindav wrote: Hah hah, you are married (to a woman) and have a job that pays your bills and will allow you to retire someday. How liberal can you possibly be? Is there such a thing as a liberal groupie or liberal wannabe? :) Florida tech - get as far south as you can if you want the island vibe.I'm one of those pesky Volvo driving, Latte sipping, yoga practicing, private school sending, New York times reading, NPR listening, upper middle class Liberal elitists
I'd bet real money that you and I agree on probably 90% of political issues. But the ones we disagree on are the ones that we strongly believe in. Forget Florida, come to Texas and we can be friends.
Having Been Raised In S. Miami, My Grandmother also was born there in the Late 1800's I would have considered myself a Local. Unless you Speak Fluent Spanish Try North Georgia. thats where we live Now. that said Half the Family still lives in the Key's, but I'm not a fan of Monroe Co.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:Tom_Spangler wrote: There are alligators everywhere, and you prefer small dogs. Might be a bad combination.He's a big dog at heart!Tom_Spangler wrote: I joke about Florida as much as anyone, but I can certainly see doing the snowbird thing, possibly with a big RV like my in-laws are currently doing. I do think a university town would be a good fit for you, politically and culturally. Back when my dad was alive, my folks used to rent a mobile home for a month at a time each winter in Ft. Myers. It was fairly cheap, especially when you consider the cost of maintaining and paying taxes on an additional home.We will definitely be spending many more weeks/months down there over the next 15 years in our camper and/or condo rentals before any move. This thread has just ensured that we will be spending some time both in DeLand, as well as revisiting the Dunedin / Clearwater area next winter. Back to Margie’s suggestion. What is the winter weather like there? Seems like it could still get cold? Looks to be a really nice place other than that and it’s not right on the water.
Winter is great, went scuba diving a few times and the wind kicks up a little for some better sailing. Bahamas crossings get a bit rough though so that's a bummer.
Adrian_Thompson wrote:
We will definitely be spending many more weeks/months down there over the next 15 years in our camper and/or condo rentals before any move. This thread has just ensured that we will be spending some time both in DeLand, as well as revisiting the Dunedin / Clearwater area next winter.
Back to Margie’s suggestion. What is the winter weather like there? Seems like it could still get cold? Looks to be a really nice place other than that and it’s not right on the water.
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Winter can get a bit chilly--- low 40's for a week or so. It will even occasionally dip into the high 30's, but on rare occasions. It's usually 65-70 during the day, and 55-60 at night. Right around the time changes (like now) the weather is absolutely perfect. 80 during the day, 65 at night, very little humidity or bugs......just ideal. If you want warmer weather, head further South---- it's almost always warm down there. The further South you go (on the Atlantic side) the more congested it becomes. Also, Miami is very much a foreign country (for better or worse) if you move down there--- it would make a ton of sense to learn how to speak Spanish.
DeLand is nice, and all the things Margie said. It's about an hour from the ocean, and does get hotter (and buggier) than the coastal areas. Otherwise, it's a quaint little town, with nice shops, and a surprising amount of culture. (a rarity in Central Florida)
Well catching up on this thread for no particular reason other than we were down in sunny Fla for mid winter break the week before last. I actually re-read the whole thread while down there. I half thought about heading the 70 miles down to DeLand who's praises were sung in this thread but we never got round to it.
We were in St. Augustine which is somewhere we visited 17 years ago, but have only stopped in for day trips, lunch, dinner etc. on the way too/from places further South since then. What I love about St. Augustine is that for North America it has some real history being the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America, even for someone who was born in London, close on half a millennium of history is a lot. The other great thing is that it was essentially built as the first tourist destination in Florida by Henry Flagler got the New York elite late in the 19th century before he continued down the coast to Palm Beach, Miami and the Key's. Then a stroke of genius by the locals, they banned new buildings over 35' at some point, keeping the older historic buildings. I love that. As a result you don't end up with endless high rise monstrosities lining anything close to the water front, it's a great down town and surrounding area.
We got lucky with weather for late Feb with every day being clear, sunny and high 70's to low 80's (mid to upper 20’s in real units). I hear a couple of weeks prior they actually hd snow on the ground and now it’s back in the 60’s (upper teens for those outside USA). It looks like they get approx. 10 times a year when the temp can hit 32 (zero) which isn’t good. Also I’m far more politically aligned with South Florida, I honestly feel that by the time we retire the state will have swung far more blue as the current population passes and a newer generation of retires and incomers move in with more left leaning views.
At the end of the day, I really really like just about everything about St. Augustine I just wish it were a couple of hundred miles further South for guaranteed good weather.
Don't worry about the weather in St. Aug. It might freeze once or twice a year, but you'll be in shorts by 11am (I will be, anyway). In Ormond Beach (about 40 minutes south) this year was our first freeze in about the last five years. Unless you're in the panhandle, Florida rarely warrants more than a hoodie.
JG Pasterjak said:Don't worry about the weather in St. Aug. It might freeze once or twice a year, but you'll be in shorts by 11am (I will be, anyway). In Ormond Beach (about 40 minutes south) this year was our first freeze in about the last five years. Unless you're in the panhandle, Florida rarely warrants more than a hoodie.
Excellent
My wife spent some time in Fla. Her biggest complaint were all of the bugs.
I visited W.Palm Beach twice in the summer. Sick mother in law. The heat and humidity killed Fla. for me.
I was going to suggest that you sample the goods before you propose.
Parents and two brothers live in the Tampa-St Pete -Pinellas park area. From my travels to the state I find that there is a niche for just about anyone. Sun and sand sem to be about the only FL universal constant.. I hear there is Golf, but thats' just another way to spend time with sand anyways.
hobiercr said:In reply to mad_machine:
Many local communities are working on this. Dunedin is currently considering a mooring field. Where did you try to anchor/come ashore?
I've been reading the opposite. From what I hear there is legislation making its rounds which would prevent mooring from within 300' of a residence. I get where it's coming from....it's just a shame these derelict boats have to ruin it for the rest of us.
Welp, just replied to a thread not realizing it's a dated post that I have previously posted in. Memory is getting bad!
We need more of your type down here, hurry up and make the move!
This thread title kind of bothers me. You might want Caribbean weather if you hate winter hard enough, but nobody should want Caribbean living unless they're either incredibly rich or incredibly chill.
To use American analogies, Caribbean living is like taking the job market, social politics, and biting insects of a podunk Southern town; the cost of living, fiscal politics, and traffic of a big coastal city, sprinkling in a healthy dash of super-rich neo-royalty from Orange County to own everything, and sticking it all onto an island like Guam.
GameboyRMH said:This thread title kind of bothers me. You might want Caribbean weather if you hate winter hard enough, but nobody should want Caribbean living unless they're either incredibly rich or incredibly chill.
To use American analogies, Caribbean living is like taking the job market, social politics, and biting insects of a podunk Southern town; the cost of living, fiscal politics, and traffic of a big coastal city, sprinkling in a healthy dash of super-rich neo-royalty from Orange County to own everything, and sticking it all onto an island like Guam.
Fair point, you are the one person on here with true Caribbean experience. I love the warm winter weather and honestly I've never found bugs as bad in the islands as I have in Southern Florida. We'd be looking for a chill lifestyle. One thing though, I'm pretty sure I mentioned this way up thread, but this would be turkey day through Easter time of year living. Nothing I've seen to date persuades me that anywhere other than North West lower peninsular of Michigan is where I"d want to live in the spring/summer/fall.
alfadriver said:Adrian_Thompson wrote: Back to Margie’s suggestion. What is the winter weather like there? Seems like it could still get cold? Looks to be a really nice place other than that and it’s not right on the water.We did a mid Jan cruise out of Port Canaveral. It was cool- like high 50's.
While that might be very cold for Floridians, all I needed was a light jacket.
Although, it has been known to get to freezing temps in that area. But just hitting 32.
HA HA yes my South Miami living cousin was wearing a full on Eddie Bauer PARKA 
when it hit the 50s. I, just visiting from Detroit, was in a long sleeve shirt and jeans during my visit. Another day, she put out a text when it got down to the 40s that the local school shutdown as they couldn't heat one of the buildings enough.
Based on some of my family's experiences with moving out or into living in northern and southern Florida, it seems that the more you hang around and do things outside the less oppressive the heat feels or the cold feels. Also you have to keep in mind that if you start to winter in Florida then you are essentially never seeing below freezing temps (barring a trip here or there). So your body will acclimatize even more away from being ready for the cold.
So keep your parka around or thermal underclothes. Just in case you have to visit Michigan when the highs are in the frigid 40s!!!
As I have so much family in the state, I have visited often. I got to experience weeks of "normal" neighborhood life and found that I just don't like it in Florida. My brother lived there for about 8 years and felt the same. Mostly due to the weather and layout of the cities which meant he was driving too much to get to what he wanted to do. Miami-Dade is such a spread out metro area that you could probably find a section that fits all your criteria to be happy. Similar to choosing between Royal oak vs Sterling Heights vs Plymouth/Ann Arbor vs Downtown Detroit vs Ferndale vs Birmingham there are various types of places to live in the Miami-Dade area.
Cedar Key or Sarasota. The former for peace and nature, the latter for everything else.
Been going to FL to visit my folks for over 30 years. Basically, there is enough diversity in the state to accommodate anything from Trumps to Hillbillies. Just need to locate yourself somewhere on the curve and settle in.
"Liking" a place has a lot more to do with yourself than it does the geographical area and its demographics. Are you good at adapting to new situations?
Car Culture-wise, FL is a good place to be and perhaps the only reason I would want to winter there. My one big objection to the whole snow-bird thing is that I would go stir crazy after the first two weeks without my shop. I would have to either buy a boat or start a "Winter" car project. Maybe something to drive home come spring?
At the risk of derailing the thread, any Panama insight from the hive? I know Puerto Rico intimately having spent ten years on the Island and while both the wife and I love the place, I am well aware of the cost and limitations of island living. Was wondering if Panama was an option? Fluent Spanish makes the latin-american countries attractive to me. Figure I had to learn to speak Canadian for the wife, she can learn Spanish in retirement!
One thing in particular I don't like about Florida is the lack of mountains.
Central America and many Caribbean Islands have mountains. Florida does not.
As I get older, I meet more and more people who are perfectly okay with never "hiking" and prefer to walk on paved paths and sandy beaches. Who's idea of a relaxing day is spending all day broiling in the sun, and who move to Florida and never own a boat. This is why my in-laws love Florida.
If I'm moving to Florida I'm buying a boat and taking up spearfishing.
We have started a Tourism based magazine Nature Coast Adventurer and we own Discover Citrus County dot com . After 35 years same location doing tint we decided to do something more rewarding . We love the Manatees and Scalloping here . The Crystal River Archaelogical site is one of many ceremonial oyster burial mounds that dot the state . Pre Columbian Indians made this and several areas in Florida home before the Spanish Invasion . Dont Miss Homosassa Springs cruising Hell's Gate
Stocking up on cold drinks before a hurricane 
In reply to Adrian_Thompson :
I too wanted to snow bird in Florida. So I started entering vintage races during the winter months. One truth about me is even if the car isn’t ready I’ll go, even if it means working on the race car in the parking lot at night.
I could never get used to those red beedy eyes watching me. Granted they kept their distance but anytime I’d shine my flashlight around the parking lot there’d be all those red beedy eyes ( rats?) looking at me.
pheller said:One thing in particular I don't like about Florida is the lack of mountains.
I've been over the highest point in the state of Florida. It wasn't impressive.
I drove across the most "prominent" point in Florida without knowing it - Sugarloaf "Mountain". We've got a family who lives right down the road.
It's highest point by elevation at Britton Hill be a pretty rough spot to be as this Hurricane moves through.
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