Originally Posted by Karmanng (Post 2193507)

I responded to your post about Scottsdale but it ended up being seperate.......you would be disappointed if you were here in Scottsdale thou..........

Originally Posted by Karmanng (Post 2193506)

YOU would never know Scottsdale NOW! Over built and huge apartments all crammed in! Lots more traffic too........restaurants are not that great anymore either.......Its jammed in by The quarter and Kierland if you remember that area.....AND north of it too on Scottsdale Rd..........OLD town is a disaster

Originally Posted by Pairadocs (Post 2193265)

What "northern state", LOL ! Left Florida once for college, twice more to grad school, was really tough me. I definitely understand your fleeting yearning from time to time. When I did leave Florida for school, I really REALLY missed Florida, the smell of fresh cut hay at our cousin's farm in Weirsdale, the sweet smell of the orange blossoms, the beautiful trees turning in fall in the national forest, just the sound of the waves lapping the shore and smell of the fresh ocean air. I'm sure we all pine for the sights, sounds, and even smells of our "home states". Oh, maybe most of all I missed HONEYBELLS, they seldom are available outside Florida unless you order from a specialty grove, never saw a single one in a regular super market in Champaign, IL (University of Illinois) or anywhere outside Florida ! I've visited Alaska a few times, I can even understand how you could miss it that far north if that was where you a person grew up. I'm sure mountain state people would miss that if they moved to Florida... Arizona might be a better choice for their retirement; mountains AND warmth, LOL !

Originally Posted by Velvet (Post 2193509)

And as always, expensive. But the art galleries, the beautiful red hills, the Fairmont Princess spa, they are the same. I love Scottsdale, but not as much as our Villages.

Originally Posted by Blackbird45 (Post 2193281)

I've lived here in the TV for 10 years and it does have its advantages. Safety, people of the same age, convinces to doctors and overall cleanliness. I'm a native of N.Y.C. where there were a lot of disadvantages especially for people my age. Now that I said that I do miss the diversity and the quality of food, the theatre, the museums, the ability to disappear into the crowed without following some preplanned activity. When they say N.Y.C. is a city that never sleeps, it's actually true.

Originally Posted by Karmanng (Post 2193510)

ARIZONA is NOT a better choice at all.....over building crowded too extreme heat and this winter we got snow! LOTS of it incluiding Scottsdale !!!! Forget it here rents are way too high and homes are way overpriced.........I am planning to come to TV and take advantage of high home prices......I bought in linden

Originally Posted by RiderOnTheStorm (Post 2193449)

As snowbirds we enjoy the best of both worlds. While in the north this includes the following:
1. Mild summers and the absence of Florida's "jungle heat"
2. Gorgeous change of seasons with spring and fall
3. Beautiful mountains and vistas
4. Better food (choice of restaurants and a very wide array of inexpensive locally grown produce)
5. Better healthcare (we schedule appts to coincide with trips north)
6. Off-leash hikes with my dogs (i.e. no alligators to kill them)
7. Swimming and boating in many fresh water lakes
8. Absence of annoying insects
9. A two-story home with a basement and large (4 acre) very private yard
10. Enjoying a wine region (NYs Finger Lakes) rated #1 in the country in 2019

Originally Posted by toeser (Post 2193540)

"8. Absence of annoying insects"

That's interesting. We have lived in The Villages for eight years and I have yet to have a mosquito bite, although we are not here summers. The mosquito is the state bird in my northern home.

Originally Posted by tophcfa (Post 2193542)

Couldn’t agree more, no deer ticks

Originally Posted by Michael G. (Post 2193134)

What do you miss about your northern home state compared to living in Florida?
I think living in Florida is great at my age, but there are times I reminisce after 7 years down here.
We travel back, but it just isn't the same.

For me it has to be the 4 seasons, not the snow and cold, but the change in weather, the fall colors that never seem to last long enough.
The farm fields in summer watching the crops progress from month to month, or the smell of freshly cut hay and miles of corn fields.

Originally Posted by Escape Artist (Post 2193559)

Yeah, I was going to mention that to those who enthuse about nature hikes and walks in the woods. Watch out for the ticks! They’re everywhere now, not just confined to a few states on the eastern seaboard. I know so many people who have had their lives ruined by Lyme Disease.

Originally Posted by toeser (Post 2193540)

"8. Absence of annoying insects"

That's interesting. We have lived in The Villages for eight years and I have yet to have a mosquito bite, although we are not here summers. The mosquito is the state bird in my northern home.

Originally Posted by Marmaduke (Post 2193394)

I sometimes miss the "era" of things we loved back then, but they are only heartfelt memories now.
Gone, but not forgotten. Sadly, no generation will experience anything as wonderful as we had.

Many of the Depression and Post-War Institutions that made the City of Pittsburgh great are no longer.

Of the bygone days, those of us who enjoyed them KNEW they we're really special. We didn't take them for granted.
It was a big city, small town atmosphere where everyone was friendly, quite like TV.
(Of course, there's always Some!)

Tailgaiting before the Steeler games at Three Rivers Stadium, the Boys of Summer Pirate Games on a warm Spring nights and the Penguins at The Civic Arena.

The Pgh. MARATHON and the Great Race.
The 3 Rivers at Point State Park, visited as often, as North and South Parks.

HOT Mancini's Bread, Sunseri and Primanti Brothers in the Strip, Donahues on 5th Avenue. The Original Oyster House in Market Square (est. 1933) FOR THE BEST Chowder and Fish Sandwiches.

Shopping in Downtown Pittsburgh during Christmas Season and marveling at their mechanical window displays.

Carnegie Libraries, Museums and the Duquesne Incline all visited at least once a year, as a tradition.

The Original HotDog Shoppe near Pitt.
The Pittsburgh Press. (My Dad set Page One as a Printer and brought home a Free Paper every single day for 30 years.)

My Testimony-
It was the Best Of Times....
And
You Can't go home again, but if you were from there, may your Pittsburgese stays with yens forever!

Go Bucs.
Go Steelers.
MARIO, Franco, and Willie.