winter home

[Greg]

One thing that scared me in the past about Florida were the large gangs of seniors on three wheelers riding around terrorizing the public.

Shoot, now I'd probably be riding lead trike.

[JerryCarr]

Bear and I had considered retiring in Florida at one point before deciding to come here. The downsides to FL for us were very high property taxes compared to Hawaii (or even Georgia where we lived before) and their apparent inability to competently stage an election in 2000. FL does NOT have a state income tax, but as our income would be less, we were better off tax-wise here in Hawaii. And then there are the far more frequent hurricanes. Life in Hawaii is not perfect, but we are glad we chose to move here.

Cheers,
Jerry

[csgray]

I used to live in Naples in the 70s. One day I was using the customer's ladies room in the fancy restaurant I worked at when I overheard two elderly ladies talking. One asked the other if they had driven down from Chicago. The other lady replied: "Oh no, Florida is the only place we are still allowed to drive. We keep the Cadillac here."

The "mature" drivers there scared the heck out of me, especially after I saw one change lanes right over a very large, very loud, very brightly painted motorcycle on a perfectly clear and sunny day. The biker and his passenger didn't make it.

Carol

[james weatherford]

quote:

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Originally posted by Devany

As far from the craziness as we can get.

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No.
Try Guam and American Samoa.

James Weatherford, Ph.D.
15-1888 Hialoa
Hawaiian Paradise Park

[Garretto]

As for the craziness, I got here in October, lived in the Bay Area before that, now that place has craziness, but I find that Puna has it's own special brand of craziness! But I like it...

[aline]

living in fl its easy,pick hawaii.Florida is flat as a pancake,there is only one road in and out of the keys the traffic can be very very bad,they have recently found pythons in the keys,but most importantly to me is the people. You will never find people as nice as the people in Hawaii.I just got back from Puna and I miss it so much.Florida doesnt hold a candle to hawaii in anyway.We are out of here as soon as we sell this house

[DoryGray]

I moved to Big Island from FL 5 years ago b/c I wanted mountains & ocean, snow & swimming, jungle & desert. Big Island is the most diverse place I can think of in the US. If you get bored, take a drive. The Conch Republic (Key West) is very similar to Hawaii in the cohesiveness/friendliness of the people. There is also that independent survivor mentality. BI is for me, I love it. The ONLY concern lately is the vog, volcanic emissions that the powers that be keep saying have little effect. I seem to have a continuous cough & heaviness in my chest here in Puna. If I bought here again, it would either be Kapoho or Hamakua. I can't emphasize this enough. Vog is a serious health issue that everyone seems to be minimizing.

[Hawaiibound]

I've been noticing the vog a lot lately myself.

However, I love it here and would never seek a return to the "upper 48"! If the vog gets to bad, I guess it's Maui for me. However, I couldn't imagine living anywhere but in the jungle, here in Puna!