California or Florida
Oct 16th 2011, 2:43 am
#17
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: Reno Nevada
Posts: 15,917
Re: California or Florida
OK - let me try to be more helpful.
For me the answer was and still is California - I have visited Florida a number of times and could not possibly live there - the climate (heat and humidity) alone rules it out for me.
If you hope to get a good education for your children from the public school system then it will depend on exactly where you live - right down to which side of the street - because the schools are all zoned geographically - as such Florida vs California doesn't tell you anything useful. If you are looking at private schools then I am sure that you can find good ones in both places, but they will be expensive.
Downsides to California include, but are not limited to, high state income tax, excessive regulation of businesses at all levels and the fact that the state is pretty much bankrupt. Not sure that Florida is really that much better though ...
For me the answer was and still is California - I have visited Florida a number of times and could not possibly live there - the climate (heat and humidity) alone rules it out for me.
If you hope to get a good education for your children from the public school system then it will depend on exactly where you live - right down to which side of the street - because the schools are all zoned geographically - as such Florida vs California doesn't tell you anything useful. If you are looking at private schools then I am sure that you can find good ones in both places, but they will be expensive.
Downsides to California include, but are not limited to, high state income tax, excessive regulation of businesses at all levels and the fact that the state is pretty much bankrupt. Not sure that Florida is really that much better though ...
Not forgetting we have Jerry Brown as governor, if that does not put them off CA nothing will LOL
Last edited by Poppy girl; Oct 16th 2011 at 2:46 am.
Oct 16th 2011, 11:07 am
#19
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 766
Re: California or Florida
well now nearly everyone has slagged off our home state may I retort (ok yes I watched Pulp fiction last night)
well this' large trailer park ' does actually have more than just Disney.
start with one of the oldest cities (St Augustine) in the US so nearly some culture, throw in rolling hillsides and countryside in the north of the state, add the fact we have 2 different oceans, some 'eccletic ' life styles (the keys) and some great weather and I am happy to say its a great place to live.
Humidity -yes,luckily someone invented this thing called Air conditioning and hey we can allways jump in the pool.
it is perfectly possible to make a decent living if you are willing to work at it .
cant comment on the school system but there are a some which appear to get very good ratings.
typical day this week -got up ,walked the dogs at sunrise, went to the beach, sat in the ocean watching the dolphins play, had lunch at a beachside restaurant outdoors, went home spent afternoon in pool,evening barbq fired up and ate outdoors. try doing that in the UK in October. we can live an outdoor lifestyle 99.9% of the year which suits us nicely.
personally I cant stand Ca (more cant stand the people) but if someone decides to live there and loves it who am I to say they are wrong ?
anyway rant over i now head back to the trailer to barbq some road kill
well this' large trailer park ' does actually have more than just Disney.
start with one of the oldest cities (St Augustine) in the US so nearly some culture, throw in rolling hillsides and countryside in the north of the state, add the fact we have 2 different oceans, some 'eccletic ' life styles (the keys) and some great weather and I am happy to say its a great place to live.
Humidity -yes,luckily someone invented this thing called Air conditioning and hey we can allways jump in the pool.
it is perfectly possible to make a decent living if you are willing to work at it .
cant comment on the school system but there are a some which appear to get very good ratings.
typical day this week -got up ,walked the dogs at sunrise, went to the beach, sat in the ocean watching the dolphins play, had lunch at a beachside restaurant outdoors, went home spent afternoon in pool,evening barbq fired up and ate outdoors. try doing that in the UK in October. we can live an outdoor lifestyle 99.9% of the year which suits us nicely.
personally I cant stand Ca (more cant stand the people) but if someone decides to live there and loves it who am I to say they are wrong ?
anyway rant over i now head back to the trailer to barbq some road kill
Oct 16th 2011, 11:13 am
#20
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 766
Re: California or Florida
by a weird coincidence just saw this
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...epression.html
thats not to say Fl isnt in some financial trouble ,but isnt most of the US ?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worl...epression.html
thats not to say Fl isnt in some financial trouble ,but isnt most of the US ?
Oct 16th 2011, 11:14 am
#21
American Expat
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,598
Re: California or Florida
Wait... what? 
ROFL!
I'm actually quite fond of, and have a place in FL. I would choose it over California for a number of reasons including the lack of state income tax.
I'm actually quite fond of, and have a place in FL. I would choose it over California for a number of reasons including the lack of state income tax.
Oct 16th 2011, 11:18 am
#22
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 766
Re: California or Florida
Oct 16th 2011, 11:43 am
#23
American Expat
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 7,598
Re: California or Florida
No, and there are no pink flamingo law ornaments.
Oct 16th 2011, 11:53 am
#24
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 766
Re: California or Florida
[QUOTE=crg;9677675]The Atlantic is an ocean. The Gulf of Mexico is not an ocean.
try telling that to everybody who lives on or near it and the realtors who advertised 'ocen view' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, and there are no pink flamingo law ornaments. then you are quite clearly NOT a floridian 
try telling that to everybody who lives on or near it and the realtors who advertised 'ocen view' !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, and there are no pink flamingo law ornaments.
then you are quite clearly NOT a floridian
Oct 16th 2011, 4:42 pm
#25
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Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Seal Rock, Oregon
Posts: 842
Re: California or Florida
Even the Beeb came here to do a story on how bad it's getting;
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8239227.stm
As for the Inland Empire area of California, I had the dubious pleasure of living there from 2002 to 2004. It wasn't that prosperous then. Lots of cheap houses going up (the L.A. Times described ours as a "hastily erected stucco mansion") but no infrastructure to support it.
Just a couple of miles from our house in Woodcrest, CA were collections of shacks that wouldn't have looked out of place in a South African township. Back then, fresh from the UK, I couldn't believe that there could be people living in that sort of poverty less than an hour away from L.A. and O.C.
Even back then, Gray Davis was pretty much recalled for trying to get the state budget more in balance.
I guess the rambling points I'm trying to make are that things are pretty crummy everywhere, not just California, and that the problems California faces go back a bit further than the current financial crisis.
Oct 16th 2011, 4:43 pm
#26
The Kwisatz Haderach
Joined: Aug 2008
Location: North Wales
Posts: 8,080
Re: California or Florida
well now nearly everyone has slagged off our home state may I retort (ok yes I watched Pulp fiction last night)
well this' large trailer park ' does actually have more than just Disney.
start with one of the oldest cities (St Augustine) in the US so nearly some culture, throw in rolling hillsides and countryside in the north of the state, add the fact we have 2 different oceans, some 'eccletic ' life styles (the keys) and some great weather and I am happy to say its a great place to live.
Humidity -yes,luckily someone invented this thing called Air conditioning and hey we can allways jump in the pool.
it is perfectly possible to make a decent living if you are willing to work at it .
cant comment on the school system but there are a some which appear to get very good ratings.
typical day this week -got up ,walked the dogs at sunrise, went to the beach, sat in the ocean watching the dolphins play, had lunch at a beachside restaurant outdoors, went home spent afternoon in pool,evening barbq fired up and ate outdoors. try doing that in the UK in October. we can live an outdoor lifestyle 99.9% of the year which suits us nicely.
personally I cant stand Ca (more cant stand the people) but if someone decides to live there and loves it who am I to say they are wrong ?
anyway rant over i now head back to the trailer to barbq some road kill
well this' large trailer park ' does actually have more than just Disney.
start with one of the oldest cities (St Augustine) in the US so nearly some culture, throw in rolling hillsides and countryside in the north of the state, add the fact we have 2 different oceans, some 'eccletic ' life styles (the keys) and some great weather and I am happy to say its a great place to live.
Humidity -yes,luckily someone invented this thing called Air conditioning and hey we can allways jump in the pool.
it is perfectly possible to make a decent living if you are willing to work at it .
cant comment on the school system but there are a some which appear to get very good ratings.
typical day this week -got up ,walked the dogs at sunrise, went to the beach, sat in the ocean watching the dolphins play, had lunch at a beachside restaurant outdoors, went home spent afternoon in pool,evening barbq fired up and ate outdoors. try doing that in the UK in October. we can live an outdoor lifestyle 99.9% of the year which suits us nicely.
personally I cant stand Ca (more cant stand the people) but if someone decides to live there and loves it who am I to say they are wrong ?
anyway rant over i now head back to the trailer to barbq some road kill
Oct 16th 2011, 5:16 pm
#27
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2008
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Posts: 4,913
Re: California or Florida
All of which just goes to show that the OP's question is really impossible to answer.
There are lots of reasons why one might choose California or Florida or some other US state or not to live in the US at all and different people will make different choices for different reasons.
There are lots of reasons why one might choose California or Florida or some other US state or not to live in the US at all and different people will make different choices for different reasons.
Oct 16th 2011, 6:45 pm
#28
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Re: California or Florida
All of which just goes to show that the OP's question is really impossible to answer.
There are lots of reasons why one might choose California or Florida or some other US state or not to live in the US at all and different people will make different choices for different reasons.
There are lots of reasons why one might choose California or Florida or some other US state or not to live in the US at all and different people will make different choices for different reasons.
Oct 16th 2011, 9:59 pm
#29
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Re: California or Florida
Most people have to get out of bed go to work come home sleep and go back to work again. You sound retired or independently wealthy. Life in the US isn't a vacation for most people, even those living in tent cities don't feel like they are on a camping holiday.
My husband sees more of the 405 than any dolphins and beach volleyball
