10 Reasons South Florida ROCKS!

Ok, as promised...yes, I miss the south, but South Florida has it's good points (VERY good points!) so here's my list :)  Btw, one of my things that I missed from NC was the bar-b-que...well check out where a friend took me!!  Sweet!!  It used to be called "Carolina Barbeque but now it's something different.  Still advertises "authentic Carolina Barbecue" though!  I was pleasantly impressed :)

I cut off the pig in the picture because I wanted to make sure and get the window clings on the left :). Can you see them?  Another thing I miss from NC - Go Heels!!!  They also had State, but luckily, no Dook ;)  I am now a fan of this restaurant :)

And now...

10 things I LOVE about South Florida!!

10.  The weather.  Sure, it's hot in the summer, but no hotter than NC.  The only difference is there are a few more HOT months in So Fla than NC :)  The other 6 months make up for it though...and then some!

9.  No dress code!

Yes, the quality in this photo is bad, but all you need to see are my shorts :)  None of this, "no white after labor day" nonsense!  I wore this yesterday (Nov. 1) with white sandals and got no weird looks :)  

8.  ONE wardrobe!  Summer clothes and then some jeans and a few long sleeve shirts...and maybe a jacket.  I don't have to switch out my closets or buy my kids a new wardrobe every 6 months!

7.  The beach.  ahhh...not only is the beach only 15 minutes away and pleasant almost year round, there are 5 beaches nearby that are pleasant almost year round :)

6.  Public pools!  Didn't see this in NC.  If you wanted to swim in a public pool then you had to join some swim club or country club.  Here,  I have 3 choices within 10 minutes of driving AND have waterslides, splashpads and lifeguards - free of charge.

5. 

 

Diversity.  I LOVE that our church has 15 countries represented.  I LOVE that there is no majority at my monkeys' school because there is such a beautiful mix.  Our neighborhood is also mixed and asking "where are you originally from" is pretty commonplace here.  Ft Lauderdale is a great representation of "the world" :)

4.  No allergies.  This is big for me.  I had trouble in spring and fall (and sometimes summer and winter) in NC: asthma attacks, allergy attacks, daily medicines.  My son did as well.  Here, I take allergy medicine when needed (sometimes I go weeks without it-but then something will be "blooming" and I'll need it for a week or so).  Guess I'm not allergic to palm trees ;)

3.  Ikea, Sawgrass - two awesome places to shop. If Sawgrass isn't THE largest shopping center in the US its in the top 3.  And Ikea, is...well...pretty cool :)  And, being so close to miami - I don't think you could name a store in the world that doesn't show up somewhere down here!  Not to mention restaurants - you in the mood for Indian? Thai? Colombian?  Peruvian?  You can find it...we even found a Chinese-Peruvian!!

2.  Gasoline.  Yes, it's freaky high down here...but everything is so close, I fill up my car every 2 1/2 weeks!  On some months I fill up every three weeks...once a month - not bad :)

1.  The weather!!!!  Yeah, okay.  I said that one already, but it bears mentioning again :)  Seriously, picture the most beautiful fall day - low in the upper 50s, high in the mid-70s...ahhhh.  That's pretty much November-April here :)  And the other 6 months?  Well, refer to numbers 7 and 6 ;)


Sure, So Fla has its bad points - crime, very high cost of living, rude drivers, lots of homeless, no Cheerwine - but the good points help balance it all out :)  Haven't been to So Fla?  Come on down...it's beautiful :)

God Bless,
Laurie