[yukon]

Friend of mine used to work for a CA tech company, they were paying him $132,000+. Here in FL, for the same job, he's being offered $30,000 to $60,000. Fortunately for him, it's less expensive to rent here.

[jhlcomp]

Look guys, it's not just Florida. I just returned from Nevada and Arizona. If you think everything is so out of hand here, you really need to look a little farther than our state line. It's bad in other states, not just Florida.

[goodbyehollywood]

CA has creative mortgages, true, but that ship has sailed and many are going to lose those homes they can't afford. Taxes are higher, insurance is comparable to FL's (earthquakes in CA vs. hurricanes in FL = higher rates for both) and contrary to popular belief, most jobs do not pay that much more in CA-- certainly not enough more to compensate for the much higher cost of living. Some pay exactly the same.

The way Californians hang on is they spend 50-70% of their incomes on housing. They do cheap things outdoors (go to the beaches, hiking, biking, rollerblading) for fun, don't eat all that much and, if they get in a bind, put any shortfall on credit cards. Californians and New Yorkers expect to allocate most of their budgets to housing, and they plan accordingly. It's a burden, but it's just the way it is. Some people do it without getting into debt; some, of course, don't. And some are wealthy, but they are the minority.

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by goodbyehollywood

CA has creative mortgages, true, but that ship has sailed and many are going to lose those homes they can't afford. Taxes are higher, insurance is comparable to FL's (earthquakes in CA vs. hurricanes in FL = higher rates for both) and contrary to popular belief, most jobs do not pay that much more in CA-- certainly not enough more to compensate for the much higher cost of living. Some pay exactly the same.

The way Californians hang on is they spend 50-70% of their incomes on housing. They do cheap things outdoors (go to the beaches, hiking, biking, rollerblading) for fun, don't eat all that much and, if they get in a bind, put any shortfall on credit cards. Californians and New Yorkers expect to allocate most of their budgets to housing, and they plan accordingly. It's a burden, but it's just the way it is. Some people do it without getting into debt; some, of course, don't. And some are wealthy, but they are the minority.

"don't eat all that much"

That's why all those eateries are always so packed then.

The ones that can make it here and in CA bought houses when they were affordable, like 20+ years ago there and 10 years ago here. Even with a gross salary of $125K, after you deduct fed taxes, CA state taxes 9.3%, health insurance copay, 401K deduction there isn't much left at the end of the month if your paying even 50% of your income on rent/mortage. I won't even bother with property taxes and insurance. Add in car payments and insurance and etc. What it will equal is people with high credit card debt and no savings for retirement and a social security system that will not pay anything to live on. Ticking time bomb//

[deckardc]

Originally Posted by goodbyehollywood

CA has creative mortgages, true, but that ship has sailed and many are going to lose those homes they can't afford.

I just read this morning that as of today, California is #1 for home foreclosures and Florida is #2. The article said that in CA 1 in 224 houses was in foreclosure and in FL it was 1 in 243. Ouch! I think it's going to get worse especially in the first half of next year. I don't think today's rate cut by the Fed is going to make much difference in the housing market, they're just doing it to boost consumer confidence on Wall St.

[HockeyMom72]

Originally Posted by yukon

Friend of mine used to work for a CA tech company, they were paying him $132,000+. Here in FL, for the same job, he's being offered $30,000 to $60,000. Fortunately for him, it's less expensive to rent here.

If you have two people working in a household, then they would be making $264,000. I know quite a few married couples both in IT (in NY) who are making just about the same salary each. One worked at a software firm which has on site child care center. That is how they do it.

[INeedAChange]

How many hours do they have to work to get salaries like that? Do they achieve a work/life balance in raising their kid?

Originally Posted by HockeyMom72

If you have two people working in a household, then they would be making $264,000. I know quite a few married couples both in IT (in NY) who are making just about the same salary each. One worked at a software firm which has on site child care center. That is how they do it.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by INeedAChange

How many hours do they have to work to get salaries like that? Do they achieve a work/life balance in raising their kid?

When you make that kind of money you don't get paid by the hour. A lot of people make that kind of money and a lot more. It usually consists of pay plus bonuses and other perks. The average working person can't even identify with that kind of money. I hesitate to say this but my brother in law is in the manufacturing business, he makes a product that since 9/11 is in high demand. I read on the net in 2006 he made 54 million. Some people make a lot of money.

[mustgetoutofflorida]

If you really want to be here then make it work. As for me I don't want to be here anymore, luckily its not a financial thing for me but be creative if you really want to stay. Honestly I can't see anyone who is sane wanting to stay here at all but to each's own

[AllTellit]

Why cant anyone see that the Feds are sucking the life of the country to maintain this war - to hell with the Bridges, Health Care, Minimum Wage and on as long as we get 50 Billion to finance our future energy supplies and the oil companies could make 100 Billion who cares about little scrunters dying in this crushing economic stoneroller..