What is your opinion on living in Florida?

full of Republicans and Yankees.

I have lived here for over 20 years and some days I think it's great but alot of others I want to move away. Here are my pros and cons:

Pros:

Beautiful scenery and beaches

Weather is great from Dec-March

In my area there is any kind of store you could want

Also lots of places to eat

Theme parks (if your into that kid of thing)

Cons:

The summers are so freakin hot! Also it rains everyday in the summer, not usually more than 30 minutes at the most but still.

Hurricanes, you never know how bad they are gonna be and if your house will still be standing.

Homeowners insurance. Good luck getting any and if you do, I hope you can afford it.

High cost of living. I live in the Naples area and houses are still priced way too high even though the real estate market is in a slump.

In season (winter) it can take you twice as long to get anywhere and forget about eating out, the snowbirds are insane.

Maybe this is only true in my area but there isn't that neighborly thing going on here. I have lived in this neighborhood for almost 4 years and have only met one neighbor. People keep to themselves more.

All the houses look the same, no character like northern homes.

Public school system is not the best.

depends on what you're looking for--if you're a big skiier, I'd look elsewhere. Other than that, though, it's got a very solid economy, big and small communities (so you don't have to live in the big city or the swamp if you don't want to).

It becomes one big traffic jam between January and April or May, thanks to snowbirds and spring breakers, (or as we used to call them, the 'underfed and mostly dead'), but the rest of the year, it's pretty mellow.

Hurricaines are very real, and they can really throw your life off for a while, particularly if you own property--but there are areas more prone to them than others (I'd personally avoid Miami). Otherwise, if you love warm weather with high humidity, Florida's the place to be. (I personally need a few more seasons than spring and summer, which is why I left).

And with all the theme parks and tourism, there's always SOMETHING to do, and Florida residents get some pretty kickin deals on annual passes..

Good luck!

I was born and raised in Tampa, Fl. It had it moments, but overall, I'm glad I moved away. I lived in North Carolina for awhile and really loved it there. There really is no season changes in Fl., Not to mention due to hurricanes, most home owners insuance Co. no longer sell to Fl, and those who do are very high priced.

summer is difficult due to the volume of vacationers and winter has the snow birds that come from the north to escape the cold season.

cost of living is average I suppose, maybe a little on the high side.

I guess mostly it just depends on you. My husband loves Florida and misses it.

I love living in Florida. I can imagine no where else I would rather be.

It's a GREAT place to visit, but I hated living there because of the traffic.

Don't live there but if i could Key Largo is the place.

I wouldn't want to due to the heat and hurricanes.

i LOVE FLORIDA ... I'D LIKE TO BE DOWN THERE AGAIN..