I don't know how people can complain.
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11/27/2011
Let me tell ya. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale, Moved to Chicago in 1997 and just recently relocated to Largo, FL and I have read some of the things that people have posted about areas of Florida and in a way... It's kinda funny.
Complaint: Traffic. This one is hilarious to me. I think out of all the complaints I've heard "Florida Traffic" wants to make me laugh the most. I don't think the 2 words even go hand in hand. Yeah, driving to Tampa from Largo will take about 45 minutes of your life between 7-10am but try having a 55 MPH speed limit and going 12 miles in about 4.5 hours. No special occasion, just a typical day.
Complaint: Cost of living. Seriously? Hmmm. On average a pack of cigarettes in the city of Chicago is roughly $8.25 - $11.50 depending on where you go. Gas is anywhere between $4.16 - $4.86 depending on where you are again (87 octane). Obviously the closer you get downtown the worse off you are. My wife cooks at home and in Chicago she was running to the store every 2 day's to get fresh food and spent about an average of $20-$25 a day just for food... That's almost $750 a month just to eat... And I'm not talking about restaurants. These are home cooked meals. Housing, Was paying $950 for a 650 Sq. Ft. one bedroom apt. About $125 in gas and roughly about $120 in Electric. That's with all of the energy saving light-bulbs and all that good stuff. Here, I'm about half rent with only electric to worry about and I haven't seen a bill over $75 yet.
Complaint: Weather. Yup, even saw a complaint that the weather is horrible in FL. lets see... Fl: 85 and sunny. Chicago: -25 and 12 inches of snow coming. during the winter months in Chicago you'll see an average of about 7-8 hours of sunlight. Have you ever seen the sun set at 4pm in Florida? I have in Chicago... Many many times.
Complaint: Taxes. Largo area, FL 7%. Chicago, IL 12.75% + water tax, alcohol tax, milk tax, etc etc. I went into a local grocery store in Chicago because I wanted to buy a case of water. The case of water had a $2.50 price tag on it. By the time I paid for the transaction I spent $4.98... Once again. 12.75% sales tax + City Tax + Water Tax + county tax. I don't own property in this economy and if this is the way our economy is going to go then I will ALWAYS rent. However, Average property tax in Chicago for 2011 was roughly $7000.00 Every 6 months in the average neighborhood. Not sure what it would be in Largo so I won't make a comment on this but from what I see I
Tom | Seminole, FL