[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

The rate here is one percentage point over the national poverty rate. I am not saying FL is a super state with no poverty, but it is in line with the rest of the country. We have about 3mil out of 20mil in poverty.

Yes, but you neglect to mention how many not in poverty are close to it. There are a few shades of gray between poverty and financially secure, and would bet Florida is among the states with the most landing in those spots just above what is considered poverty...especially if one considers the major metro areas in the state are at or near the bottom nationally in terms of average income per capita.

[OpinionInOcala]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Yes, but you neglect to mention how many not in poverty are close to it. There are a few shades of gray between poverty and financially secure, and would bet Florida is among the states with the most landing in those spots just above what is considered poverty...especially if one considers the major metro areas in the state are at or near the bottom nationally in terms of average income per capita.

It's worth noting that the poverty levels as currently defined are extremely dishonest to begin with, which of course is not a problem exclusive to Florida. However, I would expect that a more honest evaluation would reveal a significantly more alarming problem, particularly in this state.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Yes, but you neglect to mention how many not in poverty are close to it. There are a few shades of gray between poverty and financially secure, and would bet Florida is among the states with the most landing in those spots just above what is considered poverty...especially if one considers the major metro areas in the state are at or near the bottom nationally in terms of average income per capita.

Yeah. Lots of people living in tents and standing on soup lines.

[retired11]

A Paralegal in a N.Y.C. suburb makes $68,000, over $100,000 in N.Y.C. while the same job in Tampa tops out at $38,000. Sorry, so many people on this forum are realtors and feed people doing research nonsense. There are simply no jobs in this state, sorry. The commute in Tampa rush hour is exactly the same as NYC, no better no worse, except there are no subways or trains.

[hotkarl]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Yes, but you neglect to mention how many not in poverty are close to it. There are a few shades of gray between poverty and financially secure, and would bet Florida is among the states with the most landing in those spots just above what is considered poverty...especially if one considers the major metro areas in the state are at or near the bottom nationally in terms of average income per capita.

This is Long Island as well. Cost of living goes up exponentially every year but many salaries do not.
Many people up here are just skating by. But, they do own homes and a nice car or 2, but they can just barely afford it. Barely.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by retired11

A Paralegal in a N.Y.C. suburb makes $68,000, over $100,000 in N.Y.C. while the same job in Tampa tops out at $38,000. Sorry, so many people on this forum are realtors and feed people doing research nonsense. There are simply no jobs in this state, sorry. The commute in Tampa rush hour is exactly the same as NYC, no better no worse, except there are no subways or trains.

Thank you, exactly my point. There isn't a lot of room between 38K and the poverty line, versus 68K-100K.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by retired11

A Paralegal in a N.Y.C. suburb makes $68,000, over $100,000 in N.Y.C. while the same job in Tampa tops out at $38,000. Sorry, so many people on this forum are realtors and feed people doing research nonsense. There are simply no jobs in this state, sorry. The commute in Tampa rush hour is exactly the same as NYC, no better no worse, except there are no subways or trains.

COL comparison between Nassau County and Tampa means the salaries are not that far apart.

With all due respect as a retired person you have no clue about the job market. I cannot comment on paralegal jobs but I have been hiring in Tampa and pay a comparable wage to what I would pay in suburban NYC. The reason why so many LI and Weatchester people commute to NYC for the $100K paralegal job is that they can't survive with the tax and COL burden otherwise. And they commute 1+ hours each way, every day.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

This is Long Island as well. Cost of living goes up exponentially every year but many salaries do not.
Many people up here are just skating by. But, they do own homes and a nice car or 2, but they can just barely afford it. Barely.

And is getting worse. The only people doing well are those who bought 20 years ago and who are waiting for retirement so they can cash out and leave. Between the property taxes and COL a family of 4 needs to make nearly $100K just to make basic ends meet.

[markjames68]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Thank you, exactly my point. There isn't a lot of room between 38K and the poverty line, versus 68K-100K.

See my other post. A family of 4 on Long Island needs over $90K to make ends meet. This generally means that both parents HAVE to work unless one has a 6-figure job in NYC.

Back to that $38K 'tops out' though. Looking at Salary.com the MEDIAN paralegal salary for Tampa is $46K, with the 90th percentile earning around $60K. Hardly riches but a simple search proved Retired11 wrong. And this is for 'Paralegal I'. 'Paralegal III' has a median salary of $63K with the 90th percentile making around $80K.

Looking at a location in Smithtown, Suffolk County, NY I see that Paralegal III has a median salary of $74K with the 90th percentile earning $93K.

Comparing COL and pay between the two heavily favors Tampa. So, to earn more the Smithtown resident needs to commute 2 hours each way to Manhattan.

Again, a simple search has proved Retired11 incorrect.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by retired11

A Paralegal in a N.Y.C. suburb makes $68,000, over $100,000 in N.Y.C. while the same job in Tampa tops out at $38,000. Sorry, so many people on this forum are realtors and feed people doing research nonsense. There are simply no jobs in this state, sorry. The commute in Tampa rush hour is exactly the same as NYC, no better no worse, except there are no subways or trains.

I was a paralegal here and after 4 or so years of doing the job I made over $38k and when I left the field
I was being paid over $50k.

You should look at the job posting sites. Check the State site and the FL Career Source web site.

There are thousands of jobs in FL besides min wage service jobs.