[OLD ONE EYE]

I moved here in 1988 to be closer to my parents and the warm weather shooting in winter.

It was so nice then now it is like NY traffic new lights every week grid lock is here in lots of places.

NPR just said Florida just passed NY on population count. So much change I do not blame people for coming here heck I did just hope it helps the economy.

Florida used to be an inexpensive place to retire and live but that is changing fast.

Targets are also expensive here not many clubs are member owned so prices are hi corporate owned clubs are for profit as expected

 

[320090T]

I've staked my claim so they can close the borders now. It is getting very crowded and is a pain to go anywhere. I have been here long enough to know the shortcuts and I'm not telling them.

Lots of NYers, in our park there are 30 out of 262 homes. I prefer Yorkers to the Frenchies though, at least they speak some sort of English. Too bad they don't learn to stay out of the left lane when driving slow.

 

[grnberetcj]

There's just no shortages of dumbasses anywhere...

Curt

 

[OLD ONE EYE]

Yes they are which I look forward to seeing again that is fine what I am saying is the state is growing so fast the infrastructure is not keeping up so traffic and crowds are common at restaurants movies ect ect.

All the things I left behind to move here in the first place.

Change is coming fast warm weather is desirable to lots of people air conditioning made Florida a year round living place before AC this was only a winter vacation state.

I could not live here full time with out AC but electric is expensive here and the water is terrible most people drink bottled water or buy a pureafacation system as i did for the whole house.

I do not want to sound negative I love it here just miss the freedom to move around with out the new lights crowds and congestion I had when I moved here.

 

[blade819]

Both of my Children grew up in Orlando for 24 years. They both now live in New York City. They both state that they would never move back to Central Florida! I would never move back there also.

blade819

 

[Tron]

If you're going to live in Florida, why Orlando? Orlando sucks. The Ocean is a long drive and you have to put up with a constant infusion of tourists. I remember back in the 80's, Florida was gaining over 5,000 residence PER WEEK!

 

[mixer]

Having no state income tax helps.

Eric

 

[635 G]

Where I live we have an electric cooperative---rates are cheapest , compared to NC,NY, & NJ.
We have over 600 holes of golf, 10 country clubs, 200 miles of golf cart paths & most important 4 minute emergency response time.

All your dining, entertainment & medical is with 10-15 minutes.

Come to Villages--take a test drive---now is the time to buy , before its built out. only 5500 closings in the last 12 months, 3300 of them new.

And no POA/HOA

Phil Berkowitz

 

[stokinpls]

I guess this means the Jackson/Sharpton boycott isn't working?

Bob Falfa

 

[blade819]

If you want Blue Hairs, live at the Villages. The only decent place to live in Florida now is upper Gulf Coast, less populated. Around Mexico Beach or Apalachicola where oysters are $.25 each and the water is emerald green.

blade819

 

[daddiooo]

Southern Grand, Pensacola, and Joe Pattys seafood sales business are the only things that draw me to Florida. About 3 days of that and I can't wait to get back outa' there.

 

[greta500]

Everyone was young at one time, and if you are lucky and in good health. You will age

And get grey hair or blue or whatever you want to call it......but we are Still shooting

And we hope to conti ue and we usually do not complain about price, if any of

Us can not afford to shoot, we stay home

I love every day I can shoot, any place in the US.

I have had the pleasure of shooting at Silver Dollar since they opened In 1978

Greta
PS. I have been in cold snowy PA for two weeks and can't wait to get back to Fl and S.D

 

[391 shooter]

From a natural born Floridian:

Happiness is, a New Yorker Headed Home with a Canadian under each arm.

 

[Rebel Sympathy]

I am a 3rd generation native of Florida. My grandparents moved to Florida well before WW-II. I was born there at the end of the war. I'm glad I grew up in "pre-Disney" Central Florida. Back then the NE Corridor yankees lived/wintered on the East Coast and the Mid-Western yankees lived/wintered on the West Coast. I was in the central part of the state and it was uncrowded, courteous and nice, although I am pleased to state the mid-westerns were pretty neat, nice folks. I remember open range in some counties. You had to dodge brindle colored brahama-type beef cattle on the roads. (It's true!) We tent-camped on the Marco Island beach. We rode the ferryboat to Sanibel and Captiva Islands out of Punta Rassa from the old cattle docks. We swam in Silver Springs and many other springs for that matter.

Then, came Disney. Orlando, a really neat, pristine city of nice folks, sold its soul for $$$. Quality of life in CenFla went down hill after that..... which is one of the primary reasons I don't live in FLA anymore. I know exactly what Old-One-Eye is talking about. I then moved to the Panhandle for 16 years (Pensacola). But, that only delayed the inevitable move out and away.

Florida may still seem a great place to a relatively new arrival. Maybe it is. But, it does not compare to the way it was before the Disney surge. It is all a matter of perspective, I suppose. The Florida I knew does not exist anymore........

Ah, yes; "The Villages", where many spend their Social Security for medical treatment of their sexually transmitted disease.... and most of their time is spent sitting at red lights on U.S. 27/441. Great life.

M.D.

 

[straightshooter1]

Oh Rebel, I well remember the old ferry boat and then, the building of the bridge. I left Ft. Myers and Ft. Myers Beach in '79 for the TampaBay area (law school) and rarely went back. They knocked down most of the cottages on the Beach, build hotels and condos, and it just wasn't the same.

I stayed here in TampaBay and love it. The tourists do tend to slow traffic a bit (okay, that's really an understatement) and it is almost impossible to get to the counter in the Post Office because of the line of Snowbirds, but most are very nice and they add lots of $ to the local economy.

When they leave after Easter, the area becomes a bit more travel friendly, I can use the Post Office and the Silver Dollar becomes almost a ghost town.

But, you are right, pre-Disney Florida was the best. The open areas, the hunting, the camping out, the snakes-whoops, never mind, the miles and miles of miles and miles was a paradise for a young kid and young man in those days.

Bob

 

[SF SGM]

My maternal line came to Florida in 1800. Got their Rev War Bounty in GA and then in 1800, came across the St. Mary's River and received Spanish land grants. They were the original Florida Crackers. Amelia Island where I grew up used to have. a full time populations of around 3,000. Increased in the summer when all the Georgia girls came down for the summer.. Two paper mills kept everyone going, tourists were actually welcomed. Now, it is has turned into another Hilton Head. Yankees, snowbirds and "old time" natives, they start that after they have been here 10 years or more...

Florida will only get worse. Can't turn back time so if you want to live here, you put up with the snowbirds for 3 months, prices going up during that time and look forward to the spring and fall when we can actually enjoy our state. Orlando is a mess, my daughter came over from Germany many years ago and we went to Orlando. She asked me why there were so many white cars there, told her that they were rental cars and she dubbed Orlando as the "land of the white rental car".

Hell come on down, might as well, still some land that doesn't have condos motels or trailer parks...then after a few years, you too can bitch about the new people screwing up your state..

Van

 

[tburrey]

I moved my family to central Florida in 79 halfway between Tampa and Orlando and we love it. You couldn't get me back to Ohio period. Nice to go up north in the summer for a couple of weeks then I'm ready to get back home. Plenty of ranch country, great restaurants, a half hour drive to Tampa or Orlando and the casino or entertainment and places to eat. The best part is no cabin fever in the winter for months on end. Golf, trapshooting, motorcycling, bicycling, etc. Heaven for me and my family.

 

[dickgtax]

Buddy,
As I look out the window here in Chicago at the piles of snow being whipped around by the 20mph wind gusts that are driving the wind chill index to minus numbers, I'm glad I'm not stuck in
Florida.

 

[1oldtimer]

Some of my relatives moved to Florida in the late 50's--60's. The ones that are still living, have moved to Georgia. Could not handle the congestion anymore. Don't knock the tourists. Without them you would just have a large snake,alligator infested swamp. A couple years ago I went to the ER in Orlando Hospital. Very few white anglo saxon Americans there. I felt like I was in a foreign country. English seems to be a secondary language there. Nice state to visit for a couple weeks at my daughter's condo. Then I'm happy to get back to Ohio. Snow,its something I have lived with for near 80 years.

Clyde

 

[Perazzi_MX8]

I spent 9 days in Florida and flew into Orlando. It was in 2008 I believe and saw the D.A. come on the news and quit his job. The capital crimes were so backlogged he was forced to let some walk because he didn't have the time or the staff to prosecute all of the cases. He cited budget cuts and an increase in the murder rate that caused him to throw in the towel. If I were "Mickey Mouse" I would move out of Orlando and never look back. To be fair I believe Disney caused most of the problems Orlando faces today. Simply too many people and too many tourist targets walking around clueless of their environment.


The best thing I can say about Florida is that they allow concealed carry from almost any state. I guess what you have now is the result of everyone wanting to live there. I'm not attracted to wind that has all the trees leaning one way and living a few feet above sea level doesn't seem like a smart move, at least to me. Tourist prices all year long are also a negative on a fixed income. The Keys were great and they do a great job of keeping out the gangs and street people. You couldn't pay me enough to live in Miami especially the south side heading out to the Keys. Miami Beach is awesome but it's for the rich to play and party and the strong Police presence is felt immediately. It reminded me of Manhattan where your either rich or some type of staff serving them. It's a hard place to find a parking spot. It's a great place to spot exotic cars and famous people.