[Quartermane]

Originally Posted by abc99

Okay, let's see. We have grown by leaps and bounds! Super Wal-Mart, new hospital, Tom's foods is now Lance chips and crackers, lots of new little shops downtown, it is looking good , and as you know the cost of living is small compared to other areas. The original question form the woman who was asking about Perry was in her mid 50's, hince she may like fishing ,scalloping, scouting out the great outdoors and she may enjoy a small town bingo game or high school sports maybe even the quaint antique shops from here to Ft. White. Question is if you hate it here, why stay? I know it's hard to get Taylor County sand out of your shoes! Go somewhere else and you will look forward to the quiet, subdued atmosphere you will be happy again to see a pine tree!

Let's see.....I must reply to this....Super Wal-Mart that's being run into the dirt.

New Hospital that can't keep doctors.

Tom's is now Lance....no big change there IMO.

Why don't we leave.....Can't afford to. Can't make enough money in this town to save extra and leave. Trust me, if I could, we would have left a long time ago and seek the quiet of a REAL small town.

I think we can just agree we disagree about this town now.

Oh and yeah.....who can get the sugar sand out of their shoes since nothing seems to grow here BUT stupid pine trees. They are taking all of the old hardwoods out to plant more pines except what the Suwannee River Water Management takes care of along the rivers.

[teresa9110]

okay i understand how yall feel about perry, But to some people this is the best place in the world ..and if it was not for all the pine trees we would not have a lot of the stuff we have now. We are the tree capital of the south that might not say much but i think it is something to be proud of. I could not have asked for a better place to raise my kids. we have a nice littel house in the woods were nobody will mess with you or nothing......so my point is that somethings in perry are nice, and you should relly take a moment to look around and notice some of the finer things perry has to offer.

[caveman1113]

I just HAD TO comment on this thread... I'm retired and living in Perry for just over 4 years. I've lived in 3 parts of town trying to get away from the drunkenness, dope peddling, backstabbing, and ignorant people, not to mention the problems I've seen my grand nieces and grand nephews get into for fighting off the disrespectful juveniles who were trying to force other good kids into bad situations.

I was a secondary school teacher before I retired and moved back to FL. I grew up in Sarasota FL and later moved to northern West Virginia, before retiring back here in Perry FL, where I had family.

I can tell you that Taylor County Schools are AT LEAST 3 years behind the Northern WV/PA/MD (The Tri-State area) schools, and possibly as far as 4 years behind Florida's Manatee & Sarasota County school systems. From all that I can tell, the main problem is caused by our "Don't Spank Them!!! That's Child-abuse!!!" mentality over the past 20 years. We now have 2 generations of unruly children. One generation who became parents, and another that are their children. (Too bad you don't have to pass an IQ test to have kids)

I cannot believe that teachers are required to NOT GET PHYSICALLY INVOLVED IN ANY WAY when some 14 year old 3rd or 4th grader/bad-boy or girl comes up and flips a teacher the middle finger while simultaneously screaming at them: "Shut the fu*k up!!" and kicking said teacher in the shins with steel-toe boots. Only GOD knows why the kid was ever allowed to OWN steel toed footwear, much less wear them to school to use as a weapon.

The children simply cannot get the help they need in school for all the hullabaloo the delinquents raise in class. Even worse, the school board often kicks out the victims and keeps the perpetrators in school. The teacher to student ratio is an EXCELLENT 18 to 1. STILL, over 20% of students have had to repeat 2 or more grades before reaching Secondary (Middle) School level. The school's educational failures are being pushed into the VoTech at an alarming rate and quantity. Using the REAL WORLD to measure them against, the average 15 year-old VoTech student functions only at or below 5th to 7th grade levels!!! They must push these derelicts into the Vocational training simply to allow them to learn a menial trade that'll HOPEFULLY enable them to survive without the education that they were robbed of.

I seldom bother with the local paper either but for different reasons. The paper AND all the town documents appear to be written by a 5th grader. Said 5th grader being one who's teachers must have suffered mental deficiencies while trying to learn the English language themselves; and unfortunately passed on multiplied deficiencies to their children and/or students. If a person can't find at least 10 spelling and word usage errors on each page of our 4 to 6 page twice weekly (weakly describes it better) newspaper, then they simply are not qualified to edit, or are just not looking.

On the "JUST MY OPINION" header below, I MUST agree wholeheartedly. We were under contract to buy a nice 5-BR ranch on 1 fenced in acre for a great price of $49Thousand. One of the "3 People" referred to below in the quoted area was very tight with the real estate agent. Upon finding out the contracted price on our new home, they somehow found a couple of loopholes that let the agent evict our family of 10 with only 14 days notice!!! Even better, She never returned a penny of our money. We were not compensated in any way for the considerable improvements we made, or for the down-payment money. Our contract was RE-Written + re-dated to show all of the paid money and improvements as "rent or work in exchange for rent." Then.... the price of the place TRIPLED. Even though the 83 year-old owner who was dying was FIGHTING IN OUR BEHALF FOR THE ORIGINAL DEAL to be reinstated, it was no good. Even though the owner WANTED our family to have the home, it was kept at the 3x inflated price that she specifically DISAPPROVED OF... The Real estate agent has power of attorney + final say/right of disapproval on all tenants!!!

OH... I almost forgot... The NEW owner... The one that JUST bought it for the SAME EXACT PRICE on OUR original contract... He's the same county commissioner that was arrested, spent time in Jail + Prison for Dealing... got out... and got RE-ELECTED!!! He owns more property in this town than the town does, and... Now we know HOW he affords to get it all.

If I could afford to relocate right now, and still wanted to be in a small town near the water, I'd head down to anywhere between Crystal River and Clearwater Beach areas for reasonable property values, clean environment, nice people, and a general lack of thugs. Between Tallahassee and Pensacola would be my only other choice.
Good Luck!!!

Originally Posted by Quartermane

Hummmm, they have known kids in school who have...let's see.....One stabbed another boy and spent time in Juvi, one got caught teaching his younger brother to roll and smoke dope, Two around the corner are well know for doing dope and the other even gets involved with the heavier stuff. Theives, guns, fights (serious ones not the school yard kind) Yeah...I see the crime all the time. I won't even buy the local paper because it's rarely anything good. ...

...just my opinionand since I have watched it grow and been here since '71 and hubby since '68......I kind of think we know a little about this town. Oh and BTW.....if you're rich...come on down....you can get anything done with money around here. Just ask anyone who owns this town.....they will tell you at least ONE of three names......

On another note.....consider this FACT!!!! Where else can you have a county commissioner be arrested, spend time in Jail/prison for Dealing......get out....and get RE-ELECTED!!!!!! Is this a good practice???? You tell me.

[lsseds]

I have lived in Fl 47 of my 49 years. Each time my husband and I pass through Perry on our way to visit family in Georgia we say the same thing. Thank God we do not live in this town. It is trashy and nothing says stop and visit awhile. My niece's grandparents live there and are happy. Her father got out and moved to Jacksonville. I lived in Palm Beach county for 41 yrs and recently moved to west of Ocala. I miss Palm beach county terribly in spite of it's problems of too high homeowners insurance, taxes, crime and growth. Here in Levy county it is far cheaper to live and prettier but God I miss my friends! I guess you can't really have it all. I would choose the Ocala area over Taylor county any day.

[Strel]

Most people I know that live there drive 45 minutes to Tallahassee to do anything.

And there have been some significant racial problems there in recent years....

[jwbnperry]

Well, I have to agree with you on the fact that the only well-paying jobs are at Buckeye... and YOU DO have to know someone to get hired there. People who work there and have for many years won't agree with you! They're making damn good money, they have great benefits, they're living very well. But they will not acknowledge that getting hired there today is near impossible unless you are related to someone. I won't go as far as to say that you have to sleep with someone!

BUT... I'm packing up from South Florida to move back to Perry and I can't wait. Until you live somewhere else and experience the dog eat dog rat race you don't appreciate Perry. I now live where it takes you 30 minutes to get 10 miles in traffic. Crime is rampant because of the mix of people here trying to be able to afford to live here!

I can't wait to get back! Until you drive everyday in six lanes of traffic, don't know your neighbor enough for them to acknowledge a wave, and make darned sure you lock every door and window... you don't know what you have.

Think twice about leaving. My bet is that you'll be packing up soon to come back home

Love to all.

Originally Posted by Quartermane

I have been here long enough as well. I this town is going downhill quickly. But it's just my opinion. I was raised here, married here, raised my kids here. It does have the somewhat small town mentality but then you know with that, it also comes with the whole, everyone knows everyone's business. Small town shops are closing to bigger businesses. There is NOTHING for the kids to do so they hang out in the sopping center parking lots or any place they can find. Drugs are pretty hefty here and go from the most simple things to the worst kind. Jobs are not that great unless you work at the local papermill. Then you have to know someone or sleep with someone to get in there. Average pay is low compared to other areas. The fishing is good for saltwater and freshwater. Hunting is good if you can get into one of the many hunt clubs and want to pay their high prices for membership......oh and it helps to know someone to get in there too. There are some beautiful areas around here though. Then again I have seen some beautiful areas other places as well. Just my thoughts on this town and I'd leave if I could but can't make enough money to get out. Anyone want to buy some land?

[jwbnperry]

I have to agree with Quatermane on the Buckeye issue. You CANNOT get a job there now without knowing someone... I'll stop short of saying sleep with someone! People who worked there, especially those for many years, are living very well... nice houses, new cars, great retirements programs, but don't expect them to acknowledge that it is near impossible to get a job there now unless you DO know someone.

BUT ON THE OTHER HAND... I'm packing now to move back to Perry. Spent a few years in South Florida - which to people from Perry means South of Chiefland - making a dollar and I can't wait to get back.

Until you drive in six lane traffic 30 minutes to get 5 miles, pay incredible car insurance premiums, and make sure you lock every door AND window... you don't appreciate Perry.

You talk about crime in Perry. I live in a melting pot of people who would steal you blind because they really can't afford to live here! Guys with pants so loose that they hold themselves in private places to keep them up, English is a second language, your neighbor doesn't even acknowledge a wave, and drugs are available in the Publix parking lot!!!

I would venture to bet that if Quartermane moved, they would be back soon.

[Meritaman]

I moved to Perry in 1999 from West Palm Beach, Fl. I feel that the town is a little racist, jobs are scarce, everyone knows everyone else's business. People here have very low self esteem. But I also feel that people here look after one another, and we have raised our 2 kids here, and we are Christian people and our kids have not gotten into the drugs and all the wild crazy stuff that goes on here. I can't imagine how some say the crime is high here...people steal at Walmart, but that happens everywhere. We don't even lock our doors. I have never heard of anyone being mugged or anything that happens in South Florida. Being that every City has its good and bad points, I like Taylor County, and I would encourage anyone to come and give this town a chance. Also...there are a few jobs here but there are fewer people here with an entreprenal spirit to start their own business and make life better. I started a business here in the Financial Services Industry showing people how they can make $200 an hour and I can't even get them to keep their appointments. They don't even think of bettering themselves.

[peacepf25]

I lived in Perry for about 5 years. It was a nice quiet little town. We moved from Miami, so it was a big change. It took some adjusting, but I still call it home. I have been moved away from there now about 5 years. The people are very friendly. You said you are from a small town already, so you know how people can be. Always in your business. There is not much to do there. I don't know if you have children, or what your ages are. There are many churches if that is your thing. There was a skating rink for the kids. It was open on the weekends and Wednesday nights only. There were quite a few fights there last I was there with my kids. There is a movie theater which also keeps very strange hours. There were quite a few bars. THERE IS ALOT OF DRUGS! ALOT. I bought my first home there. It was a 3 bedroom 1 bath house for $35,000. There is not much in the way of work. Still I call it home. Pouncey's restaurant has the best club sandwich I have ever had. The bbq reataurant is wonderful. There is also a place downtown across from the courthouse called Rosehead junction. They have the best potato salad. Every year in Perry, is the Forest Festival. It's a huge deal. They have the worlds largest free fish fry. So much fun. They also have a cracker museum. Check it out. If you want to know anything else, please don't hesitate to e-mail me....I would be more than glad to tell you about it. About any neighborhoods that I can tell you about. Oh word of advise...there is an odor to the town sometimes. Buckeye paper mill is in the town, and at times it stinks! Fair warning. Don't let that scare you off though. Keaton Beach is very close.
Peacepf25@yahoo.com

[broken-knuckle]

This town has nothing to offer to anyone...No jobs and they don't want any jobs there.Those country bunkins think a paper mill can support the whole county.As far as getting hired at the mill forget it unless your mama, daddy, brother, sister works there. it's hand me down job.The town has only 4-5 resturants not counting Mcdonalds, Burgerking,KFC.This town can't keep open a TacoBell or Wendys.Chaparral Steak House closed which had the best steaks around.A couple yrs ago Perry had there first new hotel built, the first one in 30 yrs{Hampton Inn} but who going to pay $ 90.00+ NITE to stay there. NOTHING TO DO IN PERRY BUT HANG OUT @ WALMART! The school system is a joke, way behind any school.Don't think so? Just talk to the locals and here how they talk or pick up the Taco Times/Perry Newsherald and see for yourself. They built a new hospital( don't know why) that the county can't afford.You still have to go to Tallahassee for any treatment. They do have a 3 screen movie thearte in which the owner does a good job bringing first run movies.nothing fancy or no surround sound the owner does a good job. I'm glad I moves away 29 yrs ago and never would leave Arlington, VA for Perry. When I do visit my wife and kids are ready to leave 2 days after we arrived. Don't miss the sand or stinking smell of rotten eggs from a papermill.