TOP 10: The battle continues to rage over the benefits of living
in Florida versus Bradford.

Today we hear from Nancy H. Kania who has lived year-round in
Florida for 13 years and, from 1970-1993, visited every year for
six weeks.

We start her assessment today but it’s too long to fit into our
limited space. We’ll have to finish up tomorrow:

She writes, “10. Correct: no snow or ice. Also correct: heat,
humidity at least 6 months of the year. Correct: low heating bills.
Also correct: high electric bills due to the AC running all the
time. My small home’s bill was $139 this month.”

“9. Correct: no state income tax. Also correct: many user taxes,
in addition to sales tax on everything except non-restaurant food.
Impact fees on new homes and high fees for registering an
out-of-state vehicle are just two that come to mind right now.

“8. Correct: homestead exemption for most homes. Mine is not
eligible.

“7. Correct: increase in land value. Also, in value of homes.
Also correct: homes are priced out of reach of the average working
person. Plans are being discussed in my county re building
condos/apartments for teachers, policemen, nurses, and the service
people of the area, as homes are priced too high for them to come
here to work and live. Retirees, with northern money and pensions,
do better. The days of ‘cheap housing’ is over around my area, and
the market is glutted with For Sale signs. People want to go north
or west.

“6. Correct: low employment. Also correct: most jobs are in the
service sector. No secretaries make $55,000 per year and delivery
men make very little. Gas is still high here, and unless you are
bi-lingual, you will have a desperate time finding a job in real
estate, sales, customer relations, and the like. We are very
Spanish-oriented.

“5. Correct: purchasing only one wardrobe per year. Also
correct: Boring. Outlet malls frequently show northern clothing as
visitors and snowbirds are the usual customers. Even Wal-Mart shows
wool jackets.

“4. Correct: no annual car inspection. Also correct: many unsafe
vehicles on the road.

“Our county has led the state in vehicular deaths. Bad tires, no
turn signals, no stop lights, and unlicensed drivers are prevalent.
A transient population means old cars from everywhere congregate on
the Florida roads. Dangerous and frightening.”