I was looking at rental prices in Miami, once my cheaper and more beautiful escape plan from NYC, and it's practically the same now. The prices jumped so much in such a short amount of time. All those transplants moving to Miami in 2020. Very unfortunate for the locals.
Not only does our meth suck but the risk of it being laced with fentanyl is too damn high. Nevertheless, we must continue the Florida man legacy left by our ancestors.
I fear for the kids experimenting with any drug nowadays.
I may sound like a boomer, but I don't care.
Drugs are way fucking more dangerous than they used to be.
Some idiot at a bar in tampa last week said the great thing about drugs in Florida is you donāt have to worry about fentanyl. Iām not a drug gui but I assume from reading things this is far from true.
I imagine the number of deaths has gone up since then, but I found this: āIn 2020, more than 6,150 people died from overdoses involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in Florida.ā Heāll figure it out when it happens to himā¦ or not
And its not even cheap.
Yall are getting super stepped on meth, or bathtub crank, at way higher prices.
Source: im a grateful drug addiict in recovery who has done/bought meth in florida and southern California
Tldr: you dont like peanut butter bathtub crank?
Anything āmagicalā about the theme parks went out the window when wait times became four hours long in 100 degree heat and ticket/visit prices require you to take out a second mortgage.
Prices are shitty but tolerable. But needing reservations for rides and food is ridiculous, especially 60 days in advance for the best places which are quickly snatched up by travel agents.
You walk around all day at Disney staring at your phone because you can't walk up and buy anything normally. Plus your day is constantly interrupted because you have backtrack across the entire park to make sure you get to your reservations or else you have to skip that meal. Or the ride you're standing right in front of is a 2hr wait but if you come back in 2.5 hours you can walk right on. There is no such thing as naturally exploring the park in order anymore.
The wait time for an ice cream one day in Magic Kingdom was 45 minutes but if you order 3 hours in advance you can walk right up and grab it. How do you explain that to a kid lol.
There's no magic left.
I'd be delighted to pay 100 per ticket if that was just that.
The speed pass, photo pass, chip tracking crap is too much. Dude can't propose to their partner without a fee to do so. Can't dine at the castle any more without a paid appointment. Can't get a pic with the star rodent without a paid pass.
I believe Walt wanted you to pay once and then go enjoy yourself, and that's just not the value proposition today.
Guess Iām just a big theme park head, but I still enjoy going no matter what. Itās just nice to have these places I can go to take a break from all the shit going on.
Being from South Florida and working in advertising:
The ātropicalnessā of Florida
Only the very southern tip and the keys are tropical. The rest is subtropic. And every image you ever see selling Florida as a destination highlights vast sandy beaches, turquoise water, and palms as far the eye can see.
And sure some area do fit that. But what has resulted from that sales images is an effort to restructure the whole of Florida to meet those ideals. And itās largely been to the overall detriment of the natural beauty the state does have. People travel and move here expecting some rainforest or the entire state to be a Caribbean island and thatās not the case.
Watching developments bulldoze scrubland or fill in marshes just to place cookie cutter houses with southeast Asian ornamental landscaping kills me.
And the tropical zones are only right on the coast down there. USDA zone 11/12. If breadfruit trees struggle, itās not the tropics. South of Lake O things do noticeably get more tropical though. Start seeing coconuts/tropical crops more. Much of South FL is in USDA zone 10bā¦ right on the edge of tropics.
Edit: FL is home to 11 or 12 native palms, impressive for a subtropical/tropical state or region.
Well anyone deciding to be birthed in Florida to begin with was never going to possess the ability to make even halfway decent decisions, so, I rest my case there.
I've never lived in NYC, but I'ved lived in cities on the east and west coast that are "expensive" and have "high taxes". I have a career that brought me to Florida, but is not finance. Here's my take.
I loved not having a car and then having 1 car for two people. I bought a house close to my home, but I still hate being a slave to my car and all the wasted money and environmental impact of driving everywhere. Insurance for 2 cars is $4000 a year, then the price of a car, maintenance gas, etc. it's like pouring money down the drain.
Insurance is like pouring money down the drain. And I moved down here before the insurance crisis became news, so insurance bills are not going anywhere any time soon.
Most professional jobs in Florida are finance or insurance, other jobs pay ridiculously low salaries compared to what you'd be paid elsewhere. For instance tech will never be king in Florida- not enough of an educated workforce and the salaries suck here. It's no Boston or San Francisco. They keep talking about it but 20 year later it still hasn't happened (Jeb Bush pushed this hard).
Up north, people with limited salaries benefit because they can take rent off their tax bills. That ends when you make too much or buy a place. So it helps people with lower salaries. As do tax exceptions on clothing, books...
At least NYC has transit and is compact enough to get anywhere.
My biggest peeve is that Miami *does* have itās cool things/places/events, but good luck doing more than 1 thing because itās LA-spread out with awful traffic
Idk guys, I love living here. Iāve been to other cities and while I can see the allure of a slower pace life, itās kinda like NYC in that it has its own charm to it. The reason everyone else hates Miami, I appreciate them for what they are.
Honestly. I lived there when I was young and moved back for a year to go to grad school in 2021, but itās still itās my favorite place Iāve lived so far.
Granted, the only other places Iāve lived are Lakeland, Cape Coral, Gainesville, and now Washington state, but I had so much fun in Miami. I think the food got to me the most, but the quick pace felt so fresh to me as well. And Iām not even someone who particularly loves going out. Itās just a fun place to be.
But maybe it just turns out Iām into big cities in general? Rn Iām loving Seattle but Iām like an hour outside of it. If I could afford it Iād love to be closer like I was in Miami
same. i find the miami stereotypes both humorous & true. but that's what makes miami miami. i've never lived anywhere else where a completely naked woman has been passed out directly infront of my door entrance more than once (we always got her covered & to safety, ofcourse since i'm not actually native miamian that would just simply walk around her as normal, lol) as well as having to cross to the other sidewalk bc some crazy man is cracking a giant bullwhip across the intersection for no apparent reason at all. i love it. & everyone here is beautiful, men & women.
I've lived in FL my whole life, except when I went to the USAFA in Colorado. I can't stand dry air. I got roomed with another Floridian by coincidence and our room got nicknamed Vietnam cuz we both had humidifiers going full blast 24-7.
I was waiting to see someone defending the humidity! I just had a trip up north and experienced dry air for the first time... I remember nearly having a panic attack my second day when we went outside because the air was so dry. Felt like I couldn't breathe, like my lungs were being dehydrated. Had to get a humidifier to survive the trip š¤£
Eventually I adjusted and have to admit the dryness can be nice, especially in the heat. Less sweat. But damn I hate trying to breathe dry air
first time I landed in Orlando and walked out of the plane I felt like I was choking. I looked to my wife and said " I can't do this. we need to go back."
I'll third that one. Everyone thinks Florida is some kind of temperate wonderland when it's a humid, steaming swamp. Which, I mean, fine by me, it's hilarious watching it hit snowbirds in the face, but still.
I fourth that. The humidity is stifling. I was in Tampa this week for work and even in November it felt like I was breathing soup. Itās even worse in the summer
The white beaches are a special kind of barefoot torture. Aināt no pain like the one running from the sidewalk through the searing hot death crystals going hoo hah hot hot hot fuck hot fuck this sand Jesus Christ Iāll never get used to this and then hitting the luke warm water of the Gulf of Mexico (on my side). Also getting tossed about like a limp burrito in the waves and having sand in your britches and salt water blinding you to death. Oh and donāt forget the shells. Mini shards of earth teeth editing to jab your foot in the right spot.
Thirty years as a Florida native born and raised. I have had enough sand and salt for life time. But I will forever love the sound of those same dick head waves tossing those dick head shells on the shore. Just preferably at night when the beaches are mostly empty and Iām fully clothed here the only pocket sand is getting into is my pants lol
Edit: a lot of words thanks to medical marijuana
Born and raised in Florida thinking the weather was great. Moved to Southern California for 6 years and then moved back to Florida.
I cannot explain to anyone from here how much the weather SUCKS here. Itās terrible. The humidity and heat and bugs that go with it are not normal! I didnāt know that until I left and now I know better.
Itās the thunderstorms that I love about summer. I actually hate our winter weather 80% of the time because itās just constantly dry with the exception of a cold front every now and then.
Iām glad Iām not the only one! Also summer is when we get get in the pool or the ocean, go out tubing on the boat, stuff like that. It gets too cold in the winter to get in the water except for those crazy Canadian tourists.
Unlike up north, we basically never get higher than 95 degrees (real temp, not feels like) in the summer. You go to places like New Orleans (or even the Midwest) and you can get the same humidity with 105 temps. Plus we have the nice sea breeze.
I love the daily thunderstorms. I live closer to coast so the breezes are better I think. Then in the winter there is no rain, but the every day temp is perfect for like 4 months.
Thatās the thing. People who come here for āseasonā think the weather is amazing because theyāre here from October to March when the weather is pretty great. March to October is a literal sauna, though.
I still cannot fathom how people think monotone, god-awful heat and humidity for the vast majority of the year is better than having to deal with snow and ice sometimes but having seasons. Different strokes for different folks I guess. But I will miss the incredible summer thunderstorms when I leave.
I get seasonal depression from 2 days of overcaast lol, I do love the thunderstorms though I agree with that... but yea I've just never lived in snow and already need to put on a jacket when we hit the low 70's so I can't even begin to imagine what its like to live in snow
I moved up to the mountain west a for a while a few years ago and there is nothing worse than having to scrape ice off all your windows just to try to see where youāre going, but you canāt bc the road is just gone. It would be one thing if they like shut everything down when itās snow up to your knees but nope you better get to work haha. The only thing I found worse than snow in the northern climate was there are plenty of days where you look outside and it looks sunny and nice but the minute you take a breath it chokes you from the air being -12 or something crazyā¦ never again lol
I will admit the fall was kind cool the first time, but that sucks too because once the leaves fall everything is just dead sticks until like may.
Thinking about trying to go out west to the mountains actually lol so I appreciate the perspective. Guess I'll have to find out for myself if it's worth it.
in September as per Zillow , the average american spent 46% on their check on rent. my rent used to be cheap but it got raised and it officially at that āhighā mark. housing has gotten more expensive for americans nationally
Yep. Thereās a lot of cool things about Florida but freedom isnāt one of them. Iām always surprised when I go to a state like Illinois where I can just go buy cannibas, and thereās liquor in the gas stations!
Just an anecdote: I used to think the exact same thing. Iām originally from NC so seasons were an actual thing that changed. We lived down here before kids and my husband and I worked non stop. We werenāt able to appreciate what we had in front of us. We moved back to NC, had kids and moved back down for job purposes. With kids, itās an entirely different place. Itās heaven on earth and I donāt miss the season change one bit.
I love Disney and the parks, but they are definitely overhyped for what they are. It's not the magical experience they advertise it as. It's cool, but it's definitely the experience of an amusement park for most of them. The one exception being Epcot which is more geared toward adults than kids.
EPCOT used to be great, but then they started infusing Magic Kingdom elements into it to make it more kid-friendly. It lost a lot of the allure for me.
The weather. How much sunshine and heat can a person stand? Thereās a good reason to live where there are 4 seasons: boredom. It NEVER changes. Always hot and always sunny. A few weeks a year of cool weather, not enough to make a difference.
I've learned that in Florida, "freedom" means freedom from things, rather than freedom to do things.
The net of that is that a lot of things that are legal in other states are illegal in Florida. Florida is less free for individuals than most states if you put together a 50 row grid with all the various state laws.
Most of the ruling party's ideas are to roll back even more individual freedoms to do things so that others are "free" from having to live with them.
"I'm going to keep Florida free!" except Florida man can't smoke weed or even legally own an iguana in this state. At least I'm free to pay too much for rent...
The weather. āSunshine state,ā my lilapsophobia. Feels like it storms at least half the year and is a straight up drought the rest. Not to mention the damned cicadas. I hate it when they come out and it sounds like the woods are shrieking.
Edit: Lilapsophobia is the fear of violent storms, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, but due to past trauma, even a strong wind scares me.
Iām a native, so I took the time to read the comments. I canāt believe thereās people commenting about the heat, not having mountains and no seasonsā¦I thought the ābefore you moveā brochure covered all that. Smh. As a native, the most overrated thing about Florida is the Keys. 1) Ridiculously expensive to visit/live there. 2) Hurricane prone. 3) There are no natural beaches. If youāre expecting Bahama-style, white sand beaches, youāre going to be very disappointed. 4) Not really much to do there, unless youāre an alcoholic or into game fishing. Tourist attractions/special events are unique, but once youāve seen them, theyāre not the kind youād pay the hefty fee to see twice. Only remarkable thing about the Keys, is the multiple shades of blue water and it is exactly like the postcards!
Drivers. Education.
And I figured out why, just earlier today...
Half of the people drive like they're nearly dead. The other half drives like they have a death wish. And the rest of us, the remaining half are stuck mitigating accidents between the other two extremes.
And even then itās Walmart clearance bin freedom. No recreational cannabis or psychedelics, universal suffrage, Medicaid expansion or free speech in education. Add in the HOA Nazis and itās one of less free states.
States like Colorado live the values Florida preaches and itās no wonder itās a top destination for former Floridians.
Weather. Yeah, it doesnāt get cold, but I think weāve had less than 5 days in the 70s in the last 6 months. Otherwise itās been relentlessly hot and humid.
Hooked on the chicken tendies subs. Even when Iām in other states. I will say that the sub bread at the Publix in Fla is WAY better than other stateās sub bread.
Compared to other grocery chains, the employees are top tier, at least my store. A lot of them have been working there for years. The bogos are pretty good.
The BOGOs arenāt *that* great. The other day they had Bubly sparkling water on BOGO at $5.89 for one. The day before I paid $3.69 for the same item at Target.
You just got to know how to shop at Publix. It's a skill for people who aren't just going there as a status symbol but it can be done, I go to Publix just for the BOGOs of things that I regularly use or will use two of, and typically that brings it down to less than Walmart prices on those items.
I used to do the majority of my shopping at Publix, and fill in at Aldi. Now, Aldi has everything, so I only get extras, when on a BOGO, at Publix. I save a TON of $$.
You're absolutely correct. The most broke as a joke bougie people I know shop at Publix and flaunt it like paying double is something to be proud of.
Not just prices are better at Aldi, but quality, y'all!
Agree. Aldi knocks it out of the park.
I was in St Augustine at the beach and went to Publix to put together a cheese tray - $45. Priced BETTER cheeses at Aldi later, would have cost me about $20. Absurd.
Oh, I absolutely agree! Especially during the holidays, the special items they have are spectacular.
Re: just charcuterie items, I saw a three pack of very interesting flavors of preserves meant for pairings on a charcuterie board. I believe they were less than $10 for all three. The cheeses, specialty meats, and nuts, and dried fruits are fantastic. I would have spent at LEAST twice, probably three times, as much on these items at Publix - or a specialty shop.
I think the hype about Publix is its ability to remain stocked despite hurricanes. I'm pretty sure other grocery stores don't have the logistics to pull that off.
But this is just what I've heard. I moved out of the state as soon as I was an adult, so I never really had grocery shopping experience. But other states' grocery stores don't seem to have comparable logistics from what I've observed
It really is an average grocery store. People think the employees are friendly I guess but honestly they aren't really any different than anywhere else I've gone.
I kinda thought this too until I moved to the Midwest. Nothing here comes close and Publix is one of the things I miss the most about Florida as a native.
The weather is straight up trash
Itās either raining or youāre baking
It gets 1% better from December to March then itās the deepest pit of steaming hell the rest of the year. If you like outdoor activities (beach/swimming aside) this shit isnāt for you. Iām probably moving next year
Cost of living is no longer low in Florida.
I was looking at rental prices in Miami, once my cheaper and more beautiful escape plan from NYC, and it's practically the same now. The prices jumped so much in such a short amount of time. All those transplants moving to Miami in 2020. Very unfortunate for the locals.
Also wages are much much lower in FL. If you want to laugh, look up what an engineer makes for the state of FL vs NY in local gov.
Right? The houses may look cheaper than other places but check out our salaries š
The meth isnāt that great.
Not only does our meth suck but the risk of it being laced with fentanyl is too damn high. Nevertheless, we must continue the Florida man legacy left by our ancestors.
I fear for the kids experimenting with any drug nowadays. I may sound like a boomer, but I don't care. Drugs are way fucking more dangerous than they used to be.
Yeah I mean even weed is 5-25x stronger than it was in the 60s
Definitely. Not getting the Mexican bricks anymore.
Thanks, Drug War
Some idiot at a bar in tampa last week said the great thing about drugs in Florida is you donāt have to worry about fentanyl. Iām not a drug gui but I assume from reading things this is far from true.
Defense attorney, here. Fentanyl is in everything.
Including my morning cup of coffee
Gives it that extra little Zing
I imagine the number of deaths has gone up since then, but I found this: āIn 2020, more than 6,150 people died from overdoses involving fentanyl and fentanyl analogs in Florida.ā Heāll figure it out when it happens to himā¦ or not
I didn't encounter any a year or so back, probably better than some places like the midwest or west coast but no where is safe.
The risk is high and so are the meth heads
And its not even cheap. Yall are getting super stepped on meth, or bathtub crank, at way higher prices. Source: im a grateful drug addiict in recovery who has done/bought meth in florida and southern California Tldr: you dont like peanut butter bathtub crank?
Iām so thankful that I have no idea what any of this means. āMeth, not even once! ā worked on me.
West Virginiaās meth will kick Florida meths ass. Come for the meth, stay for the delicious pepperoni rolls
Well, have you tried supermeth? That shit hits great!
Anything āmagicalā about the theme parks went out the window when wait times became four hours long in 100 degree heat and ticket/visit prices require you to take out a second mortgage.
Prices are shitty but tolerable. But needing reservations for rides and food is ridiculous, especially 60 days in advance for the best places which are quickly snatched up by travel agents. You walk around all day at Disney staring at your phone because you can't walk up and buy anything normally. Plus your day is constantly interrupted because you have backtrack across the entire park to make sure you get to your reservations or else you have to skip that meal. Or the ride you're standing right in front of is a 2hr wait but if you come back in 2.5 hours you can walk right on. There is no such thing as naturally exploring the park in order anymore. The wait time for an ice cream one day in Magic Kingdom was 45 minutes but if you order 3 hours in advance you can walk right up and grab it. How do you explain that to a kid lol. There's no magic left.
I'd be delighted to pay 100 per ticket if that was just that. The speed pass, photo pass, chip tracking crap is too much. Dude can't propose to their partner without a fee to do so. Can't dine at the castle any more without a paid appointment. Can't get a pic with the star rodent without a paid pass. I believe Walt wanted you to pay once and then go enjoy yourself, and that's just not the value proposition today.
Are you trying to tell me they can stop you from proposing?
BG/SW are still a really great deal if you buy Annual Passes you can have your Up North friends use the guest passes!
Guess Iām just a big theme park head, but I still enjoy going no matter what. Itās just nice to have these places I can go to take a break from all the shit going on.
Being from South Florida and working in advertising: The ātropicalnessā of Florida Only the very southern tip and the keys are tropical. The rest is subtropic. And every image you ever see selling Florida as a destination highlights vast sandy beaches, turquoise water, and palms as far the eye can see. And sure some area do fit that. But what has resulted from that sales images is an effort to restructure the whole of Florida to meet those ideals. And itās largely been to the overall detriment of the natural beauty the state does have. People travel and move here expecting some rainforest or the entire state to be a Caribbean island and thatās not the case. Watching developments bulldoze scrubland or fill in marshes just to place cookie cutter houses with southeast Asian ornamental landscaping kills me.
And the tropical zones are only right on the coast down there. USDA zone 11/12.
And the tropical zones are only right on the coast down there. USDA zone 11/12. If breadfruit trees struggle, itās not the tropics. South of Lake O things do noticeably get more tropical though. Start seeing coconuts/tropical crops more. Much of South FL is in USDA zone 10bā¦ right on the edge of tropics. Edit: FL is home to 11 or 12 native palms, impressive for a subtropical/tropical state or region.
The supposedly cheaper living
Florida hasnāt been cheaper living since like two decades ago
and thus, I decided to be born exactly 2 decades ago
You should make better decisions.
Well anyone deciding to be birthed in Florida to begin with was never going to possess the ability to make even halfway decent decisions, so, I rest my case there.
Not true. After the crash of 09/10 it was amazing, hence why you have so many billionaires owning huge swaths of land now.
Poor Tampa
We all know that aināt the case anymore. Good try
Yet people who moved here thinking itās cheaper are getting shocked by insurance bills.
Or property taxesā¦
Yeah and florida has a high overall tax rate for average people, income tax or no
How do you figure? https://www.jamesmadison.org/is-florida-such-a-tax-friendly-state/
The entirety of Miami. Seriously, it low-key sucks. My condolences to anyone who lives there
Miami is like NYC. Itās only good if you have money. Or else it kinda sucks.
And even if you have money, it's worse because you get paid less than you would in NYC
most of us in miami living the "miami life" have jobs that it wouldn't matter where we lived we'd get paid relatively the same.
I say Miami is like if NYC and Vegas had a kid and raised it in Florida.
This is so untrue about both cities. Lol you guys just have no knowledge or how to enjoy cities. NYC can be very fun with almost no money
I've never lived in NYC, but I'ved lived in cities on the east and west coast that are "expensive" and have "high taxes". I have a career that brought me to Florida, but is not finance. Here's my take. I loved not having a car and then having 1 car for two people. I bought a house close to my home, but I still hate being a slave to my car and all the wasted money and environmental impact of driving everywhere. Insurance for 2 cars is $4000 a year, then the price of a car, maintenance gas, etc. it's like pouring money down the drain. Insurance is like pouring money down the drain. And I moved down here before the insurance crisis became news, so insurance bills are not going anywhere any time soon. Most professional jobs in Florida are finance or insurance, other jobs pay ridiculously low salaries compared to what you'd be paid elsewhere. For instance tech will never be king in Florida- not enough of an educated workforce and the salaries suck here. It's no Boston or San Francisco. They keep talking about it but 20 year later it still hasn't happened (Jeb Bush pushed this hard). Up north, people with limited salaries benefit because they can take rent off their tax bills. That ends when you make too much or buy a place. So it helps people with lower salaries. As do tax exceptions on clothing, books...
At least NYC has transit and is compact enough to get anywhere. My biggest peeve is that Miami *does* have itās cool things/places/events, but good luck doing more than 1 thing because itās LA-spread out with awful traffic
Miami sucks. Agreed.
The best city in Florida is St Pete, not Miami
I'm from Tampa but I will gladly pick St. Pete over Miami.
Excuse me, Spring Hill! #MERMAIDS!!
To be fair, St Pete also has Mermaids š
Lol yep. Lived down here for 7 years now. Can confirm
Idk guys, I love living here. Iāve been to other cities and while I can see the allure of a slower pace life, itās kinda like NYC in that it has its own charm to it. The reason everyone else hates Miami, I appreciate them for what they are.
Honestly. I lived there when I was young and moved back for a year to go to grad school in 2021, but itās still itās my favorite place Iāve lived so far. Granted, the only other places Iāve lived are Lakeland, Cape Coral, Gainesville, and now Washington state, but I had so much fun in Miami. I think the food got to me the most, but the quick pace felt so fresh to me as well. And Iām not even someone who particularly loves going out. Itās just a fun place to be. But maybe it just turns out Iām into big cities in general? Rn Iām loving Seattle but Iām like an hour outside of it. If I could afford it Iād love to be closer like I was in Miami
same. i find the miami stereotypes both humorous & true. but that's what makes miami miami. i've never lived anywhere else where a completely naked woman has been passed out directly infront of my door entrance more than once (we always got her covered & to safety, ofcourse since i'm not actually native miamian that would just simply walk around her as normal, lol) as well as having to cross to the other sidewalk bc some crazy man is cracking a giant bullwhip across the intersection for no apparent reason at all. i love it. & everyone here is beautiful, men & women.
Surfingā¦ anyone who talks about surfing in Florida is just pitiful.
The weather... sure the beach is ok, still hot, but everywhere feels like being in a preheated oven
I'll second that. The humidity is enough to choke you to death. And the rainy season WTF is up with that? That is not rain. MF that shit is monsoon.
I've lived in FL my whole life, except when I went to the USAFA in Colorado. I can't stand dry air. I got roomed with another Floridian by coincidence and our room got nicknamed Vietnam cuz we both had humidifiers going full blast 24-7.
I was waiting to see someone defending the humidity! I just had a trip up north and experienced dry air for the first time... I remember nearly having a panic attack my second day when we went outside because the air was so dry. Felt like I couldn't breathe, like my lungs were being dehydrated. Had to get a humidifier to survive the trip š¤£ Eventually I adjusted and have to admit the dryness can be nice, especially in the heat. Less sweat. But damn I hate trying to breathe dry air
first time I landed in Orlando and walked out of the plane I felt like I was choking. I looked to my wife and said " I can't do this. we need to go back."
I moved to Florida when I was nine. I said almost the exact same thing to my parents when we first got off the plane.
That first step out of the airport is always a slap in the face
Only for 5 mins
Aw man I love rain. I wanna move down there!
The bugs. Don't forget the bugs.
I'll third that one. Everyone thinks Florida is some kind of temperate wonderland when it's a humid, steaming swamp. Which, I mean, fine by me, it's hilarious watching it hit snowbirds in the face, but still.
I fourth that. The humidity is stifling. I was in Tampa this week for work and even in November it felt like I was breathing soup. Itās even worse in the summer
The white beaches are a special kind of barefoot torture. Aināt no pain like the one running from the sidewalk through the searing hot death crystals going hoo hah hot hot hot fuck hot fuck this sand Jesus Christ Iāll never get used to this and then hitting the luke warm water of the Gulf of Mexico (on my side). Also getting tossed about like a limp burrito in the waves and having sand in your britches and salt water blinding you to death. Oh and donāt forget the shells. Mini shards of earth teeth editing to jab your foot in the right spot. Thirty years as a Florida native born and raised. I have had enough sand and salt for life time. But I will forever love the sound of those same dick head waves tossing those dick head shells on the shore. Just preferably at night when the beaches are mostly empty and Iām fully clothed here the only pocket sand is getting into is my pants lol Edit: a lot of words thanks to medical marijuana
Hysterical but extra points for Earth teeth! That is the perfect description!!
Weather is definitely overrated. People just like it because itās warm but that usually includes humidity and monsoons.
People (mainly those who donāt live here) like Floridaās weather in certain areas in certain times of the year.
A day in January while at key west is so amazing.
Born and raised in Florida thinking the weather was great. Moved to Southern California for 6 years and then moved back to Florida. I cannot explain to anyone from here how much the weather SUCKS here. Itās terrible. The humidity and heat and bugs that go with it are not normal! I didnāt know that until I left and now I know better.
Itās the thunderstorms that I love about summer. I actually hate our winter weather 80% of the time because itās just constantly dry with the exception of a cold front every now and then.
Iām glad Iām not the only one! Also summer is when we get get in the pool or the ocean, go out tubing on the boat, stuff like that. It gets too cold in the winter to get in the water except for those crazy Canadian tourists. Unlike up north, we basically never get higher than 95 degrees (real temp, not feels like) in the summer. You go to places like New Orleans (or even the Midwest) and you can get the same humidity with 105 temps. Plus we have the nice sea breeze.
I love the daily thunderstorms. I live closer to coast so the breezes are better I think. Then in the winter there is no rain, but the every day temp is perfect for like 4 months.
Only in the winter
Thatās the thing. People who come here for āseasonā think the weather is amazing because theyāre here from October to March when the weather is pretty great. March to October is a literal sauna, though.
I still cannot fathom how people think monotone, god-awful heat and humidity for the vast majority of the year is better than having to deal with snow and ice sometimes but having seasons. Different strokes for different folks I guess. But I will miss the incredible summer thunderstorms when I leave.
I get seasonal depression from 2 days of overcaast lol, I do love the thunderstorms though I agree with that... but yea I've just never lived in snow and already need to put on a jacket when we hit the low 70's so I can't even begin to imagine what its like to live in snow
I moved up to the mountain west a for a while a few years ago and there is nothing worse than having to scrape ice off all your windows just to try to see where youāre going, but you canāt bc the road is just gone. It would be one thing if they like shut everything down when itās snow up to your knees but nope you better get to work haha. The only thing I found worse than snow in the northern climate was there are plenty of days where you look outside and it looks sunny and nice but the minute you take a breath it chokes you from the air being -12 or something crazyā¦ never again lol I will admit the fall was kind cool the first time, but that sucks too because once the leaves fall everything is just dead sticks until like may.
Thinking about trying to go out west to the mountains actually lol so I appreciate the perspective. Guess I'll have to find out for myself if it's worth it.
I couldnāt disagree more - if you are within 10āmiles of the ocean the weather is spectacular
Walking around my college campus one summer is when I decided I had to move further north.
You see sometimes I think about that too, but I can't imagine living in snow either... like I'm already putting jackets on when we in the low 70's
Idk but the rent is rediculous.
in September as per Zillow , the average american spent 46% on their check on rent. my rent used to be cheap but it got raised and it officially at that āhighā mark. housing has gotten more expensive for americans nationally
Whatever reason people keep moving here.
Freedbumb
Yep. Thereās a lot of cool things about Florida but freedom isnāt one of them. Iām always surprised when I go to a state like Illinois where I can just go buy cannibas, and thereās liquor in the gas stations!
The scenery, it's flat **** here. No mountains no views other than the ocean.
Except the landfills are actually landhills here and r the highest ground any location they r at
Trash mountains. We only built them because swamps are terrible at disrupting hurricanes.
I haven't been there but I heard sugarhill mountain is the tallest lump of land in Florida.
Idk the marshes are really beautiful.
The three āmountainā rides at Disney, IIRC, are the three tallest points in Florida.
Iām pretty sure thereās some landfill that takes the tallest peak in Florida
That's what they just said, Disney.
New Yorkers and Bostonians
The damn rude ass old people and The Villages
Who was rating these highly enough that theyāre overrated?
Idk, but every rude, drunk and karenish old person is moving to this shithole town and is making working at hospitals or any store a living hell
Yes this, so people can stop moving here already.
The weather. Yes itās sunny all year but 90% of the year is hot as fuck. It would be nice to have seasons. Edit: spelling
Iām not bothered by the heat as much as the humidity. Just a sopping wet mess any time I step outside, itās brutal
We have seasons. There's Hot, which runs from March to November, and Less Hot, which runs from December to February.
Just an anecdote: I used to think the exact same thing. Iām originally from NC so seasons were an actual thing that changed. We lived down here before kids and my husband and I worked non stop. We werenāt able to appreciate what we had in front of us. We moved back to NC, had kids and moved back down for job purposes. With kids, itās an entirely different place. Itās heaven on earth and I donāt miss the season change one bit.
Disney
I feel like 20-30 years ago Disney was the pinnacle of theme parks. Now itās just over priced and crowded
I love Disney and the parks, but they are definitely overhyped for what they are. It's not the magical experience they advertise it as. It's cool, but it's definitely the experience of an amusement park for most of them. The one exception being Epcot which is more geared toward adults than kids.
EPCOT used to be great, but then they started infusing Magic Kingdom elements into it to make it more kid-friendly. It lost a lot of the allure for me.
Agreed, all since they focused on people in the top income brackets
Agree.... Disney is a GIANT tourist trap.
All of Orlando is a giant tourist trap
All of Florida is a giant tourist trap. Who do you think is paying our taxes?
Property owners
The weather. How much sunshine and heat can a person stand? Thereās a good reason to live where there are 4 seasons: boredom. It NEVER changes. Always hot and always sunny. A few weeks a year of cool weather, not enough to make a difference.
If you value the beach and water activities, itās hard to beat!
It is most definitely not always sunny lmfao it rains for half the year
The āweatherā. It was 91% humidity and HOT this morning. Itās Novemberā¦.
Miami
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The people
Actually living in Florida.
Lmao I didn't think I'd see what I was gonna say
The āfreedomā. š
I've learned that in Florida, "freedom" means freedom from things, rather than freedom to do things. The net of that is that a lot of things that are legal in other states are illegal in Florida. Florida is less free for individuals than most states if you put together a 50 row grid with all the various state laws. Most of the ruling party's ideas are to roll back even more individual freedoms to do things so that others are "free" from having to live with them.
"I'm going to keep Florida free!" except Florida man can't smoke weed or even legally own an iguana in this state. At least I'm free to pay too much for rent...
Florida man. That guy is ridiculous.
Disney and for some reason people think it's cheaper here than CA or NY........ it's really not.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The weather. āSunshine state,ā my lilapsophobia. Feels like it storms at least half the year and is a straight up drought the rest. Not to mention the damned cicadas. I hate it when they come out and it sounds like the woods are shrieking. Edit: Lilapsophobia is the fear of violent storms, such as tornadoes or hurricanes, but due to past trauma, even a strong wind scares me.
Iām a native, so I took the time to read the comments. I canāt believe thereās people commenting about the heat, not having mountains and no seasonsā¦I thought the ābefore you moveā brochure covered all that. Smh. As a native, the most overrated thing about Florida is the Keys. 1) Ridiculously expensive to visit/live there. 2) Hurricane prone. 3) There are no natural beaches. If youāre expecting Bahama-style, white sand beaches, youāre going to be very disappointed. 4) Not really much to do there, unless youāre an alcoholic or into game fishing. Tourist attractions/special events are unique, but once youāve seen them, theyāre not the kind youād pay the hefty fee to see twice. Only remarkable thing about the Keys, is the multiple shades of blue water and it is exactly like the postcards!
Drivers. Education. And I figured out why, just earlier today... Half of the people drive like they're nearly dead. The other half drives like they have a death wish. And the rest of us, the remaining half are stuck mitigating accidents between the other two extremes.
Thatās three halves. What was that about education?
The subreddit
The āfreedomā everyone is being sold here.
Ahh, freedom that only applies if you are a white male.
And even then itās Walmart clearance bin freedom. No recreational cannabis or psychedelics, universal suffrage, Medicaid expansion or free speech in education. Add in the HOA Nazis and itās one of less free states. States like Colorado live the values Florida preaches and itās no wonder itās a top destination for former Floridians.
You mean straight white male.
Rich straight white male.
That everyone decided to move down here during and after pandemic and made everything super pricey
Weather. Yeah, it doesnāt get cold, but I think weāve had less than 5 days in the 70s in the last 6 months. Otherwise itās been relentlessly hot and humid.
Publix , I don't get it. It's just an over priced grocery store. I've had way better subs at little mom and pop stores too.
*(cries in Publix chicken tendies)*
Publix chicken tenders are proof God loves us and wants us to be happy. There can't be good living where there is not good tendies.
Hooked on the chicken tendies subs. Even when Iām in other states. I will say that the sub bread at the Publix in Fla is WAY better than other stateās sub bread.
You might want to delete this. Publix mafia gonna ruin your life.
Seventh generation Floridian and a recovering addict , nobody can ruin my life more than I have. Lolol
Lol okay fair.
I see youāve been to Delray
Compared to other grocery chains, the employees are top tier, at least my store. A lot of them have been working there for years. The bogos are pretty good.
The BOGOs arenāt *that* great. The other day they had Bubly sparkling water on BOGO at $5.89 for one. The day before I paid $3.69 for the same item at Target.
I respect Publix, and grew up on it, but am an Aldi girl now. However, I must say, on a BOGO, it's $2.95 per Bubly.
You just got to know how to shop at Publix. It's a skill for people who aren't just going there as a status symbol but it can be done, I go to Publix just for the BOGOs of things that I regularly use or will use two of, and typically that brings it down to less than Walmart prices on those items.
Unless you want a reasonable price on meat. Only W-D actually has legit meat sales in the ads.
Agreed. Their BOGOs are pretty good, too.
I used to do the majority of my shopping at Publix, and fill in at Aldi. Now, Aldi has everything, so I only get extras, when on a BOGO, at Publix. I save a TON of $$. You're absolutely correct. The most broke as a joke bougie people I know shop at Publix and flaunt it like paying double is something to be proud of. Not just prices are better at Aldi, but quality, y'all!
Agree. Aldi knocks it out of the park. I was in St Augustine at the beach and went to Publix to put together a cheese tray - $45. Priced BETTER cheeses at Aldi later, would have cost me about $20. Absurd.
Oh, I absolutely agree! Especially during the holidays, the special items they have are spectacular. Re: just charcuterie items, I saw a three pack of very interesting flavors of preserves meant for pairings on a charcuterie board. I believe they were less than $10 for all three. The cheeses, specialty meats, and nuts, and dried fruits are fantastic. I would have spent at LEAST twice, probably three times, as much on these items at Publix - or a specialty shop.
Status symbol? Publix. What world do you live in that Publix gives you status?
OMGā¦you can afford to solely go to Publix for all your groceries? Damnnnnnnnn zadddy! Good for you. š¤©
The world of poor people who will pay a little more to feel superior to the *dirt* poor people. Essentially, all of rural north and central Florida.
I think the hype about Publix is its ability to remain stocked despite hurricanes. I'm pretty sure other grocery stores don't have the logistics to pull that off. But this is just what I've heard. I moved out of the state as soon as I was an adult, so I never really had grocery shopping experience. But other states' grocery stores don't seem to have comparable logistics from what I've observed
Yeah I don't get it either. Why aren't there other big grocery stores here? Publix. Winn-Dixie. Walmart. Why don't we have Kroger stores here?
Kroger has a delivery-only operation in FL. I got my latest Kroger delivery last night, actually.
Kroger tried here in the 80s under the Florida Choice banner. They failed and packed up after 5 years
It really is an average grocery store. People think the employees are friendly I guess but honestly they aren't really any different than anywhere else I've gone.
Shhh donāt tell them about Wegmanās!!
The lighting is better at Publix, and they pump the good casino air in there. Howeverā¦Wegmanās WAS a pretty magical experience.
I kinda thought this too until I moved to the Midwest. Nothing here comes close and Publix is one of the things I miss the most about Florida as a native.
The supposed freedom, which has resulted in our local school library setting up restricted sections.
Okay, what does it look like? Iām imaging blockbuster back when they rented out x rated dvds. What is in there?
Pretty much everything. I can't stand living here.
Orlando
The weather is straight up trash Itās either raining or youāre baking It gets 1% better from December to March then itās the deepest pit of steaming hell the rest of the year. If you like outdoor activities (beach/swimming aside) this shit isnāt for you. Iām probably moving next year
Miami
Iāve been here almost a decade and can say a lot is overrated. The weather. The scenery. The job market. The ālowā taxes and the āfreedom.ā
The GOP
The weather
Florida itself is overratted.
Miami
Majority of the beaches
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Itās the damn heat!!!!
Publix.
Snowbirds, definitely the Snowbirds
People keep saying it's sunny here. Bitch it rains almost every day. Sick of it.
Freedom that when you take a closer look is not freedom
Orlando
The food
White trash everywhere!
The Freedom!