My husband and I came down to Florida in 1983 after the ominous words from my New York cancer specialist. He told me my future was bleak, and my life expectancy was very short. It was very cold in New York and I wanted to enjoy the warmth of South Florida for however long I had left. My children were in elementary and high school, so we settled in Coral Springs, and I just waited there to die. But the great doctors and hospitals not only kept me alive, but with four surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, I started to come around and feel good again. We then moved to Rainberry Bay in Delray Beach, where we made great friends and played tennis and my joie de vivre returned.

So the things I love about Florida are:
1. The warmth of the sun
2. The warmth of the people, especially at Rainberry Bay
3. Strolling Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach
4. The green market
5. Eating at Boston’s on the Beach while watching the surf roll in

TOP 5 FUN, FAVORITE REASONS FOR LIVING IN SOUTH FLORIDA

5. Frequent and legal U-turns. Driving around here is soooo easy.

4.Downtown Lake Worth-it’s so stylish, yet unpretentious. It really is the city with a small town feel.

3. Christmas parties on the neighbors’ patios, while I know people in my native New Jersey are shivering inside-haha, suckers!

2. Festivals of every conceivable nationality and interest-The Indian, Irish, Latin, Greek, Brazilian, Portuguese, Columbian, Cuban, reggae , Finnish, Renaissance, gay pride, and film festivals. There are usually several to choose from almost every weekend, and Clematis by Night and many other music festivals are even free!

1. (drumroll, please) Salsa, salsa, salsa! Latin dancing, that is, not the food. I have lost almost 70 pounds from dancing since I moved here! Also, I never heard reggaeton music before I moved to Florida, didn’t like it at first, but it has now grown on me and I know all the reggaeton singers and bands. So make that all Latin dancing in nightclubs, parties and classes—salsa, meringue, bachata, cha-cha and regeton.

1. I met my husband here and fell in love. Our first date was on the St. Lucie River, the same route we now take our girls on family outings, in the same boat my husband and I fell in love in. Just the serene nature of PSL and listening to our children's laughter is one of my favorite pastimes.

2. Our daughter's are being raised in a friendly, family oriented community that reminds me of my childhood, some thirty something years ago. Their education is full of excitement and passion of the basics and of Florida's nature and wonder. People smile for no reason other than just to be friendly.

3. South Florida's sunrise is always amazing and full of the day's potential, as if an old friend saying "Hello".

4. There are hundreds of places that hold memories, that never change and are always there to remind me of how blessed I am. The Breakers coffee shop, where my husband and I would end our dates, listening to a symphony and holding hands as we dreamed about our future together.

5. The beach is full of adventure, just in the discovery of shells, a creature in its natural habitat or the rush of the waves over our toes. My family can explore while using our imaginations, enjoying family time together and creating memories for years to come.

Last month, I was lamenting the economy and my particular place in it. I had decided to forego some traveling that I wanted to do this year, and had also decided to cut back on going out so much. I whined to my friends, “I guess I’ll just hang out on my balcony and ride my bike to the beach a lot!” We then all laughed as I remembered that many people come here to South Florida for their vacations and spend time chillin’ on balconies or patios out by the pool, AND going to the beach! It’s good to actually live in Paradise!

Here are my five reasons why South Florida is my personal paradise:

• the lizards that scatter over the walkway in front of your feet--
they remind you that you are somewhere tropical!

• the Everglades in the evening--the anihingas roosting, the
alligators calling to one another, the fireflies glowing....it's magical!

• the fresh water pool at Sundy House in Delray Beach—complete
with fish! It’s hard to find a more relaxing spot.

• all the outdoor dining—there’s nothing like a glass of chilled wine
or a cold mojito sipped outdoors as you people watch
(dada in Delray Beach is my favorite)!

• all the languages heard every day—how fabulous to have people
and cultures from around the world brought to you...especially if
you have to cut back on your own travel!

In the past year my family has lost a lot. We've lost our home, my husband lost most of his business and we've lost our savings but what we do have is paradise and each other. We are now renting a home that has a view that makes us believe we'll be alright. It is our safe haven away from all of the bad in the world right now. We live in paradise because of our
1. Pool with running waterfall
2. Sunsets beyond words over the lake
3. The sound of birds, ducks, frogs and all kinds of other wildlife
4. The kindness of our neighbors
5. Feeling like your on vacation everyday

I have always loved South Florida but, I never realized what an amazing place it is until I had my little girl. When I look at my home town, Lake Worth, thru her eyes I feel blessed to live here.

My top five favorite things about living here are:

1. Watching my daughter walk at Lake Worth beach in February...when most people are huddled inside for the winter.

2. Stepping into my backyard and seeing the wild parrots and iguanas watching my daughter as she watches them.

3.Visiting all the local parks and having my baby girl make friends with kids from all different backgrounds and cultures.

4. Playing in the sunshine with my daughter one minute, the rain the next and then the sunshine again.

5. Going as a family to local restaurants like John G's, where everyone greets you with a smile and knows you by name.

In the early 1920's my grandfather left cold and rainy England and vowed he would head south in America until he found a Tropical paradise. He found it...

Here are the top five reasons we live in Paradise:

1. The diversity of cultures gives us a chance to make friends from a wide variety of people with interesting backgrounds and enjoy customs, festivals, interesting lifestyles and great foods.

2. If you don't like the weather in Paradise wait five minutes.
We have days that start out balmy without a cloud in the sky and by the afternoon the sky is black the lighning is flashing. At dinner time all is forgiven, the sun is out and there is time for an evening swim in the ocean.
Some days are hot as a sauna and the next day a cold front comes through to give us a break.

3. All the interesting critters and plants that are green and blooming all year long.
I drink my coffee in the morning and read the paper (The Post of course :) on the patio with the fragrance of the jasmine blooms, a never ending visual parade of spotted skunks, foxes, opossums, brightly colored lizards and snakes cruising through the yard as the red cardinals, blue jays, mockingbirds and parrots provide the musical score

4. I met my wife at Boca High and we raised three kids on an island and taught them to swim and surf before they could walk. The fine art of beachcoming came later. On weekends we can had west to the glades and go catfishing, birdwatching, ride an airboat or just enjoy the peace and quiet of the river of grass.

5. Our beautiful ocean is never the same from one day to the next. It can be calm as a lake for snorkeling and catching our dinner. The next day huge swells make surfing or riding our jetski just another day in my personal paradise.

Doug

I love …
1. Being from Colorado, never a day goes by when I don’t marvel at the beautiful flowers, green grass, palm trees, exquisite landscaping, beautiful beaches and never-ending sound of the surf of the great Atlantic Ocean.
2. Living five minutes from my precious son, Jim, who also lives in Jupiter.
3. The excellent restaurants, especially the ones with outdoor dining like Carmine’s La Trattoria.
4. Great entertainment at Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Kravis Center, Cuillo Centre for the Arts, Eissey Campus Theatre and the Dreyfoos School of the Arts.
5. My love for sunny Florida afforded me the pleasure of meeting my beautiful friend Teresa. She is such a fun-loving, generous, happy, compassionate person. We are both widows, love to travel, go to the theater and out to eat on occasion. I am so thankful she came into my life.
— Ruth Lewis, Jupiter

My husband likes to tell the story of his 13th birthday: Someone asked what he wanted and he said he wanted to retire to Florida. His parents had taken him there in 1932 when he was a little boy living in the cold and dreary suburbs of New York City and he never got over the memory of feeling warm in the winter and playing at the beach while his friends were shoveling snow.
Thirty years into our marriage, my husband retired and we moved to Florida …

Why do we love Florida so much? How do I count the ways?
1. It is impossible to wake up and be sad when the sky is blue, the sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and the outdoors beckons from every angle. It is like the opening of a Disney movie, when you hear birds singing and everyone is happy.
2. In Westchester County, New York, everything was old and traditional. When we arrived in Florida, we were greeted by sparkling new places to shop, houses with high ceilings and lots of glass, beautiful landscaping and roads without taxis honking their horns and slamming on their brakes.
3. We were able to enjoy the good life at half the cost: FPL was cheaper than ConEd, an elegant meal could be had for half the cost of a New York City restaurant, and special events are affordable.
4. When we moved to Florida, we knew no one in the entire state. We moved in on a Sunday night, went to play duplicate bridge at the clubhouse … and the next day we received several phone calls inviting us to bridge games and dinner and pool-side get-togethers. Making friends was as easy as breathing in and out.
5. When people ask us where we live, we say Paradise. We both feel as if we’ve died and gone to heaven. I wish we’d moved here sooner. The thought of never putting children in snow suits or shoveling out driveways, of spending hours outside, of being surrounded by friendly people … these are things we hadn’t considered but that have made our lives in Florida so special. What we have experienced here is the stuff dreams are made of.
— Doris and Bernard Mittleman, Boynton Beach

1. Even though I was born in Florida, I appreciate the opportunities we have because I have a cousin in Haiti who doesn’t have any opportunities. She lives in a shack with no electricity or running water. I am thankful for my roof, my lights, my old car, everything.
2. We are blessed to be able to eat every day. When my cousin came to visit, we put out all of the food and she was afraid to take anything. I can decide if I want to go to Popeye’s or McDonald’s, or just go to the grocery store and see all the choices we have. I don’t have much, but what I have I’m willing to share. My mama was the same way, and when I see someone who doesn’t have anything it touches me and I want to help.
3. I love South Florida for the rainy days, because without rain our crops won’t grow. I was born in Belle Glade, one of six kids, and Belle Glade’s 'soil is her fortune,’ but without the rain, it wouldn’t matter how good the soil is.
4. I love South Florida because I can attend any church I want. I attend Miracle Outreach Ministry in Boynton Beach. There are so many religions, and I’m able to pray the way I want.
5. I don’t have to worry about some things other Americans worry about, like snow and earthquakes.
— Elsie Phillips, Lake Worth