3 reasons why my dad has enjoyed living in Florida for 36 years after being born and raised in Ohio — take a look
Lauren Edmonds
Updated ·3-min read
3 reasons why my dad has enjoyed living in Florida for 36 years after being born and raised in Ohio — take a look
Insider's Lauren Edmonds and her family.Lauren Edmonds/Insider
My father moved to Florida in the 1980s after being born and raised in Dayton, Ohio.
The lack of state income tax played a role in his decision.
But Florida's warm weather sealed the deal after years of chilly northeast temperatures.
My father had a straightforward answer for why he moved 1,000 miles south to Florida from his hometown of Dayton, Ohio.
"I got cold," he said over the phone with a matter-of-fact lilt from Orlando. Living in Florida wasn't initially part of his plan, but in 1987, he began dating my mother, and the two stumbled upon a weeklong timeshare opportunity in Fort Lauderdale.
According to him, my parents quickly fell in love with the tropical weather, which they thought was a much better option than Ohio's seasonal chills. A few months later, my dad transferred to his company's Daytona office, and my mother followed soon after. Sixteen months later, they moved to Orlando, where I grew up.
Naturally, the first thing my father pointed to was Florida's weather
Kevin Edmonds pointed towards Florida's nice weather.bloodua/iStock/Getty Images Plus
There's a reason people call Florida the Sunshine State, and it has everything to do with the weather. The official website for Florida's Historic Coast, which features St. Augustine and Pointe Verda, noted Florida has a year-round average temperature of 72° Fahrenheit.
"Florida's a pretty state. Everything grows here," he said, referring to the wide variety of vegetation grown in Florida.
Our family loved the warm weather for several reasons, but two of them were the orange and banana trees that bloomed yearly in our backyard.
Florida's lack of state income tax makes it more affordable than other states
The Edmonds family in 2018.Lauren Edmonds/Insider
According to H&R Block, Florida is one of seven states that aren't required to pay state taxes yearly. The list includes Alaska, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming.
As a result, my father said he was able to save money over the years that would have otherwise gone to the state.
"From a mature standpoint, not paying 10% in income tax each year is a big deal," he said.
The diversity in Florida makes living there worthwhile
My father said he enjoys the different cultures found in Florida. The US Census reported in 2022 that more than 22 million people live in Florida, with 27% identifying as Hispanic or Latino, 17% as Black or African American, and 3.1% Asian.
Comparatively, the US Census for Ohio that same year said there were more than 11 million residents, with 4.5% of the population identifying as Hispanic or Latino, 13% as Black or African American, and 2.7% Asian.
And, of course, my dad loves the seafood
Se
Florida has lots of seafood options.Burke/Triolo Productions/Getty Images
One of the things Florida is known for is its access to seafood.
"In Ohio, if you wanted lobster, crab, or shrimp, they were frozen," he said. "If you wanted oysters, you had to do it in the right month."
He added: "Here, you can get seafood almost any time.
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Eleven climbers were found dead in Indonesia on Monday and 12 were missing after the Marapi volcano erupted in West Sumatra, a rescue official said, as search operations - which were halted temporarily over safety concerns - resumed. Three survivors were found on Monday along with the bodies of the 11 climbers, out of 75 who were in the area at the time of Sunday's eruption, said Jodi Haryawan, spokesperson for the search and rescue team, adding they were all local climbers.
Eleven hikers were found dead Monday and another 12 were missing after a volcano erupted in Indonesia, with rescuers racing to carry injured and burned survivors down the mountain on foot.Rescuers had been carrying the survivors down by hand, since an air retrieval had been deemed impossible with the eruption still ongoing, Malik said.
A powerful, magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck the southern Philippines on Saturday, the US Geological Survey said, temporarily triggering fears of a possible tsunami as big aftershocks rumbled in the area.
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Evacuations were under way in the Philippines after a quake of at least magnitude 7.5 struck the southern region of Mindanao on Saturday night, triggering tsunami warnings in the country and in Japan, though a U.S. agency said the risk of large waves had passed. The U.S. Tsunami Warning System, which initially warned of waves of up to 3 metres (10 feet) above the usual high tide level, later said there was no longer a tsunami threat.
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STORY: Eleven climbers have been found dead in Indonesia, following the eruption of Mount Marapi in West Sumatra.Their bodies were found on Monday (December 4) near the volcano’s crater, alongside three survivors, according to a rescue official.They were among 75 climbers in the area at the time of Sunday’s eruption.The local search and rescue team says the majority of the climbers have been found, with many being treated for burns.A dozen climbers remain unaccounted for, but the search was suspended on Monday due to safety concerns after a further small eruption. This woman is hoping for news of her nephew."I'm waiting for my sister's second child named Muhammad Teguh Amanda. The child is studying at Andalas University (one of the local state universities in Padang). He left for the hike on Saturday, it looks like he was on his way down and got stuck and now we don't know his whereabouts."Mount Marapi erupted on Sunday (December 3) morning, spewing ash almost 2 miles high into the air.Indonesia sits on the Pacific's so-called "Ring of Fire” and has 127 active volcanos, according to the volcanology agency. Marapi is one of the most active on the country’s western Sumatra island.Sixty people were killed when it erupted in April 1979 - it’s most deadly eruption to date.
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Indonesia's Mount Marapi erupted with white-and-gray ash plumes Sunday, stranding and injuring climbers and spreading volcanic ash over several villages. Two climbing routes were closed after the eruption and residents living on the slopes of Marapi were advised to stay 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) from the crater’s mouth because of potential lava, said Ahmad Rifandi, an official with Indonesia’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Center at the Marapi monitoring post.
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