[Sweetbottoms]

Originally Posted by Icemodeled

300k for a starter home?? Maybe your talking about a certain area or large city. We just recently were down in SWFL looking at homes with a realtor. All were 100-140k range. Nice, decent areas, Sarasota and Charlotte counties.

Charlotte and Sarasota are much more affordable than Naples. That could be why.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

FL is desirable, even by those with no skills to integrate into this economy. People like that would be better suited to Midwestern states where they are looking for able bodied individuals and are willing to pay them top dollar for their lack of skills
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/high-p...145151777.html

How is Florida desirable for those with any skills if they can't find suitable work and have to struggle to live? Consider that 90% of job openings pay less than $30 an hour, which if one has two dependents isn't enough to make the 30% threshold for housing costs. If one has a desire to live on fast-food, Dollar Store/WalMart purchases and very little if any social/recreational /cultural experiences, it's probably a great existence. Though for most Americans would say probably not.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

How is Florida desirable for those with any skills if they can't find suitable work and have to struggle to live? Consider that 90% of job openings pay less than $30 an hour, which if one has two dependents isn't enough to make the 30% threshold for housing costs. If one has a desire to live on fast-food, Dollar Store/WalMart purchases and very little if any social/recreational /cultural experiences, it's probably a great existence. Though for most Americans would say probably not.

The facts are what they are. FL is a desirable state for people to move to if you check the surveys. There are well-paying SKILLED jobs here for people with the correct skill sets/degrees

[Joey Falcon]

Originally Posted by Sweetbottoms

Charlotte and Sarasota are much more affordable than Naples. That could be why.

Sarasota is super expensive, unless you live in the hood there.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

The facts are what they are. FL is a desirable state for people to move to if you check the surveys. There are well-paying SKILLED jobs here for people with the correct skill sets/degrees

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

The facts are what they are. FL is a desirable state for people to move to if you check the surveys. There are well-paying SKILLED jobs here for people with the correct skill sets/degrees

Well of course there are, this is the third most populated state. However by comparison and concentration we lag behind many other states, and the vast majority of job openings for those jobs has at least several other applicants applying for it.

Patchwork of Paychecks: Florida | Job Gap

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Well of course there are, this is the third most populated state. However by comparison and concentration we lag behind many other states, and the vast majority of job openings for those jobs has at least several other applicants applying for it.

Patchwork of Paychecks: Florida | Job Gap

Because FL is a desirable state We've already been through this. There are some positions in the midwest where they will pay you more because they need you that badly, but then you'd have to live in a state like ND, MN, WI etc. It has probably changed with the oil bust, but in 2014, Wal-mart was paying its workers $17/hour in ND. Not bad for unskilled entry-level work, but you have to live in ND

If someone has the option to get a similar salary as a professional in FL or in another beach-y state like California or the carolinas, FL will win by the sheer virtue of lower taxation. We have no income tax and lower sales and property taxes than many other states. In healthcare, many salaries are similar between CA and FL, and sometimes FL is actually better with the double-benefit of lower COL.

Even those who argue that FL is full of low-wage jobs fail to recognize this is a national problem coming out of the recession, not a FL-specific problem.

The low wage jobs explosion - Apr. 28, 2014

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by chopchop0

Because FL is a desirable state We've already been through this. There are some positions in the midwest where they will pay you more because they need you that badly, but then you'd have to live in a state like ND, MN, WI etc. It has probably changed with the oil bust, but in 2014, Wal-mart was paying its workers $17/hour in ND. Not bad for unskilled entry-level work, but you have to live in ND

If someone has the option to get a similar salary as a professional in FL or in another beach-y state like California or the carolinas, FL will win by the sheer virtue of lower taxation. We have no income tax and lower sales and property taxes than many other states. In healthcare, many salaries are similar between CA and FL, and sometimes FL is actually better with the double-benefit of lower COL.

Even those who argue that FL is full of low-wage jobs fail to recognize this is a national problem coming out of the recession, not a FL-specific problem.

The low wage jobs explosion - Apr. 28, 2014

Quite frankly from a national perspective Florida isn't seen as "desirable" and seemingly has an appeal largely with those allergic to paying taxes or lacking the initiative to get ahead in a career in terms of advancement and salary, both in tandem with a dislike for winter/cold weather. In terms of a scenario of similar salary situations in other states your view is at best simplistic basing the decision solely on taxation, which goes back to my prior sentence. A great many also weigh varying quality of life measures which are often not part of the equation in Florida versus states such as North Carolina or California. It's actually not all about taxes believe it or not. In terms of lower wage job prevalence, it is a national issue and there are states more heavily saddled with the problem than others, and Florida along with a few other Sunbelt states suffer at a much higher rate. Stats/facts and figures largely don't lie or distort while homers tend to in spades, because their perfect place is by default supposed to be everyone else's...