<p>which state is better and why? I can't decide which one to study at.</p>
<p>Hurricanes or (possible) earthquakes? :)</p>
<p>well what SCHOOLS are you looking at? after all the recent natural disasters, I would think most OOS students would want to avoid Florida all together, especially Miami.</p>
<p>California, in my opinion.
Better educational oppurtinities and overall better atmosphere. But it all depends on what you like.</p>
<p>I've lived in both. Both are warm weather states, but there are some differences.</p>
<p>Florida is warmer in the winter, but much, much hotter in the summer. Florida also is much more humid and has a lot more bugs - fire ants, "palmetto bugs" = huge cockroaches, mosquitoes, etc. In northern Florida you get a lot of good ol' boys with Confederate flags on their pickups. In southern Florida you get a lot of displaced Cubans who are obsessed with Fidel Castro. Every time Castro catches a cold it's the top news story in Miami.</p>
<p>In California there is greater variety of climate - snowy ski slopes that are a 90 minute drive from the warm and sunny beach. There are no ski slopes at all in Florida. In my experience the people are generally friendlier in California - service with a smile in shops and such. Most Californians are originally from somewhere else, often the east coast or midwest. </p>
<p>California does have earthquakes. Depending on the college, you may feel the ground shake a bit once or twice in your four years. Big quakes are rare, however. The bigger threat in California are wind-driven wild fires. They destroy homes nearly every year in the late summer. Florida, of course, has hurricanes.</p>
<p>Which specific schools are you considering? That choice will probably affect your college experience and happiness much more than your choice of states will.</p>
<p>Oh yeah and the whole hurricane deal with florida shouldnt influence your decision at all. While a few areas were hurt pretty badly(esp on coasts), a majority of Florida just got a few days off of school/work and a few branches scattered around the yard. And living in a dorm you dont really have to worry about damages.</p>
<p>Florida = more Spanish speakers. California = more Chinese/Japanese/Korean speakers.</p>
<p>California all the way! Too much humidity in Florida for me...the weather is always right in CA and there are a ton of university options: Berkeley, UCLA, the entire UC system, Stanford, CalTech, USC, etc. Pick CA for the great all around atmosphere.</p>
<p>California is the state with the highest Asian population in the US (>4.2 million).</p>
<p>munkeegirl, i bet you a lot of money that there are more spanish speaking people in cali than in florida. There are tons of mexicans at my school and in my community. They are mostly here though when it is grape picking season. I think i might even be a minority in my school, which is in Nor-cal, and there are probably a lot more spanish speaking peeps in so-cal. Anyways, i would much rather stay in cali than florida, i cant stand humidity, its disgusting. California offers much more of everything than any other state. You can go to the snow, get a tan on many a beach, hike through ancient redwoods, go to the deserts, go to many big cities, and countless other things.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Florida = more Spanish speakers.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>florida = around 17% hispanic out of 16 million = 2.72 million hispanics
california = around 34% hispanic out of 34 million = 11.56 million hispanics</p>
<p>Cali all the way! Cali has, I think, has better colleges than Florida (no offense to Florida). Yeah, there's lots of fun stuff to do in Cali, however just be prepared to deal with the traffic.</p>
<p>I live in florida.... choose cali :</p>
<p>hmm, I guess I shouldve verfied the type of Spanish speakers.. ^_^;; was thinking more about Cuba etc.</p>
<p>I grew up in California, but lived for 2.5 years in Miami...</p>
<p>I loved Miami, and UM is a decent place to do undergrad, but I wouldn't pick it over any of the UC's...South Florida might as well be a different state/country than northern florida (Gainesville and up). The vast majority of people in Miami are Hispanic...</p>
<p>....while I'm not Hispanic, I liked the unique flavor Miami had over other metropolitan areas. Florida's a big, diverse state...I had fun there, but it would be hard to pick it over California, especially if you have never lived in either.</p>
<p>cheers,
CUgrad</p>
<p>hmm actually california's a really big place too. the cultural atmosphere varies depending on where you are, and also, the college's demographics may not necessarily reflect the local area's demographics. if you choose cali over florida, you'll still have to choose SF vs. LA vs. SD most likely.</p>
<p>munkeegirl actually, no. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2000, both California and Florida have a higher percentage of Hispanics then Asians. Yes, It would seem that there are more Asians in California then in Florida and more Hispanics in Florida then in California but only because the total population in California is larger then Florida, however; the percentage (as seen bellow) will show that there are more Hispanics, besides the fact that California is bordering with Central America and in turn South America.</p>
<p>California total population: 33,871,648
Hispanics: 10,966,556 (32.4%)
Asians: 3,697,513 (10.9%)
Vs.
Florida total population: 15,982,378
Hispanics: 2,682,715 (16.8%)
Asians: 266,256 (1.7%)</p>
<p>Ps. As a California resident I just love it some of the top schools are here (Loyola Marymount, Occidental College, UCI, UCLA, UC Berkley, UC Davis,USD, USC and of course Stanford along with an array of climates from the Mountains to the dessert and the beach.</p>
<p>To my peoples, if you hear me, where you at, throw your gloves in the air
Wave 'em like you just don't care
From L.A. to the Bay, what you say
All day, every day, any damn day
Take a look around, we got the whole world locked down
Goin' on and on, we don't stop, won't stop, can't stop
Either ride or die
Gotta give it up for the Westside</p>
<p>...sorry had to say it, I'm the king of reprises. Forget Boston, Westside till I die!</p>
<p>Go to California!!!</p>
<p>I live in Florida, and I'll tell you, I'm miserable here. That's why I chose to go to an out of state college.</p>
<p>If your the type of person who loves the seasons, definately don't come here. You don't see any of that. On top of that, it's humid and when it's like that, you feel disgusting. </p>
<p>I'm not sure what schools in Florida you are looking at, but I personally don't like Gainesville (if your looking @ UF). I don't know what it is, but the whole city just isn't appealing.</p>
<p>I'd definately take California over Florida any day.</p>
<p>California. florida is disgusting the people in fl are disgusting everything about fl is disgusting. california is beautiful the people are beautiful. everything about California is beautiful.California.</p>