It's no secret that I came to Florida kicking and screaming.
Four years ago, right about now, I left my family in Chicago and started the drive to Gainesville. The full-blown summer weather of the Midwest was nothing compared to the steaminess we encountered in Lexington and Chattanooga. By the time we hit Gainesville, it was 95 degrees with 1000% humidity...and not a trace of a breeze. It cooled off to a brisk 75 degrees during the night, causing condensation on all the windows. I drove to work in the sunshine, with wipers on. "Brutal" is the word that came to mind.
My hair frizzed, my makeup melted. It rained every afternoon, as I was leaving work. Mildew, or whatever it is, covered my new white porch rocker within a few weeks. (I now use a bleach solution to clean all porch surfaces almost every month.) New colleagues kept apologizing for the weather: "I'm so sorry. Just wait another month or two. It gets better. Really. No, really."
During my job search, I met some great people with stories of their own job woes. One was Kim, a friend of a colleague who agreed to let me talk to her..."networking" is the unemployed industry's buzz word for asking people if they have any job leads. We had a great conversation about our careers; she was sympathetic and supportive. She was certain I would find work. Maybe even great work.
Kim herself had once lived in Florida for a few years. When I told her there was a possibility of my relocating to the Sunshine State, she gave me advice that I still remember and respect. "Oh, you will be fine in Florida. You just need three things to survive there..."
1. Sunscreen: "You MUST wear sunscreen every day, no matter what. The sun is more direct, and you will be fried before you know it. Unless you want to be one of those brown, leathery old women, slather it on. And I mean slather!" Then, of course, there is the melanoma rate. Florida is one of the highest-ranking states in both prevalence and deaths. Along with lots of sunshine comes lots of cataracts, too. Excellent sunglasses and a top-notch opthalmologist are definitely mandatory.
2. Air-Conditioning: Kim minced no words: "You will die without it." It had never even occurred to me that there were apartments in Florida without air-conditioning! Now it seemed more urgent than ever to find a place with reliable electricity. Sure enough, on any day between May and November, step out of your office and the blast of hot steam that makes up the atmosphere hits you like a brick wall. You are dripping by the time you get to your car, and heaven help you if you parked outside for more than five minutes. As a person who loves all the seasons, I think the constant heat is one of the hardest things to deal with. I love sweaters, but have only worn them a handful of times.
3. Exterminator: I know sunscreen and air-conditioning are important, but I almost altered Kim's list to put this one at the top. It makes sense that there would be more bugs in a tropical climate. I had never seen a cockroach until I moved to Florida. They are downright creepy! The day that I opened a cabinet and two huge ones leaped out was when I knew Kim was right. Then there are the semi-annual "lovebugs," which involves two skinny insects copulating while they fly. Since they are somewhat pre-occupied, they smash into everything. Especially car windshields. Silverfish? In the Midwest, they were rare and confined to the basement. Here, they show up all over the place. Fire ants? I have scars and divots on my feet from their bites. The list goes on...
And Kim? My wise and kind guide? She moved to Boulder, Colorado.
My wife's Michigander parents had a place in Naples, FL (not Italy) and we would visit for a week in February. It was a wonderful treat not to be wearing boots and our boy loved to play in the surf. One time we went in April - already too hot. Chicago is having a wonderful moderate summer and I think I still prefer our polar vortexed winters over Florida's summers and the pesky hurricanes, but for many of us still working, the job often dictates one's locale. Hang in there.
Posted by: Edward Koizumi | 07/25/2014 at 07:12 AM