Vic Smith wrote:
On Thu, 06 Sep 2007 09:15:51 -0400, HK wrote:


We lived in Florida for more than five years, in NE Florida, just
outside of St. Augustine for most of the time. I enjoyed the weather,
which was moderate for Florida (bearable heat, and a spring and fall),
the beautiful uncrowded beaches, the fishing, et cetera. Culturally, it
was a wasteland, and if you went a bit further north, you were
surrounded by simple minded religious zealots.

South Florida on the Atlantic Side is a great place to visit in the
winter, but too hot for me in the summer. The other south Florida, on
the Gulf side, is just too hot and muggy for me most of the year, but
some parts of it that haven't been overdeveloped are pretty.

The Keys are nice, too, so long as you have a good way to get the hell
out of there if a hurricane is coming. A seaplane is best.

The weather tradeoffs are the most important for me. For years I felt
good about living in Chicago, with the museums, opera, playhouses,
libraries, restaurants, night life, etc.
But I hardly used any of it, just got out of town to go fishing.
Of course I'd seen most of the attractions, growing up there.
Lots of stuff I'd like to see on the east coast.
I've spent time on both sides of Florida and think I like the gulf
side because the waters are calmer. But it sure is hot.
I've heard good things about the St. Augustine area and should check
it out.

--Vic


Ahh. Chicago. My wife and I love visiting Chicago on business and
pleasure. My father in law is a White Sox fan, so he works overtime in
his retirement to figure out reasons to take the train there.

St. Augustine area has a lot to offer, as does the Fernindina Beach area
in extreme NE Florida. The latter somehow has escaped the bible-thumping
idjits for the most part. Too many bikinis on the beaches, maybe. For a
while, the cops in one of the Jax suburbs were actually arresting babes
for wearing "too revealing" swimsuits while at the beach.