I think there are kernels of inspiration here that could grow into quite a discussion - certainly the serenity and humor of the photographs, seen from the perspective of a New York March day, make we aks what on earth I'm doing up here. That the housing is more than sufficient and clearly affordable makes me wonder if we haven't all been sold a design bill of goods for much of what we see here in New York: overpriced, not-exceptionally original, poorly-executed designs preciously over hyped. In terms of "commodity" and "delight", the Florida environment shown appeals - only the lack of "firmness" (trailer parks have such a bad rep) gives me pause. Maybe I'll head south and found Vetruvius, a community of firmly anchored trailers...

Oh, Peter, if only you could have grown up amongst it. I grew up in NW Florida, not exactly the 'early bird special' part of the state. But, nonetheless, the low socio-economic status and/or education level of so much of the population where I'm from makes it a pretty depressing place to live (not to mention raise a family). But both of my parents are from upstate NY, so I am probably speaking from the non-Southern point of view. After all, my mom couldn't even make a decent pot of Southern sweet tea! And those Florida summers are nearly unbearable now, compared to when I was a child 30+ years ago. Perhaps we all live under 'the grass is always greener' illusion...

tornado magnets

yes cannone123, and not great in a state that is in hurricane country, i thought florida had a building code of concrete, block, and steel.

Shannon--

Love that photo set. Manages to capture the quirkiness of Florida but with a sweet respect.

I moved to Florida from Hell's Kitchen a few years ago. While my Florida ( I live in Miami) is very different from the scene you so charmingly captured, it was the sun, the color of the ocean, the pastel buildings that wooed me too. I think it was during a February vacation down here from the city, when I decided to relocate. I had left JFK on a ugly, slushy,bitter day and three hours later I was cruising over a causeway with turquoise water below and all around, in a taxi which had it's windows down and Julio Igesias on the airwaves. It was sherbet colored Art Deco buildings and the constant presence of palm trees, tanned beautiful people, and outdoor restaurants on Lincoln Road. But guess what, I miss Hell's Kitchen like mad. I miss the Chelsea Flee market, my little community garden on 48th street (where we SO cherished our tiny patch of green), I miss finding thrown- out furniture on the street and hauling it blocks and blocks and then up to my walk-up between 10 and 11 avenues. I miss Century 21 Department Store, H&H bagels and Bengali take-out. I miss cashmere, scarves, and radiators. Like they say, ALWAYS greener on the other side

here's what you're doing in nyc: living intelligently, in all ways. four seasons do a brain and body good. when i left miami for nyc, everyone warned i'd miss the sun, the space, the ocean, my big apt there. but i hated florida's car culture, the vacuous body culture, the preening, and the 55+ communities, which really are just heaven's waiting rooms. and green living, it's not. they've built over half the everglades, and developers are pushing, successfully, to pave over far more. everyone wants their patch of grass, their slice of the sun, their air conditioned home, and you get it in florida, regardless of the eco impact. plus trailers ARE hurricane bait, and no matter how many storms tear through them, people keep on retiring in them. kitsch is not without a price!

OMG, I cannot WAIT. I am going to Miami in 10 days - and MAN I am so excited. After the crappy winter, it's high time for that gorgeous sunlight, water, birds, beautiful people.....

Thanks for sharing!

Having lived just a little further south of your destination ( desoto county, fl) i want ya'll ta know we ain't all back woodsers.
seriously i am a frequent voyeur on this wonderful dose of design and tast.
having gone thru Charlie the hardway and then spent 14 months in a trailer we could haveparked in most of the apartments i've seen here i was able to plan ahead and spend some time with you lovelies and had a modern plan.
thanks for all of the inspiration
hope you enjoyed your stay and come see what we have are doing with our manufactures home
lot of birds and other critters already here.
i love it but miss shopping in the city.
good for you
sherrie laporte

sunburnt--

There are seasons in Florida. You just have to be sensitive and observant enough to notice them. And you can "live intelligently" ANYHWERE. NYC does NOT have the market cornered on THAT.(Dear GOD)

And how, exactly, are we living in NYC with a less impactful eco footprint?

And, um, "vacuous body culture" and "the preening"? Alive and well in NYC, my friend. Alive and well.

Ah...the old Florida vs. New York debate! I love it! I've lived in Miami most of my life and for the most part I love it. Although we are going through unprecidented growth (high rises everywhere, uugghh!!) and have managed to become the most unaffordable city in the country, I loves me my palm trees. Something about them are so beautiful. The biggest joy I have is planting a new palm in my yard. I have them everywhere. That said I still know New York is the greatest city in the world. No question. After lasts years storm's I couldn't take another hurricane season of boarding up again and again. I thought if I leave here where would I go? Most people leave Florida for the Carolina's or Georgia. But if I left Miami there's only be one place for me...NYC!!! That's my story and I'm stickin with it...

P.S. I did live in NYC in the 80's for a couple of years and was really surprised how friendly people were compared to Miami. I didn't expect that!

florida just wasn't for me. the seaons, in my view, went pretty much like this: warm, hot, bloody crazy hot, then hurricanes. as for nyc's eco impact, i know it's counterintuitive, but check this, from new yorker 0ct 18, 2004, Green Manhattan; Everywhere should be more like New York, by david owen. here's excerpt.

"Anyplace that has such tall buildings and heavy traffic is obviously an environmental disaster-except that it isn't," John Holtzclaw, a transportation consultant for the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council, told me. "If New Yorkers lived at the typical American sprawl density of three households per residential acre, they would require many times as much land. They'd be driving cars, and they'd have huge lawns and be using pesticides and fertilizers on them, and then they'd be overwatering their lawns, so that runoff would go into streams." The key to New York's relative environmental benignity is its extreme compactness. Manhattan's population density is more than eight hundred times that of the nation as a whole. Placing one and a half million people on a twenty-three-square-mile island sharply reduces their opportunities to be wasteful, and forces the majority to live in some of the most inherently energy-efficient residential structures in the world: apartment buildings. It also frees huge tracts of land for the rest of America to sprawl into.