We moved to S. Florida (Ft. Lauderdale area) 4 months ago. Like any place, somethings are great and some not so great. So far it seems there are a strange mix of people here. There are so many different accents. Im used to a southern accent and a Mexican accent (from Dallas). Here, I hear Brazilian, Jamaican, Colombian, Cuban, no accent (natural born Floridians which there dont seem to be many of), and New York accent among others. Diversity is a great thing. The accents just take some getting used to.
The people are definitely ruder than they are in Dallas. People in Dallas are laid back and relaxed. Not the case here. People dont seem to know what personal space is while standing in a grocery store line. Ive never heard more people in the service industry be so rude to customers. From the lady at the doctors offices, to the lumber guy at Home Depot. It surprised me. There does seem to be much less racial tension here than in Dallas. I havent watched the news a single time since moving here so maybe Im just insulating myself from it, but Ive experienced less racial tension while being around town. DW is Hispanic and she got watched or followed lots of times by store security back in Dallas while at Ross, or Sharper Image, or whatever store she was in. Here that hasn't been a problem.
We rented a house in an upper middle class neighborhood. We are right on the border of the highest income suburb in the entire area, but still we are not too far a couple sketchy areas. Again, in Dallas, the economic classes seem to live farther apart than they do here. There are 2 High Schools in our suburb. One is rated a 9 on GreatSchools.org and one is rated a 6. The 6 is not a school just about anyone here would want their kids in. We met a couple that we've become friends with and the wife just happens to be the school resource officer at the "6" school. They have constant problems with kids bringing weapons to school, fights, kids getting expelled for getting arrested for robbery...etc. This school is only 3-4 miles from us. Within 10 houses from us, we have 2 Porsches, 2 Maseratis, 3 Teslas parked in the driveways. The point is that its weird how much money is nearby but within a few miles you see the other end of the spectrum.
Government agencies are easier to deal with here than in Dallas. There are local store fronts all over the place to get you car registration without having to sit all day a the DMV. Some car dealerships are registered with the state so you get your actual license plate the day you buy your car instead if getting a paper tag and waiting for the real one. Getting our DL was also easier and quicker than in Dallas. You dont have to get your car inspected here in Florida at all. Another thing I thought was weird, if you break your windshield, car insurance in Florida covers it for free by law. No deductible, no nothing.
We are actually considering moving back at the end of our 1 year lease. Our son is a junior. He is in the good area school but its still very disorganized compared to his previous school and he doesnt like it very much. We may move back so he can complete his senior yr back home.
I knew about the weather here but its killing me. I never knew how much I would miss the seasons. We went to the Ft. Lauderdale boat show (biggest boat show in the world) yesterday and it was so hot and humid that I literally was feeling light headed and we had to leave after about 3-4 hours. We were both dripping in sweat. Sweat was running down my chest and ribs. ITS NOVEMBER! Remember, Ive lived in Dallas for over 35 years so Im used to 100 degree heat. It was 65 in both Dallas and Las Vegas yesterday, but 89 here with a heat index of 98.
DW wife also misses her girlfriends tremendously.
I know I rambled on, but hopefully this helps somewhat.