[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

I was serious as we have relatives who married into southern families who just seem to have lovely manners and southern charm.....perhaps missing in some New Englanders who are more blunt perhaps....or plain spoken.

Another poster mentioned that something gets lost in the translation , which I'm paraphrasing, when typing vs. speaking in person.

What is perceived by so many as "negativity" may simply be people from "away" trying to find out things about Florida living in general....or people who have lived in other parts of Florida trying to determine if indeed central Florida might be totally different than either coast.

It's common sense on my part not to bash something I've never seen.
But asking questions is not negativity.

This is NOT the alligator , etc. thread, but the best answer I ever got was from two realtors...one in Mount Dora and one in Top of the World when we asked about the citrus fruit critters.

The first said that yes indeed they were there in Mount Dora but that they all do the best they can to keep them out of the homes with pest extermination companies. That was honest and eased my mind.

The male realtor at Top of the World said that the critters , heretofore not to be mentioned, were indeed here in Florida long before any of us were and will remain. I felt that also was honest. As other people have said, keep the food away from them and they won't hang out. Perhaps we did have a bad experience on the Gulf Coast of Florida so better to check it all out.

Having lived in Florida twice and vacationed every single year in Florida, we are not unaware of the beauty of many places as well as the wonderful climate during certain times of the year.........but we also read the Orlando Sentinel...lots of accidents, crime, etc. up that way.

I do fully realize TV is a bubble and a very protective one at that.

As far as the cheerfulness, that's wonderful. When we first moved to Vermont 43 years ago, leaving the RAT RACE and mad traffic dash to work on congested highways behind..........we raved to all our friends and relatives about the beauty of Vermont. the peacefulness of Vermont, how wonderful small town living was.....etc.

They all told us , "You are not living in the real world"...........so I totally understand why Gracie says to come and see it. No one knows unless they are living there.

However, sometimes life is what happens when you are making other plans and trips get delayed for one reason or another.

Now, on the subject of cliques.......old time Vermonters and those born and bred in the state........back in the early 1970's did not welcome out of staters. It took many many years to feel you belonged.

Everything about New Jersey and Vermont were like night and day. But eventually, you were accepted and believe me, they are the salt of the earth and so down to earth that you know where you stand..........this is what I meant by sugar coating. Maybe we've been up here too long.

I also do not like negative people and actually do not consider myself to be negative........I'm always trying to cheer people up in our own world up here.

Again, I'm sure many things can get lost while reading words....which are just words, without the feeling and emotion behind them.

We are going to see TV and we are going to take a second look at midcoast Maine after the first trip to Florida. Maniacs are a lot like Vermonters.

One of the posters whose name I do not recall said that maybe with my "hangups" we should just stay where we are. Good advice.

That's another possibility as we do have a comfortable home and 43 years worth of friends, neighbors and good standing in this community of 16,000 souls with all the services within not even three miles from one end to the other...hubby just said maybe two miles by three miles...........so everything is close....closer than by golf cart in TV as we look at the map.

The realtor who sold our condo for us on Venice's beach said something which I will always remember........"You don't have to buy in Florida to winter in Florida or enjoy Florida"........since we are only 7 months into our retirement, we still have a lot of thinking to do.

I do want to thank the huge amount of posters who have been kindhearted and understanding with my questions. Sorry for being too wordy. As another said, if you don't want to read it...........just skip over it.

It's really difficult to explain why one is asking a particular question, which does take WORDS. I could write a book about our experience in Venice, with an Alzheimered parent in tow.......the other time it was a year on the east coast and enjoyable........just missed the crisp autumns, so we returned and spent the next 40 years up here. But we do have a frame of reference, just not in central Florida except for Disney World which is artificially created.

Best wishes to all of the posters who have been extremely helpful and kind.

Dear sweet Senior.

Wait no longer to come down here as soon as you can and get this Ohio hug.

Waiting for you in lower Paradise,

Your friend,

Gracie