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As opposed to 200-year old infrastructure, neverending snow (if you're upstate, along with heatwaves in the summer) and taxes and regulation that are some of the most oppressive in the country? I shouldn't forget to mention the nanny-state that's been created in places like San Francisco and NYC telling you how to eat/live/shop etc. Pick your poison
That infrastructure was built to last and in many ways is superior to some of the more modern systems down here. The snow upstate (which is more sparsely populated) affords the 8.25 million inhabitants of NYC some of the best quality water in the US. The aqueduct system is extensive has been in service and construction since 1842 without disruption. The taxes match the services and wages. As for nanny state, what's worse nanny or ninny, pick your poison......
As for services, that's debatable. Enough people decry schools in NY and NJ to send their kids private. Wages are great if you work in the bloated public sector. Unfortunately, those wages come via taxes on the deteriorating private sector. Upstate is a shell of its former, private-sector industrial self. Heck the biggest industries upstate in cities like Potsdam and Plattsburgh is the NYS correctional system LOL
As for services, that's debatable. Enough people decry schools in NY and NJ to send their kids private. Wages are great if you work in the bloated public sector. Unfortunately, those wages come via taxes on the deteriorating private sector. Upstate is a shell of its former, private-sector industrial self. Heck the biggest industries upstate in cities like Potsdam and Plattsburgh is the NYS correctional system LOL
There are more people sending their kids to private schools because they can afford it. They have the means to educate their kids either religiously or alternatively but can fall back on good public schools. In a lot of cases it's either a family tradition or a sense of percieved status. The loss of the industrial base is not peculiar to the Northeast, it's nationwide. That might be a bright spot for FL, nothing to lose. Wages are good across the board. The tax rant must have come from a tea party playbook.
I've lived in the North Jersey/NYC area my entire life, and I'm ready to bolt South ... It's so expensive here. And, I find the it to be so cut-throat, rude, overly congested .... I hate it. Additionally, I'm sick of winter, heavy clothes, shoveling, and snow !
A few more years, and I'll be checking out DelRay Beach area ...
I've lived in the North Jersey/NYC area my entire life, and I'm ready to bolt South ... It's so expensive here. And, I find the it to be so cut-throat, rude, overly congested .... I hate it. Additionally, I'm sick of winter, heavy clothes, shoveling, and snow !
A few more years, and I'll be checking out DelRay Beach area ...
There are more people sending their kids to private schools because they can afford it. They have the means to educate their kids either religiously or alternatively but can fall back on good public schools. In a lot of cases it's either a family tradition or a sense of percieved status. The loss of the industrial base is not peculiar to the Northeast, it's nationwide. That might be a bright spot for FL, nothing to lose. Wages are good across the board. The tax rant must have come from a tea party playbook.
Just like the rest of your rant likely came from the SEIU/NYSUT/AFSCME one. Enjoy that fat pension you got at 55. Some poor private sector worker is probably working past that age, with no pension, for your privilege to be down here.
Just like the rest of your rant likely came from the SEIU/NYSUT/AFSCME one. Enjoy that fat pension you got at 55. Some poor private sector worker is probably working past that age, with no pension, for your privilege to be down here.
Not likely, I'm a moderate who retired from the private sector. Choose your job wisely and you may get to retire someday too. Or keep complaining and buy a lottery ticket.........
My husband and I currently live in upstate NY. Both of us have or had relative in Fla. Here is my view on both states for what it's worth. Yes we have snow. I've mentioned to a friend of mine that we were at 1 time considering moving south. She stated that she would never move south because there is no snow. I said then don't go all the way down, consider the Carolinas. She said that there still wasn't enough snow there. So some people like snow. If you have snow I guess you do winter sports etc.
NYS is very large and diverse in expenses. We used to live on Long Island. LI has very high pay. However the cost of living is very high. Property taxes do run $10,000 and more/ year. Housing is also expensive. We moved upstate where we had 91/2 acres and paid $4,000/ year. Now we are considering to move to the Colonie/Latham area north of Albany. Because it is so developed, businesses pay the bulk of property taxes so homeowners property taxes are GOING DOWN with each assessment. There are homes paying $1500/ year or less. There are a few we saw were taxes are less than $1000/ year.
Since we have family in Fla, we were considering moving to Port Orange, Fl. Housing was about the same cost as upstate NY. Taxes in the Colonie/ Latham area were the same. ( Now LI is more. so are some counties such as near Rochester and Schenectady where taxes are approx. $5-6,000/ year.) Housing costs are what you buy. Some areas are cheaper than others, as is the size of the house. Yes, you will pay more in better areas.
Homeowners insurance in Fla is a lost more if you can get it. If you buy an older home- I believe that is older than 2000- then you MAY NOT be able to get homeowners insurance because the building codes have changed. Homeowners insurance will be about $1500 + . We were paying $1200 for a large farm house, 4 barns, farm equipment, and liability on our milk, plus the regular liability/ medical. In Fla you need to get wind mitigation insurance plus depending where you live (which is upper, Gulf and middle Fla) you will need to get sinkhole insurance. Yes you can loose you home to a sinkhole and it happens more than you think.
Food/ groceries are more expensive in Fla, because of the shipping. Most of Fla food is shipped out of state. Then it's a long thin state to ship food back in. Look it up.
Yes some areas in NYS are not pretty, so don't live there. Other places are great and very pretty. Yes there are areas without jobs, but so are there areas in Fla without jobs, plus pay scale is lower in Fla. Some place are virtually abandoned in Fla. Look it up. Places like Highleah (spelling?) I believe is 1 area. A friend of ours bought a house in Hudson, Fla for $35,000 2 years ago (original price was $350,000). Just yesterday I went on trulia and Zillow for Pt Orange. Every week there are dozens more homes for sale. Why? Check the NYS areas and you get a few new listings about monthly. Why? Why are there so many new listings for existing homes for sale? These are not new developments going in! These are existing homes. Where are these people going? and why?
Car insurance is also more. My mother pays for 1 car what we pay for 2 cars.
If you look at crime stats, Fla has more crime (taken as a whole- some areas are better than others). LI and upstate is almost no crime. (yes I know there's crime everywhere but some areas are better than others)
Schools for the most part are better than Fla. Low taxes mean less funding for schools. My daughter finished high school in Fla (lived with my parents) because she would have been left behind in 11th grade for failing a few courses. Fla didn't require these courses so she graduated.
Health care in Fla is scary bad. If you have good insurance it is a guarantee that you will eventually get a pacemaker. Both my in-laws and ex in-laws - all 4 had government health insurance and received pacemakers and NONE of them had heart disease. My mother who does have atrial fib has never been approach about a pacemaker because she has a county HMO. My father was told he was healthy as a horse even though he had trouble eating and lost 100# on his 6 ft frame. Only when he starting vomiting blood did they operate and found his stomach replace by a tumor, and the cancer spread to his liver, intestines, and esophagus. Cancer cells were even found in interstitial fluid between the organs. Nursing staff ignored him even though he developed bed sores on his back, butt, heels, back of his head and ears. Infectious waste was seen everywhere in public halls (I'm an RN-retired- and my hubby is a biologist and sanitarian, and now approved hospital construction and renovations). My father in law had an undiagnosed hip fracture, undiagnosed anemia, and undiagnosed aortic stenosis. We found them up here. My mother in law had 12 undiagnosed strokes, and as a result couldn't talk any more. We found out about the strokes up here. My mother has had a foot ulcer for years and the doctor wouldn't send her to a specialist until recently. She was just in the hospital for the ulcer where in a couple of days she went into a coma, and when she came out of the coma she was blind. (Blindness was temp thank goodness). She had a systemic infection in her blood caused by fecal contamination and bacteria from old contaminated medical solutions. (we know this by the bacteria that cultured out) When she was in a coma staff tried to feed her a sandwich. My mother lives on her own in her own home and drives. She walked into the hospital, and come out unable to walk and had to go to a nursing home for rehab. She was in the hospital for about 10 days before going to rehab. All these people live/ lived in different towns and went to different hospitals. If you want to live- I would not go to a Fla hospital.
So here is my 2 cents- take it as you will. No place is perfect otherwise everyone would go there. Research an area first then go visit. As they say- be carful what you wish for because you may just get it.
No one is pining away to buy a lot in a remote part of NY State someday in their retirement, or when they are rich. People around the country have never heard of most of the towns in the state, and there is nothing desirable about them at all unless you are already from NYS and have no money and just love the nature there or have family nearby.
By contrast, it would seem like some 50% of the US, and many people in other countries, are pining away for even the slightest plot of land in the Sunshine State, where they think all their problems will melt away. They want to be within an hour of a beach anywhere along 3 sides of the state, or they want to be near Orlando in the middle, or one of the many other tourist attractions - NY State has none of that that anyone has heard of - just NYC, and Niagara Falls. Additionally, the farmland in NY is not worth nearly what the farmland in Florida is, given that Florida has a year-round growing season and NY has about 2 months' worth unless you're growing cabbage. That means, every part of Florida is valuable to someone, while most of NY is not valuable to anyone except the spaces near the NYC metropolitan area, or just around any of the other cities - where the actual jobs are. If you go out to Phelps, or a remote part of the Adirondacks, or some rural town outside of Jamestown, there are no jobs, a short growing season, nothing to do, and no sun. It's great for someone who really loves NY, but nobody else cares. And, there's a lot of meth, alcohol, and guns out there - it's not the place you want to be a tourist, and it's not near anything but perhaps a distant ski mountain, if you have money to even go to one.
My husband and I currently live in upstate NY. Both of us have or had relative in Fla. Here is my view on both states for what it's worth. Yes we have snow. I've mentioned to a friend of mine that we were at 1 time considering moving south. She stated that she would never move south because there is no snow. I said then don't go all the way down, consider the Carolinas. She said that there still wasn't enough snow there. So some people like snow. If you have snow I guess you do winter sports etc.
NYS is very large and diverse in expenses. We used to live on Long Island. LI has very high pay. However the cost of living is very high. Property taxes do run $10,000 and more/ year. Housing is also expensive. We moved upstate where we had 91/2 acres and paid $4,000/ year. Now we are considering to move to the Colonie/Latham area north of Albany. Because it is so developed, businesses pay the bulk of property taxes so homeowners property taxes are GOING DOWN with each assessment. There are homes paying $1500/ year or less. There are a few we saw were taxes are less than $1000/ year.
Since we have family in Fla, we were considering moving to Port Orange, Fl. Housing was about the same cost as upstate NY. Taxes in the Colonie/ Latham area were the same. ( Now LI is more. so are some counties such as near Rochester and Schenectady where taxes are approx. $5-6,000/ year.) Housing costs are what you buy. Some areas are cheaper than others, as is the size of the house. Yes, you will pay more in better areas.
Homeowners insurance in Fla is a lost more if you can get it. If you buy an older home- I believe that is older than 2000- then you MAY NOT be able to get homeowners insurance because the building codes have changed. Homeowners insurance will be about $1500 + . We were paying $1200 for a large farm house, 4 barns, farm equipment, and liability on our milk, plus the regular liability/ medical. In Fla you need to get wind mitigation insurance plus depending where you live (which is upper, Gulf and middle Fla) you will need to get sinkhole insurance. Yes you can loose you home to a sinkhole and it happens more than you think.
Food/ groceries are more expensive in Fla, because of the shipping. Most of Fla food is shipped out of state. Then it's a long thin state to ship food back in. Look it up.
Yes some areas in NYS are not pretty, so don't live there. Other places are great and very pretty. Yes there are areas without jobs, but so are there areas in Fla without jobs, plus pay scale is lower in Fla. Some place are virtually abandoned in Fla. Look it up. Places like Highleah (spelling?) I believe is 1 area. A friend of ours bought a house in Hudson, Fla for $35,000 2 years ago (original price was $350,000). Just yesterday I went on trulia and Zillow for Pt Orange. Every week there are dozens more homes for sale. Why? Check the NYS areas and you get a few new listings about monthly. Why? Why are there so many new listings for existing homes for sale? These are not new developments going in! These are existing homes. Where are these people going? and why?
Car insurance is also more. My mother pays for 1 car what we pay for 2 cars.
If you look at crime stats, Fla has more crime (taken as a whole- some areas are better than others). LI and upstate is almost no crime. (yes I know there's crime everywhere but some areas are better than others)
Schools for the most part are better than Fla. Low taxes mean less funding for schools. My daughter finished high school in Fla (lived with my parents) because she would have been left behind in 11th grade for failing a few courses. Fla didn't require these courses so she graduated.
Health care in Fla is scary bad. If you have good insurance it is a guarantee that you will eventually get a pacemaker. Both my in-laws and ex in-laws - all 4 had government health insurance and received pacemakers and NONE of them had heart disease. My mother who does have atrial fib has never been approach about a pacemaker because she has a county HMO. My father was told he was healthy as a horse even though he had trouble eating and lost 100# on his 6 ft frame. Only when he starting vomiting blood did they operate and found his stomach replace by a tumor, and the cancer spread to his liver, intestines, and esophagus. Cancer cells were even found in interstitial fluid between the organs. Nursing staff ignored him even though he developed bed sores on his back, butt, heels, back of his head and ears. Infectious waste was seen everywhere in public halls (I'm an RN-retired- and my hubby is a biologist and sanitarian, and now approved hospital construction and renovations). My father in law had an undiagnosed hip fracture, undiagnosed anemia, and undiagnosed aortic stenosis. We found them up here. My mother in law had 12 undiagnosed strokes, and as a result couldn't talk any more. We found out about the strokes up here. My mother has had a foot ulcer for years and the doctor wouldn't send her to a specialist until recently. She was just in the hospital for the ulcer where in a couple of days she went into a coma, and when she came out of the coma she was blind. (Blindness was temp thank goodness). She had a systemic infection in her blood caused by fecal contamination and bacteria from old contaminated medical solutions. (we know this by the bacteria that cultured out) When she was in a coma staff tried to feed her a sandwich. My mother lives on her own in her own home and drives. She walked into the hospital, and come out unable to walk and had to go to a nursing home for rehab. She was in the hospital for about 10 days before going to rehab. All these people live/ lived in different towns and went to different hospitals. If you want to live- I would not go to a Fla hospital.
So here is my 2 cents- take it as you will. No place is perfect otherwise everyone would go there. Research an area first then go visit. As they say- be carful what you wish for because you may just get it.
It's obvious you're basing your "knowledge" of Florida on embellishment of stories you have heard. I've lived, worked, married and raised a family in Florida- been here since 1976 , and I could write volumes of my experiences that would dispute your hatchet job on Florida's education, employment and healthcare system, but I suspect you wouldn't want to be confused with facts.
Guess it's a good thing you plan to stay in NY then, isn't it?.
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