Please Don't Hate Florida

Here is how I handle the situation; I moved to port Charlotte about 6 years ago. The traffic not near as bad in the winter as bigger cities. During the summer I go north for 4 months, a reverse snowbird. Works great. And when you go north you have many places to choose from rather than just a few when you go south in the winter.Yes, some northern states are nice to visit but I would not want to live there. P.S. Florida has no state income tax.

2 weeks extrapolated to 8 months? Amazing weather skills.

I spent two weeks there in October a few years back. It was 85+ and humid EVERY DAY I was there!

Jarlaxle wrote:
The problem with Orlando isn't that it's hot and humid. The problem is that it's oppressively hot and humid EVERY DAY FOR EIGHT MONTHS OF THE YEAR!

. If you ever lived full time in FL you would know it is Four months, not Eight. Similar to the Four months of freezing temps up north. Mid May to mid September it is going to be around 90 every day. I lived in Tampa for five years and it wasn't oppressive at all, except when mowing the grass. Then it was off to the shower and into the pool and life was good again.

The problem with Orlando isn't that it's hot and humid. The problem is that it's oppressively hot and humid EVERY DAY FOR EIGHT MONTHS OF THE YEAR!

Yes, there are 3 USDA 'zones in Florida - 8, 9, 10. The weather (and also the plants) is noticeably different from the Fl/Ga border to Miami. Just notice the types of trees when you cross the border. Not nearly as many palms at the northern end of Florida as there are around the Orlando area, and by the time you get to either Miami or Ft Myers, palms dominate. You are definitely in a tropical zone down there. Even more interesting to me is that there are palms that will grow down around the Miami latitudes but won't tolerate the cooler temps that exist in the Orlando - Ocala areas.

* Completely agree about the Midwest comment - lived in Iowa for a long time. Many times they will have summer temps higher then the Orlando area where I live now. In fact, I was there the first week of September and it was 98 - 100 for several days. It was very weird to drive north from Florida and have it get hotter, the further north I drove.

I just love it when I hear people complaining about Florida. From the Ga./ Fl. state line to Key West, it is 580 miles. Listening to people talk about Florida is like the three blind men describing an elephant. We live in Ocala ( Horse Capital of the world) and our weather is close to south Ga. South Florida is more tropical with the ocean impact and is close to a Hawaii climate. I have been in the Midwest in the summer and have had hotter and more humid weather than in Florida in the summer. The difference I have noticed is that Florida being narrow is impacted by the ocean and gulf weather. As to being crowded, it depends on if you are downtown Orlando, Tampa, Miami or at a small town along the gulf. When I think of crowded, I think of that area of California from Santa Barbara to San Clemente along I-5. ( that's crowded)

I find it amazing how retirement and a MH allows me to choose the weather. I live in Cincinnati. Yeah, we get cold and snow in the winter. It gets hot and humid in the summer. But I can drive my home on wheels wherever I want until I find the weather I like.
At home, I drive a 4WD pickup. 4 regular tires in summer, 4 snow tires in winter. The heater and A/C work fine in the car and in my home. Being retired, I no longer HAVE to go or stay anywhere.

Dog Folks wrote:
After viewing the included link from the National Weather Service, please don't hate Florida.

Temperature Map

Yes it really sucks, I have to go to West Palm Beach for work in January, I really hate to leave the chill on the PNW for the warm sea breeze in West Palm.
Work really sucks sometimes, almost as bad a Puerto Rico in November!! :B

Jean S wrote:
Yes, yes we do stay warmer longer. But we stay get down inro the 40's here in central FL, so bring some warm clothes. We make up for our milder winters by being darned near intolerable in the summer.

Remember that when we do get our cold spell, it is also wet. It chills you right thru your clothes. It can feels worse outside than a dry cold at 30 degrees lower. Being trapped inside is still a bore.

40 isn't cold. 40 is when I work in long pants and consider long sleeves.

Florida in summer is oppressive...and "summer" is approximately from Easter to Veterans' Day!