Zimmerman, Schiavo, hanging chads ... FL has issues
- Thread starter kandlekid
- Start date
I live here. Yes it is an odd state. I've only been here for a year, and am still trying to figure it out, so I can't really comment "strongly." However, I'll point out where I live, the Yankees have invaded that area, and politeness is a true rarity. I hold doors for people, say sir and mam. I often get funny looks for it. And the women here? Holy goodness are they oddballs!!!!
I'm on the west coast, and there are a bunch of kooks that do weird shit daily (just check the twitter account @AFloridaMan if you want to laugh). But people are pleasant, mostly. The West coast is much more conservative than the east coast (Miami should be dropped into the ocean). The women are hot, there's no state tax, the beaches are excellent and there's a lot to do for kids.
Well, you're an ex-military man. In the military, you are obliged to show respect to certain people... those of higher rank than you.
Obliged or not, showing respect to those who deserve it is a courtesy... rank superiors, bosses, older people because of their experience, the accomplished.
(I'm often amused when I go to medical conferences. I hear doctors of significant esteem addressing their elders and mentors as "Dr. So-and-so", rather than by their first name... as a sign of respect.... a courtesy apparently lost upon younger generations.)
Ex-military myself, I'm some like you. I was also a Boy Scout.... you know, "Do a good deed every day".. even if only a small one.
What would this country be like if everybody went out of their way only a tiny bit to "do a good deed for others" when the opportunity presented?
I spend some time on the west coast. Mostly well-off midwesterners and some southerners who retired there. Very polite for the most part. The east coast, at least from Palm Beach south, is tough to distinguish from New Jersey.
I worked in the Miami area for 10 months in '06 & '07. I had a blast and the people were very friendly, except for laying on the horns while driving it was a good experience. I talked to people like I do here in west Texas and people responded in kind. Several people invited me over for Christmas dinner. Many people offered snacks and drinks while I inspected their homes and a few invited me on fishing outings. There were a few rude and odd people but that's anywhere you go.
The east coast (Florida) is infested with a lot of rude New Yorkers. Most of the people are pretty nice until you run into the transplants from the north.
The problem with things to do on the coast in Florida is because of the hurricanes. Whenever they build anything nice on the water in Florida along comes a hurricane and blows it away. So, you don't see much big construction on the beaches other than condos.
They don't have that problem in California.
Oh, the worst thing around South Beach is the tipping. If you go to a restaurant expect an 18% tip to be sneaked into your bill. It causes a lot of visitors to wind up double tipping which the wait staff is happy to steal from you.