# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/81 "2022-09-23T15:20:16Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > So basically, Red California. Red California _with_ humidity. Both are disqualifiers for this native Californian. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/82 "2022-09-23T15:24:46Z")
California has mountains, deserts, vineyards, etc. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/83 "2022-09-23T15:25:38Z")
I just mentioned somewhere else today, I spent the first 15 years of my life in Florida. I’m very nostalgic about it. I loved the beaches when I was growing up and I miss Cuban food. I love all the tropical flowers and I really miss rain. If I were not 66 and poor as hell now, I’d head that way for a bit. I’m sure I’d regret it though. You can never go “home” again and I bet the heat and humidity would kill me these days. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/84 "2022-09-23T15:29:11Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > California has mountains, deserts, vineyards, etc. - Florida has a “mountain”. > **[Britton Hill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britton_Hill)** > > Britton Hill is the highest natural point in the state of Florida, United States, with a summit elevation of 345 feet (105 meters) above mean sea level. Britton Hill is the lowest state highpoint in the United States, 103 feet (31 m) lower than the next lowest highpoint, Ebright Azimuth in Delaware, and far lower than many skyscrapers in Miami and other urban areas of Florida. > The hill is located in northern Walton County near the town of Lakewood, Florida, just off County Road 285 about two mil... ---
**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 23, 2022, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/85 "2022-09-23T15:40:16Z")
A major detriment to living in Florida [is likely](https://www.nhc.noaa.gov) to manifest itself by the middle of next week in the form of a major hurricane expected to develop in the Caribbean and head for the Keys and Florida peninsula. Hope they’re wrong… ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/86 "2022-09-23T15:42:33Z")
From this Clevelander’s perspective… Jan 8 - Jan 14 Airfare for 3 ppl: CLE-MIA: $490 (Spirit) or $891 (United). Flight Time - 3hr. CLE-LAX: $712 (Spirit) or $862 (United). Flight Time - 5.5hr. I’m not inclined to fly Spirit, just quoting prices. Not a huge difference in United, but longer flight. Both are nonstop at least. Vacation rentals (reasonable distance from beaches): Miami Beach: $90 - $177 per night Los Angeles: $170 - $350 per night Miami beach is a clear winner here, price wise. January Water Temp: Miami Beach: 71F Los Angeles: 57F Not even close. Does anyone actually swim in the Pacific Ocean? When we go to the beach we actually get in the water. Miami is a clear winner here. There’s lots more I would actually take into account if I had to decide between LA and Miami for a week in January, (avg meal prices, cultural attractions, public transportation, etc.), but price-wise I’d already be leaning significantly towards Miami. ---
**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 23, 2022, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/87 "2022-09-23T15:46:37Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Red California _with_ humidity. Both are disqualifiers for this native Californian. > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > California has mountains, deserts, vineyards, etc. Yes, but aside from the mountains, deserts, vineyards, beaches (“surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon”), low humidity, lack of hurricanes, tolerance, etc. is California really all that different from Florida? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/88 "2022-09-23T15:47:53Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > > [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > > > Red California _with_ humidity. Both are disqualifiers for this native Californian. > > > [@iiandyiiii](#): > > > > California has mountains, deserts, vineyards, etc. > > Yes, but aside from the mountains, deserts, vineyards, beaches (“surf in the morning and ski in the afternoon”), low humidity, lack of hurricanes, tolerance, etc. is California really all that different from Florida? - Florida still has Man. ---
**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, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/89 "2022-09-23T15:48:52Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > is California really all that different from Florida? Earthquakes vs. hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/90 "2022-09-23T15:54:33Z")
Yeah, it’s supposed to be 96 today. Usually our highs this time of year are about 6-10 degrees cooler than that. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/91 "2022-09-23T15:55:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > > [@peccavi](#): > > > > is California really all that different from Florida? > > Earthquakes vs. hurricanes. - Hurricanes happen every year in multiples. And there are no small hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/92 "2022-09-23T15:59:37Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > is California really all that different from Florida? Whooooboy. I’ve refrained from chiming in because just _thinking_ about all the hate I have for this place gets me worked up and also I don’t have the time to list all that is wrong here in The Wang. But this question cannot go unanswered. Aside from both being states with large coastlines, they’re like night and day. The people, the politics, the climate . . .no comparison. That being said, I’m sure it is a nice place to visit, especially if you’re coming from somewhere cold; living here, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/93 "2022-09-23T16:20:50Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Hurricanes happen every year in multiples. And there are no small hurricanes. Very true. The last _damaging_ earthquake (there are many small ones every day) in CA was in 2019 in Ridgecrest, out in the Mojave desert, with one fatality (poor guy was working under his car when the quake struck). The last damaging hurricane to hit FL was…next week. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/94 "2022-09-23T16:26:12Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > LOL One time I was visiting a friend in Montana and he picked us up in Spokane to drive us to his house in Missoula. Along the way we passed a few turnoffs with signs that just said “Canada.” I asked if we were that close to the border, and he said, “No, we’re about 300 miles from the border; there’s just nothing between Canada and here.” Could always take a detour to Wall Drug. Only 800 miles out of your way! > [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > 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.) Well, next time you’re in South Dakota, pop over to Vermillion and the [Shrine to Music](https://www.nmmusd.org/) (now the National Music Museum). It is an oasis of culture in the vast pointless Dakota wastes. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/95 "2022-09-23T16:38:40Z")
OP is from Ohio. I’m from Indiana. Winter sucks in both states! My aunt and her family used to live on the beach in Florida. When I was a kid, the whole idea of having the ocean in your back yard AND warm weather through the winter sounded like pure heaven on Earth. We went for a visit when I was eleven. The only disappointment was Disney World- I wanted fun rides! King’s Island opened up near Cincinnati the next summer. That was a much better experience! I now live in south Georgia (since '84) so I pretty much have the warmer winters, but not the beach. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/96 "2022-09-23T16:54:55Z")
Miami is trying to make itself the next Silicon Valley. Here’s an article from Wired: > **[‘We Got Memed Into Moving’: Inside Miami’s Tech Boom](https://www.wired.com/story/miami-tech-boom-where-memes-come-true/)** > > The city is trying to lure in Silicon Valley types, hyping the promise of sun, sand, and seed rounds. Does it want Silicon Valley’s problems too? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/97 "2022-09-23T17:26:53Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > (sadly still closed to the general public) I didn’t know this. Three years later, after a shooting, not at the museum, by a guy (actual terrorist) they invited in (!) the rest of us still can’t access the museum. They’ll probably never reopen it. Funny thing, to live in fear. Glad I saw it when I did. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/98 "2022-09-23T17:56:27Z")
Very much a personal choice, but I just LOVE beaches. I find something so “romantic” about the coastline, with the water explorers sailed off into/in from. I have no interest in lying in the sun, but I will walk for miles in all kinds of weather, seeing what washed up, watching birds, and just enjoying the intersection of water and sand. For my taste, the Gulf Coast of Fla has some of the longest stretches of beach for walking. For a while, I lived 20 mins from the IN Dunes. Every afternoon I’d take my dog to the dunes and walk for a couple of hours thru the dunes and along the beach. Not for everyone, but sure appealed to me. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/99 "2022-09-23T17:56:58Z")
As others have mentioned, yeah, the majority of South and Central Florida tend to be a whole damn lot of Meh separating small pockets of visitor attractions —South Beach rocks, but it is to me an example of “love to spend a long weekend, wouldn’t want to live there”—. There is an absence of character in so much sprawl, much of which was quite slapdashedly done (see: Homestead in Hurricane Andrew; Champlain Tower South in 2021), and the general dingyness once you are away from the fancy strips was mentioned in an earlier post. Meanwhile, though, I agree much of the Gulf coast, Keys, and Northeast FL are quite more agreeable. ---
**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 23, 2022, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021/100 "2022-09-23T18:24:49Z")
I lived in St. Augustine for well over a decade. I like living in Maryland better, but I enjoyed Florida as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-perplexing-appeal-of-florida/972021.md?page=6)