Yes that's right, we have moved to Florida. We sold a bunch of cars, packed up our house, all our equipment and a couple dogs and headed out in the RV to the East Coast. After 50 years in SoCal, it was clear that times are changing and we needed to check out some other areas of the country. California isn't the place it used to be where diversity and differing viewpoints were an advantage. Today, it's either "our way" or the highway so we headed out.
Now everyone we talked to about the move gave us the obligatory warnings. Florida is filled with Bugs, Gators and Humidity, not to mention "the Florida Man!" While that is true, we did find some things we like and things we don't. I thought it might be nice to talk about how a 3rd generation native Californian is adapting to something completely different:
Cons
Heat / Humidity - The heat in Florida is different, lots more moisture and in the summer evenings, it's not cool enough to open the windows. We came out to experience the summer which was good as if we can handle that, we'll be fine.
Lack of Driving Roads - We are so spoiled in SoCal with the beautiful mountain roads and diversity of terrain. We live near the highest point in Florida, 300ft above sea level, so quite a different topography.
Missing our Friends, Family and Dry Ice Clients - This is probably this most difficult part of our journey. While we have a little family out here and some new friends, obviously spending your whole life in one place means leaving people you love and enjoy. Also, we have met some really great clients who share our passion for car collecting and we miss the work and the run ins at the local cars and coffee or meetups.
Pros
No Dirt! - Yes there is rain here which means more car washing, but there is no dirt. It's the strangest thing to someone who grew up in the desert. Lots of rain and sandy soil means everything is clean. Patios stay nice and the garage stays clean, no weekly dusting required!
Storms - Summer is the rainy season here and boy does it rain. Every day the storms role in, thunder and lightning, like a natural fireworks show every evening above your house. And those rains, cool it down. Here they have a "heat index" but when they claim 110 heat index, it's nothing like a really southwestern 110 degree day and usually in the after noon the rain rolls in and cools it off. So honestly, August in Florida is kinda cool, even though its hot!
Attitude - While many folks back in California are pleasant to be around, the majority just aren't. Cultures that refuse to embrace America, folks too stressed to be nice and just a general lack of respect dominate the west coast. But in Florida, folks are friendly, gracious and like minded. It's been such a nice experience and every place you go, you get treated with dignity and respect which is so refreshing.
I purposely left "cost" off the pro list simply because we'd happy endure the higher prices, taxes and overhead of living in California so we could be with family and friends, but that's only if the environment was healthy and inviting.
Sorry for the divergence of our blog into the more personal / opinion, we certainly respect everyone's perspective and understand not everyone sees the world in the same way, which is a good thing. We'll get back to talking about all things Dry Ice and sharing some cool cars with funny looking license plates! Oh and we'll be back and try to get around to a few meetups here and there! That said, technology is cool and we can advise or help you with your project, just email, call or text and we'll provide excellent advice and talk about your project from a distance..
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