white flight (Jacksonville, Orlando, Weston: condos, crime, safe area)

[doggiebus]

Sadly Broward and Palm Beach will go the way of Miami-Dade, give it 10 years. White people are just fed up with the direction South Florida is going.I have to say this that its just not whites but some of my hispanic friends too. Just this month a friend from Central America moved his family to Georgia for a better lifestyle and to be closer to family.

[Cane Fan]

Originally Posted by NCN

We vacationed there a few years back and thought it was a pretty rough area. We drove to places like Butterfly World, but spent little time away from the condo area. The final blow for us was when we went to a service station and they demanded the money before we filled up our car. They were inside a locked area??!! We just drove on to another service station. It is a little impossible to know exactly how much it is going to cost to fill up your car and who wants to stop several times and almost fill it.

Where do people come up with these stories ... I have lived here for thirteen years and I have never had a place "demand" money before I filled up ... funny that South Florida which is known as top vacation destination would be perceived by someone as a "pretty rough area " where did this person stay in "da hood " ... I find most people love it down here when they visit or vacation it is when you live here that many people change their tunes . Still I hate seeing people take unfair pot shots at South Florida ... again we have enough negatives with out having to hear tripe from posters that are out of state . I vacationed in Savannah , Georgia with family last year and thought it sucked ... hotel was a dump , area was ghetto , we witnessed an armed robbery and it was just plain dirty , yet I would never think of posting that in the Savananh , Georgia forum .. I just think we had some bad luck as well .. it had areas that were quite beautiful and full of history .. it was just a shame that it was in such dire need of upkeep . Again I travel to Houston quite a bit and like the city ( I was born there ) but it has many , many negatives including high crime , gangs , smog , brutal traffic , illegals .. yet I would not post that in the Houston forum .. why be a jerk and hurt native born Houstonians for instance or people that like the area ... hence my amazement at people who post garbage on these South Florida forums from other states !!

[Cane Fan]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Sadly Broward and Palm Beach will go the way of Miami-Dade, give it 10 years. White people are just fed up with the direction South Florida is going.I have to say this that its just not whites but some of my hispanic friends too. Just this month a friend from Central America moved his family to Georgia for a better lifestyle and to be closer to family.

I agree I have many professional Hispanic friends that are leaving in mass as well ... to Sarasota , Tampa , St.Johns County ( Jacksonville ) Gainesville , Texas , parts of Georgia , and of course North Carolina ... it is a shame .

[rocketman10]

Lots of So Floridians have moved to Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns and Duval Counties. All in NE FL. We too left So. Fla several years ago. Best decision we ever made.

Friends from down there are also following our lead. Weather is great up this way and much cheaper to live!!

[MisterNY]

Not taking a shot at you, Cane Fan, but you seem to want everyone to sweep everything negative (about South Florida) under the rug. I dont see the reason why you dont want to hear others' experiences. If it's their reality or experience, why shouldn't they be able to express their dislike or displeasure from it? I completely understand where you are coming from, believe me I do, but I fail to see why they should not express it. If their experience was great, and they raved about it being the best place to live, would you honestly prevent them from saying it? You just shared your experience in Savannah and I dont think people from GA are going to come like the Gestapo telling you, "YOu should not have" . I dont get bent out of shape when people have issues with NY. That's their experience, feel free to share.

Another thing, I am used to paying before pumping gas. That has been the norm here and many big cities for ages. Nothing new. The only places I did not have to do that were in Dublin, GA and Upstate NY from what I can honestly remember. Other than that, it's been the norm and there is nothing wrong with it either. Why are people making a fuss over it? Enlighten me here. Am I missing something here?
And, I will not argue over people liking it here for vacation. It's usually been a pleasing experience from friends and family all over.

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by Cane Fan

I agree I have many professional Hispanic friends that are leaving in mass as well ... to Sarasota , Tampa , St.Johns County ( Jacksonville ) Gainesville , Texas , parts of Georgia , and of course North Carolina ... it is a shame .

It's a cycle. Immigrants move to South Florida, become Americanized, and then leave. New immigrants fill up the spots left before them. And then it continues over and over.

White flight has definitely occurred here in Palm Beach County. In fact I posted a topic about this nearly seven months ago:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/west-...ch-county.html

Here are my communities demographics in 2000:

73% White Non-Hispanic
21% Black
4% Hispanic
2% Other or Mixed Race

versus now:

52% Black
27% Hispanic
15% White Non-Hispanic
6% Other or Mixed Race

Just take a drive down Lake Worth now and tell me things didn't change (all of the signs and billboards are in Spanish).

[crisp444]

Where you live is an EXTREME example that has not been replicated in many places in South Florida from 2000-now. In many places, we're talking about 60% non-Hispanic white in 2000 versus 45-50% non-Hispanic white now.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by Cane Fan

I agree I have many professional Hispanic friends that are leaving in mass as well ... to Sarasota , Tampa , St.Johns County ( Jacksonville ) Gainesville , Texas , parts of Georgia , and of course North Carolina ... it is a shame .

A shame, but a reality. Too many people can't be wrong, or could they?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by MisterNY

A shame, but a reality. Too many people can't be wrong, or could they?

You can't be wrong about your own feelings, but I do think a lot of people who move to places like Charlotte because of the crime or further north in the state because of the weather and really believe they escaped it are a bunch of suckers. You have to realize that South Florida was marketed to and largely established by malcontents looking to escape whatever else they hated worldwide ever since it's inception.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is once suckers, always suckers. Don't get the wrong idea and think I am speaking for EVERY person who moved to and from this area, but you have to admit it's part of the problem here and definitely a problem that is resolving itself. Of course, it's not that simple (a lot of it is economics) but it definitely plays a role in the regions problems.

[MisterNY]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

You can't be wrong about your own feelings, but I do think a lot of people who move to places like Charlotte because of the crime or further north in the state because of the weather and really believe they escaped it are a bunch of suckers. You have to realize that South Florida was marketed to and largely established by malcontents looking to escape whatever else they hated worldwide ever since it's inception.

LMAO ...That is funny.....Suckers...I agree..The reality is most people have different reasons as to why they leave, however there are suckers and sheep...I entirely agree..