[tallrick]

South Florida has become so unpleasant and unliveable while parts of north Florida remain economically viable. I know some of the reasons why South Florida has become a terrible place to live, but why has the northern part of the state retained some of it's advantages. Is it because of immigration, or the squeeze between the south Florida metropolitan area and the Everglades-ocean?

[macguy]

Originally Posted by tallrick

South Florida has become so unpleasant and unliveable while parts of north Florida remain economically viable. I know some of the reasons why South Florida has become a terrible place to live, but why has the northern part of the state retained some of it's advantages. Is it because of immigration, or the squeeze between the south Florida metropolitan area and the Everglades-ocean?

South Florida is essentially the coast and there is only so much to go around, every body wants the same thing. There is no way to correct the problem, maxed out is maxed out and thats it. At some point we have to reach Critical mass.

[INeedAChange]

Can anyone explain why everyone decided to cram into South Fla. when they could have gotten most of the same things (except maybe the nightlife) in Tampa or Jax? Is it just because of the developers? Or because so many NY'ers started moving there?

Originally Posted by macguy

South Florida is essentially the coast and there is only so much to go around, every body wants the same thing. There is no way to correct the problem, maxed out is maxed out and thats it. At some point we have to reach Critical mass.

[maggsgsr]

The SE coast is very popular... Stars, TV shows, Miami... And as far as tropical scenery... South Florida is a little nicer... Stays a little warmer year round... People are attracted to this....

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by maggsgsr

The SE coast is very popular... Stars, TV shows, Miami... And as far as tropical scenery... South Florida is a little nicer... Stays a little warmer year round... People are attracted to this....

Right on target, also the point of entry for many from Latin America and the capability to fly from Miami to any state or country. The better and warmer weather year around, the metropolitan feel and one of the hot spots for fashion and entertainment.

This is what we don't have in the northern part of the state and we will like stay as such.

Do remember large metro areas with dependency on tourism are feeling the same problems...

[songgirl]

There is tons of undeveloped land in Northern Florida. Duval, St. Johns and Flagler county are good examples. There is so much room and plans for growth up here that it is actually exciting to be a part of. For instance, People from Jacksonville have seen it grow from a sleepy Navy town to a town with a respectable buisness sector and a pro football team in recent years. South Florida, landwise really has nowhere left to go.

Also, because of the availability of land at a better price than in South Florida, it's only common sense that more big buisness is headed this way. Not to mention the much lower risk of hurricanes that deters a lot of solid companies from South Florida, thereby limiting the potential for high paying jobs.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by INeedAChange

Can anyone explain why everyone decided to cram into South Fla. when they could have gotten most of the same things (except maybe the nightlife) in Tampa or Jax? Is it just because of the developers? Or because so many NY'ers started moving there?

Well, it wasn't long ago that you couldn't get most of the same things in NEFL that you could in Miami - it's really only in the last 10 years or less that things have started rolling in Jax.

We finally have the jobs, shopping, restaurants, entertainment/nightlife, variety of housing, but it all "just got here" and it's still not up to par for someone looking for a Miami or NYC style of living.

The benefit of that is that we have learned from South Florida (and Atlanta) about how not to do things (no offense!). While developer dollars still can finagle a lot of exceptions, for the most part, the city is trying to grow smartly.

I can't speak for the counties outside of Jacksonville/Duval, but inside the county, I think the city is doing a very good job with managing the growth we have had. The road construction is very well thought out and the projects are impressive. Public transportation is still dismal, at best, but if the city can get it's act together on public transportation in the same way they have with the roads, it just might be the city to be in .

[Sunandsand]

We lived in north Florida and now live in S. Florida. For our lifestyle, it is apples and oranges, We like year round warmth, so we want to be below the 'freeze line' which is near Orlando.

We also are quite liberal, so we fit in better in Palm Beach County than up in NF. Lastly, we like being able to pop down to Miami and get some dinner, people watch, see a show at the Carnival Center or go to a Heat game.

So for a family like ours, north Florida would not have what we like as much as S. Florida does.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Sunandsand

We also are quite liberal, so we fit in better in Palm Beach County than up in NF.

As is my household. Certainly not everyone I run into in my day-to-day is of my mindset, but there are plenty of people in Jax who are and it's getting to be a more liberal city as each year goes by. Statistically, we are a democratic city by majority.

Now, I live close enough to the urban core. If I lived in the rural areas - or even in some of the suburban areas of the neighboring counties, it could be a very different experience and I'd be heading out of Jax too !

[adam.g.harpool]

Originally Posted by tallrick

South Florida has become so unpleasant and unliveable while parts of north Florida remain economically viable. I know some of the reasons why South Florida has become a terrible place to live, but why has the northern part of the state retained some of it's advantages. Is it because of immigration, or the squeeze between the south Florida metropolitan area and the Everglades-ocean?

I am so sick and tired of these types of generalizations.

And that is really nothing more than one gargantuan generalization. How many times have we heard it in various forms? South Florida is a dump where reggaeton-blaring Hispanics will rob your grandmother and run you off of I-95, while North Florida is Shangri-La with honey flowing in rivers, nothing but impeccably polite people who will roll a red carpet out in front of you wherever you walk, and money literally falling from trees because everything is so cheap. Enough with this nonsense. As a person who (mostly) grew up in North Florida, but chose to live in South Florida for cultural and economic/career reasons, I reject it - in fact, I emphatically reject it.

This is really a preferences thing, though. I would never be as brash as to say that North Florida is "unlivable", but it does not at all suit my preferences. I have enough common sense to recognize that the same things that so strongly pushed me away from North Florida and so strongly attracted me to South Florida would have the polar opposite effects on a different group of people. For me, immigration means diversity and being able to live next to a veritable representation of the world. I do not enjoy living next to a bunch of short-sighted bigots who cannot extrapolate reality outside of their little homogeneous, 10,000-resident fiefdom. Some people enjoy that type of life, and they have their choice of communities in North Florida, particularly in the Panhandle. It does not imply that North Florida is more "livable" than South Florida; the meaning of that word depends very much on the person you ask. I do not find North Florida livable by my standards. Just ask me why, and I can give you a book.

Again, I have heard the "politeness and hospitality" argument applied to North Floridians (and also by these rather loud "half-backers" who view Georgia and Tennessee as some sort of Promised Land) a billion times, primarily by people who have never lived in North Florida. First, I find it so incredible that people are so impressed by the superficial; they go to some North Florida town like Perry for a day or two, hear a customer service person say "Y'all have a nice day now!" and think "Well oh my, this is paradise" - and that is often the limit of their knowledge of the region. And secondly, tt's all relative. South Floridians are no ruder than people in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, or any other large, densely populated urban agglomeration. A brief reading of history in this country, meanwhile, reminds people that small-town people in the South are "hospitable" only up to a certain extent (namely, to white, heterosexual, Protestant Christians.) I mind my own business, and other than some inane drivers, I really haven't had any problems with "rude" South Floridians.

As far as the economy, Northern Florida isn't known as the "welfare belt" of the state for nothing. How many Fortune 1000 companies are based in Tallahassee, Pensacola, and Jacksonville as compared to the bottom 3 counties? Why do all of the major consulting, law, and engineering firms have their largest offices in the state in South Florida, if they even have offices at all in northern Florida cities? Cost of living may be higher here, but the salaries in South Florida are the highest in the state outside of Naples.

It's clear that South Florida-bashing is a favorite pasttime of many people on this board, many of whom would be well-advised to move, as others have suggested time and time again. But as a person who has lived in the "rural paradise" of North Florida for many years, I fell that somebody needs to provide a bit of a reality-check and some balance to the discussion.