The Comparative cost of scuba, including instruction

[Umuntu]

Have you ever paid for liftaccess and they told you a guide is required? No.

At some European resorts I believe you are required to have a guide to ski off piste, both for safety and for knowledge of the mountains.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

You guys are serious about this? Is it that bad there now?

No, it’s not. Southeast Florida, which is where the best diving is, is very ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse. I both used to live there and now visit that area on a monthly basis. Speaking from direct experience.

 

[Johnoly]

But that's what I do for a living; I ship shiit on flights...

If you stayed your summer vacation near Ft.Lauderdale & West Palm, you'll be near Miami which is a huge air cargo point with hundreds of business located there. It would be a business expense write off for you and probably alot of new customers to be found. And so many family tourist things to do they would never get bored. If they want Disney/Universal, there's the new Brightline Train that runs up & back to Orlando a dozen times a day. All sorts of big & small sealife diving is minutes away.

 

[greeniguana]

No, it’s not. Southeast Florida, which is where the best diving is, is very ethnically, racially, and religiously diverse. I both used to live there and now visit that area on a monthly basis. Speaking from direct experience.

Florida also has one of the largest and most diverse selections armed militias in the USA.

 

[jadairiii]

I was thinking of summer vacation. Now, I have to recalculate. I need a place where I can always go diving and where the kids can enjoy touristy places and summer camps.

Not sure what those posters are talking about. I've lived in Ft Lauderdale my whole life, its an extremely liberal city/county (Broward). As is Palm Beach and Miami-Dade county.

As to summer camps, I know of 3 I've seen right on the beach. There's a guy that runs a surf camp, there is usually a swim camp at the Ft Lauderdale Aquatic center in the summer and the city has a Jr life guard camp

https://www.fortlauderdale.gov/government/departments-a-h/fire-rescue/organization/ocean-rescue/junior-lifeguard-program

But I am sure there are others.

Then you are free to dive all you want, beach, boat, drive 45 min to Blue Heron bridge if its too rough out. Drive an hour to Jupiter for amazing drift diving or an hour and a half and your in Key Largo. There is beach diving access from Boca Raton to Hollywood. In Lauderdale-by-the-Sea they even have on access point with a tank rack and hoses to wash gear (get there early, parking is limited).

 

[broncobowsher]

$20K? That's the RB and the scooter......maybe.

Being smart about what you buy, you can do it. Not a contest to see how much you can spend. Enough other hobbies have turned into that.

$7k on a rebreather
$3k on a drysuit.
Bailouts, $500 each.
$2k for a light
$2k for a bunch of little stuff, mask, fins, spools, reels...
Still leaves $5k for a scooter

You can dance those numbers up and down. Not everything has to be brand new top of the line stuff. I know a lot of people running $2k blacktips and happy with what they do.

 

[ofg-1]

Florida also has one of the largest and most diverse selections armed militias in the USA.

Yes, as a native Floridian, I can attest that we also have "rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shiat-kickers and Methodists."

Whats your point?

 

[greeniguana]

Yes, as a native Floridian, I can attest that we also have "rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, shiat-kickers and Methodists."

And that's just The Villages.

 

[Rilelen]

You guys are serious about this? Is it that bad there now?

Another Florida local here - southeast Florida/Orlando/etc is like any other typical big city/tourist destination, I wouldn’t be concerned. And even up here in north central Florida there’s a large Hispanic/latino community; cave country is loosely near Gainesville, which is a very typical university town, and High Springs has some surprisingly hippie vibes. A lot of graduate students in our program are international students from China, India, etc., and largely have not encountered problems.

 

[lowwall]

You'd be fine as long as you don't sign up for flight training or try to order large amounts of fertilizer.

Just to be clear, that was a joke. SW Florida is a great place for anyone to go diving.