Would you rather live in Southern California or South Florida?
 

They both have their good points, where would you rather live?

Im looking for something warm and tropical with a layed back relaxed atmosphere, so Ive picked these 2.

I'd choose costa del sol in spain. But that's just me :)

Id like to keep it in the states so I dont have to do paperwork and all that for permanent residency, changing taxes, etc :)

YARGH! I live in South Florida (Gulf side) So I be a bit biased.

south florida. closer to my family.

I'll be moving to S. Florida this summer and keep the extra 11% of state income taxes that Ca. would take... :pimp

yeah California is really expensive with the real estate and the taxes. It would take me longer to get settled and up and running in California

fuck southern cali, out of the 20 places I have lived, southern california was the worst experience in my life

i would rather be a pornographer that shoots 18 year old girls in salt lake city than live in southern california again

really? what did you hate about it?

pretentious people everywhere, cost of living was INSANE, it NEVER rains so all the wildlife is either dry or put their by man...so much more

the main thing is the attitude of the cali people compared to the east coast...there are nice people on both coasts, but there is something about the people that have been on the west coast for a long time, there isn't that genuine niceness to them like their is in the south and east coast...

I am not saying everyone in socal is like that, but there is definately a personality difference between east and west

When we lived there for the 2 years we did, I got an ulcer that acted up nightly and my wife had to go on zoloft and xanax

I would like to live in South Florida.
But California is good as well.

Were you in the desert?
Was the ulcer from the stress or just living conditions?
Why was your wife so anxious, because of the people or being in a new place?

all of southern cali is a desert....but we were in los angeles...

the ulcer was from stress mainly, overwhelming negativity

my wife was anxious cause we had a 800 sq ft apartment at the time that was $1000 a month in the ghetto, we couldn't leave the house without putting gas in the car because nothing in LA is 10 minutes away, then there is the CONSTANT never ending traffic...we made almost $150,000 one of those years with nothing to show for it when we left cause everything costs twice as much...we had at least 10 people fuck us over in those two years for various thing, from money to stealing our shit...we met a total of 2 people while living there that we actually still consider friends, and one of them moved out to LA while we were there...so, we only met one LA based person that was worth anything....and we aren't mean people, it just seemed that everyone out there is only interested in who you know and what you can do for them....

whew, that was too much typing...i could go on for hours about my hatred for LA...but i have work to get done

california rules.

no sales tax on groceries and the weather is better than anywhere in the US.

its fast paced and not for everyone, thats why its tought to live here.

but considering the wealth here, its hard to knock such a beautiful place

I love florida... I would move to the gulf side :)

http://www.xsitespinner.com/yargh.gif

south florida

LA is just to damn dirty for me, smog, suit, way to much traffic, cost of living, dirty oceans, no way I could live there.

I lived in LA for 16 years and FL for 11.

South Florida is so much better.

I don't know why people keep saying the weather is better in So Cal. Baloney. It gets insanely hot in the summer and you feel like your being baked with that dry heat. The air quality is atrocious.

Florida does get humid in the summer but you get really used to it quickly. I also like the tropical rains. They refresh everything nicely. And it adds variety vs. waking up to always sunny days like in LA. That got so monotonous after a while.

I agree the people in LA are a different kind. Not knocking them. Just saying thay have an arrogance that is different than the way people are here in the South. I've made more genuine long term friends here than anywhere I've ever lived in the US. People are friendly and relaxed. Things are casual and you don't have that competitive keep up with the jones thing going on.

The cost of living here is dramatically less also. Just the state taxes alone saves you a fortune if you have a large income. Property is expensive here but not anywhere as bad as LA was.

Shopping is just as nice. Restaurants just as nice. Lifestyle choices just as nice. Clubs are nicer here. The water is way cleaner here and that bahamas green blue which I love. The ocean is always warm.

The only thing you do have to get used to in FLorida are the older folks. You get a lot people that love this so much for their later years. So there are a lot of elderly. But the plus side to that is you have more medical and health facilities here than anywhere else in the US. And its all cutting edge health technology which is probably why older folks live so long here.

Also we have lots of bugs down here because of the tropical. But you get used to them too after a while.

I've been in a major earthquake and a major hurricane. I'll take the hurricanes over the quakes any day. They really aren't all that bad once you experience one.

Floridas population is growing dramatically because its such a great place to live. My 2030 it will be close to 30 Million people here, bumping NY to 4th place, and placing it as the #3 state behind Texas and Cali. Cali will have 46 Million people then.

Calif is also a great place to live, but FL is greater and I'm speaking from having lived in both places and seeing the pros and cons of each.

KRL how does your dog handle the heat in the summertime?
Mine would be miserable if its 98 and humid out and has to run around.

My shepherds would pant like mad in the dry hot San Fernando Valley summers in Calif and liked the weather in FL much more. You've got year round AC here so its not an issue with the heat really.

A lot of people have a misconception about the temps here in Florida. Where we are its always in the 70's which I consider perfect. Here are the averages for the whole state.

WINTER -Average temperatures, High 78 Low 60 Average precipitation 5.3

SPRING -Average temperatures High 83 Low 66 Average precipitation 8.3

SUMMER-Average temperatures High 89 Low 75 Average precipitation 16.6

FALL -Average temperatures, High 85 Low 70 Average precipitation 13.6

The only places Ive been to are Fort Lauderdale and next door in Hollywood in mid July and it was very hot, but you get used to it. Nighttime was perfect though. Ftl beach is incredible.

This is a great thread. We live in Arkansas and are considering moving to either California or Florida.
Sounds like Florida is a better deal :)

I live in LA part-time as it is, used to live in LA full time. I could see my self in southern FL, especially with the right reason/motivation to move. :winkwink:

Both states are fabulous places to live. You really have to decide what it is you like and I'd recommend visiting both states for a couple weeks to get a feel for things.

After being in LA for almost 2 decades it was hard to leave, even though there was more and more about it I didn't care for any longer. The big Northridge quake was the final straw for me. I told my wife, that's it we're out of here.

So I started to look at where else would have something like or close to the So Cal lifestyle and the only other place was South Florida. I hadn't been down here to really scout around for a while and see how it had changed from when we'd vacation here when I was growing up. But it really had changed and was much more vibrant with younger people, enormous development, loads of tech companies, much more high end shopping centers and restaurants on the level of NYC and LA. I flew down and called my wife the same day and said this is it start packing.

I have been in every state of the US and FL beats them all hands down....

Be a real man and move to Hawaii

i really didn't see it as all that fast paced to be honest...just too many god damned fuckin people...with that many people shit starts to happen..negative energy flows out of that place like pus in the scabs of lepers

speaking of which, when can I get my hands down your pants?

Get a house near the ocean, not out in the desert. :1orglaugh

cause that is a inexpensive proposition...LOL

My last place out there was a 10 minute drive to Malibu. Still hot as fuck.

The temp in my driveway was so hot I couldn't even walk on it and the temp hit 134.

It never gets like that in Florida.

florida period, old people are cool !

yeah id rather be around older people than young people. I never liked the MTV crowd.

I don't like LA much thats why I prfer Orange County / San Diego area...

Yep. LA is a shithole. I love orange county.

Nice weather in Southern California, but too many other negatives, incl. horrendous traffic, smog, different attitudes and lack of good strip clubs. I love South Florida- moved here from NJ and have been here seven years.

Yeh OC is still nice. I lived in Laguna Niguel and Newport Beach when I first moved there back in 78.

Does south florida have a lot of strip clubs?
I thought they were outlawed in broward county.