Why Does Everyone Hate Florida So Much??

Lstcats · Dec 11, 2008

Again, Florida is soooo vastly different from Panhandle to Keys. There are big cities, riddled with the same problems as any other big city in the US (but arguably better weather!) and there are small town Mayberry-like towns that are sweet and homey and safe and cheap. It is warm year-round in the southernmost portion and gets a bit chilly in winter in the northern panhandle. Bad drivers exist everywhere (and I don't mean just in Florida either.)
Thanks for the input. Yes, I am sure there are bad drivers in FL it just seems there are "less" of them. In all of my 15 times in FL I have only encountered two or three driving problems w/ roadrage/beeping etc. I know it sounds silly to count them but one of the reasons that I want to leave Boston is the anger people display on the roads. Me included and I find I am a much better person in FL. I like myself and how I act in FL better than in MA. Boston is known for their anger and bad driving. I believe that we are #3 on the list for worst drivers in the U.S. w/ Miami being first and NYC 2nd. People here pride themself on being angry. One of the TV stations even has it in a commercial. How sad!
If you want to leave Boston behind and give Florida a try, go for it! Don't let anyone discourage you. You will eventually form your own opinions after living there awhile but in all honesty, I think you'll like it and I say this because you have a positive outlook about it and seem to be open-minded. As a military spouse who has lived in many a new town, I know firsthand that going into it with a positive outlook makes a world of difference. There's good and bad about every place but you can't dwell on the bad. People I know who move to a new duty station with a negative mindset already in place never like it there and suffer through miserably for their two or three year tour. Those who go into it excited and embracing the positives make the most of their experience. Good luck to you!

Thanks for the encouragement. It is a tough decision but because of my health I really should do it. I have a tough time in the winters d/t FM and OA. I have family near Tampa Bay who would really love me to move there. My uncle, who lives in SpringHill, raves about FL. His kids go to some great schools and have a choice of schools. The only thing my uncle says negative is the pay. He is from NY/Long Island and moved in 2002 after 911 and hasn't looked back. On the other hand, my aunt is not so happy and wants to move back to PA to be with her kids. But, she seems depressed after losing my uncle 2 yrs. ago to pancreatic CA. She lives near Ocala. The only things I didn't like about FL when I was there scouting out everything last month were the speed at which people traveled on 275 and 75 and the nursing issues. However, when I returned home I found myself driving between 70 and 75 and had to learn how to tone it down again. People here get on your butt BUT it is different as they flash their lights or beep or yell at you to move over. I guess I am used to that. I found in FL that people just expect you to move over. I don't like I-19 very much but was getting used to it by the end of the week. But, the bigger issue is the nursing down there. I think I blogged on another site about that issue. I don't like what I hear about nursing and the medical care. Because Boston is a MECCA (they call it) for medicine w/ Harvard and Tufts and all the big teaching hospitals, I am so spoiled. Nurses are well respected here and don't cow down to doctors and we question them left and right. Nurses are also now respected monetarily as the top wage is about $120 K per year at major teaching hospitals. It still is not enough when you have MD's making 5-10 times as much. It just doesn't compute but it is the 2nd or 3rd highest salary in the nation but it should be because Boston is the 2nd or 3rd highest cost of living in the U.S. If you can give me any feedback on the nursing care in FL I would appreciate it. Thanks again. :yeah:

NewGoalRN · Dec 12, 2008

The driving in Tampa on 275 or 75 is nothing compared to the driving on I95, the Turnpike and 826 Expressway in South Florida. Tampa is mild compared to that and much slower. Road rage is horrible in South Florida i.e Miami/Ft Lauderdale etc. I say that as someone who has lived both places.

REgarding Tampa, there are lots of alternate routes and backroads that you can take that will keep you off the highways. With the cost of homes dropping, the lower pay here will slightly offset any high wages in Boston.

Also, I didn't say that nurses didn't get differentials. I know that they do based on their shifts, weeknights, weekends etc. I was just quoting base without any differential.

ginagina24 · Dec 12, 2008

I am too formally from the north, always wanted to live in FL for the warm, sunny atmosphere. I have been here for 4 years,and for the most part, love it. You have to take the good with the bad, yes, we do get paid WAY less than the rest of the country. Home prices have started to go down, but they are still much higher than much of the country (cnn.com). I do not have children, however, having friends that are school teachers and tell me there stories, I would never send any child of mine to a public school in this state. The weather is beautiful, but maybe that is what drives so many poor and homeless to this state as well. I find that you have to find what is right for you. I am happy here now, but would never want to make this my 'forever' home. Good luck in your decision.

Nurse Lulu · Dec 12, 2008

I am laughing because I live in Michigan and we have many of the same problems. We have horrible humidity in the summer where it is often over 90 degrees, with horrible mosquitos because of all the water. TONS of elderly people driving. Then we have the horrible winter. We are also a no fault insurance state. I pay about 2400/year for two old cars (99 monte and 2004 sebring). We have many hospitals that are unionized and often pay for parking. We have ALL the taxes (income, high property taxes-2770/year for me, etc.). We also have many charter schools-which people complain about. Oh a crumbling housing market, and tens of thousands of people about to lose their job. I would jump ship if I could sell my house. And you think everyone hates FL?????? :twocents: No way.... we used to go to FL every year and I love it. ALthough, you can call it what you want-palmetto bugs are glorified cockroaches. :)

NoahNS · Dec 12, 2008

From the various responses so far I think one can at least discern that not "everyone" hates Florida. Like so many other matters in life, much is really just a question of personal taste. Having lived in Florida myself I would have to say there are certainly some very lovely parts of Florida... and then some not so lovely. One of the things that I didn't really appreciate about Florida was the homogeneity of the geography, and I guess much of the culture, too. The endless malls, one after the other... and so much of the culture being a function of the vast retirement community. However, Florida is a pretty big place, and if you look around enough I suspect a fair number of those who end up there will probably be able to find much to like. Something that there doesn't seem to be too much disagreement about is the lower wages. That is definitely true. If the OP is looking forward to what they hope to find in Florida they are at least starting out with a positive attitude which may lead them in a direction they could delight in.

bitterbrew · Dec 12, 2008

I live in Chicago and have visited almost every part of Florida, I am actually going to be visiting Ft.Lauderdale at the end on January. I ask anyone here that has ever lived in Florida and they have nothing but terrible things to say... Why are some peoples experiences so bad, its so beautiful and the people are very nice. I just don't get it. Can someone help me understand why this is??

I don't believe I can help you understand why everyone hates Florida but please consider there is only one place I hate more -- Chicago. :eek:

nyteshade, BSN · Dec 12, 2008

I have lived in Miami for 10 years. I don't hate it, but I do dislike the dreaded hurricane prep for work, I camped out at work during Hurricane Katrina, and Wilma while our windows broke and blew in, the roof was crumbling, and our power went out all night...all those air matts...anyways, it wasn't so fun. I love the style of the houses, the food, yes even the rain. Right now I'm travelling, and you will find no other part of the country quite like it. Go to the keys too, and you will know exactly what I mean. All depends on you look at it.:wink2:

jjlaman · Dec 12, 2008

I am about to graduate nursing school next week and my wife has been an RN for almost 20 years. We live up in N.J., but long before I met my wife, I lived in Florida after getting out of the military. I thought that I would look for a change. I grew up in NYC and wasn't in any rush to get back to there.

Needless to say, after trying to make a go of it for 8 months, I had to get the heck out of Florida. The "Right to Work State" is just miserable when it comes to wages. I was doing fire sprnkler work that up north is a union job bringing an apprentice $20 an hour whereas in Florida they considered me lucky to be making $7.50 (1994). If you complained, they would just fire you and hire an illegal Cuban to do your job for less.

I myself didn't find anything any cheaper. Everything is geared towards tourism and they price accordingly. Even at the supermarket, nothing was cheap. I thought my home expenses would be cheaper because my heating bill would be lower but you spend so much money keeping the air conditioning going that it actually cost more. I spent alot of time in the desert with the Army but Florida was worse. The humidity was killer. I also didnt like and still do not like the water there at all. Not just the drinking water but the shower water. After going through desalination, it leaves your skin very dry.

As for people saying that Floridians have a poor IQ I have to say this, my experience with people that actually we're born and raised in Florida is that it is no different than anywhere else you live. Just a different culture. Poor is poor. Difference is that if you live in say Brandon Florida (outside of Tampa), the poor live in trailer parks rather than a big city housing project but everyone is still the same. Just trying to make ends meat and get by.

I really didnt like the fact that you could live yourself in a rather pricey home in a so-called good neighborhood but literally down the raod have a trailer park with people with trailer park mentality living not all that far from you. I hated the driving. Really hated it. You want a gallon of milk? Well, hop in your car and drive for 20 minutes to go get it (not like living up north in that aspect at all and its even more hellish when stuck on the highway behind a 70 year old doing 40 in a 55). You have to drive to everything (think of that little added expense with the price of as today).

Unless you considered Shamu fine art, there really wasn't a whole lot to do culturally unless you wanted to go out of your way to find it. granted, I did love the beaches (until a jellyfish wrapped itself around my leg) and from where I lived, I could see the Space Shuttle launch while sitting in my backyard, but overall, I wasn't very happy and after 8 months I had to get out of there and bring myself back to New York.

Whats funny is that for the past couple of years my wife has been harping on me to move someplace warm (even though I am the one that deals with the snow, lol). Now that I am graduating, she doesn't care about the loss in her pay (which will be around 25% if we we're to move there) because our combined incomes will still be more than what it is now and we could sell our house here and get a mansion down there. Regardless of how I feel about Florida, she keeps pressing me about it and I worry that in the end I will cave and just be miserable again. I think that my kids would really enjoy it though as they could be outside most of the year and have alot more activities to do but I just don't like it myself. We go down to Disney every year and I just consider Florida a great place to visit but not to live.

jjlaman · Dec 12, 2008

I have lived in Miami for 10 years. I don't hate it, but I do dislike the dreaded hurricane prep for work, I camped out at work during Hurricane Katrina, and Wilma while our windows broke and blew in, the roof was crumbling, and our power went out all night...all those air matts...anyways, it wasn't so fun. I love the style of the houses, the food, yes even the rain. Right now I'm travelling, and you will find no other part of the country quite like it. Go to the keys too, and you will know exactly what I mean. All depends on you look at it.:wink2:

I forgot to even mention the Hurricanes, lol We had friends that moved down to Florida a few years ago even after I told them what I thought about it. When I mentioned Hurricanes to them they replied "Oh we aren't worried, we live in West Palm Beach and they don't get hit really at all." After laughing inside I just "Well OK, sounds like you guys have your minds set".

One year later, he loses the roof off his house twice from 2 tropical storms and while replacing it the 3rd time he got hit with his 1st hurricane and lost the entire house. They couldnt take it anymore and decided to move back to New York. The housing market was going through the roof at the time and he couldnt even afford to buy back the house that they sold because it was so overpriced. They had been renting for a couple years after that and just bought a new home a few months ago.

lpnflorida, LPN · Dec 12, 2008

I think one either loves it here or not. I would not choose to live in upstate Florida. My only reason is it is too cold in the winter.

As to hurricanes, yes we had Charlie, Wilma in our area. As we live 25 miles from the gulf we did not suffer as others had. Yes we had yard debri to pick up, that took several days but no damage to our home. Lost power for 12 hours during Charilie, 3 days for Wilma. Now we have a generator for the just in case.

I love the hospital system I work for. I was amazed at their education department for new nurses coming to them. It was much more organized than I had previously gone through in level 1 Trauma in the Midwest.

I really think all one can do is try it. It is not for everyone. Just as living up north is not for everyone. It does not cure anyone's problems or personally lives. I do think it is what you make it. Our airconditioning bills are not all that bad. Then again I do not cool our home below 76 as I get to cold. I usually sit out on the lanai next to the pool in the shade with the ceiling fans running.

Different areas of Florida are so different from one another it is hard to compare. I have worked with people who came from the Miami area who hated it, yet love our side of the state.

Give it a try, decide for yourself. Request to shadow a nurse in the area you are looking to work.

Now is a great time to buy property, it is so much cheaper than it was.

bagheera1 · Dec 12, 2008

I was born and raised in FL, near Tampa actually and there is nothing wrong with it. I also lived in Jacksonville for 5 years. It's is actually just like any other place, you have your bad spots, and you have your good spots. It just depends on where you live. The school systems are not bad, but like anything else if you are not involved in your childs education then anything can go bad. I had a public education and still got into college, and my neice and nephew are doing the same there right now. It is still great there, my whole family is still down there it just all depends on where you go. There are some good hospitals down there too. I hope this helps you. Let me know if you want more info. :)

nurseforlife · Dec 12, 2008

I lived and worked in FL for a year. It was beautiful, I'd go back again in a heartbeat. Anything's better that the -22 degrees that lingers outside my door right now.

People were friendly, never had a problem. I think that if you don't mind not having the 4 seasons, the lack of snow shovelling, the freezing rain, the getting up to shovel your laneway at 5:30 in the morning, Then cleaning the snow and ice off your car at 7am after a night shift,or the hasles of telling your children to bundle themselves up like a tortilla. :banghead:

Then it should be ok

Climate was good, Florida was nothing near boring when I went down. Look for areas to live that are accessible to childrens recreational activities, this should help with the transition. Investigate the schools and make some of your own observations.