So you want to move to Florida?
I would like to share this with anyone who has never been to Florida. Everything in this article is from my experience as a native Floridian, and I am going to try to clear up some misconceptions.
When most people see a commercial for Florida, they see the pictures of beautiful beaches, the space shuttle, and the theme parks (I’m leaving out the names because of the legal stuff ). What if you take all of that away? Now you have the real Florida.
Contrary to popular belief, Florida is not just some place to bring your big giant motor home (while pulling a twenty foot trailer, while pulling a car); but it’s a lot more. I wish to shed light on the pro’s and con’s (yes we sure have con’s).
Let’s start with the pro’s. I mentioned beaches. We have miles of beaches, on both sides and on the bottom. In fact Key West is only 90 miles from Cuba! As far as beauty; that of course is in the eye of the beholder. Miami Beach for instance has fame and fortune often associated with it, and on the flip side has some of the most overpriced real estate in the country. Hard to believe this was a tiny town at one time.
One other thing about the beautiful beaches: In some of the bigger cities, they are often plagued by litter (sometimes medical waste and even hypodermic needles), overcrowding, and depending on what time of year- jellyfish that sting!
Now let’s look at some more fun facts. Florida has more than a thousand people a DAY moving here. So as you could imagine, this opens up the door for many fields of employment. For example: Real estate, construction, trades, and don’t forget travel agencies (BIG MONEY).
Here I am going to share more of my first hand experience with a seldom heard of part of Florida (at least not in the t.v. ads). Florida is in the “Deep South,” and some of the true Floridians (sometimes referred to as “Florida crackers”), are hard working farmers, and another fun fact-we are home to one of the largest cattle producing states. Our beef is the pride of many dinner tables.
As far as farming, we have quite a little tobacco growing sector, along with of course citrus (orange juice by the ton).
In closing, I’ll share some con’s. Like bugs? We definitely have you COVERED there! I don’t know if scientists will ever be able to identify all of them (at least in my area).
Like heat? No sweat. (Far from it). I once spent a Christmas day at 89 degrees! Last but not least: HURRICANES! I’m not sure, but I think we pretty much have the record there.
Thanks and welcome to Florida.
