What Is Happening Today On Gather~ Monday February 18, 2013

sounds a lot like California: high prices, high taxes and almost no services

Thanks for the info you pass along.

Thanks for posting the spotlights, Connie.
I like Wisconsin, where we live. I don't have a choice for a different state, but we found that people can be happy anywhere; some can't be happy regardless where they live.

I prefer to live where there are four seasons, though.

Me too John.

Me too, John, but I have to wonder if where you live that one of those seasons, the cold one, might be ten months long

This year, that 10 month long season was autumn.

Hnm...I'm not a Southern gal, so living in Georgia is difficult for me. I don't like the heat, the humidity, or the traffic. I miss snow.

Ours is snowshoe depth at present with 3-6" possible again on Friday.

Pfffftt....just rub it in John,.

I mostly love my state (Iowa).......it's quite a beautiful state, with one of the lowest rates of crime in the country.....a great place to raise a family, with lots of friendly people! We have a very well run state, with a surplus of funds, according to our government officials........which is great, considering we're in the minority......LOL!!!!! The few things I don't like about our state is that we get far, far too much snow in the winter time (ughhh!), and that we have high property taxes (I think our state is the 6th highest in the nation).......we have lots of farm land, rolling hills, and just overall beauty........thankfully, we don't have an "overcrowded" population here!
As for things as prices, it's been shown that Iowa has lower prices than many states, e.g. gas prices, food, etc.......I enjoy (most of the time) living in our city......we have so many things available 24 hrs. a day, 7 days a week, which is nice. We also have a beautiful lake not far from us (about 10 or so miles). Even driving from the city to one of our suburbs, it's almost as if we're in "the country!"
I wouldn't mind becoming a "snow bird" during the worst of the winter months.....probably Arizona or Texas.

I live in Florida... and I love the sunshine, the beaches and the water. I like the fresh food, I like seeing green for most of the year... and the palm trees swaying in the breezes. I didn't think I'd like it much... the first year, but we've been here 15 years... I thought when my parents were gone (my mother in 2003, and my father in 2005) we probably would move, but we stayed. I don't think I could take a cold climate. Today it was cold and it's cold tonight and it affects me.. and not in good ways. It just reminds me why I live here.

I don't like the cold weather, either Heather, don't think I could survive the snow up north.

I dislike the cold more and more each year. It seems my body just does not deal very well with cold these days. It must be part of the aging process. :)

So far it has not been bad here at all. Keep in mind that this is our first winter here. WV is so much colder and much more snow, ice and such.

I love where I live! Louisiana, there is always something going on around here. We celebrate everything, so there is never a dull moment. I know everything isn't perfect, crime is everywhere, but I feel same where I live. I love visiting other states and seeing what they have to offer, but am always happy to come back home.

I live in Ma and I like it. I have lived in NH Fl and here and all have their pros and cons. We have had a tremendous amount of birds here to. Like Alfred Hitchcock Birds! Scary! I hope you are not in a high crime area. I am not but those areas are not far away and who knows when crime will spread with all these very poor people?
I hope your eyes are doing better!

Thanks, Connie. Gather is living up to the image in my tribute!

Chronic Chicago-created corruption and mismanagement here, which never seems to end! Contrast that with Iowa -- even their Democrat governor Chet Culver seemed conservative compared with our Pat Quinn, who looks and acts like he came out of the Roman Empire! We do have a lot of scenic attractions though, but definitely we need more limits on government and taxes. There was a guest on John Wells' radio program last night -- he said more people are getting government checks in IL than are paying in to the system through work! I think there are ten states in that situation. Time for some real libertarian / fiscal conservative management and soon! Thanks for posting this.

I think we should sell Chicago to Indiana -- maybe that would help!

I was thinking that Chicago should just make them-self a state and leave the rest of us alone. LOL

I am finding that there are a lot of people getting government assistance here as well Visionaerie. When we researched the area before we moved here, we found that it was a poverty stricken area, I disagree with that. They dress better than I do here. I have not seen anyone that looks like they are dirt poor. Granted some are struggling but no worse than anywhere else.

I will have to look at your profile and see where you live.

I hate my State, New Jersey. If I could live somewhere else I think I would pick England, or Paris. LOL.

I have never been to England or Paris. LOL I always thought that I would like to live or at least visit Ireland. A lot of my ancestors are from there and it always looks pretty in the movies. :)

I had a brother in law from New Jersey.

sales tax here is 6% on the dollar. Hate the weather here; can't think of anything I like about Michigan. If my great grandmother was still alive, Missouri by where she was living..

I love living in Michigan, although the winter gets long and tiresome. We've considered moving to Florida, where seniors are welcomed and given discounts, health care is excellent, weather is warm. We'd be farther from our kids, but maybe they would visit us there.

I bet the kids would visit Florida. That generation seem to love the beach. LOL

Do seniors really get more discounts in Florida?

I have never been to Florida but our youngest daughter was and she loved it. That warm sun sure does sound inviting. I hate the cold more and more each year. If you move to Florida, can I come visit you? LOL

I like Florida the state I live in although I dislike this cold weather. It goes from being cold one day and it warms up the next. It will be chilli today but tomorrow it warms up to 75 F. This evening or morning it is 28F here.

I LIKE WHERE I LIVE, I JUST WISH IT WERE CLOSER TO WHERE MY MOTHER IS.

hi, connie

i live on lake michigan....i love his area, because of the lake, sand dunes, brids, and beauty....i hate this area, because the weather is awful (we have 2 seasons---winter and summer), the people are trashy and ignorant and unfriendly, and there is not a lot to do here....also, there is very little work here, and what there is always is part-time and minimum wage....the economy is not good, and even big chain stores die around here.....(even pizza hut closed!..honest!)

if i were to move away (and we are seriously thinking about doing that), i would like to move somewhere where there is more to do, milder winters, and where we could open our own business.......

blessings

I like the state I live in! I have spent all of my adult life here. I love the definite change of seasons. I can view the mountains and in less than 4 hours, I can see the sea! Baltimore and Washington are only an hour away, Gettysburg about 45 minutes, all brimmed with history and lots going on. I can't think of a state I would rather live in. As I travel around to other places, it's always good to come back home! I guess I am settled in my life here!

I guess living in a new state is very much like living in a new land - lots of differences and lots of similarities ... some good and some not so good. By and large I've enjoyed my white winter of snow and ice in Massachusetts ... but I'm looking forward to the hot summer of Perth to dethaw. I fly out of Logan Airport tomorrow evening bound for West Oz - it is forecast to be 100 degrees when I arrive home.

Wow, Magi, that's quite a transition to a 100 degree temperature. A good dethawing would be such a luxury to me right now. Can't remember when my feet were not cold.

Hi Lynn! Yes, it is a huge difference - something like eighty to ninety degrees between the lows in Massachusetts and the highs in Western Australia. Perth's temperature in the day just ended was 102 degrees and it will be 102 degrees again tomorrow. But I'm looking forward to some heat - I need to dethaw.

100 degrees! Wow! I long for the warm weather. I want to see what kind of flowers is in this part of the county. I want o feel the heat on my face. LOL Hope it don't get too hot but I like the 80's. 100 is a bit warm if there is humidity.

Hope your trip was a safe one.

The trip was it's usuall exhausting ordeal. I crossed 13 time zones and am totally jet lagged. Weary but still on Massachusetts time while I'm actually in Perth. I had to jump start my car because of a flat battery .... it meant doing so while the temperature was 106 degrees.

Connie, I know it is hard to relocate and get adjusted. You should go out and photograph the birds. You seem blessed with a lot there, so take advantage.

The police arrested someone casing my house a couple weeks ago right at my FRONT door. I was oblivious to the incident until my neighbor called asking if I was alright. Her dogs started barking and she looked out to see why and saw the police in my backyard. The man's accomplice apparently got away.

On the plus side, I love my winter weather. Being able to watch a parade in the middle of February. It reached 80 on Saturday and my nephew was wearing shorts complaining of the heat.

Connie, Thank-You for my post being Featured.
Indiana has always been Home to me, because this is was I was Raised most of the time, I do miss living in CA. sometimes, like the warmer weather year around and the Friends I made while living there.
I Hope You are beginning to feel Better after your Surgery!

I can't wait to get out of the FREAK STATE. (as Florida is commonly called) If something crazy happens, you can bet your sweet patootie that it happened in Florida.
Here are some crazy headlines I have seen...
1) Bradenton woman addicted to eating couch cushions
2) Man arrested at least 120 times now faces sexual assault charges
3) US Airways allows man in ladies' underwear to fly
4) Daytona Beach woman rides baby in stroller in bed of pickup
5) Woman arrested after assaulting man with butter
6) Man stole life size Justin Bieber cutout
7) Wellington woman arrested, kids taken, after telling cops to arrest her "mailbox."
8) Man chokes wife during game of Yahtzee
9) Largo man accused of misusing 911 to report that taco bell would not sell him tacos.
10) Man accused of sealing truck full of Krispy Kremes

Yes, these all happened right here in sunny, Florida. I could go on and on, but this is the Florida we have come to know and love...NOT!!.

The weather is terrible. Hot Christmas days then 40 degrees a couple of days later. No change of seasons. Same old, same old!

There are some nice things here...beaches, if you are into that. But with all the snowbirds, traffic near the beaches is horrendous.

Hurricanes...need I say more?

OK, enough of this badmouthing Florida. Florida has provided my children and me a good living and a good education. I did find and marry a terrific Florida Cracker, who is the love of my life.

But, Ed and I both absolutely adore New Mexico. If we could sell our house (which we can't because the housing market has caused us to be about $30,000 upside down) we would pack up and move to Alburquerque in a heartbeat!

Arizona legislation is looking at a bill to require high school seniors to take an oath of citizenship before they can graduate. I doubt it will become law too many whacky parts, but the fact it was introduced as a bill in the first place...?!

I just think Legislature spend their time unwisely. I mean think about it. There was a law that said that it was illegal to drive while distracted. . . .
Then they took the time to make a law that you can't drive while texting. . am I the only one that sees the problem with this new law. Why don't they just enforce the laws we have and then they could spend their time making laws we need.

Ok off my soap box now. :)

Thanks for the updates Connie.
Here in my part of Ohio, we never had earthquakes. (Which is good)
But, it's awfully cold in Winter. Brrr.
My family is all in this state, which is a good thing.

I've lived in many states - including IL. Any state with a major city has budget issues, thanks to the city's drain on the rest of the state. I'm currently in PA, and we have this problem with Philadelphia. I've lived in MI, NY, IL, and they all have this problem with their cities. They're giant financial sinkholes. You didn't really experience it in WV, as their cities just aren't large enough to be major financial drains.
If I could move tomorrow anywhere I wanted to, I'd go to the Southwest. I love that area - and I think we're going to retire there.

What do you like about the state you live in?
I live in Ohio. It has alot scenic area, corn fields and wild life.

What do you dislike about the state you live in?
The state is pretty much against felons when it comes to getting a job. A good paying job, something besides fast food or cooking.

Are you concentrating on the good or the bad about your state?
I am glad to be around family.

If you could move, what state would you like to move to? Why? Somewhere out west. I haven't been out there before. I have tried Florida but don't like the humidity. Ohio is just to cold most of the time. So, I stay hibernated.

I visited a few clients in Illinois - once in summer. I almost froze. But be the Arizona dry heat.

I'm not sure its the state I like so much as the fact that I love Mother Earth. I have been in the chihuahuan desert of SW tx for 50 years so I'm used to it and am accustomed to its many diversities during each years weather patterns. I'm not sure where I'd have wanted to live if I had known in my 20s what I know now.

I lived in central West Virginia all my life until we moved here this autumn. I never expected to live anywhere else. The economy was just so bad in our area that when my husband's job closed down, we had to move to find employment.

If the economy is getting better, I don't see it.

I have been in Northern Texas but that is about it. I have a Great Uncle who lives near Huston somewhere.

I too love Mother Earth. It is constantly amazing me just what Heavenly Father made for us to enjoy. :)

Have you traveled to many other parts of the country?

I've travel through it to some degree but I was very young and about the only think I recall is dads car would overheat and we'd constantly have to stop at the side of the road to find water for the radiator. Dad was a GI.

I used to have coyotes in my backyard. We didn't live in the country really, but behind our house was a couple acres of empty land, backed up to a bunch of woods. I was outside one day and I turned around and there went a coyote. It didn't pay one bit of attention to me. I only lived there 2 years.

Then, at the church I am at now, on one side is a bunch of houses, but on the other is woods. We have had a couple coyotes at the front of the church, but better was seeing roadrunners!

What I like about my state is the friendliness of the people. What I dislike the most is the dadgum heat and humidity.

We had terrible humidity in West Virginia. I have no idea what the humidity is like here. We have not lived here a summer as of yet. So far, the weather is much different than we are used to. Not nearly as cold or as much snow. More ice here though. Time will tell what the weather will be like.

I could hear coyotes most nights in WV but I was more familiar with the land so it did not frighten me at all. I guess because I am so new here, it puts me on edge a bit.

I don't think I have ever seen a roadrunner. That would be so cool. Do you go to a country church that still rings the bell when it is time to start services on Sunday morning?

No. You'd be surprised if you saw it. It doesn't look like a place that would have road runners. And I have to say, they are much smaller than the cartoon! lol

Beautifully done Connie!