AshleytheGreat

That motto belongs to Racine for a reason. Having grown up there as a child and since moving to central Florida, there is not a hot, humid summer that goes by that I don’t long for home. The people are second to none that I have ever met, and the understated beauty and simplicity of Lake Michigan is a sight to behold. Downtown’s Main St. is full of quaint and unique little shops, cafes and charm. You’re never too far from a corner pub to pop into and make new friends, and the Racine Zoo is a perfect way to spend a spring afternoon.

The variety of places to grab a bite never ceases to impress me each and every time I come home. From a greasy spoon diner where you can get an entire meal for just about the price of a gallon of gas, to the elegant and posh resturants along Lake Michigan, Racine will not leave you hungry in the least. Friday night fish fry’s are a staple of midwestern life, and Racine in no exception. Cliff’s Boathouse on Hamilton is no bigger than my kitchen, but they have the best fish fry… hands down.

I’ll be heading home for a visit at the end of the month, and I couldn’t be happier. You won’t find a lot of “exciting night life” in Racine, but if you’re in the market for a city with deep seeded roots and people to go with it, Racine is a great place to be.

Make sure you check out Inside Out on Main St. It’s a funky, eclectic little shop with some of the most decorative and colorful home accents you’ll ever find. The saleswoman I met (I believe her name was Nancy) was just the type of person that makes Racine (and the parts of Wisconsin that I’ve been to) one of the greatest places to be.

So from a viewpoint of visiting, it’s a waste of time. Located approx. 30 miles NE of Orlando and 25 SW of Daytona Beach, Deltona is over 90% residential. We have a McDonalds, Burger King, two chains of grocery stores and not much else. There are great parks scattered here and there, but for a place to visit, Deltona does not have much to offer.

However, Deltona is a nice choice for the thousands of people who commute to the greater Orlando area for work. Nice neighborhoods and decent schools (from a Florida average) make Deltona a nice choice for starting/raising a family. We do not have any known “bad parts of town” but being that the city is only 10 years technically old I’m sure that it will just be a matter of time. Deltona was formed primarily as a ‘snow bird community’; that is – a refuge for retiree’s seeking warm weather during the winter months. The growth and expansion that the city has undergone just in the past 5 years (over 300%) was nothing that city planners could have prepared for, and consequenly the roads seem to always be under construction due to the addition of sewer lines for new subdivisions, or to widen the main roads throughout the city.

I have lived here for the past 7 years, so while I’m not native to this area/state, I can say with confidence that Deltona is not worth making any road trips for.