Sometimes I Miss the Midwest
 

There was a thread started on what you like about Florida, I need to ask what you miss
most about up north, (The Great Lakes area or The New England states.)

I miss feeding the Baltimore orioles.
The smile of Lilacs.
Freshly cut hay.
Corn/wheat fields.
The view of dairy farm with Holsted cows.
The sound of the Loons on a quiet lake.
Catching and eating fresh Walleyes, perch, bluegills.
Picking/Hunting for asparagus and Morel mushrooms.
The Four seasons, (sometimes.)

Seriously, 5 years ago moving to Florida, I wouldn't think I would miss any of these.

What you say?

Cheers!

Feeling a perch hit my line at the bottom of Lake Erie…then feeling two or three more hit the remaining hooks as I reeled in. :)

The older I get the more I miss New England. Love the people. Love the food. Love the mountains. Love the State Fairs in the Fall. It is tugging me back.

we tend to remember the good things about where we're from and not the bad. I'm from 16 places. there are things about them all that I miss. here I'm at peace and fond memories are made every day(and some sour days as well).

I guess the old saying: "You can go home is true."

Miss senior citizen discounts on green fees, swimming in beautiful lakes with no water moccasins or alligators, and fly fishing for trout.

I would never go back to Virginia now, but I miss some things;

I hate Winter, but I miss not having it -- kinda weird statement, I know.

I miss my backyard garden and the anticipation of Summer, and very thankful for its brevity.

I miss lakes where your only concern is the random snake or a slip on rock.

I miss the cool evenings returning in the Fall and the kids getting excited about Halloween, Thanksgiving break, and Christmas Vacation. That whole track of time is probably my favorite from Virginia.

I miss the culture of people in Virginia -- people loved soul food, breweries, and Jazz, R&B, and country. Richmond was an embarassment of riches in regards to festivals and dozens of southern and soul food restaurants. Where is the the soul food, where is the fried fish shack, and where is the chicken joint that puts KFC to shame. I can't find any of that here -- I've asked the locals and they shrug at the questions.

Sometimes, even living here, in a pennisula state, I feel like the north had more water activities -- the rivers, bays, and ocean. Yeah, I know, weird though again. But there, if it was warm enough, and the Jellyfish were light, you could jump in any body of water and would likely survive.

Maybe the anticipation of the seasons, when you couldn't do certain things, made the times that you could, more special. Waiting on Winter for the slopes to open, waiting on Memorial day for the first dip in the pool. Waiting feverishly, to put that new fishing pole you got on Christmas morning to use on a cool stream or a sunny lake.

All that said,... I will never go back. Too many things have changed, and I'm in a different place in life. Maybe I'll start to vacation in that state I couldn't wait to leave.

Florida was a passion as a vacationer for many decades. Now that I'm here, meh.

Virginia was meh for much of my life, and now it seems so much more vibrant a year later, huh.

I’m in MI and I’m missing The Villages.
 

We have had one nice day here since probably October. It was 82 degrees on Saturday. Now it’s back in the 50’s with no warm weather in the foreseeable future. Lots of clouds and rain. I used to think that after March the weather got better. Now it seems like we have cool weather until the end of May. I like MI from June until November but I’m not going to miss being here the other months.

I wouldn't move back but there are "some things" I miss. The lilacs and daffodils and other spring flowers along with when the song-birds return. I miss the small town I moved here from---though it is growing too and has it's issues (social media reports this). I miss the familiarity that comes from living a long time in an area. I miss the smell of grass being mowed along with fresh gentle rains.
There are other non-tangible things I miss. I do know one can't ever go back as LIFE changes and our memories sometimes are very selective. The midwest though is a lovely place with farm-lands and forests along with lakes.

It's just to bad the north has 6 months of spring, summer, and fall, and 6 months of winter.

You guys are funny. I still live in Wisconsin, 3 years from Moving to TV (have owned in Hillsborough since 2014, it rents well). Besides the fact that it is the end of April and our high was 46 today, there was some sleet this morning too! Here are my comments -

I miss feeding the Baltimore orioles. - ok, so feed the birds down there
The smile of Lilacs. I assume you mean smell - my allergies sure don't like that smell.
Freshly cut hay. - More Allergies
Corn/wheat fields. - My gosh, they go on forever.... the same thing for thousands of miles. Most of the year it is dirt
The view of dairy farm with Holsted cows. - I assume you mean Holsteins. You mean the ones with the pungent smell of manure?
The sound of the Loons on a quiet lake. - hard to argue this one, except at the same time you are being swarmed by biting Mosquitos
Catching and eating fresh Walleyes, perch, bluegills. - Gamey, nasty fish. Cod and Salmon are way better.
Picking/Hunting for asparagus and Morel mushrooms. Again, while being swarmed by mosquitos
The Four seasons, (sometimes.) NO NO NO NO NO. ONLY SOMEONE WHO DID NOT JUST LIVE THROUGH SIX FREAKIN MONTHS OF WINTER WOULD SAY THIS. YOU DO NOT MISS SEASONS! There are 3 in TV, and that is enough.

Sorry, I could not help myself, but the only thing to really miss about the midwest is the much higher paying jobs. That is why I am still here along with Family but the MINUTE I retire in 3 years, I am a Florida resident. My wife is under this delusion we are keeping our condo in Milwaukee, but I can't wait to be DONE.

This is why you moved to Florida, to get away from the crap up here. Seriously, the people are great, but you are only remembering the good parts

I miss nothing about the North. Absolutely nothing

I have great memories from living up North most of my life (Erie, PA)

I moved South in 1996.....built our home here in The Villages in 2004.

We visit family in Erie once or twice per year....SUMMER MONTHS ONLY!!!!! (the only winter I tolerate are the scenes on the Christmas cards)

Other than family there is nothing that we miss as everything we need is here in TV!!

About the only thing I miss is good home grown tomatos. I haven't had a good tasting tomato since I moved here 3 years ago. The sweetcorn is not bad but the ears are puny. You need some good midwest top soil to grow decent veggies.

First, sorry for the miss spelled words, typing to fast I guess.

You sound like your sick of the city life in the high tax dairy state.

I spent 75 years in Wisconsin north of Milwaukee in Fond Du Lac county before moving to Florida and still miss the things I wrote about when I started this thread.

I should have added to my list attending the Packers games but I get to watch them on TV. We drove up to Jacksonville to watch the Packers played the Saints the first game of the season.
If you remember was a complete disaster.

Oak Creek, likeable community by the Lake.
I drove medical van for our Veterans from the VA hospital in Milwaukee and was in Oak Creek many times.

Go Pack!

I grew up on Long Island, NY in the town where Jones Beach is.
Back then it was great. Got married and lived in northeast N.J.

Honestly, I don’t miss much about living outside NYC, where I worked
for 10 years. My husband’s commute was horrible into the city.
Around 23+ million people live in the Tri-State area.

We’ve lived in Florida 25 years. That helps with not missing back home
much. The only good thing was the food, especially REAL bakeries.

Do not miss the millions of people, the traffic, taxes, Winters, and
everything just being such a hassle.

Kind of wish I came from a place I missed more.

Feeding the birds down here is nowhere near as exciting as putting orange halves out on the deck in Michigan and watching the Orioles gorge themselves.

Comparing perch and walleye to salmon is impossible. Not even close to being the same kind of fish. I love salmon, but you can get decent salmon anywhere. Fresh lake perch and planked fresh walleye are amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing.

I don't recall having a mosquito problem at Lake Michigan, even though the area wasn't sprayed. At dusk if you were on land, yes, you were driven inside for an hour. Anchored out on the water overnight, never.
Morels grew in the spring in Michigan before mosquito season.
Never had a fly problem in Michigan.
I would add... I miss the excellent tomatoes and corn from Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
I miss the fireflies from Pennsylvania.
I miss the sun still being out at 10 pm in July in West Michigan.
I miss the diversity of population in the north.
I DO NOT miss late fall through late spring in any of those states, and that is why I love being in Florida.
JMHO

I miss a more consistent population.

I miss nothing.

fantastic reply. Bravo 😆😆😆

Fall foliage in New England

Cold water running from the tap. Here in Florida the water is tepid at best.

Missing?
 

The crisp -29F mornings
The salt lines on my shoes
The rusty cars
The ice stalactites in my wheel wells
Shoveling snow in winter and slush this time of year
Ice dams on my roof

I miss Connecticut when I'm in Florida and Florida when I'm in Connecticut 😉 Lots of things to miss in both states :)

You do realize the Midwest and New England are two COMPLETELY different areas

I miss my family and friends still up there. I miss the sights, sounds, and smells of Fall. I miss the cold and snow at Christmas (and Christmas only!) I miss being able to walk to the shores of Lake Michigan, a great pizza joint, Italian Beef sandwich shop, and hot dog stands. I miss taking the “L” downtown to experience all the urban energy. I miss innovative and thought-provoking theatre. I miss going to White Sox games.

My city has drastically changed over the past 2 years and it’s public reputation is in the toilet. I DON’T miss being there while it’s in the grip of an unprecedented crime wave and woke-joke leadership that cares about identity politics above everything else, while thousands upon thousands continue to leave the city and state. I will be interred there when my time on earth has expired, but I will likely never live there again.

Like others, miss:

Mountains

Fall foliage & buying maple syrup right from the farm

Lilacs & daffodils

Food - Chinese, roast beef sandwiches, tomatoes from our garden

Swimming with no alligators or water snakes

17th century architecture

Time to visit… “Ice Out”!!

I miss the good food and the deer. We lived by a forest preserve and you could always see the deer in the yards and just walking down the street.

- Don’t forget the cement hard car seats at below -10
- Coming up with the most exotic pattern to start your car ( long press of accelerator, short, short, crank, short, short, crank, shi!t)
- The sweet, salty taste of fresh Snotsickles
- Frozen eyelids
- Near break-dancing ( that 20 seconds of time slipping on ice where you are trying to catch your balance before landing squarely on your a$@ )

There is something special about seasons. First golf round of the year, opening day of deer hunting, first snow, first ice on the lake

I'm sure we all miss things about our former homes. Being from Minnesota there were times in the last couple of years down here when I actually missed the smell of cold, clean air and the feel of snowflakes on my face. Then I just reminded myself that the air and snowflakes were usually part of a scenario where I'm out in the driveway cussing out the snow blower for not starting, or digging out the four-foot windrow of snow that the plow threw up all over the back of my Ranger as it went by--immediately after I got the driveway shoveled out.

We all tend to idealize things. But then reality slaps us across the face. A few days ago I got back from four days in Minnesota--four days filled with wind, rain, sleet, and overwhelming grayness. Nothing green, at a time of year when things should be greening up with a vengeance. Minnesota's fishing opener is in two weeks and there is real concern in the northern parts of the state that the ice won't be off the lakes in time. As much as I loved visiting my family I was never so happy as I was getting on that 737 and going back to the Sun.

Some misses
 

Most of all I miss seeing my grandkids particularly their baseball / softball / football games and gymnastics meets. And I miss seeing my mother.

Beyond that it’s all pretty minor. I miss the fall colors (but not raking the leaves). I miss the first good snowfall but not shoveling snow and not the subsequent snowfalls. I miss boating and swimming in a nice freshwater lake.

The sunshine and general weather overcomes the misses

My feelings exactly, New!
 

We delayed out return to Southeast MI by 2 weeks due to the extended crappy weather there. Late October, the trees get naked and everything is gray and blustery until June. That's on the list of what I don't miss right above the potholes.

Well that’s where you were in prison….lol

Walleye, Perch, Smelt - Fish Fry on Friday
Nicer Summer
Actual friendly people
not having to deal with (*#(*&^#*&$&#& drivers
not having to deal with Northeasterners LOL (sorry midwest and NE don't mix well)
not having to deal with subpar construction
snow
small town fairs
real craft fairs (but I'm glad to save the $$$ being here LOL)
having places to go AFTER 9pm
lilacs, quality roses, etc
lakes not filled with crap


I'm sure given time I could list more, but I'm sure I've ****ed enough people off with that one.

The weather
 

So you miss the midwest? I'm in Wisconsin right now and it's 27 degrees. This weeks spring weather is worse than Florida's worst winter weather. Next year I'm staying in Florida until May.

Grandkids
 

I miss my grandkids. But will spend summer and fall back in MN!

Nuttin' hunny. I moved further South...I already had it made! :MOJE_whot:

A lot of what we miss up north was in our working years, we tolerated the good and the bad while busy making a living.
Living in Florida in my younger years was just a pipe dream for me.

Since moving to Florida, I always said, anyone retired living up north through those long winters, I feel fortunate to be here.

I don't yearn for anything up north - I live there 5 months a year. The number one thing I don't miss during those 5 months is heat and humidity here.

Many mentioned missing walleye and perch. We have several fish fry gatherings each year up north. I buy fresh Lake Ontario walleye and perch fillets in a local hardware store. The owner is a fishing guide. When the fish are running the store hours change drastically. Last year they were $16 - $18 / lb. How about you ?