defend the indefensible: living in florida

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I don't even know how California can call those things "oranges," btw

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Sunday, 1 April 2007 20:33 (seventeen years ago) link

jesus, the story about that woman is so horrifying!!!!!

― s1ocki, Sunday, 1 April 2007 20:39 (seventeen years ago) link

The ubiquity of Jimmy Buffet.

you obviously didn't go to margaritaville, or had a cheeseburger in paradise.

shout out to Mob-TOWN, AL!

― Gukbe, Sunday, 1 April 2007 20:42 (seventeen years ago) link

In college, the kids at the school paper would always be playing Jimmy Buffett, and I was like "What the fuck, are you tourists? You LIVE here."

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Sunday, 1 April 2007 20:45 (seventeen years ago) link

I don't even know how California can call those things "oranges," btw

The lack of humidity here makes them better, y'see.

― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 1 April 2007 20:45 (seventeen years ago) link

I went past Margaritaville in Universal, it was my brother's top recommendation of things to do there! (we chose not to believe him). The spectre of Mr Buffett loomed large over our whole holiday. Is he that ubiquitous and popular, or was I just stuck in a house with his unofficial cheerleaders? (he has a manatee named after him in the aquarium in Sarasota!)

xpost

― ailsa, Sunday, 1 April 2007 20:47 (seventeen years ago) link

best things about living in south fla. i can think of, having just visited for family emergency reasons last month, after having been away 7 years:

1--broward county
2--cuban food: miami's answer to soul food and i think i like it even better, holy fuck i wish i could get a decent facsimile of it in the pac nw...
3--fania label & jamaican records at red white and blue thrift stores, $1-3 a pop.
3--cuban coffee: the 'espresso' shots i had even from supposedly decent coffee places was atrocious, then i finally remembered the best coffee is always just a cafe con leche for a buck or two at any hole in the wall sandwich shop...
4--record fairs seemingly unaffected by ebay/ gemm/ popsike pricing.
5--the gospel section at blue note records (one of the best i've seen anywhere)
6--cuban/ south american girls (would've been higher but i'm not single).

but yeah i've no idea why people choose to live there. i see that the art scene is burgeoning there but with that much disposable $$ everywhere it's kind of always been that way, just never that good until maybe the last year or so. that was the only real thing that impressed me this trip, that and how cool broward county is now, also the only place that seems remotely affordable.

so. fl. is undoubtedly the worst place to drive in the u.s. -- worse even than boston or l.a. (well...) and people pay so much $$ to live there for what? my mom's place is in kendall and i had to drive fucking 40 minutes to get to a store that had anything close to fresh/ local/ organic groceries, and the shit cost 2-3 times what it would've in portland despite like there being so many things in season now there and etc. dropped by churchill's and was glad to see it still happening but really, can't miami handle more than one club? in the '80s there was 21 birds and then flynn's for smaller shows and the cameo for bigger ones... stayed away from south beach entirely, which was awesome (went to nmb a few times though -- shit i should have had more kosher deli food too!)

― Mike McGooney-gal, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:02 (seventeen years ago) link

Sanibel/Captiva island is near Fort Meyers and quite beautiful. That said, I haven't been there since I was much younger so it might be different now.

― ENBB, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:12 (seventeen years ago) link

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/florida/images/s/florida-keys.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:15 (seventeen years ago) link

my grandparents had a house on sanibel when i was little. it was lovely there. the only time i've ever been to florida. i was really little. don't remember a lot.

http://www.visitflorida.com/images/cms/1104189003.4192_lowres_lg.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:17 (seventeen years ago) link

http://photo.net/photo/pcd4333/sanibel-sunset-2.4.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:19 (seventeen years ago) link

great wildlife. what's left anyway.

http://goflorida.about.com/library/graphics/panther.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:25 (seventeen years ago) link

http://florida.sierraclub.org/miami/black.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:25 (seventeen years ago) link

http://z.about.com/d/goflorida/1/0/o/8/flamingo.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:26 (seventeen years ago) link

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/01/21/images/home-manatee.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:26 (seventeen years ago) link

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/florida/images/s/florida-everglades.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:27 (seventeen years ago) link

http://glades.sfwmd.gov/empact/home/02_everglades/photo12lg.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:28 (seventeen years ago) link

If you like Will Smith, I believe you are forced to hang out with him while in Miami or Orlando. Whether this is a defense depends on one's feelings regarding Will Smith.

― Abbott, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:30 (seventeen years ago) link

My grandparents had a house on Sanibel too which is why I was there as well. We lived in Key West then so we would would visit them often and I have really found memories of how gorgeous Sanibel is. Those pictures are great. Also awsome was the The Bubble Room which I would insist on going to every time we visited.

― ENBB, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:32 (seventeen years ago) link

it's a good place to live if you like to fish

http://www.forumpictureprocessor.com/pictureprocessor/images/big%20red%20fish%20florida.jpg

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:32 (seventeen years ago) link

actually so is where i live - a good place to fish - but i don't fish.

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:33 (seventeen years ago) link

Like most places it's not as bad as it seems -- only worse.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:34 (seventeen years ago) link

i could never live there. i'm not big on heat. it's too hot where i live on the east coast! i can't imagine living somewhere hotter.

― scott seward, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:36 (seventeen years ago) link

I haven't lived in many other cities, but judging from my travels the comments made upthread are true. The distances, traffic, ubiquity of Starbucks and strip malls -- all fairly appalling.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:36 (seventeen years ago) link

3--cuban coffee: the 'espresso' shots i had even from supposedly decent coffee places was atrocious, then i finally remembered the best coffee is always just a cafe con leche for a buck or two at any hole in the wall sandwich shop

The only problem is the Cuban restaurants are lousy. Next time you're down come to my mom's -- or, better, my abuela's.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:37 (seventeen years ago) link

The beach is overrated too. Actually, the only place that's not overrated is Disney World. I wish Tallahassee would just submit to the Dark Side and allow Disney to buy the state; at least they know how to run things.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:39 (seventeen years ago) link

Just read some of the earlier posts regarding fire ants. When I was about two years old and we were living there, I woke my parent up one morning screaming at the top of my lungs. It turned out that I'd been bitten on the face by fire ants during the night and my EYES HAD SWOLLEN SHUT! They had to rush me to the hospital where I got some kind of injection to take down the swelling. I'm very glad I don't actually remember that experience becase it must have been horrible.

― ENBB, Sunday, 1 April 2007 21:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Yes, fire ants suck.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 2 April 2007 14:34 (seventeen years ago) link

Have grown up in Florida, it's hard for me to imagine everyone not experiencing fire ants.

Are "roly poly bugs" not common outside of FL too? Lovebugs?

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 2 April 2007 14:44 (seventeen years ago) link

one year passes...

florida is straight up fucked huh? nytimes cover article today + nyer article last week made the state seem pretty much screwed for a long while.

― max, Monday, 9 February 2009 17:08 (fifteen years ago) link

sorry--not today--yesterday

― max, Monday, 9 February 2009 17:08 (fifteen years ago) link

what happan

― i like to fart and i am crazy (gbx), Monday, 9 February 2009 17:08 (fifteen years ago) link

I saw a picture of 1000 people lining up to fill in 35 job positions to be a firefighter in Miami on an NYT from last week. oy.

― System Jr. (Mackro Mackro), Monday, 9 February 2009 17:17 (fifteen years ago) link

Those who would sacrifice culture for weather deserve neither.

― autosocratic asphyxiation (Hurting 2), Monday, 9 February 2009 18:51 (fifteen years ago) link

three years pass...

http://gawker.com/5951314/used-enemas-resold-to-cvs-customers-after-being-resealed-and-returned

mugshot = O_O

story = O_*

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Friday, 12 October 2012 22:09 (eleven years ago) link

one year passes...

http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/wildlife-officials-ready-to-round-up-menacing-tegu-lizards-video/2190506

― go ahead. make vid where u rap about this new TMNT movie. (forksclovetofu), Wednesday, 30 July 2014 16:50 (nine years ago) link

Yeah, Florida will never run out of invasive species to hunt.

― love is how's life tonight (how's life), Wednesday, 30 July 2014 16:52 (nine years ago) link

usually they're called the sick and elderly.

― guess that bundt gettin eaten (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 30 July 2014 17:07 (nine years ago) link

six years pass...

Good news for Floridians: significantly less toilet iguanas in your future
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/22/toilet-invading-iguanas-invasive-species-banned-florida

― G.A.G.S. (Gophers Against Getting Stuffed) (forksclovetofu), Tuesday, 23 March 2021 13:15 (three years ago) link

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