Why do people move to FLorida and.... (Miami, Orlando: real estate, house)

[Margel]

Most of the complaints from the native Floridians concern how things are not the same from when they were kids/younger/in years past. This is true across the nation. I grew up in a very nice neighborhood in South Philadelphia, where all the neighbors knew one another, we all got along, and it was safe and family friendly. Philadelphia, in general, is not the same now and in many respects, complete opposite of how I experienced it growing up. And the funny thing is my parents always talked about how things changed from when they were kids. So I guess it just the way things are...the more we progess in some areas with development and growth, we also lose the simplicity with which we came. The areas no longer look the same and are not the same nor we ever be the same. We all complain about this from all over, but that is what we also call progress....Go figure!

[hiknapster]

At least once a week, probably more, someone posts on the Florida forum about people that moved out and continue posting on here. I just ignore it. Maybe it is time that I said something.

First of all, I came to Florida under very unusual circumstances. I did not want to move there. As a matter of fact, I originally visited on vacation when Disney first opened up. It was a bus tour with my parents when I was 12. I wasn't very impressed. Florida is what it is.

Back in my hometown, when anyone got disgruntled they would say, "I'm moving to Florida." They acted like being in sunshine would solve all their problems. I use to say, "I would never move to Florida. It's a big parking lot with one palm tree." I guess that was due to my remembrance of viewing it through a bus window.

So, I ended up being in Florida whether I liked it or not. I was 34 and tried to make the best of it.

Rather than being on vacation, I saw Florida from the eyes of a resident, and I really liked a lot of what I saw. I lived in Orlando. Granted, there was a lot of crime, and I was not use to that, but I thought Florida had a lot of beauty to it.

Then, I had to move to Fort Myers, sight unseen.

That was in 1998. I didn't like it as much as Orlando. The snowbirds of Fort Myers are just really indescribable. I'll leave it at that. There was very little culture, people were rude, blah, blah, blah.

I have never complained about the heat. If you don't really expect enormous heat, well then, you will be in for a surprise. I understood that and dealt with it.

Let me tell you about my experiences with heat. My first week in Orlando, my car was stolen. It was old and I didn't have theft insurance and it was never recovered. I took the bus. You do not understand heat until you sit at a bus stop in the heat. Next time you pass those people on the side of the road, say a little prayer for them.

I did that for 18 months, then I moved to Fort Myers and got a car. For the next eight years, I drove a car without air conditioning. Try going to work with makeup on and your hair done in that.

In the place that we lived in, the heat did not work correctly, so during the day it ran about 90 degrees in there.

So what. It's hot in Florida. Take water with you all the time and you won't pass out. All that heat at least kept me skinny.

Why do I continue to post in the Florida forum? Because my husband grew up there. My daughter was born there. My niece and nephew, the only ones I have, are still there, along with all of my husband's aunts and uncles, his mother and his sister.

I have an extreme interest in Florida.

So that little girl on the tour bus, that was forced to move to Florida, fell in love with it and wishes that some of it's problems can be solved.

I also post to give people that want to move there my perspective, which I feel is valuable.

I also like a LOT of people on the Florida forum.

[dreamofmonterey]

No one plans to fail- people who worked at MBNA bank and had to sell their house bcs their kids and housing are too expensive- you cannot research or prevent that. I still own property there, so am on this forum- I do not see any whiners here- I have seen a few young families and single people having a problem. Thats the reality.

[hiknapster]

And is there some sort of rule about who can post where? Like a residency rule?

[Talon]

Native Floridian?.....You would have to have some Seminole blood to be considered a "Native" in my book. Just because you were born here does not make yourself a native. Our dog was born here.....but that does not make our dog native to Florida. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your heritage....in fact I applaud it. But to consider yourself more knowledgeable about Florida and on a different level than just "residents" is wrong and shows ignorance. OK......I feel better now....sorry.
Being a resident here for a relatively short time (8 years), I too have seen some disturbing changes around SW Florida. We moved from a small Midwestern town, did our research into jobs, crime etc. We wanted to give it a try. Do we love FL.?......No. Are we still here?........ Yes. Will we leave eventually?....Yes. Do we blame anyone?......No. I know many lifelong residents here and they too are concerned about the changes.
As far as the complainers.........you just can't take it personally. Opinions are like belly buttons.............everybody has one. Florida does have a lot to offer. Just not where I want to raise a family............and that my friends......... is just my opinion. I know.....time to get off of the soapbox!

[hiknapster]

I would love an answer to my question. Why put up this question and not respond. I find it very insulting.

There are plenty of people on here that moved away but have so much information to give possible residents, positive and negative.

[inftmyers]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

I would love an answer to my question. Why put up this question and not respond. I find it very insulting.

There are plenty of people on here that moved away but have so much information to give possible residents, positive and negative.

Are you talking to me?

[johnsonk422]

I am not a native Floridian, but have lived in South Florida (Miami-Dade) for the last 10 years or so, and I've commented for the last few months on the Miami forum just to counter some of the mind-numbing vitriol, NIMBYism, childish ranting, etc. etc. that is so common in discussions about that part of the state. This is America and Free Speech is a given right, but spoiled brats are still spoiled brats, and people who willingly move to Florida and complain so much clearly fit within that categorization. There are plenty of them. Often you'll hear them make comparisons to places - inevitably Georgia, North Carolina, California - and about how Florida lacks things that those places have in abundance. Of course, NC, GA, an CA have no problems at all - never mind the blistering racism and rural poverty in GA and NC, or the earthquakes, overpopulation, wildfires, etc. etc. of CA. It's a classic case of selective vision.

I tend to think that some of them were the kids who got everything that they wanted when they were young, and have thus not learned to compensate as adults for the simple axiom that there is no utopia. Florida has problems, as does every other state in the country. Life is all about trade-offs. If you want less congestion, move to Kansas. If you want higher-paying jobs, move to NYC. If you want cooler weather, move to Michigan. If you're a racist scoundrel who can't stand hearing Spanish, move to the Dakotas. This is an enormous country that surely has a community that will suit your needs. But if you're going to stay here (and this is a free country, meaning that nobody is forcing you to remain anywhere), some of us would prefer that you shut the hell up and act like the sensible adults that you (supposedly) are. We're paying those high property taxes, too, but aren't on the verge of suicide because of it. Ever paid taxes in New York state? I have, and I won't be going back to it anytime soon.

But no. They bought their McMansions at bargain basement prices and are outraged that other people - lots of other people - decided to do the same thing. Now, they come to this state and demand perfect weather, perfect schools, no crime, no traffic, high-paying jobs, and low real estate prices all delivered promptly and on a golden platter - and when it doesn't happen, the world is ending to them. Read a few threads on the Miami forum - you could easily begin to think that people are discussing Somalia! One woman actually had the nerve to write about a wreck that she was involved in as a "sure sign" that the region is going to hell. Another user on here started a poll about the Floridian heat because he doesn't like hot weather. Brilliant. It's just amazing, and the negativity - supported by a strong dose of sheer stupidity - has no bounds. Editorials in any major Floridian newspaper are replete with that type of NIMBY garbage. Why do people sit back and just passively listen to this nonsense without saying anything? In the name of all things holy and sacred, if you don't like this state, move out!

I think that a lot of it may have to do with the fact that so many people living in this state have no history here, and thus little reason to feel pride/community spirit for the area. Or maybe Florida is just a magnet for the irritable, spoiled brats of the world. I generally would not feed the trolls, but it's rather ridiculous. There are more than enough positive factors to attract and retain citizens in this state, and one does not have to dig deeply to find them.

[RedWingsFan]

Why do people move to Florida and complain about things? Same reason they move to every state in the country and complain about things. Some things they may not have known, others may not have been as bothersome until they actually experienced them first hand. Others find out that people painted a picture of paradise but once they got here they don't think it is paradise.

But Florida is not the only state this happens with, it happens with every state.

[oceandreams94]

Originally Posted by johnsonk422

I am not a native Floridian, but have lived in South Florida (Miami-Dade) for the last 10 years or so, and I've commented for the last few months on the Miami forum just to counter some of the mind-numbing vitriol, NIMBYism, childish ranting, etc. etc. that is so common in discussions about that part of the state. This is America and Free Speech is a given right, but spoiled brats are still spoiled brats, and people who willingly move to Florida and complain so much clearly fit within that categorization. There are plenty of them. Often you'll hear them make comparisons to places - inevitably Georgia, North Carolina, California - and about how Florida lacks things that those places have in abundance. Of course, NC, GA, an CA have no problems at all - never mind the blistering racism and rural poverty in GA and NC, or the earthquakes, overpopulation, wildfires, etc. etc. of CA. It's a classic case of selective vision.

I tend to think that some of them were the kids who got everything that they wanted when they were young, and have thus not learned to compensate as adults for the simple axiom that there is no utopia. Florida has problems, as does every other state in the country. Life is all about trade-offs. If you want less congestion, move to Kansas. If you want higher-paying jobs, move to NYC. If you want cooler weather, move to Michigan. If you're a racist scoundrel who can't stand hearing Spanish, move to the Dakotas. This is an enormous country that surely has a community that will suit your needs. But if you're going to stay here (and this is a free country, meaning that nobody is forcing you to remain anywhere), some of us would prefer that you shut the hell up and act like the sensible adults that you (supposedly) are. We're paying those high property taxes, too, but aren't on the verge of suicide because of it. Ever paid taxes in New York state? I have, and I won't be going back to it anytime soon.

But no. They bought their McMansions at bargain basement prices and are outraged that other people - lots of other people - decided to do the same thing. Now, they come to this state and demand perfect weather, perfect schools, no crime, no traffic, high-paying jobs, and low real estate prices all delivered promptly and on a golden platter - and when it doesn't happen, the world is ending to them. Read a few threads on the Miami forum - you could easily begin to think that people are discussing Somalia! One woman actually had the nerve to write about a wreck that she was involved in as a "sure sign" that the region is going to hell. Another user on here started a poll about the Floridian heat because he doesn't like hot weather. Brilliant. It's just amazing, and the negativity - supported by a strong dose of sheer stupidity - has no bounds. Editorials in any major Floridian newspaper are replete with that type of NIMBY garbage. Why do people sit back and just passively listen to this nonsense without saying anything? In the name of all things holy and sacred, if you don't like this state, move out!

I think that a lot of it may have to do with the fact that so many people living in this state have no history here, and thus little reason to feel pride/community spirit for the area. Or maybe Florida is just a magnet for the irritable, spoiled brats of the world. I generally would not feed the trolls, but it's rather ridiculous. There are more than enough positive factors to attract and retain citizens in this state, and one does not have to dig deeply to find them.

Excellent Post!!!

Jen