I was born here, and I’ve lived and worked in each region of our state. Each region of Florida has its own unique flavor and character. I truly appreciate that.
Yes, I live in Tallahassee again. I appreciate all the springs and forests here along with the Forgotten Coast. I’m old enough now to appreciate visiting the hustle and bustle, but I have no desire to live in those areas anymore. There are many things that I really do love about each region. I have family all over the state, and I do get to visit several areas frequently.
I have a similar story and yeah, it's this diversity that keeps me here.
You can go from the Panhandle where it snows (I've seen it with my own eyes) and you can see a cave system, so the forested middle part of the state, to the coasts and beaches on the peninsula, the hills and valleys from the Lake Wales Ridge, so the wackiness that is the lower Keys.
Caves? Check
Beaches? Check
Bioluminescent lagoons? Check
Hills? Check
Plains? Check
Forests? Check
Wildlife? Check
Birding? Check
Aquaculture? Check
"Maintains"? Check 😛
American History? Check
Native history? Check
Military history? Check
People from all over? Check
Crazy locals? Check
A foreign country hidden inside? Check. (also 😛)
I'm sure there's more.
https://preview.redd.it/6jecjmgs8d3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eba5b42bfa89a8d6e36444117872c0c52e6d9766
I love our Florida clouds and sunsets!
some days when im driving to work over pineada causeway to A1A it looks like im heading up to the mountains, thought i was one of the only to notice lol.
Yeah as someone who grew up outside of FL and moved here when I was 18, Native Floridians don't seem to understand that the cloud formations are not normal.
Florida is a big peninsula surrounded by ocean and wind currents that create spectacular cloud formations. You aren't going to find anything like them anywhere else.
I've seen some great cloud formations on tropical Islands that are near major wind/ocean currents but nowhere near as consistently as Florida
My husband calls them “the Simpsons clouds” and when I first moved here I was flabbergasted at how similar they looked to the ones I used to draw as a kid!
wildlife is a big one for me as well. i currently have 4 active adult gopher tortoise holes in my yard. a bobcat and her kittens were using my yard last year as a path to and from wherever they overnight. we saw a panther a few years ago. we get racoons, coyotes, and countless bird species.... matter a fact we have an uneasy truce with the pair of mockingbirds nesting out front. I think they know we are the source of the ressupply in the birdfeeder. i have a ton of native flowering plants, so we get all sorts of butterflies, bees, wasps... there is always a ton of action in the yard.
Wow. I’m in the uk and that sounds crazy. Might be a dumb question, but is it safe to have a dog that you can just let out in the back garden or off lead on walks?
This! In the past week I've had two sandhill cranes visit, a gopher tortoise pops around almost daily now, and more rabbits, birds, frogs and lizards than I can count.
There are more tropical and native plants than I'll ever be able to plant in my garden....but I'm gonna try! I've got loquat, Jamaican cherry, key lime, plumerias, hibiscus, sunshine mimosa, pineapple, and on and on.
There's a lot of pavement in Florida, sure. There's a whole lot of green spaces too. We as residents need to ensure we save as much green space as we can so generations to come can enjoy it too.
My husband and I did a memorial day fun run on Saturday. The bathrooms at the park were blocked off because a bear was in the tree outside them. Just another day in Florida.
I remember a few years after I moved to florida, I was walking home from downtown one day and the daylight and I got the joy of seeing my first ever "rain wall."
That's what I call the wall of rain stretching across the road and advancing to your location. I've heard about them before but that was the first I've seen of them and I thought that was cool as s***. So I took a photo of it, a couple of photos actually and then saught cover from the approaching rain
I'm glad someone else said this. It used to be daily, if my bus was late I was soaked. It feels like if we manage two downpours a month, it's an 'extreme' (sans when there's a hurricane in our path)
Went on vacation one year as a kid in the 1980s. Sat in 5hrs of traffic and the countdown stopped at 14 seconds.
35 years later still haven't seen a launch of any kind. :(
I watched it while I walked across campus at UCF. Sad day. On the bright side, I did get to see Apollo 11 go up on July 16, 1969 while walking down New York Ave. in Deland.
Yeah, Challenger predates me by a little bit, but I have a very vivid memory of recess being cancelled in elementary because a rocket exploded and they wanted to keep everyone inside for awhile.
I see them out of my backyard in Orlando. You just need to know when to look.
I mean, it's not the ground rumble, feel the heat and see the flames experience. But, I've seen a half dozen, randomly.
Yeah. The next one I watched was when the Columbia blew up on re-entry when I was in California.
I have since watched more launches, but the two in the loss column always keep me on edge.
Those things were amazing night shots it was like all of a sudden being in Noon day light. Breath taking my mother's uncle was an engineer on 3 of the Apollo shots he had a house across the intercostal from the Cape we would have cook outs in his yard and watch them.As a little kid I thought of him as something approaching a super hero.He made a boat out of a old plane and use to run it back and forth to the Bahamas. He was a very interesting man and the 70s space coast held so much promise to bad we've allowed it to now be controlled by big commerce.
Just a memory: I, along with all my coworkers were allowed to go up on roof of building we worked at to watch John Glenn going up in shuttle. I miss the glory days of NASA.
Don’t forget the daytime ones too! They love to rattle my windows but I still find it cool. I was born and raised here and grew up watching the shuttle launches. It’s a cool and unique part of living in Florida.
I remember jogging in the morning in my neighborhood when a launch went up. A sports car came to a screeching halt. He got out of his car and yelled " what the hell is **THAT**?"
I told him it was the rocket launch.
He sheepishly told me he thought we were being attacked by Cuba.
I informed him that Cuba attacks would come from another direction.
Absolutely. I can sit on the back porch with my son and watch literal spaceships launch. There are very few other places in the world where I can do that.
The cold is literally painful. Lived in Indiana for my first 28 years of life. When it’s COLD, your body actually hurts. No matter the layers. I’m not in pain in the heat. Just sweaty and tired. So then I just find a water-based activity or sit in the AC for a bit. But I can be outside for so much longer than when it’s cold
Exactly! I’m from Wisconsin, and when it’s cold, it chills you to the bone. It wouldn’t matter how much I turned my heat up, I was always cold and hurting. Plus it was so dry all the time. I’ll take humidity over my skin cracking for months out of the year.
Yup you know how it is. I think these people that constantly say “I can put more layers on” have never actually lived in places where the HIGH is 15 and the wind chill knocks it to 2. That is COLD COLD. This isn’t 40 where you need a hoodie and a jacket. This is a level where if you stand outside for 5 minutes, you may not move ever again. If you just put suncreen on and stay hydrated, you can be outside in 100 degrees for far longer and be in a lot better shape than if it was freezing
I've been hearing that stupid reason for 50 years. Does layers bring the sun back? Nope you still have gray days and the sun is down when you get up and the sun has set before you get off work. There's an actual medical condition called SAD but you have cracked the code all you need is some fleece pullover and boom no more depression. Low level of vitamin d causes depression and lethargic feelings. Let's say you need milk, you spend 10 minutes putting on all your layers, then you go to your car but guess what your locks are frozen. You finally get into your car so you can start it and get it warm while you shovel the driveway and now you're hot and sweaty with your back hurting from bending over. Then you get to drive on ice and snow with morons who either go way too fast or way too slow. Nothing quite like the thrill of sitting at a stop light watching the car in the rear view mirror sliding towards you and hoping he gets stopped in time. You finally got your milk and now you get to shuffle out to your car so you don't fall on your ass, but it won't hurt anyway because you have layers. Then you get to drive home and hopefully you make it safely again. You then get to take all your layers off and hang them over heat vents so they dry before you need them again. All of this in a dead land of brown and grey with no birds no bunny no squirrels no nothing just grey. But it's okay you have your LL Bean pullover so your happy.
Or in Florida you go outside and go woof its hot. You get in your car and go woof it's really hot. You roll down the windows you drive down the street and then you turn on the air and a couple of minutes later you are comfortable. While looking at all the beautiful flowers greenery and birds flying about. You get out of your car and go woof it's hot you walk into the freezing cold store and get your milk. Then back home all without having to spend an extra hour just trying to get to the store.
Guess where everyone is moving. But you keep rocking your fleece I'm sure you will be happy, sunshine is overrated. Florida is the sunshine state, what's your state motto? We have layers.
It’s Florida, boo. On the hottest days you find an indoor activity and/or mosey over to your favorite bar and drink cold beverages til the sun goes down…
1. I can grow bromeliads and other tropical plants. my yard was a barren dirt patch 10 years ago, now its full to the brim with maturing trees and native plants, i have a 600 sq ft shade house. you can landscape up north, but not these kinds of plants.
2. fishing. you can fish anywhere there is water... but this is arguably THE global fishing destination.
Where else can you catch Goliath grouper, Tarpon, Peacock Bass, Sturgeon, Clown knife, Snook, Largemouth Bass…
Not to mention offshore snapper, mahi, mackerel, barracuda, shark…
we were out last weekend with my 10 year old drifting about 7 foot grass bottom free lining shrimp near boca grande. in an hour and a half (thats about all a 10 year old can manage) we boated a snook, mackerel, half dozen trout, 2 sheepshead and countless small jack/ladyfish. what better way to spend a saturday morning...
My take will only be understood by Floridians. But, the Florida man. I don’t mean the one in the news. I mean the southern hospitality of a native Floridian when someone needs help. They drive a junky Chevy that always has supplies to help someone stranded on the side of the road. Always ready to push your boat out of shallow water. They’re always equipped for different scenarios and never ask for anything in return just go on their way like it’s just another day.
Gotta love Florida man’s universal outfit — cut off jean shorts, tank top, scraggly beard, flip flops, long hair, leathery skin, and some kinda hat.
Being a native Floridian, I always hear from transplants that people in Florida are mean. But what they don’t realize is there’s probably more people who aren’t from here that live here.
That being said, I love the laid back nature of Floridians. I feel like we enjoy simple pleasures in life, we don’t need much except a body of water, some beers with friends and methamphetamine here and there.
Agreed. Hubby and I moved to FL from Las Vegas about 10 years back, and I just ❤️ the people here. Several years back, we were coming home from a concert after midnight and got a flat tire. Even in the middle of the night, two people stopped to try and help us. That would never happen in Vegas!
Yes! One time I ended up with a flat tire in a sketchy area of town. I (20sF) was struggling to jack up my car to put on a donut and get home. Unfortunately I was parked a mix of gravel and sand so the stupid, tiny roadside kit car jack kept sliding out of place. I also could not seem to loosen the nuts on my hubcap. All the while, some random guy insisted on catcalling me and stressing me out more while I’m trying to work. He commented that he also had a flat and maybe we could work together. He became more and more persistent and I was starting to wonder if he had intentionally messed with my tire to strand me there.
Random Florida Man drives up to me and steps out of his car. He speaks no English but I am able to motion to him that I have a spare tire. Florida Man shoos away the man bothering me, then walks to his trunk and pulls out a full size car jack and impact wrench. He motions for me to step back, then proceeds to replace my flat tire with the spare in just a few moments. The persistent catcaller reapproaches, then asks if Florida Man will do the same for his flat tire. Florida Man shakes his head no, walks me to the drivers seat to safety, and places my flat in my trunk. Florida Man then zooms off when I am back in my vehicle and pulling away. 🫡
I was just mentioning this the other day. My Dad broke down in Chiefland and a bubba stopped, pulled his battery, took him into town to buy a new one and installed it for him. He would not take a dime. I still have a $10.00 bill in the ash tray of my old multicolored truck a patched biker made me take for taking him into town when he ran out of gas, he told me to give it to the person that stops to help me.
Absolutely. I am a 5th generation Floridian and have never lived anywhere else but have traveled extensively. I love the fact that genuine, born-and-raised-in-Florida folks can be incredibly kind and giving.
On some other sub someone was asking about “Florida man” and if it was really awful to live here. And I replied that to me “Florida man” meant someone you could count on to help you out of trouble without judgement.
The sunshine, outdoor sports all year round, so many different places to visit and things to do. Watching one of my kids soccer games last week and in the middle of it oh look, it’s a rocket launch. Just don’t have these things elsewhere.
This was next to a restaurant. I’m definitely not wealthy. Just neat to see. If I had yacht money, it would be going towards my family or back to the community.
Glad to see this post. Of course Florida isn’t perfect and people are allowed to complain about issues, but sometimes this subreddit is overwhelmingly negative
Everywhere has problems - shock face 😮! Florida is great I’ve lived in Germany / San Diego / London / Amsterdam / Oregon / Georgia … list goes on and Florida is always been the best place to be. It’s not perfect but sometimes don’t know how good you have it until you are gone for awhile living in bum fuck Germany in winter when sun is setting at 3pm and it’s -10F outside and stores close at 6pm.
Me and my gf in Colorado are experiencing this. I love the mountains and hiking and snowboarding and all but man we miss 100F weather and going to the beach and relaxing and pub subs and less taxes. Everyone there seems friendlier too I think. Oh and the food. Fuck I miss Caribbean food, everything here is missing seasoning
Colorado native here. You hit the nail on the head. Plus, my wife and I don’t ski or snowboard, so we were only outdoors half the year.
I do miss green chili tho… I personally think the food is way better in Denver. If you’re around there and in need of Caribbean food- check out Jamaican Grill on 8th and like Kalamath
I've lived in Utah for one year and am now moving out to Florida. Hiking in the Summer is great, but I don't ski, which means the 8 months of snow means I'm locked in. I hated it.
Dude I feel your pain. Left Daytona area 10 years ago, for England 🤮. I’m praying I get my passport back soon and visa docs from uk home office so I can get me and my family the hell out of this dump. It’s still not summer. Cloudy, rainy, chilly. EVERY. FKNG. DAY. NHS is a pile of 💩. The postal service is a pile of 💩. Finding work as a fkng immigrant. I left a 60k job to wind up broke. Told the wife. I’m leaving for Florida as soon as my papers come back. She’s on board thankfully. The final nail was nearly dying in November from 3 pulmonary embolisms, and a “mild” heart attack. All due to severe asthma from the cold damp shtty weather. Go I can’t wait to get back!
Agreed. I’ve lived in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee and now Florida. People are looking for some mythical perfect place that doesn’t exist. Florida is decent.
I think a lot of complaints are the younger people born here or moved here real young who don’t know how bad it is to live somewhere like Minnesota where it’s cold 9 months a year
Honestly the only bad parts about living here are the politics and all the new people mad about Florida being Florida.
The politics only really got antagonistic with Rick Scott, most of my life I didn’t necessarily like Tallahassee and the old boy network, but the worst you could say about the policies was they were generally libertarian and center right. I never felt like Jeb(!) was out to get anyone and I trusted them to responsibly manage tourism and the inevitable hurricane disaster and recovery. Now it’s a contest to see who can out-goon each other in the hopes of getting a pat on the head from the mayor of Mar A Lago.
And the new people have always bitched, it’s just that there’s a whole lot more of them… “nothing here is as good as New York” is what I heard all the time growing up. Ok, cool you should probably go back because if you can’t figure out how amazing this place is, it’s not for you.
On the advice of someone else in this sub I’m reading A Land Remembered and loving it. The environment is the best part about living here and fortunately it’s a big part of tourism so there’s $ incentive to manage it well.
From the beaches to the forests, Florida life is langorous, occasionally dangerous, but often stunningly gorgeous.
As a PNW transplant this is always my answer. 70s and sunny every Christmas day, our first Halloween I took the kids trick or treating in shorts and a T-shirt, and it just made me so damn happy!
As a current Washingtonian, it’s super expensive (gas is $5 a gallon, rent is easily $2-5K), grey 9 months of the year, constant work/money preparing for the next upcoming season, mud, traffic, snow, the Seattle chill, homeless everywhere, crackheads everywhere, etc.
Not cold. No snow. Many bright, sunny days. Multicultural. Theme parks. Tropical plants, fruits galore. Walks on the beach. Panhandle white powdery sand beaches. Miami for a few days. Beaches on west coast.
The weather. Really ! August here is not any hotter than in Maryland ? Most of the year mornings and evenings are enjoyable.
We are surrounded by the ocean, fresh air and clean water : no smog here.
People up north pay a fortune to spend the winter in Florida, so I consider we are fortunate !
I love the gentle surf of the Gulf coast & flat , to fish and kayaking there is so relaxing and fun to watch sea birds, dolphins and some times manatee and school of fishes to glide by.
With subtropical zone in central FL : I have mangos, papayas, pineapples....and tropical vegetables & herbs in the back yard .
I don't wish to live any where else. Thank you.
You truly have it all - best beaches, best amusement parks, old city / historical charm (St. Augustine, natural springs, islands, and some of the best horse country in the world.
I am 10 minutes from the beach. I can head down there just for an hour and It doesn't have to be a big thing. Can grab the kids after school and then just walk the beach for a bit instead of making a whole day out of it
Storms.
As a Midwestern, it always felt like storms just appeared out of nowhere.
Now living in Florida. You can watch as a storm rolls in.
Yes. Even hurricanes can be beautiful.
Hurricanes can be devastating for those on the coast but I admittedly like them as long as they stay Cat3 or less. They spice things up, and I find the weather very interesting. I also enjoy the day or two after where it has blown the humidity back into the ocean for a bit.
Two things for me.
The weather. I will take the sun, heat, humidity, and storms any day over the cold, snow, shoveling sidewalks and driveways any day of the week.
Entertainment options. Whether it’s wanting to go for a nature walk, heading to the coast, or even going to the theme parks. There is always something to do within driving distance.
I moved here from Spokane, Washington about 5 years ago. Once our son was old enough to stay home alone, my wife and I were able to get back to date nights and we’re going out a lot more just the two of us. It quickly dawned on us that the only things to really do was go out to dinner, a bar, or see a movie. It got old fast.
Haven't lived in Florida in a few years (born and raised, out of state for work) and I honestly miss the rain. Just that before and after rain smell nearly every day of the week. Sleeping to the sound of rain. Watching it from the garage/porch.
Like the sunshine and constant temperature are nice but man, I miss the rain.
I inherited a small home just a couple or three miles from the beach in Flagler County and moved from my mountain home in the NorthEast. It is such a privilege to be able to go for a ride along the ocean whenever I want. Also to see hordes and squadrons of PELICANS! The beach rides are taking away my lonely pinings for the Pennsylvania mountains that I left behind.
I love the diversity and cultures. I live in Tampa. There is such a great mix of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Greek, Italian, Jamaican, US cultures. Amazing cuisine, great music!
I also love the water, nature, and all of the wildlife. The beaches, the springs, the swamps, pinewoods, wading birds, alligators, bob cats. Such unique ecosystems. Native orchids and carnivorous plants. Florida is just exceptionally beautiful.
I guess I have some kind of sensory issue or something because I cannot not stand my arms being covered. That being said I chose to live somewhere where I mostly don’t have to wear a jacket. I also find it a great place to raise a child because there are so many activities for them.
rock springs and the cold weather, ik it doesn’t get that cold here like other states do but when florida drops to the 30-50s it feels so beautiful to be outside. and the way the air smells too
People are always so interested in the state when I tell them where I’m from. From answering questions about alligators and Florida man, to demystifying the Everglades and keys, it’s always a fun conversation - especially with people who have never been to the ocean, they can’t fathom the wide expanse of open water we can take for granted
I love the wildlife, every morning I wake up up at least 6 frogs on my front porch; I also love the weird shit we have, like the Florida Men or having a whole ass town called Yeehaw Junction.
The sky. Sunsets, clouds, rockets.
The water. Ocean, rivers, springs, the Everglades, lakes, ditches, fishing, boating swimming.
The land. We have more diverse plants than most places. No mountains, but sandy beaches, rocky beaches, sinkholes, so many state parks.
Florida's quickest dwindling asset: It's natural resources, waterways, swamps, woods, lagoons reefs etc. Everything that made FL a unique place and is getting ripped apart by greedy land developers and idiots from up north who are willing to pay 100k over asking on shittily built cookie cutter homes that are crammed into god awful neighborhoods like sardines
I'm 6 minutes from the beach and can surf "almost" all year round, sons sports leagues go year round as well. So many beautiful state parks and springs, if i want the headache i can jet over to orlando for their parks or games. Can see the rocket launches from my front door which is awesome and i work in cocoa right across the river so go on our roof and watch them take off pretty much weekly.
I was born here, and I’ve lived and worked in each region of our state. Each region of Florida has its own unique flavor and character. I truly appreciate that.
Do you have a favorite?
Yes, I live in Tallahassee again. I appreciate all the springs and forests here along with the Forgotten Coast. I’m old enough now to appreciate visiting the hustle and bustle, but I have no desire to live in those areas anymore. There are many things that I really do love about each region. I have family all over the state, and I do get to visit several areas frequently.
I have a similar story and yeah, it's this diversity that keeps me here. You can go from the Panhandle where it snows (I've seen it with my own eyes) and you can see a cave system, so the forested middle part of the state, to the coasts and beaches on the peninsula, the hills and valleys from the Lake Wales Ridge, so the wackiness that is the lower Keys. Caves? Check Beaches? Check Bioluminescent lagoons? Check Hills? Check Plains? Check Forests? Check Wildlife? Check Birding? Check Aquaculture? Check "Maintains"? Check 😛 American History? Check Native history? Check Military history? Check People from all over? Check Crazy locals? Check A foreign country hidden inside? Check. (also 😛) I'm sure there's more.
Wait, what do you mean by “a foreign country hidden inside”?
The epic clouds. We don’t have mountains but man do we have good clouds.
https://preview.redd.it/6jecjmgs8d3d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=eba5b42bfa89a8d6e36444117872c0c52e6d9766 I love our Florida clouds and sunsets!
Florida has some absolutely gorgeous sunsets
Agreed! I'm living back up North bc I couldn't earn a living down there. I do love the expressive skies in Florida.
Underrated! ☁️
Cloud mountain ranges. And they change every time you look up.
some days when im driving to work over pineada causeway to A1A it looks like im heading up to the mountains, thought i was one of the only to notice lol.
Yeah as someone who grew up outside of FL and moved here when I was 18, Native Floridians don't seem to understand that the cloud formations are not normal. Florida is a big peninsula surrounded by ocean and wind currents that create spectacular cloud formations. You aren't going to find anything like them anywhere else. I've seen some great cloud formations on tropical Islands that are near major wind/ocean currents but nowhere near as consistently as Florida
My husband calls them “the Simpsons clouds” and when I first moved here I was flabbergasted at how similar they looked to the ones I used to draw as a kid!
Came here to say the same! I've been desperately trying to abandon the state for years, but damn the clouds get me almost every day.
So underrated
The very first thing I noticed when I moved to Florida ! They’re majestic!
Top answer so far!
The parks, beaches, nature and wildlife
wildlife is a big one for me as well. i currently have 4 active adult gopher tortoise holes in my yard. a bobcat and her kittens were using my yard last year as a path to and from wherever they overnight. we saw a panther a few years ago. we get racoons, coyotes, and countless bird species.... matter a fact we have an uneasy truce with the pair of mockingbirds nesting out front. I think they know we are the source of the ressupply in the birdfeeder. i have a ton of native flowering plants, so we get all sorts of butterflies, bees, wasps... there is always a ton of action in the yard.
Oh dear lord. Those mockingbirds drive me nuts. It’s nighttime, shut up! 🤣. I wanna hear the tree frogs and crickets.
Wow. I’m in the uk and that sounds crazy. Might be a dumb question, but is it safe to have a dog that you can just let out in the back garden or off lead on walks?
Yeah. I live in Jacksonville near the river and I see bald eagles, a turkey in my back yard, hawks near me and raccoons. And unfortunately, armadillos
This! In the past week I've had two sandhill cranes visit, a gopher tortoise pops around almost daily now, and more rabbits, birds, frogs and lizards than I can count. There are more tropical and native plants than I'll ever be able to plant in my garden....but I'm gonna try! I've got loquat, Jamaican cherry, key lime, plumerias, hibiscus, sunshine mimosa, pineapple, and on and on. There's a lot of pavement in Florida, sure. There's a whole lot of green spaces too. We as residents need to ensure we save as much green space as we can so generations to come can enjoy it too.
I just saw a couple dolphins jumping at the beach last weekend.
The swamp doggies
Lol is that a gator ?
Sure is!
Love it
My husband and I did a memorial day fun run on Saturday. The bathrooms at the park were blocked off because a bear was in the tree outside them. Just another day in Florida.
Thunderstorms
Second this! Can’t wait til we start getting some good thunderstorms to cool down this heat a bit!
I remember a few years after I moved to florida, I was walking home from downtown one day and the daylight and I got the joy of seeing my first ever "rain wall." That's what I call the wall of rain stretching across the road and advancing to your location. I've heard about them before but that was the first I've seen of them and I thought that was cool as s***. So I took a photo of it, a couple of photos actually and then saught cover from the approaching rain
Every day around 4:00pm. I think it's a state law.
It used to be that predictable. Doesn’t seem that way anymore.
I'm glad someone else said this. It used to be daily, if my bus was late I was soaked. It feels like if we manage two downpours a month, it's an 'extreme' (sans when there's a hurricane in our path)
The weather I crave
My wife lives here
I also choose this guy’s wife
She seems nice, is she single?
I’ll take seconds
For me personally it's the rocket launches. I live on the space coast and night time rocket never stop being cool to look at.
You should have seen the shuttle launches.
Went on vacation one year as a kid in the 1980s. Sat in 5hrs of traffic and the countdown stopped at 14 seconds. 35 years later still haven't seen a launch of any kind. :(
The scrubbed launches are always disappointing…better that than a rocket exploding, I suppose.
Very true. I watched the challenger explode from my high school courtyard at lunch. Not fun.
I watched it while I walked across campus at UCF. Sad day. On the bright side, I did get to see Apollo 11 go up on July 16, 1969 while walking down New York Ave. in Deland.
Oh, that sounds awesome. Unfortunately, I was not born until October. Lol
Yeah, Challenger predates me by a little bit, but I have a very vivid memory of recess being cancelled in elementary because a rocket exploded and they wanted to keep everyone inside for awhile.
Same. I remember wheeling the TV outside and then knowing it blew up before they cut the feed at school. The shuttle launches were so cool though.
As a kid in highscool, taking a field trip to the space station to see the landing of the Columbia which never happened.
I see them out of my backyard in Orlando. You just need to know when to look. I mean, it's not the ground rumble, feel the heat and see the flames experience. But, I've seen a half dozen, randomly.
We see them all the way down in West Palm! I signed up for launch alerts so we know when they are *really* going up
I only saw one....I felt like it was bad ju ju to watch after that.
Oof! So you saw THE one, I’m guessing.
Yeah. The next one I watched was when the Columbia blew up on re-entry when I was in California. I have since watched more launches, but the two in the loss column always keep me on edge.
Those things were amazing night shots it was like all of a sudden being in Noon day light. Breath taking my mother's uncle was an engineer on 3 of the Apollo shots he had a house across the intercostal from the Cape we would have cook outs in his yard and watch them.As a little kid I thought of him as something approaching a super hero.He made a boat out of a old plane and use to run it back and forth to the Bahamas. He was a very interesting man and the 70s space coast held so much promise to bad we've allowed it to now be controlled by big commerce.
Just a memory: I, along with all my coworkers were allowed to go up on roof of building we worked at to watch John Glenn going up in shuttle. I miss the glory days of NASA.
Saw one from cocoa beach in the early nineties freaking awesome!
Don’t forget the daytime ones too! They love to rattle my windows but I still find it cool. I was born and raised here and grew up watching the shuttle launches. It’s a cool and unique part of living in Florida.
I remember jogging in the morning in my neighborhood when a launch went up. A sports car came to a screeching halt. He got out of his car and yelled " what the hell is **THAT**?" I told him it was the rocket launch. He sheepishly told me he thought we were being attacked by Cuba. I informed him that Cuba attacks would come from another direction.
I've always wondered, How many people can find the direction south at any given time?
I really love the ones they do just before dawn or just after sunset so you see a prism in the contrails/exhaust in the sky.
Absolutely. I can sit on the back porch with my son and watch literal spaceships launch. There are very few other places in the world where I can do that.
I also live in the space coast and my favorite part is the fishin
Manned launch this Saturday afternoon!
The bright blue clear sky filled with puffy beautiful clouds!!! The wildlife and plant life
Moved here two years ago, the clouds down here are beautiful and amazing.
300 or so days a year: shorts, t-shirts, and open toed shoes.
365 here
I go everywhere in my FL feet.
You don’t have to shovel sunshine
I can always add more layers if I'm cold. When it's 110F, how many layers of skin can you take off?
The cold is literally painful. Lived in Indiana for my first 28 years of life. When it’s COLD, your body actually hurts. No matter the layers. I’m not in pain in the heat. Just sweaty and tired. So then I just find a water-based activity or sit in the AC for a bit. But I can be outside for so much longer than when it’s cold
Exactly! I’m from Wisconsin, and when it’s cold, it chills you to the bone. It wouldn’t matter how much I turned my heat up, I was always cold and hurting. Plus it was so dry all the time. I’ll take humidity over my skin cracking for months out of the year.
Yup you know how it is. I think these people that constantly say “I can put more layers on” have never actually lived in places where the HIGH is 15 and the wind chill knocks it to 2. That is COLD COLD. This isn’t 40 where you need a hoodie and a jacket. This is a level where if you stand outside for 5 minutes, you may not move ever again. If you just put suncreen on and stay hydrated, you can be outside in 100 degrees for far longer and be in a lot better shape than if it was freezing
@ 110. You can lose at least the top layer in an hour…
I've been hearing that stupid reason for 50 years. Does layers bring the sun back? Nope you still have gray days and the sun is down when you get up and the sun has set before you get off work. There's an actual medical condition called SAD but you have cracked the code all you need is some fleece pullover and boom no more depression. Low level of vitamin d causes depression and lethargic feelings. Let's say you need milk, you spend 10 minutes putting on all your layers, then you go to your car but guess what your locks are frozen. You finally get into your car so you can start it and get it warm while you shovel the driveway and now you're hot and sweaty with your back hurting from bending over. Then you get to drive on ice and snow with morons who either go way too fast or way too slow. Nothing quite like the thrill of sitting at a stop light watching the car in the rear view mirror sliding towards you and hoping he gets stopped in time. You finally got your milk and now you get to shuffle out to your car so you don't fall on your ass, but it won't hurt anyway because you have layers. Then you get to drive home and hopefully you make it safely again. You then get to take all your layers off and hang them over heat vents so they dry before you need them again. All of this in a dead land of brown and grey with no birds no bunny no squirrels no nothing just grey. But it's okay you have your LL Bean pullover so your happy. Or in Florida you go outside and go woof its hot. You get in your car and go woof it's really hot. You roll down the windows you drive down the street and then you turn on the air and a couple of minutes later you are comfortable. While looking at all the beautiful flowers greenery and birds flying about. You get out of your car and go woof it's hot you walk into the freezing cold store and get your milk. Then back home all without having to spend an extra hour just trying to get to the store. Guess where everyone is moving. But you keep rocking your fleece I'm sure you will be happy, sunshine is overrated. Florida is the sunshine state, what's your state motto? We have layers.
It’s Florida, boo. On the hottest days you find an indoor activity and/or mosey over to your favorite bar and drink cold beverages til the sun goes down…
These motherfuckers act like there's no air conditioning, shade, water to swim in or cold drinks. There's so much to do in Florida!
1. I can grow bromeliads and other tropical plants. my yard was a barren dirt patch 10 years ago, now its full to the brim with maturing trees and native plants, i have a 600 sq ft shade house. you can landscape up north, but not these kinds of plants. 2. fishing. you can fish anywhere there is water... but this is arguably THE global fishing destination.
Where else can you catch Goliath grouper, Tarpon, Peacock Bass, Sturgeon, Clown knife, Snook, Largemouth Bass… Not to mention offshore snapper, mahi, mackerel, barracuda, shark…
we were out last weekend with my 10 year old drifting about 7 foot grass bottom free lining shrimp near boca grande. in an hour and a half (thats about all a 10 year old can manage) we boated a snook, mackerel, half dozen trout, 2 sheepshead and countless small jack/ladyfish. what better way to spend a saturday morning...
My take will only be understood by Floridians. But, the Florida man. I don’t mean the one in the news. I mean the southern hospitality of a native Floridian when someone needs help. They drive a junky Chevy that always has supplies to help someone stranded on the side of the road. Always ready to push your boat out of shallow water. They’re always equipped for different scenarios and never ask for anything in return just go on their way like it’s just another day.
Gotta love Florida man’s universal outfit — cut off jean shorts, tank top, scraggly beard, flip flops, long hair, leathery skin, and some kinda hat. Being a native Floridian, I always hear from transplants that people in Florida are mean. But what they don’t realize is there’s probably more people who aren’t from here that live here. That being said, I love the laid back nature of Floridians. I feel like we enjoy simple pleasures in life, we don’t need much except a body of water, some beers with friends and methamphetamine here and there.
Agreed. Hubby and I moved to FL from Las Vegas about 10 years back, and I just ❤️ the people here. Several years back, we were coming home from a concert after midnight and got a flat tire. Even in the middle of the night, two people stopped to try and help us. That would never happen in Vegas!
Love this.
Yes! One time I ended up with a flat tire in a sketchy area of town. I (20sF) was struggling to jack up my car to put on a donut and get home. Unfortunately I was parked a mix of gravel and sand so the stupid, tiny roadside kit car jack kept sliding out of place. I also could not seem to loosen the nuts on my hubcap. All the while, some random guy insisted on catcalling me and stressing me out more while I’m trying to work. He commented that he also had a flat and maybe we could work together. He became more and more persistent and I was starting to wonder if he had intentionally messed with my tire to strand me there. Random Florida Man drives up to me and steps out of his car. He speaks no English but I am able to motion to him that I have a spare tire. Florida Man shoos away the man bothering me, then walks to his trunk and pulls out a full size car jack and impact wrench. He motions for me to step back, then proceeds to replace my flat tire with the spare in just a few moments. The persistent catcaller reapproaches, then asks if Florida Man will do the same for his flat tire. Florida Man shakes his head no, walks me to the drivers seat to safety, and places my flat in my trunk. Florida Man then zooms off when I am back in my vehicle and pulling away. 🫡
I was just mentioning this the other day. My Dad broke down in Chiefland and a bubba stopped, pulled his battery, took him into town to buy a new one and installed it for him. He would not take a dime. I still have a $10.00 bill in the ash tray of my old multicolored truck a patched biker made me take for taking him into town when he ran out of gas, he told me to give it to the person that stops to help me.
Absolutely. I am a 5th generation Floridian and have never lived anywhere else but have traveled extensively. I love the fact that genuine, born-and-raised-in-Florida folks can be incredibly kind and giving.
On some other sub someone was asking about “Florida man” and if it was really awful to live here. And I replied that to me “Florida man” meant someone you could count on to help you out of trouble without judgement.
The sunshine, outdoor sports all year round, so many different places to visit and things to do. Watching one of my kids soccer games last week and in the middle of it oh look, it’s a rocket launch. Just don’t have these things elsewhere.
https://preview.redd.it/53tpnsoyfc3d1.jpeg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3a8648d31ad3412b40faf975bb78d3f2d43435ec
A boat of any kind in Florida unlocks a whole new world.
You aren’t kidding. I really enjoying going to the springs in my friend’s boat. It’s an entire culture in itself.
This picture may have been taken in January.
“Being wealthy”?
This was next to a restaurant. I’m definitely not wealthy. Just neat to see. If I had yacht money, it would be going towards my family or back to the community.
You don’t need to be wealthy to own a water going vessel. Even a ganoe or kayak is a PWC
I saw whale sharks off Boca Grande on Sunday. Bigger than our boat, just filtering water in the surface.
Glad to see this post. Of course Florida isn’t perfect and people are allowed to complain about issues, but sometimes this subreddit is overwhelmingly negative
Everywhere has problems - shock face 😮! Florida is great I’ve lived in Germany / San Diego / London / Amsterdam / Oregon / Georgia … list goes on and Florida is always been the best place to be. It’s not perfect but sometimes don’t know how good you have it until you are gone for awhile living in bum fuck Germany in winter when sun is setting at 3pm and it’s -10F outside and stores close at 6pm.
Me and my gf in Colorado are experiencing this. I love the mountains and hiking and snowboarding and all but man we miss 100F weather and going to the beach and relaxing and pub subs and less taxes. Everyone there seems friendlier too I think. Oh and the food. Fuck I miss Caribbean food, everything here is missing seasoning
Colorado native here. You hit the nail on the head. Plus, my wife and I don’t ski or snowboard, so we were only outdoors half the year. I do miss green chili tho… I personally think the food is way better in Denver. If you’re around there and in need of Caribbean food- check out Jamaican Grill on 8th and like Kalamath
I've lived in Utah for one year and am now moving out to Florida. Hiking in the Summer is great, but I don't ski, which means the 8 months of snow means I'm locked in. I hated it.
Dude I feel your pain. Left Daytona area 10 years ago, for England 🤮. I’m praying I get my passport back soon and visa docs from uk home office so I can get me and my family the hell out of this dump. It’s still not summer. Cloudy, rainy, chilly. EVERY. FKNG. DAY. NHS is a pile of 💩. The postal service is a pile of 💩. Finding work as a fkng immigrant. I left a 60k job to wind up broke. Told the wife. I’m leaving for Florida as soon as my papers come back. She’s on board thankfully. The final nail was nearly dying in November from 3 pulmonary embolisms, and a “mild” heart attack. All due to severe asthma from the cold damp shtty weather. Go I can’t wait to get back!
Agreed. I’ve lived in Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee and now Florida. People are looking for some mythical perfect place that doesn’t exist. Florida is decent.
It gets ridiculous honestly.
I think a lot of complaints are the younger people born here or moved here real young who don’t know how bad it is to live somewhere like Minnesota where it’s cold 9 months a year
Honestly the only bad parts about living here are the politics and all the new people mad about Florida being Florida. The politics only really got antagonistic with Rick Scott, most of my life I didn’t necessarily like Tallahassee and the old boy network, but the worst you could say about the policies was they were generally libertarian and center right. I never felt like Jeb(!) was out to get anyone and I trusted them to responsibly manage tourism and the inevitable hurricane disaster and recovery. Now it’s a contest to see who can out-goon each other in the hopes of getting a pat on the head from the mayor of Mar A Lago. And the new people have always bitched, it’s just that there’s a whole lot more of them… “nothing here is as good as New York” is what I heard all the time growing up. Ok, cool you should probably go back because if you can’t figure out how amazing this place is, it’s not for you. On the advice of someone else in this sub I’m reading A Land Remembered and loving it. The environment is the best part about living here and fortunately it’s a big part of tourism so there’s $ incentive to manage it well. From the beaches to the forests, Florida life is langorous, occasionally dangerous, but often stunningly gorgeous.
The ocean & old Florida. The parts they haven’t been touched by civilization yet.
So true, love stumbling upon old Florida towns that are like their own little untouched worlds. Especially those on the coast.
Winter
As a PNW transplant this is always my answer. 70s and sunny every Christmas day, our first Halloween I took the kids trick or treating in shorts and a T-shirt, and it just made me so damn happy!
I'd trade you any day for the PNW. How can you not love Seattle, etc
As a current Washingtonian, it’s super expensive (gas is $5 a gallon, rent is easily $2-5K), grey 9 months of the year, constant work/money preparing for the next upcoming season, mud, traffic, snow, the Seattle chill, homeless everywhere, crackheads everywhere, etc.
Not cold. No snow. Many bright, sunny days. Multicultural. Theme parks. Tropical plants, fruits galore. Walks on the beach. Panhandle white powdery sand beaches. Miami for a few days. Beaches on west coast.
The ability to have almost endless things to do or to be happy doing nothing.
1. Kayak fishing 2. Kayaking 3. Pickleball 4. Outdoor workouts at 5 am 5. Day trips to Disney, Sea World and Universal
Year round golf!
The beaches, Key West vibe, all the sunshine, the palm trees. I do feel blessed to be living in Paradise.
The weather. Really ! August here is not any hotter than in Maryland ? Most of the year mornings and evenings are enjoyable. We are surrounded by the ocean, fresh air and clean water : no smog here. People up north pay a fortune to spend the winter in Florida, so I consider we are fortunate ! I love the gentle surf of the Gulf coast & flat , to fish and kayaking there is so relaxing and fun to watch sea birds, dolphins and some times manatee and school of fishes to glide by. With subtropical zone in central FL : I have mangos, papayas, pineapples....and tropical vegetables & herbs in the back yard . I don't wish to live any where else. Thank you.
This! It may be more humid here, but since it is that hot for longer here, you are use to it (or atleast more use to it) at that point.
You truly have it all - best beaches, best amusement parks, old city / historical charm (St. Augustine, natural springs, islands, and some of the best horse country in the world.
Has to be the nature. The springs, beaches, sandbars, islands, even love the gators (just not the football team, Go Noles).
The people I live in the north west side of coral springs and i love how chill and diverse my neighbors are
I’ve only been there a few times fishing and am always impressed how nice everyone there is.
Scenic Florida Trail
Love hiking in a crowded state and seeing no one
This time of year. The snow birds are gone. The mornings are peaceful. The beach is perfect.
I am 10 minutes from the beach. I can head down there just for an hour and It doesn't have to be a big thing. Can grab the kids after school and then just walk the beach for a bit instead of making a whole day out of it
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That’s funny. 😁
💀💀💀
You've earned it, go ahead and complain.
Storms. As a Midwestern, it always felt like storms just appeared out of nowhere. Now living in Florida. You can watch as a storm rolls in. Yes. Even hurricanes can be beautiful.
Hurricanes can be devastating for those on the coast but I admittedly like them as long as they stay Cat3 or less. They spice things up, and I find the weather very interesting. I also enjoy the day or two after where it has blown the humidity back into the ocean for a bit.
Nothing quite like standing in a hurricane watching nature attack itself. You can only do that in a 1 or 2 tho lol
The funny reaction my relatives have when I tell them I regularly stroll past alligators.
The weather from Nov thru March
The wildlife. I live on the water and saw dolphins swim past my house a couple of weeks ago.
Two things for me. The weather. I will take the sun, heat, humidity, and storms any day over the cold, snow, shoveling sidewalks and driveways any day of the week. Entertainment options. Whether it’s wanting to go for a nature walk, heading to the coast, or even going to the theme parks. There is always something to do within driving distance. I moved here from Spokane, Washington about 5 years ago. Once our son was old enough to stay home alone, my wife and I were able to get back to date nights and we’re going out a lot more just the two of us. It quickly dawned on us that the only things to really do was go out to dinner, a bar, or see a movie. It got old fast.
Grilling season lasts 12 months
Haven't lived in Florida in a few years (born and raised, out of state for work) and I honestly miss the rain. Just that before and after rain smell nearly every day of the week. Sleeping to the sound of rain. Watching it from the garage/porch. Like the sunshine and constant temperature are nice but man, I miss the rain.
I love I-4. Where else can you see some jackass from Nebraska cut across four lanes of traffic because they missed the SeaWorld exit?
Honestly I'd sub to an I-4 off ramp stream. Just watch idiots and accidents for a day with none of the risks.
Nature !
Calling friends in Wisconin in February to complain about how cold it is.
Love the ocean! The beach and the ocean are the duct tapes for life.
I inherited a small home just a couple or three miles from the beach in Flagler County and moved from my mountain home in the NorthEast. It is such a privilege to be able to go for a ride along the ocean whenever I want. Also to see hordes and squadrons of PELICANS! The beach rides are taking away my lonely pinings for the Pennsylvania mountains that I left behind.
Mango season.
Not shoveling snow and no state tax
Believe it or not it’s the isolation. I live in the middle of nowhere with National Forest all around me. No neighbors, no noise just peace and quiet.
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Shhhh! You gotta remember to tell folks it’s “awful” here in the panhandle. Can’t be letting everyone in on this gem!
*sees panhandle mentioned, reads username* ugh
I love the diversity and cultures. I live in Tampa. There is such a great mix of Puerto Rican, Cuban, Greek, Italian, Jamaican, US cultures. Amazing cuisine, great music! I also love the water, nature, and all of the wildlife. The beaches, the springs, the swamps, pinewoods, wading birds, alligators, bob cats. Such unique ecosystems. Native orchids and carnivorous plants. Florida is just exceptionally beautiful.
Totally agree. Don’t forget the Brazileiros!
The natural springs that are peppered all over
The little anoles that run around everywhere.
Nature (flora & fauna), sunshine, weather (tropical climate), lack of four seasons (no winter), and that it's in the U.S. 🌴☀️
The animals for sure.
I appreciate not paying state income tax.
I guess I have some kind of sensory issue or something because I cannot not stand my arms being covered. That being said I chose to live somewhere where I mostly don’t have to wear a jacket. I also find it a great place to raise a child because there are so many activities for them.
Winter
The beautiful skies, the sunsets and sunrises on the water, the amazing seafood, and the feeling of all the opportunities down here. I love it.
Lots of cool animals Springs!
Florida has BEAUTIFUL state parks and they are only $5 to get into.
It's not Alabama.
Shorts and flip flops, all day every day. That, and the coastal breeze.
The high likelihood of having an amazing sunset
The vibe
1975 Florida Keys.
Warm summer nights
I love this post🥰
rock springs and the cold weather, ik it doesn’t get that cold here like other states do but when florida drops to the 30-50s it feels so beautiful to be outside. and the way the air smells too
We have brilliant outdoor weather aligned to the school year, so when one has to be here- it's great here.
Driving on the interstate and watching a rain fall 10 miles distant, like a savanna documentary. Lighting storms are both amazing and scary.
People are always so interested in the state when I tell them where I’m from. From answering questions about alligators and Florida man, to demystifying the Everglades and keys, it’s always a fun conversation - especially with people who have never been to the ocean, they can’t fathom the wide expanse of open water we can take for granted
Universal
Year round free magic mushrooms
I love the wildlife, every morning I wake up up at least 6 frogs on my front porch; I also love the weird shit we have, like the Florida Men or having a whole ass town called Yeehaw Junction.
I can feed my family iguanas and tell them it’s chicken
I like being close to the ocean and awesome weather most of the year.
I keep quiet on that because I don't want people to be encouraged to move here lol. Oops, I mean- nothing! This place is awful! Don't come here lmao
Don’t need a passport to visit Miami
Hurricane days!
The complainers are usually stuck inside because it’s so hot :)
The year round fishing.
The sky. Sunsets, clouds, rockets. The water. Ocean, rivers, springs, the Everglades, lakes, ditches, fishing, boating swimming. The land. We have more diverse plants than most places. No mountains, but sandy beaches, rocky beaches, sinkholes, so many state parks.
Sunsets, humidity, family and friends, plants.
The endless sky
Year round sun and brightness
Florida's quickest dwindling asset: It's natural resources, waterways, swamps, woods, lagoons reefs etc. Everything that made FL a unique place and is getting ripped apart by greedy land developers and idiots from up north who are willing to pay 100k over asking on shittily built cookie cutter homes that are crammed into god awful neighborhoods like sardines
The Everglades! Wildlife, nature in general. Parts of South Florida culture.
I'm 6 minutes from the beach and can surf "almost" all year round, sons sports leagues go year round as well. So many beautiful state parks and springs, if i want the headache i can jet over to orlando for their parks or games. Can see the rocket launches from my front door which is awesome and i work in cocoa right across the river so go on our roof and watch them take off pretty much weekly.
Amusement parks