These out-of-staters found out how wild it is to live in Florida
Some recent transplants weren't ready for hurricanes, polarizing politics and high insurance costs. An NBC News story has sparked a debate about the wildness of Florida, where new residents have left the state due to issues such as hurricanes, polarizing politics, high insurance costs, and high taxes. Some of these new residents, including those who have left due to these issues, also cited concerns about Florida's increasingly conservative policies, such as the six-week abortion ban. However, some criticisms were less urgent, with examples of an armadillo infestation in Barb Carter's home costing $9,000 in damages. Other notable issues include a winter in Florida being 100 degrees, a summer in which the humidity makes it difficult to go outside from May through October, and a lack of white sandy beaches in Tampa Bay. The article also highlighted the hazards of living in Florida, including termites, rats, armadillos, herpes-carrying monkeys, rabid raccoons, alligators in pools, and even an alligator in garages.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Kathryn Varn in Lifestyle
An NBC News story making the rounds this week made us wonder if a come-to-Jesus moment about Florida is in order — if Jesus is termites and swamp a**. The big picture: Among Florida's massive influx of new residents were at least a few who gave up on their Sunshine State dreams, per the report, pointing to issues including hurricanes, polarizing politics and high insurance costs.
• Longtime residents who've departed cited similar struggles, plus discomfort over Florida's increasingly conservative policies, such as the six-week abortion ban going into effect next month.
Yes, but: Some of the critiques were less … urgent.
Case in point: "One of the first signs Barb Carter's move to Florida wasn't the postcard life she'd envisioned was the armadillo infestation in her home that caused $9,000 in damages," the piece begins.
• Barb, we're sorry to hear that. But let your plight serve as a cautionary tale: Living here means an extraordinary amount of brain space and money will be spent on how to keep pests away from you.
• We just told y'all about the plant-destroying grasshoppers. Spring means swarming termites, summer means ants pouring into your house from every orifice.
• Rats, armadillos, herpes-carrying monkeys, rabid raccoons, alligators in pools, alligators in garages, alligators IN YOUR HOUSE. We've got it all.
Yes, and: "I thought the pace would be a little bit quieter, I thought it would be warmer," a Connecticut transplant told NBC. "I didn't expect it to be literally 100 degrees at night."
• Florida has a winter: It's summer. Temperatures don't climb to desert levels, but the humidity brings a knife-twist that makes going outside from May through much of October a regrettable decision — yes, even at night.
• Here in Tampa Bay, even the Gulf becomes a hot tub, and those white sandy beaches y'all love so much become moot.
A few more issues to note: Sinkholes, sinking land and that time St. Petersburg had to clean up literal tons of dead fish killed by red tide.
• Oh, and for the guy in the NBC story concerned about permitless carry, wait until you hear about stand your ground.
The bottom line: Everyone has their reasons to leave (and reasons to stay!), but let's be clear-eyed about it. Leave your visions of utopia in Connecticut.