I would stay out of Bithlo and Christmas. Apopka too, or has that city entered the 21st century?
No. No one asks me, although I have been invited to church by neighbors. But no biggie if you’re not particulary religious.
Deltona…ah, the bedroom community. Traffic is a btich coming out of Deltona, but house prices are cheaper there.
Winters are not that cold, there might be a total of 10 days where we get below freezing. Summer can be very dry, so be aware of any water restrictions.
Be nice to the tourists. They pay our taxes.
If you see an alligator, just putt around him. And although most of the locals yawn when the shuttle or rocket lifts off, you may get a kick out of seeing it for the first few times. You can see it from most places in Central Florida.
Wow, I would never leave California for Florida and especially for Orlando…our worst large metro area IMHO…but then again you do live in Fresno.
If you must live in Orlando, the corridor from North of downtown (College Park) up to Lake Mary is the best and most cosmopolitan part of the metro area. Forget Deltona, it’s cheap and tacky and I just saw a news report where they are having a helluva time selling homes in Deltona due to the gruesome murders and the big sinkhole.
You will definitely find Orlando to be much more conservative than California. It seems to be the new location of the Religious Right although the new SuperChannel (religious TV station) building off I-4 is very cool architecturally.
I-4 is always busy and seems to always bog down in traffic in the Fairbanks Curves area. About a year ago the good citizens of Orange County voted down a sales tax that would have added more lanes to I-4…so improvement is years away.
It is a very service oriented economy and the Mouse is king, so get use to tacky tourist 24/7.
If you must leave California for Florida, but like the “California lifestyle/mentality” I’d suggest looking into South Florida. It’s far more liberal and cosmopolitan than Orlando. Tampa Bay is nice too. But if your idea of fun is eating at the World’s largest McDonald’s Playplace and going to the Holy Land Adventure park, then O-town is for you!
What you non-Californians tend to forget about our state is that the liberal heathens like me mostly live around San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles. The central valley especially is much more conservative and religious, although perhaps not as much as Southern states.
True that, sturmhauke. Actually,I have a bunch of very conservative relatives who were born/raised and still live in SoCal.
This thread has been very interesting to me; hope my post is not too much of a hijack.
I started a similar thread over a year ago because at the time, my spouse and I thought there was a good chance we’d move to Florida’s Panhandle. Didn’t work out but we think some day we’ll live somewhere in Florida. It is a big state and we’ll just keep exploring.
When it comes to Florida, the one thing that throws me off a bit is the fact that no matter where we look, it seems that the Car rules–you must get into an automobile in order to do most anything. (Have read numerous complaints about Florida traffic, but Denver/Colorado traffic is also worsening.)
Right now we live in a neighborhood in which you can easily walk to the library, shops, amenities, restaurants etc if you like, and I’d hate to give that up.
There must be some more traditional, un-suburb-like smallish towns out there.
Interracial marriages are becoming less of a big deal even in the smaller communities. It’s nothing to see a white girl (usually quite young–it’s only become common in the last 10 years or so) trailing around a little bi-racial baby or two. I won’t say everyone will approve of it, but you probably won’t take much flack.
Caprese you are correct, Florida is ruled by the car as this report shows. Orlando was ranked the worst metro area for pedestrian traffic. Of course a lot of the time you really don’t want to walk anywhere because it is so hot.
Sturmhauke I understand what you are saying, but I have traveled your great state from top to bottom including all of the central valley and I still must say that Florida’s conservative religious whackos beat California’s conservative religious whackos by a mile. As evidence I offer you this small example which is located in Clermont a rapidly growing town just outside Orlando or as the area bills itself…“The countryside of Orlando.” Also don’t forget we elected a Bush (JEB!) twice as governor. IMHO JEB! makes Arnold look like a liberal girly man.
Get used to most person-to-person transactions (banking, doctor’s appointments, even department store purchases) taking longer than you’re used to. There’s this strange propensity for people to tell you stories, most often about medical issues, as if you’ve known them all their life, and you actually care.
We have not been hassled about church-going, but religion is definitely a more visible part of society than other parts of the country.
We moved from Chicago to Brevard County (out near Cocoa Beach). It’s definitely a culture change, but we knew that going into the deal. It’s a much slower pace of life, but we were looking for that. Plus, great diving is just a two-hour drive, instead of a few-hour plane ride.
It’s just a gym. I was a member there for about three months. Other than the Christian Music playing from the speakers and the murals and Bible verses painted on the walls, it’s like any other gym. I’m not Christian either, but they offered an option to join for three months with no contract fee.
I joined a bigger gym nearby with a pool and more equipment after my membership expired.
Yeah right I understand what you are saying as in the same way that a CHURCH is just a lecture hall except for the praying, sermon and communion stuff.
Welcome to the Club!
The membership is getting pretty sizable (although we lost a good one last year).
Maybe we need to start planning another FloriDope?
Congratulations, drachillix!
I hope we some day get to join you in the Sunshine State.
We will be visiting this month, and the spouse is trying to find a job out there.
It will happen some day.
Just a few more “fauna” to be on the lookout for: poisonous snakes (Eastern Diamonback rattlers, Coral Snakes, Water Moccasins, etc.), Black Widow Spiders, eight varieties of scorpions (most commonly no more venomous than wasp stings but OUCH!), stinging fuzzy caterpillers, a particularly nasty deer fly, no-see-ums (very tiny flying bugs with great big teeth), and the occasional wandering black bear. Of the domestic variety, watch out for Sago Palms if you have pets or small children. The seeds of the Queen Sago are horribly poisonous. The palm has become a very common landscaping plant and each year there are more pets poisoned. Four out of five poisonings end in death as the toxin attacks the liver. Oh, and we have our share of rednecks who think Rottweilers and Pit Bulls are legal weapons and number one in home security. In a related note, we have shamefully large numbers of illegal dog-fighting rings.
In spite of it all, I love it here. It’s warm. The ocean is only 45 minutes away. It’s green. The wildlife is incredible.
I’ll have the Moses smoothie fortified with 10 essential commandments.
No no make that the Body and Blood of Christ Smoothie, it’s liquid communion in a straw!
I appreciate your patience with me Ivyass but as my friend is fond of saying “You just can’t polish a turd.”
Tupug Anachi you also forgot to mention our worst hazard of all: Old people driving slow in the fast lane, 35 mph in a 70 mph zone during rush hour on their way to the Early Bird Special.
Welcome to Florida Drachillix don’t forget to register to vote and help us get those Repubs out of office.
Speaking for South Florida (Boca, Baby!), we hear car horns and wide-mouthed muffler street machines drag-racing along US1 late at night, no problem.
The one thing we don’t hear is the annoying tink-tink-tink of turn signals, ‘coz
NO-ONE EVER FRIGGIN’ USES THEM!!!
Drives me nuts!
Also, I know up north that the left-hand lane on highways is The Fast Lane or The Passing Lane, but not down here. The Fast Lane is what you make of it: whip around whoever is in front of you, cut 'em off, move ahead and repeat as necessary. Drives me nuts.
Moved down here from NY 3 years ago, and driving still frazzles me…
And although most of the locals yawn when the shuttle or rocket lifts off, you may get a kick out of seeing it for the first few times. You can see it from most places in Central Florida.
In a related note, we have shamefully large numbers of illegal dog-fighting rings.