Everybody Knows this is Nowhere

from Mr. Neil Young 1969

I think I'd like to go
back home
And take it easy
There's a woman that
I'd like to get to know
Living there

Everybody seems to wonder
What it's like down here
I gotta get away
from this day-to-day
running around,
Everybody knows
this is nowhere.

Every time I think about
back home
It's cool and breezy
I wish that I could be there
right now
Just passing time.

Everybody seems to wonder
What it's like down here
I gotta get away
from this day-to-day
running around,
Everybody knows
this is nowhere.

And most definitely and without a doubt, Florida is nowhere. I've been here for several days and the only buildings or businesses I've seen that are either (A) unique, or (B) older than 10 years are closed down businesses of one type of another.

It's as flat as a board, so I miss the mountains already. Get ready for all the whining and moaning everybody, I haven't even left California and I'm already sulking and grumbling.

A few first impressions, let's see what happens to them over time:

1. It actually has WEATHER. I admit, come October every year in California, I get a bit sick of seeing the sun up there every day and look forward to the rain. Won't be like that here, it changes all the time.

2. Everybody comes from somewhere else. I like that. There's nothing to remember anyway, so no need for local experts haha. Lots of northerners and of course lots of foreigners.

3. It's busy, lots of people, lots of traffic, but I am north of the big mess Miami, so it appears to be under control. Population growth will be half of what it was in the first few years after the turn of the century and most of it is either new grads or retirees.

4. The people are friendly. They seem to be less stressed than in the Bay Area. Lots of them area also old and not in a hurry, or at least they shouldn't be. I think they are relieved to have escaped from wherever they are from.

5. It is more diverse than I thought but still less than the Bay Area. There are practically NO ASIANS, very weird. Instead there are Hispanics of all types and some Caribbeans from places like Haiti and of course Cuba. I spoke French twice in one morning and Spanish twice: the room attendant was from Haiti, I could tell by her happy face and French name. Then there was a cashier in Walgreen's that talked like Inspector Clouseau, then a Mexican (?) guy in the grocery store, and finally a girl of Peruvian decent in a restaurant. Blacks are from all over: Cuba, Brazil, and Haiti plus other countries, so it's hard to tell who is who.

6. Because everything is so new, it's all chain stores. There are very few small businesses, so few that i took a pic of a little strip mall with some. I hope to live in such an area if I can find it. But this situation really makes me sick: Bed Barf and Beyond on one corner, Walgreen's on the other, a burger joint or two. Sprinkle with a Shell or Valero and you've got the country we all wanted. Yikes. There must be places with character somewhere, I'll find them.

7. There is some evidence of an elderly population: I saw a couple of Kidney Centers. Are they for giving, receiving, bartering, or what? Also there is a "Vitamin Shoppe" around every three blocks.

8. It's CHEAP, you feel it everywhere. You can rent for half of what you pay in the Bay Area and there is no state income tax. I just saved 15,000 dollars per year after tax in one short sentence, that's 1,300 per month kiddies. Of course I'll make a lot less but I won't need as much.

9. There is a noted absence of high-tech jobs. I knew this and have already been working with my Coach Christine Young analyzing, slicing, dicing, and dissecting local company info.

10. Last but not least, there is at least some natural beauty, well, man-made natural beauty: there are canals all over the place. I assume they are man-made just by the way they are perfectly laid out. They are beautiful, with super gorgeous homes that back on to them and have big boats hooked up. Honey, I'm going shopping! OK, are you taking the boat or the car?

So, I'm just driving around looking at stuff and sitting around, very therapeutic.

Here are some cool gringo canals with fancy condos and stuff:

From Florida Xmas 2008 - Grik Grapples free from Grisly Grad!!

This is the area that I'll be living in haha:

From Florida Xmas 2008 - Grik Grapples free from Grisly Grad!!

There is a lift bridge between I-95 and the Beach, which is really cool except the next closest crossing is several miles away, so there is quite a mess every time it goes up: