Exaggerations on this board (Miami, Orlando: real estate, income, work)

[Rhett_Butler]

Originally Posted by kwick release

Enjoying 65F temps this AM in Satellite Beach and AC is off. Have been here for a month now and enjoying every bit of it!!!

Check back with us at 4 PM....

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by poo1234

Miami/FLL- The Everglades will catch fire during the summer shutting down turnpike, i-4,

Proof that you have no clue what you are talking about. You are confusing it with the fires during the winter that close the Turnpike extension or the Alligator Alley stretch of 75. I-4 is nowhere near South FL and the turnpike runs closer to the coast than the everglades in "FLL". If there is a fire in the summer, the disgusting, crime and Spanish speaker filled 100% humidity will ensure that it won't burn for longer than 20 minutes.

The first part was 100% true (except for the global warming part, it's definitely cyclic El Nino). It's just a shame that it got overshadowed by the second half.

[BacktoFLigo]

Originally Posted by Rhett_Butler

Check back with us at 4 PM....

Check back for what? It's 2PM here in Cape Coral Southwest FL. and it's 72 degrees..... Cold front here in FL. Loving it right now, because back to heat and soup air by the weekend!! All my windows are open....

[justNancy]

I haven't read all 10 pages of comments, but let me just add my 2 cents in (if I still have 2 cents in my pocket!)

No matter where you live, you will have your own personal experience. There are all sorts of cliches like "One man's ceiling is another man's floor" and so on.

Florida attracts a lot of successful & wealthy people. There are many celebrities who call Florida home. Yet it also has a lot of drug dealers, and human trafficking is on the rise. It's also estimated that there are over 1 million illegal immigrants in Florida who cost the state around $5 billion each year. A lot of these people are driving around without licenses and auto insurance.

Florida has warm weather and sunny skies which makes it a top choice for retirees, but it also makes it a haven for drifters and whatever scum trickles down the coast. I think in the waste management business, they call it runoff. Maybe it's just the growing population, but it's a little easier to get lost here because it's so transient.

Just turn on the news and half of the stories about crime are in Florida. I often wonder if it's something in the water or people just get too much sun. For example, I was watching cable TV last weekend and half the stories were about something that happened in Florida, i.e., the cheerleaders who kicked a young girl until she lost consciousness live in Lakeland, Debra LaFave, the teacher who molested her 14 yr old student lives in Ruskin, the murder of football star Sean Taylor was in Miami, etc.

Now, you might not consider disenfranchising Democrats a crime, but Florida has been on the news repeatedly because of the election fiascos. Remember all the hanging chads in 2000?

In recent years, John Couey, the monster who kidnapped, raped and buried little 9 year old Jessia Lunsford alive lived in Citrus County and Joseph Smith who murdered young Carlie Brucia lived in Manatee County.

Then you've got your world famous (or infamous I should say) serial killers like Ted Bundy and Aileen Wournas among others.

Sometimes Florida makes the national news when there is a human rights controversy like Elian Gonzalez or Terri Schiavo. Maybe I just notice this more because I live here.

Of course, don't forget the hurricanes, tornadoes & fires too. But good stuff & bad stuff happen wherever you live. Florida just seems to have more of everything. (except CA maybe) Maybe they should change it from the Sunshine State to the Smorgasbord State.

Still, for the most part, I've really enjoyed living for here the past 14 years. If the economy was better, I'd be much happier. So, as I first wrote, it depends on which side of the fence you're on.

nice home in gated community / homeless
gainfully employed or successful business owner / unemployed
covered by good health plan or medicare / sick & uninsured
on your 30' boat fishing / working for food

[BacktoFLigo]

Originally Posted by Rhett_Butler

Check back with us at 4 PM....

Originally Posted by justNancy

I haven't read all 10 pages of comments, but let me just add my 2 cents in (if I still have 2 cents in my pocket!)

No matter where you live, you will have your own personal experience. There are all sorts of cliches like "One man's ceiling is another man's floor" and so on.

Florida attracts a lot of successful & wealthy people. There are many celebrities who call Florida home. Yet it also has a lot of drug dealers, and human trafficking is on the rise. It's also estimated that there are over 1 million illegal immigrants in Florida who cost the state around $5 billion each year. A lot of these people are driving around without licenses and auto insurance.

Florida has warm weather and sunny skies which makes it a top choice for retirees, but it also makes it a haven for drifters and whatever scum trickles down the coast. I think in the waste management business, they call it runoff. Maybe it's just the growing population, but it's a little easier to get lost here because it's so transient.

Just turn on the news and half of the stories about crime are in Florida. I often wonder if it's something in the water or people just get too much sun. For example, I was watching cable TV last weekend and half the stories were about something that happened in Florida, i.e., the cheerleaders who kicked a young girl until she lost consciousness live in Lakeland, Debra LaFave, the teacher who molested her 14 yr old student lives in Ruskin, the murder of football star Sean Taylor was in Miami, etc.

Now, you might not consider disenfranchising Democrats a crime, but Florida has been on the news repeatedly because of the election fiascos. Remember all the hanging chads in 2000?

In recent years, John Couey, the monster who kidnapped, raped and buried little 9 year old Jessia Lunsford alive lived in Citrus County and Joseph Smith who murdered young Carlie Brucia lived in Manatee County.

Then you've got your world famous (or infamous I should say) serial killers like Ted Bundy and Aileen Wournas among others.

Don't forget the hurricanes, tornadoes & fires too. But bad things happen wherever you live. Florida just seems to have more of them, except for CA.

Still, I really enjoyed living for the past 14 years. If the economy was better, I'd be much happier. So, as I first wrote, it depends on which side of the fence you are on.

nice home in gated community / homeless
gainfully employed or successful business owner / unemployed
covered by good health plan or medicare / sick & uninsured

The economy sucks more here. It's bad all over, but FL. is more noticeable right now. I see that everytime I drive down the street and see 50 houses for sale or forclosed on.

[poo1234]

Originally Posted by Rhett_Butler

Check back with us at 4 PM....

and after the unusual cold front Florida just recieved passes.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by BacktoFLigo

The economy sucks more here. It's bad all over, but FL. is more noticeable right now. I see that everytime I drive down the street and see 50 houses for sale or forclosed on.

Cape Coral is terrible. Lee County in general is very depressing to me. The unemployment rate around there is as high as some parts of Michigan right now. Unemployment is still under 4% in Orlando, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville area, and near that number in the Tampa area. They are showing a slump but not as many physical signs of depression. It's getting bad in SW FL, Palm Beach County, and other areas that were too real estate dependent.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by BacktoFLigo

The economy sucks more here. It's bad all over, but FL. is more noticeable right now. I see that everytime I drive down the street and see 50 houses for sale or forclosed on.

I think that was my point. The economy is terrible, but if you are retired and have a million dollars in the bank, it won't have the same effect as it would on someone who got laid off and is losing his home.

[poo1234]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Proof that you have no clue what you are talking about. You are confusing it with the fires during the winter that close the Turnpike extension or the Alligator Alley stretch of 75. I-4 is nowhere near South FL and the turnpike runs closer to the coast than the everglades in "FLL". If there is a fire in the summer, the disgusting, crime and Spanish speaker filled 100% humidity will ensure that it won't burn for longer than 20 minutes.

The first part was 100% true (except for the global warming part, it's definitely cyclic El Nino). It's just a shame that it got overshadowed by the second half.

So it's the fires in the winter then. Everglades/swamp/farmland previously swamp are all interchangeable.

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Cape Coral is terrible. Lee County in general is very depressing to me. The unemployment rate around there is as high as some parts of Michigan right now. Unemployment is still under 4% in Orlando, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Jacksonville area, and near that number in the Tampa area. They are showing a slump but not as many physical signs of depression. It's getting bad in SW FL, Palm Beach County, and other areas that were too real estate dependent.

The other areas include the entire state of Florida. The affordability problems across the state will trickle down from the bubbly areas to the non-bubbly areas.

[TKramar]

Then you've got your world famous (or infamous I should say) serial killers like Ted Bundy and Aileen Wournas among others.

Aileen was from Texas...just like George Bush...we had JEB to contend with though...maybe that's your confusion.