[CASAJO]

Kudos to you, Sunshinestate. I would live in an"old house"any day over these new subdivision tract homes.

[summergal]

Ditto for everything SunshineState said!! I agree on all points.


Yes these new buildings are a joke. Darn near nothing more than particleboard and glue. Y'all be careful and check out that "cement" house you're thinking of buying... it may just be a stucco facade!



BTW, been here in Tampa Bay since 1983.

[SunnyDog]

Originally Posted by exhdo1

How many people in this forum are life long Floridians or have been there longer than 25 years. I enjoy reading many of the posts at Citi-Data but I am most interested in Florida. I wonder what you think about people that have moved there recently and post opinions or give others advice about your state as if they were lifelong residents. I have my own thoughts about it. What are yours. Do you feel they are being truthfull and accurate. Thanks for replying!

Ben here nearly 32 years--all my life. Long enough to know more than the newcomers, not long enough to get resistant to change. No interest in leaving Miami area, and if I ever do move it'll be to another part of the southern half of Florida. Some of the advice from lifelong residents makes me wonder, let alone the newcomers. But yes, the newcomers tend to be less accurate. There used to be 1 guy who posted all this "South FL is a hellhole don't move here" type crap, it finally came out that he moved to Palm Beach because his wife/master forced him to and he hated his in-laws who lived here.Take the hysterically negative posts here with a grain of salt, the anger towards their lives in Florida may have little to do with Florida.

[kona]

you are right on SunnyDog!!

To the rest:
Please stop the whining and move back to the perfect northern states.

[Prichard]

Born and raised in Florida, since the early 60's. Watched many houses go up since I was a child, and now as an adult. Most of the new construction is concrete block, poured cement into the block with rebar reinforcing; at least on the first floor. Some higher end homes have block on the first and second stories. Most other homes have frame construction on the second story.

The houses being built today are, for the most part, much sturdier than those built in the '50's and '60's. No more tar and gravel flat rooves. No more "shaker boxes" hanging from windows. Concrete block is no longer just painted over with some lead paint. Windows are much, much stronger today than they were when they used awning or jalosee windows - talk about garbage construction! Chlorodane, the stuff that keeps termites away was banned in the mid '80's, and only has a half-life of at most 30 years. So, anyone living in a '50's, '60's or even '70's house has no original termite protection. Roofing on older homes has poor ventilation. Attic space is too small for proper insulation. Insulation was very poor by today's standards. There was virtually no water-proofing of exterior surfaces. In the '70's they used alluminum wiring and connected it to copper connectors, which caused many house fires. Many of these houses are still around. No hurricane straps on older homes. Also, no soil testing in older homes - many were built on hard-pan and muck.

As far as quality of construction goes, yes, I'd stay away from wood-frame houses in Florida, mainly because of termites, high moisture and wood rot. As much as I don't like illegal aliens living or working in our state, the quality of the block construction and concrete work is every bit as good as on older construction, and the newer code requirements make the structure exceptionaly sound. The roofing is not as good as on older homes. They used to use good solid pine beam lumber and more trusses in the older homes. Now they use plywood or worse yet, a form of particle board. The plywood is actually as strong as the old pine beams, but doesn't look as nice when walking around inside of an attic. The pressed wood product, though structurally sound, is garbage when it comes time to re-roof. The reason they use this stuff is because you can get give the house a more architecturally pleasing look, than with solid pine beam roof construction.

Where the new construction really differs from the older construction is on the finnish work. On cheaper construction the framing often won't be plumb; the walls not exactly straight; the trim and molding not mitered perfectly, instead alot of putty is used. Yet, anyone who says that a '60's block house is better than one built today is wrong. I've lived in an early '60's, mid 70's and '04 houses, and I'm speaking from experience.

FWIW, almost all new construction in Georgia, and many other states as well, is frame construction with stucco or brick facing slapped on them - and the roofing all uses pressed wood, not even plywood.

[pixiewytch]

Great discussion! SunshineState is absolutely right about newer homes. Don't even fool yourself into thinking the building codes or standards here mean something. I don't know if this is exclusive to Florida or not but I can tell you that the people building fancy cookie cutter homes here are usually paid under the table immigrants or day laborers. These aren't skilled craftsmen trained in home building but a cheap way for developers to save a buck. The real trained laborers have a harder time finding work because of this...so if you feel comfortable knowing these are the people building your house, good for you, but I'll take an old Florida cracker house any day of the week myself.

Back to the original question, I would say that it doesn't concern me so much what the non native Floridians complain about because I would say that many of them are probably part of the problem. Another poster mentioned that us natives are all just mad and upset at the growth because of people moving here from up north. Of course we're bitter! Some of us remember when you could drive down the strip of a beach and actually see it. Now you can't see past all the condos or even access many beaches for that matter. Many of us grew up and started a family used to a cheaper, affordable way of living. Now that so many have moved here to live in luxury homes or condos, the lifestyle many of us was raised on is no longer attainable. I think it's just fair to say that most native Floridians didn't need all of this development to enjoy the state. I don't bear ill will to anyone who has moved here. Everybody, including myself, has to find their niche in the world, but I won't hesitate to say that much of this is what has ruined Fl.

[s01]

Though I am not in to religion...AMEN!
Well said.

[verobeach]

Pixiewytch writes... but I'll take an old Florida cracker house any day of the week myself.

And how much is the insurance on your old Florida cracker house?? My new concrete house withstood back-to-back Hurricanes Jeanne and Frances without even a roof tile moving while houses down the road were totally destroyed. The difference was like night and day.

[SunnyDog]

Wood frame doesn't hold up to Hurricanes like concrete block does. Hurricane Andrew proved that.

[cmsvmom]

Well this is all very interesting to me. I was raised in Miami, relocated in the 70s to NYC and NJ and now am looking at going back to FL. I'd move to Miami in a heartbeat, but my economic circumstances are better off in northern FL. I am seriously looking at the Emerald Coast for housing and economy.

Growing up, I used to see snowbirds coming in, expecting perfect living, and surprise! Hurricanes, palmetto bugs, humidity, and whether the weather is hot or cold, you get older every year. A lot of people moved to paradise with no plan for how to deal with adjusting to life's little problems like heart attacks and strokes without their family and old friends around.

I think you have to pay attention to not only what type of house you buy, but the quality of the land it is built on. Some tract developments are on farmland, soggy all the time, poor drainage. Some "crackers" never built in certain areas because they knew the problems. I favor cement block/brick, and I also prefer one to 1.5 stories. I grew up in a cbs ranch with a gravel tar roof - no problems with the roof then, and it even held up with Andrew, but I would prefer the newer ones. The basic construction of those 1950s houses is good for updating and expanding. Very solid. And you can find solid construction in new houses too, but you have to look and ask a lot of questions.

What I am asking as I move back is where people can be happy, where they would buy if they could. I prefer a coast.

Here in NJ we get people who are unrealistic about price, commute to manhattan, expectations about area, etc. It is what it is and if you are going to move here, you better do your homework and listen up. Same thing with Florida.

I have been a lot of places in 30 years since I moved up here, but always going back there I find it is still a super place. And I can't wait to get back.