# The perplexing appeal of Florida **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2022, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021 "2022-09-22T08:20:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/61 "2022-09-22T16:06:12Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > [@Jasmine](#): > > > > > [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > > > > > What are your thoughts on Florida? > > > > I get a disturbing feeling of satisfaction from the knowledge that ocean levels are going to eventually submerge 2/3 of it, so I’m thinking that my feelings are rather negative. > > Though when that happens, other parts of the country and the world (even inland or high altitude places) are also going to be under water, or otherwise suffer the effects of climate change. The thing about Florida is that much of it is only a few feet above sea level. When pieces of Antarctic ice sheets the size of New York City break off and fall into the sea – and much the same is happening in Greenland and elsewhere – it does not bode well for coastal Florida. The problem is not just gradual sea level rise, but the much greater damage potential from storm surges and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. > **[Ice shelf the size of New York City collapses in East Antarctica](https://www.newscientist.com/video/2313947-ice-shelf-the-size-of-new-york-city-collapses-in-east-antarctica/)** > > An ice shelf the size of New York City has collapsed in East Antarctica, an area long thought to be stable and not hit much by climate change ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/62 "2022-09-22T17:30:10Z")
Missoula, which is the southern most part of that drive, is only 190 miles from the border driving, not as the crow flies. Which route did your “friend” take? 😉 I don’t get the appeal of FL either. I’ve visited once and that was enough. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/63 "2022-09-22T17:30:54Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Florida is also much more accessible if you’re in the eastern part of the continent, which most residents of the USA and Canada are. Especially for those driving giant-ass RVs down to beach resorts. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/64 "2022-09-22T17:44:44Z")
My wife and I currently live in central (Piedmont) NC. She retired from CT. We are virtually surrounded by retirees who first moved to FL and then “bounced back” up to NC. In virtually all the cases, these people were snowbirds and had a vacation/retirement home in FL, but decided after moving that FL was a bit too much year-round. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/65 "2022-09-22T18:13:29Z")
Being from the midwest I moved to Florida when I was 25 and spent 7 years there in various places. I loved the place and found coping with the heat/humidity season was much more tolerable than the cold/snow season of the midwest. I moved from Winter Springs(Orlando) to Ormond Beach (Daytona) to Bonita Springs (Naples) to Bradenton (Tampa). Just always something to do and new places to explore. I did return to the midwest however for better job opportunities and to raise a family. Still loathe winters and snow. I plan to retire there in about 10 years since I miss it so much. Looked at other warm southern places but baking in the desert with no greenery ain’t for me, Cali is too expensive, southeast anywhere is just as humid and dreary in the summer as Florida, no desire to be in Texas. Tropical fits me just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/66 "2022-09-22T18:21:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > Oklahoma has…funnel cakes at the annual Horn Canna Festival? > > There are some interesting-looking museums in Oklahoma City. If I had the opportunity to make an extended layover at OKC, I might try to hit up the Cowboy Museum or the Museum of Osteology I’ve driven across Oklahoma twice. There’s a certain austere beauty to long vistas of gently rolling grasslands. South Dakota’s the same - I found it far more lovely than I had expected, when I had occasion to drive across it. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/67 "2022-09-22T18:23:36Z")
It’s amazing to me that people forget about St. Augustine and Sarasota, both beautiful places to visit. Even parts of Orlando are nice if you don’t mind gaudy and overpriced. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/68 "2022-09-22T18:33:41Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > My wife and I currently live in central (Piedmont) NC. She retired from CT. > > We are virtually surrounded by retirees who first moved to FL and then “bounced back” up to NC. In virtually all the cases, these people were snowbirds and had a vacation/retirement home in FL, but decided after moving that FL was a bit too much year-round And you’ve got _much_ nicer beaches, like Emerald Island, Topsail… Wait, no, NO! Forget I said anything! Florida’s beaches are tons better than hellholes like Hatteras, Ocracoke, and Buxton! All y’all should just skip the Outer Banks completely! (Phew, that was a close one…) ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/69 "2022-09-22T18:40:34Z")
> [@furryman](#): > > It’s amazing to me that people forget about St. Augustine and Sarasota, both beautiful places to visit. I LOVE Sarasota. The Jungle Gardens, the Ringling Museum, the late lamented Bellm Museum with all the calliopes and music boxes. (I seriously miss that place. It had a contemporary large music box that played _Don’t Cry for Me Argentina_. It gave me goosebumps.) That said, I wouldn’t want to live there. But it makes for a GREAT weekend. I never went to St Augustine, but the history there must be amazing. ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/70 "2022-09-22T19:00:09Z")
This. PLEASE realize that Ocracoke has no chain fast food places, no major grocery stores, and no movie theaters. In fact, the main activity there is dating cousins and carving whirligigs. Definitely not a place any Yankee would want to take a vacation. Don’t waste your time. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/71 "2022-09-22T20:37:52Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > All the Florida I have ever needed in my life is in Carl Hiaasen books. Me, too. ---
**Author:** ![SoToasty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sotoasty/32/2803_2.png) [@SoToasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoToasty)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/72 "2022-09-22T20:49:40Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > My wife and I currently live in central (Piedmont) NC. She retired from CT. > > We are virtually surrounded by retirees who first moved to FL and then “bounced back” up to NC. In virtually all the cases, these people were snowbirds and had a vacation/retirement home in FL, but decided after moving that FL was a bit too much year-round. Not a retiree yet, but we moved to central (Piedmont) NC, from Orlando about 10 years ago. I was glad to get out of Florida, but it seems like there was not a lot of improvement, although we do get seasons now, so that’s a plus. It’s been a while but I seem to remember the weather being hot, humid, with Thunderstorms. Then you have cool day 1 and 2, and cold day 1. We did go to Disney and the Universal quite a few times (2 young girls and grandkids). The girls got tired of the beach though. Would rather stay at the pool. And when we were there it wasn’t completely flat, we did have a hill…It was the sand on top of our leach bed. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/73 "2022-09-22T21:20:55Z")
I’ve loved me some bits of Florida. Like kayaking thru mangrove tunnels and to deserted keys down at the far southern end. Or wandering Key West and people watching and visiting Fort Taylor. Or taking a trip out to Fort Jefferson and snorkeling around the Dry Tortugas National Park. Or enjoying Playalinda beach with minimal other people nearby. Or riding Segways along the Hollywood beach boardwalk and dining at the local peruvian seafood restaurant. Or the local cuban food places. Swimming with manatees in the rivers with their surging fresh springs. I’d go back to do a lot of that again. I’ve hated me some places there too, with the humidity and gators and flying, hissing cockroaches. And the guns and crazy politics, which go up to 11 down there. And the crazy tourists, including the Quebecois folks who get mad at ME for not speaking much french. But overall, there’s lots of lovely stuff there. Even so, I don’t plan to retire there. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/74 "2022-09-22T21:24:02Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > Seriously- some of the best beach weather in southern California is after Labor Day. And some people have never heard of June Gloom. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/75 "2022-09-22T21:25:26Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > And some people have never heard of June Gloom but it’s a dry gloom… ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/76 "2022-09-22T21:30:50Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > This. > > PLEASE realize that Ocracoke has no chain fast food places, no major grocery stores, and no movie theaters. In fact, the main activity there is dating cousins and carving whirligigs. Definitely not a place any Yankee would want to take a vacation. Don’t waste your time I think we fooled 'em. But if any snowbirds do make it across the causeway, they’ll stop in Nags Head and think that’s as good as the OBX gets. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/77 "2022-09-22T21:44:08Z")
This sums it up for me (less than a minute long): [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-MtJoQ8Jc9M/maxresdefault.jpg "When It's "Fall" in the South") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MtJoQ8Jc9M) ---
**Author:** ![Bootb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19b73/32.png) [@Bootb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootb)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/78 "2022-09-22T23:42:56Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > My friends tell me I’m missing the point, which is “BABES IN BIKINIS”. I point out that also comes with, urk, “MEN WHO REALLY SHOULDN’T WEAR SPEEDOS”. And after a few years, the “babe in bikinis” turn into “women who look 30 years older than they are because their skin has become leather.” ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/79 "2022-09-23T15:05:49Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > There are tons of beaches. If you like beaches (or related activities like fishing, boating, etc.), fun can be had. Otherwise, Florida is largely as you describe. > > Also, Disneyworld. So basically, Red California. Or is California Blue Florida? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/80 "2022-09-23T15:17:10Z")
FL is really flat and very crowded in places, but I like the beaches, theme parks, and natural areas. FL has some really pretty clear and cold spring-fed rivers that provide great kayaking. You might even have some manatees floating along with you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021.md?page=5)