Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Tiger Beer]

Anyone from Florida? What have you got to say about your home state? Positives, negatives, politics, culture, whatever.

[uberscheisse]

"i will never go to ________ again."

americans i know who would say such a thing fill in this blank with one of 3 state names.

they are california, texas, florida.

florida is the one i hear most often.

[ReeseDog]

[Bigfeet]

[Rteacher]

I lived in Florida for over twenty-five years, in various parts of the state.

There's too much traffic and congestion - especially in the winter (and it's too hot in the summer.)

There are lots of rich people - and lots more homeless people (often living in the woods and church-run shelters.)

The big cities are all fairly dangerous at night due to drug-related crime.

But there's plenty of variety - from one end of the peninsula to the other.

In the southern region, the most interesting spots are probably Key West, South (Miami) Beach, and Boca Raton.

Orlando of course has major theme parks, Tampa Bay area is good for sports, concerts, and beaches, the Space Coast has Kennedy Space Center.

Jacksonville Beach, St. Augustine, Daytona Beach, the Naples/ Ft. Myers area, Palm Beach, and Sarasota all have some appeal.

The Gainesville area - dominated by Gator fans and alumni - is pretty nice - and a few miles north of that (in rural Alachua) is the largest community of Hare Krishnas in North America.

What more could you want?

Here's a link for their live webcast: http://www.krishna.com/alachua

[uberscheisse]

[nolegirl]

South Florida is easiest described by describing my best friends:

Me � I am known as the evil white cracker that starts wars and pillages towns
My Cuban Friend � We tell her to get back on the banana boat back to Cuba
My Columbian Friend � We tell her that we know her day job is running cocaine
My Puerto Rican Gay friend who is a flight attendant � We tell him to go toss a salad
My Jewish Friend � We throw quarters on the ground and tell her to get them. Seriously, she orders water and then 10 lemons, then she squeezes all 10 lemons in the water and then adds sugar from the table. This is what we call a Jewish lemonade. We rag on her so much but she still does it, jewish lemonade, a family past time of hers!

hehe, I love my friends!! We rag on each other alot.

Miami is nice but you can�t get a service job unless you speak Spanish
The Keys are nice � I would recommend Fantasy Fest, especially if your gay� mass migration of gays to Key West that end up staying year round
Naples � Pretty white sand beaches
Everglades- aka Alligator Alley� that�s where you dump dead bodies so the alligators will eat them!!!

North Florida - aka the Bible Belt, you mise well be in Georgia, although you have the wonderful FSU campus in Talli. But no strip clubs, bars closed at 2:00 AM, and no liquor sales on Sunday which sucked.
Althoug Destin is nice, Panama City is complete white trash. Pretty white sand beaches, though.

Central Florida - Orlando which is nasty, imo (so commercialized) and then Ocala and Okeechobee which is pure redneck, and of course Gainesville, where the horrible UF campus is, I don�t like that place at all!!

[dtown]

[Tiger Beer]

The Bible Belt/southern influence in the NORTHERN part of the state did seem very apparent when I visited. Particularly Tampa had a slight southern feel, and even the accents had it. I'd imagine even moreso in Jacksonville, etc.

Naples looked rich and wealthy, and probably a lot of northerners with money bought up a lot of that.

I drove across the Aligator Highway, and that had that kind of redneck/alligator wrestler feel to it.

Southern Florida was the most interesting area. Ft Lauderdale had the yachts and mix of 'Spring Break' fever even in the offseason. I most liked the highrises all along the beach from Fort Lauderdale to Miami.

I'm unsure what to think about South Beach. It is famous, but the beaches were so much better on the western side of Florida. Those long grasses/weeds between the street with the hill that blocks the beach view. Then the sandy beach isn't that sandy and has no palm trees whatsoever or any kind of shade. Just direct sun exposure. Maybe I just like Waikiki or Boracay style with sand and palm trees mixed.

Miami as a city was pretty disappointing though. I liked the beach areas, and I liked the immediate downtown. But highlights like Coconut Grove which everyone talks about in Miami, was really dull, uninteresting, and just another mall like anywhere in the U.S. I did like the Southern Florida architecture, but found way too many chain stores of every imagineable kind everywhere. Basically anything near the beaches was cool, and anything even a bit inland, was not.

All that being said, I did still find Florida much more interesting than most U.S. States. What's not to love about palm trees and beaches?

[cisco kid]

In August, it rains fifteen times a day. The lightning shows are incredible though, I've never seen anything like that anywhere else. I went to school in Gainesville and Tampa. Went to high school in Tallahassee. I'd never go back there though, west coast is much better than the east coast imo.

[aldershot]

south of daytona is pretty solid.

[Benicio]

I'm from Tallahassee- North Florida.

North & South are very different.
The joke is that Florida is upside down- the further south you go, the more north you get!

North Florida is pretty much just South Georgia- boring, country, bible belt, conservative. This sums up Tallahassee- very, very boring.
I grew up there and went to university there.
The students who just come there for college think of it as a good party town, but it sucks- bars close at 2, stores can't sell alcohol after 2.
About the only thing to do there is drink or go to the 2 malls.

The beaches in the Panhandle are beautiful. You've got Ft. Walton Beach, Destin and Seaside(where the "Truman Show" was filmed). Panama City used to be kind of a fun beach party town, but they've torn down the party places and built condos.

I spent several years back & forth from Tallahassee to Jacksonville/St. Augustine. The beach areas are really nice and St. Augustine is a very quaint historic area. Inland Jacksonville is nothing to write home about.

The beaches are great, but no palm trees or natural shade. Problem is they won't stop with the gawd d@mned condo developments. The developers are not going to stop until the entire state is covered in condo developments and golf courses!

I didn't spend a whole lot of time in South Florida. Miami is definitely over-rated. It's too expensive, too flashy and too fake!
The Keys are beautiful! That's a great trip. Key West is a great place to party and see some weird things.
Scuba diving at John Pennekamp State Park is amazing- Key Largo.

Florida has endless miles of great beaches. Inland is about as boring as you can get- flat, pine forests, nothing to see.
However, if you're into scuba diving, there are some great diving spots in the inland sinkholes.
Orlando is fun to visit for the theme parks, but traffic is horrible and it is serious bible belt! It is home to some serious megachurches.

To sum it up, I enjoy visiting my family there, but not sure if I would want to move back. If I did, it would probably be to the St. Augustine area.

One plus is that Florida does not have state income tax- because of the tourism revenue. That's good.
You have to put up with the "snow birds", though.

PS- Cisco kid, you went to school in Tallahassee? Small world!

[Benicio]

PS- the Panhandle beach area from Pensacola to Panama City is known as the "Redneck Riviera" as their are beautiful beaches, but most people on them are hicks from North Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

[MollyBloom]

I feel horrible saying this, but I personally feel like Florida is hell. Literally, The Hell.

My father's parents are Jewish, so we visited Boca Raton in the gated communities for all of my childhood. I had some high school friends in the same situation, so we would all hang out during vacations. During college we would meet up in Miami. I just don't dig the scenes or the nightlife. Although I always wanted to go to Key West...

I hate the swamps, detest the humidity, and can't bear the sluggishness that has its own character.

[CeleryMan]

DADE COUNTY STAND UP!