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What will my kids do if I don’t live near a playground in Florida?

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Welcome to Paradise. I love a good playground. My son likes to climb stuff and there are some great opportunities at the playgrounds that aren’t too far from our house. His favorite playground is only about a mile from our house, but he’s getting to the age where climbing stuff is starting to lose its appeal a little bit so, we have been hiking through the woods to a dam on a river that’s close to the actual playground. It’s really fun to spend time there, but some water activities in Florida can be concerning because of Alligators.  The only time I actually remember yelling at my son was when he was in a lake swimming and a gator popped out next to him. One of my son’s best friends has been attacked by a gator, so we are more than aware of the potential danger. So, in the end, I’m a little bummed that playgrounds are probably something that’s going to leave our life soon. However, my neighbor has some stuff that my son likes to play with and that has been fun too…. Florida neighbo...
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What’s the Best Business to Start in Florida?

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 Welcome to Paradise. When I was ten, like my son is now, I had my first job. I watered the landscaping at a condo complex. We lived on an island and there were restrictions on when you could run your sprinkler but, no restrictions on having a child perform manual labor for you. I guess.  Not sure if it was a safe job, no one ever checked on me but, I think it was. Just a little creppy to be alone working in a complex that was not visible from the street. Anyway, I survived but, of course they isn’t a single photo of me at work. Probably the best business to start in Florida is a dog walking empire, provided your mom is there to photograph you work ❤️  Our website
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How is Florida different?

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Welcome to Paradise. I am currently reading a book about the revolutionary war. I actually grew up on the hill, where Abigail Adams and John Quincy Adams walked to watch the cowardly British shell the city.  It was a pretty interesting place to grow up and I was always a big fan of New England residential architecture and loved the idea of living in a bow house at some point and eventually built myself a salt box just like John Adams and John Quincy Adams lived in.  The only thing I wasn’t a huge fan of in New England were the strict rules that families and especially children had to follow. On the street I grew up on most of us went to public school, but going to a religious school was somewhat common and totally acceptable. But I still remember the day my neighbor Thomas told us he was going to Thayer Academy.  My sister let him know that he was a liar and no longer welcome in our house and I think I probably knew that was the best example of how jealousy hurts relation...
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Is Orlando Awesome?

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Welcome to Paradise. I grew up in a town on the Atlantic Ocean named for a pirate.  In the summer we would make the arduous journey to Cape Cod to the town where the Pilgrims landed.  I never liked that town and haven't been back, truth be told - if I lived there in 1620 I would have been on the Native Americans' team and tried to send those Pilgrims back to The Netherlands (if you were thinking "back to England" you went to a bad elementary school). So it surprised me when I swam in the Gulf of Mexico in my 30s.  I thought Florida was theme parks around Orlando and Orange groves.  Boy was I wrong, I became a "Gulf Guy" couldn't have be happier.  The water is warmer than the summer ocean temp in my hometown.  Which is why I came here, but now that our son is nine, we love Orlando. But, we ARE NOT a Disney Family. Our son has been there and thought the lines were ridiculous, the rides were boring and there is way more fun stuff to do.  That's what is ...
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Where's the Best Place to Have Fun in Florida?

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Welcome to paradise. My last blog post was regarding our son's personality and how freedom of thought seems to be heavily promoted throughout Florida.  I have not posted in a few months because our son had a very serious accident and has been working on his recovery.  I am grateful he is doing so much better, and even jokes that he was never too injured he just wanted a helicopter (air ambulance) ride. For a kid that is usually headed somewhere for an action packed adventure, this season in our lives was looking worrisome.  How could we keep our kid active and protect his brain as he works on his TBI recovery?  After some serious contemplation and discussion with the medical team I think we figured it out.....  Helmet in the backyard! My Website  
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Can You Truly Be Yourself in Florida?

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Welcome to Paradise. In the town I grew up in, my hero was a bookseller who almost singlehandedly defeated the best military in the world.  He lived near me, taught himself military strategy and became one of General George Washington's closest friends.  He left school at the age my son is now to support his mom and younger brother and made himself the most interesting book seller in all of Boston. The thing I like about him was how he marched to his own drummer.  He didn't worry what others thought of him but certainly knew the difference between right and wrong.  People have largely forgotten about his heroics but, our family has not. Two weeks ago we traveled to Northern Florida and then Georgia for our son to compete in a wakeboard competition.  While we were there my son decided that some of the water lilies were cool and he should decorate his helmet with them.  Preteen boys typically do not fawn over flora or use it as decoration, but our kid isn't ...
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What Makes You The Happiest in Florida?

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Welcome to paradise. The reasons for moving to Florida are about as varied as the people who move here.  But when talking to new residents, the weather is normally a factor even if it's not the biggest one.  I knew I was going to end up here when I was 10 years old and shoveling snow in mid-April.  That's not the life I wanted. Don't get me wrong, I had lots of great friends where I grew up and I'm a history nerd so being born in Wollaston (modern day Boston) was a point of pride to me.  Even though Wollaston was named after a pirate who was generally considered an undesirable.  But, seriously how many people do you know who grew up in a town named for a pirate?  There really aren't too many of us. At any rate, since moving to Florida, I have been surprised at the amount of time everyone spends outside.  To that end I couldn't be happier that our son loves the outdoors and is involved in a few sports that take place outdoors almost exclusively.  I...
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