Things to know about Florida

If you are thinking of moving to Florida, or even thinking of visiting Florida, here are a few things we at the Kendi Haus have realized after a year and a half of living there.  We lived in the Treasure Coast.  Not sure if all of Florida is like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if it's a state wide thing.

Cheers

1.  Florida hates left turns.  If you have the unfortunate luck to need to go left to your destination, FL will make you pay for it.  Your choices will be limited (if you even get a choice).  There are no such things as "Michigan lefts" down here so you pretty much have to drive out of your way just to bang a u-ey.  I don't know, but I almost get the feeling that FL might be afraid of left turns...

2. Traffic circle are wrong here.  They use them, they just don't know how.  For those of us that do know how to do a traffic circle, it is frustrating.

3.  There are no sidewalks.  Or there are very few.  And no streetlights in the neighborhood.  Kinda scary...

4. Wildlife is EVERYWHERE.  And the birds are pretty big.  The Sand Hill Cranes, suffer from an excessive amount of confidance.  My co-worker today told me they act more like people than birds.  Creepy.

5. Rednecks love fireworks.  They love to shoot them off for any occasion, including Sunday night.  Just Sunday night.  It is quite frustrating how many rednecks come out of the woodwork here in Florida.  Not that rednecks are bad, but fireworks at 10:30pm on a Sunday night are.

6. It might be the fact that it's hot most of the year here, and that means shorts and t-shirts more, but it seems like EVERYONE here has a tattoo.  And not just a tattoo, multiple tattoos.  It's not a bad thing.  Just an observation.

7.  If there is a body of water, people feel like they can fish in it.  Even if it says private property, no trespassing.  And is behind a hospital and two research facilities.  They bring their boat.  In my opinion, it's incredibly tacky.  Security!

8.  It's a pet peeve of mine to be nickel-and-dimed and the Orlando area has it down to a science.  I know it's a big tourist attraction with Disney and Universal Studios, but come on.   When I pay for a hotel and you list all the "amenities" I shouldn't be charged an extra fee for them.  Aren't amenities the things that are supposed to get you pick one hotel over the other?  Aren't they supposed to be included in the price?  Once again, tacky.

9.  I've realized, after some time here, that it's one thing to vacation in Florida.  It's another to work and live here.  I've always loved Florida.  To me, it means vacation.  Living and working here, on the other hand, is frustrating.  Half the population is retired and therefore not in a hurry.  The working half has to maneuver around them.  It's exhausting.

10.  If you want to own a car here, Florida really makes you pay for it.  It cost me around $400 to register my car here in Florida.  That's ridiculous to me.  

11.  Lets talk houses.  They aren't that great down here.  There is hardly ever a two story house, or a basement, or a functional garage.  Most people have turned their garages into another room.  Mostly storage, but I've seen flat screens and couches set up in some.  If you need more room, then build a bigger house.  I'd like to park my car in the garage, especially in the rainy/hurricane season.  And you won't find a lot of brick or wood.  It's mostly plaster or stucco.  It looks cheap, and quite frankly, is.  I might be bias on houses since my Dad taught me how to build a good one.  Good thing we have no intention of buying down here...

12.  Driving here is really bad.  I don't know if it's all the seniors or what, but in the course of one week, I had three different people tell me about accidents or almost accidents.  All involving left turns.  People here, and in the south in general, don't know how to do left turns.  Let me clarify it for you right now.  The ONLY time left turns have the right of way is on a green arrow.  If there is no green arrow, left ALWAYS yields to other traffic.  ALWAYS.

13.  Summer in Florida, or at least the Treasure Coast, sucks.  They don't put that on the brochure.  It is 90 degrees by 9 am, a storm moves in around noon and it's full on thunder storming from 4-7pm.  Everyday.  If you work, your day basically sucks.  So plan accordingly. 

14.  They don't know how to ride bikes down here.  You are suppose to ride with traffic.  You are supposed to act like a car. It makes me crazy.

15.  Neighbors only care about you when you become interesting.  And then they become crazy.