[D-R-B]

The employment situation in North and South Jersey is, was, and always will be TEN THOUSAND TIMES BETTER than Florida.


Half of my family lives in New Jersey and I was stationed there for 4 years.


Let me repeat, TEN THOUSAND TIMES BETTER than Florida.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

The employment situation in North and South Jersey is, was, and always will be TEN THOUSAND TIMES BETTER than Florida.


Half of my family lives in New Jersey and I was stationed there for 4 years.


Let me repeat, TEN THOUSAND TIMES BETTER than Florida.

Are you reporting your feelings there, or making a factual claim? If it's supposed to be a factual claim, what surveys are you using? I'd like to check out the methodology.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by Tungsten_Udder

Are you reporting your feelings there, or making a factual claim? If it's supposed to be a factual claim, what surveys are you using? I'd like to check out the methodology.

Move back to Florida and find out

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by Tungsten_Udder

How would that tell me whether he's just reporting his feelings or making a factual claim and what survey he's using? lol

The only survey you need is to see the difference in wages and career opportunities.But you already know that!

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by DailyJournalist

The only survey you need is to see the difference in wages and career opportunities.But you already know that!

Well, per what though? Wages maybe through wages reported to the government for tax purposes? I'd agree that would tell us something about wages, although we shouldn't take it to be the whole picture.

Re "career opportunities", who compiles statistics on "career opportunities". How would they even be defining that?

[rluey29]

I'd agree 100%.

[FLBob]

Ever since I moved to Florida I've heard that part of your pay is in sunshine. I was shocked when a friend who was a business writer for the Naples Daily News told me what she was paid.

The only way I could hope to make what I had made up north (salary and benifits) was to be self-employed.

Since moving to Florida I have seen employees that are very well compensated and others that are over paid at starvation wages.

I am often frustrated when I hear people complaining that someone else won't create a well paying job for them. I prefer it when I hear people looking for ways to change things for the better. To create a business that may provide a living for others.

The truth is that much of the economy and population of Florida has grown in the past 3 decades, while the economies of other areas of this great country have grown over a much longer period.

Florida's economy is in it's infancy while the economies of the north east and rust belt are mature. Florida has grown on agriculture; citrus, sugar, tomatoes, cattle, and horses. Tourism brought the wealthy winter residents.

Florida's economy needs time to adjust to the numbers of people that have moved here. The residents of Florida need to make sure our government creates a nourishing environment for entrepreneurial job creating ventures.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by FLBob

I am often frustrated when I hear people complaining that someone else won't create a well paying job for them. I prefer it when I hear people looking for ways to change things for the better. To create a business that may provide a living for others.

Yes, excellent point that I agree with. I've wanted to start a "What have you done to make Florida a better place to live and work in?" thread, but I'm not going to do it until I'm living back down there full-time, because otherwise it will just turn into a bickering war about that.

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

It is a common misconception that in Florida, the wages are less-but the cost of living is less, so it all evens out.

I want people to understand that there is way more to it than that. The general attitude towards business down here is very different than in other places. It is taken with a certain degree of informality and lack of professionalism.

The average wage earner makes less here than other places yes, but what isn't discussed is the stagnation of that wage. Many people focus on starting pay as a comparison to other places. For example: a first year school teacher in Florida may make a few thousand less per year than a teacher in the North East-but the cost of living is less so you may actually wind up on top. What people don't realize is that after ten years their salary has only gone up a few thousand. The school teacher in the North East will out-earn the Florida teacher by a very large margin over the course of their carreer. It only takes a couple of years to see the difference. Wages stagnate in Florida.

This is also true with most other professions/occupations. Business just moves faster and is taken more seriously up north- a hard working, honest, PROFESSIONAL, and reliable employee will see more opportunity for advancement over time up north than in Florida. Five years with a company in Florida might get you a couple dollars an our if you're lucky. I know and have spoken to many, many people who can validate my point.

A source of proof is in the fact that many people move to Florida with a large amount of savings and rip through that money in no time. There is a saying- "once you get here, you can't leave". That's because the person who makes 11 dollars/hour thinks that in a few years they'll be making a better living-and a few years and a lot of hard work later, they make 11 dollars/hour.

The other problem is, ALL employees are treated the same. Great workers and useless workers alike. You can outwork everyone in your office and they (and your boss) just look at you like your crazy. This has ALWAYS been the case down here. Many people just think they can buck the trend so to speak. Good luck with that.

Florida is a "right to work" state. Which basically boils down to the fact that anyone can be fired for any reason at any time. No paper trail, no warnings, no sit downs, ect. This and the extreme transient nature of Florida combine to make an unprofessional, stagnant working envinronment. Most don't believe it untill they are stuck in it. Many people are at work staring at the clock untill the can go get drunk after work 7 days a week. But that is another thread all together.

Florida is, has been, and always will be set up for tourists and retirees. Neither of those groups require gamefull employment. This state has been letting down it's permanent residents for years. Florida is littered with too many small bussinesess and not enough big businesess to offer stable jobs with advancement opportunities for it's workers. So what you wind up with is hundreds of people lining up for a 10 dollar/hour grocerey store jobs. But, if they work real hard for 4 or 5 years, they could make 11 or 12 dollars/hour!

Your post is excellent!! There will always be those individuals who will delude themselves into believing that because their Florida financial status is strong that they can somehow maintain a false contention that all will be well (even when their blinders and biases are removed) if others were to mirror them. Some just talk in circles, hoping that the smoke that they are blowing will not blow back in their face.

The question that I continue to ask myself is whether my children will be able to find financial security and hope in the area(s) that they choose to establish "roots". Unfortunately, as evidenced by many of the observations that you have shared, Florida is devoid of much financial hope for the novice worker and/or those entry level workers seeking a long term chance at success.

[Keeper]

Get back on topic..