a question for my American cousins from a Nova Scotian

[slimjim]

Hi All,

I am new to this board. My wife and I have been traveling to Negril several times a year since 2008 for short trips. Love it, of course. But we are newly retired and are looking for somewhere to spend a couple months every winter. Now, nearly every Canadian's dream is to winter in Florida or Arizona, etc. I have read the forum back quite a ways and notice a lot of posts from folks in the Southern US of A. You have good weather already. So, given the similar climate, why Jamaica? Why not Miami or Ft Lauderdale or similar?
Hope I am being clear, here.

[Flipadelphia26]

I lived in Miami for 5 years. Hope to move back.

The thing about Jamaica is the vibe. Nowhere in the US has a vibe that compares.

[garysteph1018]

Why not Jamaica?! It has nothing to do with climate. I live in SC & we go to the beaches in FL & every where else around here, but nothing compares to the peace I felt when I was in JA for the first time in July. All I do is think ab getting back!

And like Flip said... There's a vibe there that just can't be duplicated!!

[Coco]

Definitely the vibe! I lived in south Florida for a year and the weather is the same but not the vibe.

[Marko]

two different worlds........live in St Petersburg, FL for like 13 years now.......
and been going to Jamaica for 30 years plus had a cottage in Negril for 5 years.......
got the best of both worlds......but still they are quite different........
they say St Petersburg Beach, FL in the 50's is how Negril is today......mi don't doubt it.....
today wi have high rises and you can't even see the beach from the road anymore except in a couple spots.......
St Pete is typical America with American food and drinks and culture......but in a hot humid climate from May to Oct......
from Oct to May the weather is pretty awesome but the end of Dec thru the end of Feb can't be quite chilly.......
some nights it will go down to around 30........but only a couple nights a year.......
during the winter the average temp is around 70F and too cold to go to the beach or the pool unless it's heated....
but in Jamaica the weather is about the same year round......though quite humid in the summer but lower temps than FL.....

the biggest difference with Jamaica of course is the culture, food, smoke, drinking, etc etc......
and being able to go in the wata year round where in St Pete, FL you are nuts to go in the wata in Jan......lol
personallly I luv the weather from Oct 1st to May 1st.......with a long extended vacation in Jamaica in the middle of winter

in FL they have crackdown seriously on drinking and being under the influence so that is a no no........
though still a lot of people do it..........a lot that are on vacation too........
you will be loosing your license for a year and paying out about $10,000 bucks if caught and convicted.........

in Florida wi have very good health care for us old farts......can't really say the same for Jamaica.......

we have no State Income Tax but wi do have a Sales Tax in FL........
Jamaica has the GCT which is quite high in comparison.....

people can be friendly in FL but nuthin like Jamaica where everyone wants to be your friend........
poverty of course is very prevalent in Jamaica but wi have our fair share here in FL too.......

mi don't really relax in FL cause mi work for a living though if mi was on vacation mi could relax some........
but nuthin the way mi can relax in Jamaica.....it's really night and day in dat department......

things are much more slow paced in Jamaica......
sometimes that is a good thingy.......but sometimes a bad thingy......lol
trying to get someone to put in a days worth of work is a challenge in Jamaica........
but in FL wi have a huge labor pool and you pick up da phone and you can gets stuff done right away......

so if you like da idea of laying back on da beach with some smoke and beers then Jamaica is Irie.......
but if you like to go to the mall to do some shopping......then FL is the ticket
sure you can hang on da beach in FL but drinking on da beach is illegal in a lot of areas......not so in Jamaica
in FL wi have A/C everywhere.....not so in Jamaica....so if you need A/C full-time to be comfortable, stick with FL
current is expensive in Jamaica which A/C uses a lot of......
so unless you are very wealthy.....you won't be using much A/C in Jamaica

it's not easy in FL for making a living.....you make about half what you would up North......just so you know
and our Homeowners Insurance is sky high...average homeowner insurance in St Pete is around $2,000 a year

owning in FL is very reasonable now especially with all the foreclosures.......Jamaica can be expensive......
mi will probably not own in Jamaica....and only rent....cause the owning numbers don't come close to working

hopefully mi have given some insight into the FL versus Jamaica debate.......
mi think mi have the best of both worlds right now........
though if mi didn't need to make any money....you certainly find mi in Jamaica with a cold Red Stripe in mi hand...lol

mi St Pete, FL house is now paid for and my bills are low........
so maybe you'll be seeing more of this guy in Jamaica in the near future with that Red Stripe in his hand....lol

Cool Runnings, Marko

[M&G Montreal]

Hey, Marko! We went in the water in winter in Tampa ..... actually, Gary went in the water and it was a particularly cold day. I had on a sweatshirt and the Floridians were all in ski jackets (really?). There were some in front of me and they looked out at Gary in the waves, shook their heads and said "Must be Canadian ..."!!!!

I often wondered why Californians and Floridians flocked to Ja .... I get it now. (Gerryg explained it to us) It's not the weather (which is why we Canadians INITIALLY go to Ja), it's the whole vibe. The whole atmosphere! Can you see the One Love Pub Crawl anywhere else - with people from their early 20's and up into their 60's partying on and having a good time together?

Marko, you seriously think wages are that much lower in Florida? Versus Northern U.S.? That's interesting! Hope to meet you on one of our reaches .... one coming up late Jan!

Congratulations to you, Slimjim, on being able to go for extended periods! That's our plan! We have some friends who are doing that this year again (Year 3) and they love love love it! You can get amazing accomodation for reasonable cost! A little efficiency cottage for $400 a month! Sur la plage, no less! That's outstanding!

Enjoy the vibe. It's more than just the warm!

[garysteph1018]

Marko, you seriously think wages are that much lower in Florida? Versus Northern U.S.? That's interesting! Hope to meet you on one of our reaches .... one coming up late Jan!

Hi M...

When we lived in FL (down from South Carolina) I made about $3/hour less, the work was harder, & the cost of living was higher! BUT I could hear the ocean at night & I could watch the sunset over the canal we had in our backyard! Totally worth it!!!! Money does not = happiness for this chick!!!!

Still think you rock! Hope to see you again soon!!!!

[Flipadelphia26]

The wages are less. But there's no state income tax. In my case. Living in Philly. I pay the state tax. Plus a 3.98 percent city wage tax. So, if you make, say 50 grand a year. That's +\- 2k lost in city taxes alone.

So there's some advantages to FL living.

As for FL winter weather. Wintertime weather in Florida Orlando and south seems nice and warm during the day to people coming from 30 degree and weather from up north.

As you live down there. Your body adjusts. And I heard, your blood actually gets thinner. Not sure if that's true, but whatever.

[Rambo]

Jamaica is the only place we can find Jamaicans.......if they all lived in New Mexico, thats where we would go.....

[garysteph1018]

Hilarious Rambo!!!