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I pass Source Interlink everyday. I knew of people who worked there and many seemed to like their jobs. I was going to apply there this last year but decided to start a business instead and am also over at FGCU. I did hear they did just downsize so it might be some time before they are hiring again.
I have worked with people of all races around here. Now, these were in business/corporate offices and IT departments but I never saw any issues or heard my friends complaining. I'm sure it might be different in other areas and industries around here.
My personal take is that people who come from other areas normally visit when their hometown is gloomy. They get starry eyed from the pristine medians with the tropical foliage, and the mediterranean look of much of it. Then, there is the beach.
I think that the bloom wears off the rose within 10 years for most people who aren't born and raised there. Just my opinion.
LewLew: I couldn't agree more with your post. I am from the North. Detroit to be exact where it is urban, multicultural and mid-west all at the same time. We also have had the worst affect on us from the economy.
I have been living in Tampa, FL for over 8 years now. I am college educated (undergrad in Finance, working on my MBA), have a well paying career, am white, Catholic, 30 years old and single with no children.
I can't wait to leave.
Why? Because now I'm ready to get married and have children. From everything that I have seen in these 8 years (my 20's mind you) I would never want to raise my children here. It's just much harder. I would rather put up with the cold and send my kids to a good school with kids who have parents that are married and the children weren't a product of a "baby trap gone wrong". Also, the women here in Florida are outrageous! It's hard enough working on your marriage but the temptation of being able to readily cheat on your spouse and the "it's ok everyone's doing it" mentality here, makes marriage even harder. (Which is probably why most people don't even get married here)
I am very outgoing and could even be described as a "social butterfly". I am friends with many of the MLB players that live here in Tampa, the big Club/Lounge owners/managers, most of the party promoters, etc. So don't think I'm some ultra conservative, Southern Baptist, bible beating type.
It was disturbing to me that most people in my age group here didn't have a car like I did (average SUV $40K brand new, which I bought on my own and paid off, thank you), weren't concerned with building their wealth, didn't have an apartment or home with good quality furniture, weren't looking to buy a house, didn't have their student loans paid off, weren't planning for the future, didn't know how to cook. It was just weird. I thought they were just "in their 20's" and they would grow out of it. Then I realized that all my friends in Chicago, Detroit, NY, LA, San Diego, Boston, D.C.....they all thought the way I did. They were all doing something with their lives. And again, regardless of race or coming from a poor or rich childhood. Then I was even more shocked that now I'm 30 and all the people I thought would "grow out of it", never have. Now they just have illegitimate children and/or have had 5 abortions (apparently that's their form of birth control), they have nothing to do with the kids but post pictures up and pretend to be good parents and these people either don't have THEIR parents and/or extended family around OR their parents/extended family know and don't care. This is soooooo sad and disturbing. It's cyclical and generational now.
What I have seen out in the party scene is that it goes across the board. It doesn't matter the demographic or the socio-economic class of the parents. I feel sorry for the next generation, that's all I have to say.
It was great fun living here though. The beaches and the weather were awesome and I'll miss them!
LTK906~ If it weren't for wanting to settle down with a family, would you stay? My kids are grown and I just want a warm climate, relaxed environment. I'm hoping I can meet people.
"It was disturbing to me that most people in my age group here didn't have a car like I did (average SUV $40K brand new, which I bought on my own and paid off, thank you), weren't concerned with building their wealth, didn't have an apartment or home with good quality furniture, weren't looking to buy a house, didn't have their student loans paid off, weren't planning for the future"
We moved into our house in Naples almost 2 years ago. We got the usual "welcome to the neighborhood" mailings from shops, doctors, dentists, but we also got letters from churches! "We look forward to meeting you at Sunday services and joining our congregation". Huh? I never got letters like this up in NY wherever we moved.
It was a vivid reminder that whatever else, Florida is still part of the Bible Belt.
The reason you see the majority of people poor or middle-class is that Florida, like the old south does not have much of a union presence. I live in Cincinnati, looking to move south as I hate the cold and am in my 50's. I do not work for a union currently, but the presents of Union companies is still fairly large here, so non-union companies who want the quality employees, and want them to stay pay more than the $8-10/hr, you are lucky to get in Florida for semi-shilled or unskilled labor. I am a quality control inspector at a company which uses ISO-9002. I have many college credits, but no degree. With overtime I may in the low 40's. Not much, but I could not earn anything near that in Florida without a degree.
Good Luck,
David
Quote:
Originally Posted by goldtaffeta
Hi all
I just moved to, first Naples for a brief while, and now I am living and briefly was working in Ft Myers. My opinion may or may not count for much because I have only been here since 8/4/08. But it may be helpful BECAUSE of my "innocence" in my "virgin" impression.
I am originaly from NJ, lived in Los Angeles for 19 years, and really liked it, but could not handle the price of houses (before and even after the "crash") so moved to a cheaper state. We chose FL because (1) we have relatives we could live with while getting on our feet and (2) it is on a coast and I/we love the ocean.
Since this is Ft Myers thread, I will give my impression of Ft Myers. Perhaps some old hand long-timers of Ft Myers can explain some of the things that seem to be "lost on me."
My initial impression of Ft myers is that it is "patchy." I can't get a handle on this place. It, like a lot of cities, changes from block to block. So does LA, but this place REALLY does. It is hard for me to tell not just block to block but building to building if I am in a good or bad area.
I had just had a job in what is called the Fiddlesticks area of Ft Myers which I was told is the "high class, posh, wealthy' area of Fort Myers, and I believe it because the owner of the family owned wireless software co where I was working lived there, in a gated golf community, complete with club house etc. The owner of the co owns the largest house in Ft. Myers. Yet, I went searching one day for a place to run on my lunch hour (I have been running on my lunch hour for some 10 years, so on any new job I always go scope out a good place to run). I always try to find a place not too desolate, where there are houses and a sidewalk. There are no sidewalks, and all, I mean ALL the houses are behind gates that say "no trespassing" in this "Fiddlesticks" area. Moreover, this "posh" area didn't really strike me as "posh" until you looked inside one of the getes. Outside of the gates it was like trees and brush, etc. And standing water/creeks/channels/swamps (not sure what those are). The few streets I drove up were "outback" looking and most streets would just end and become a dirt road, which gave it a "not really suburb, not really rural" feeling, which seems to fly in the face of "posh and wealth."
BTW there was a Denny's not that far from our job. Not exactly posh either.
Anyway, I had visited other areas too - regular areas - the Edison mall and some apts etc. One complex would look nice but then we'd go to the net to read about renters' comments on that apt, where former tenants can post their comments, and there would be a ton of comments about break-ins, drug deals, muggings, etc., though the apt itself would have fishing, lakes, and all these other really beautiful grounds.
Then there was the nearby Walmart. Again, in a nice looking area, I drove several miles up the street, and in the Walmart were people who looked - some of them middle class, and others who looked, shall we say, deep deep south - like with the comb stuck in the back of their hair?
As I said, I simply cannot get a handle on this place.
OK - the job that hired me. I am in the I.T. (Information Technology - software) field. I don't know if this ONE job is or is not representative of Ft Myers, so take this with a grain of salt. But I have done what I do in I.T. for 12 years and I am good at what I do - I have tons of accolades. One thing I loved about LA is that it was so multicultural (I am a Latin Female) - and I love software co's because you can come in in jeans, it is laid back, and LA is such that one person is Russian, the other is Persian, the other is Amer Italian, the other is Polish - etc., female and male, but most programmers are male. Still I always felt free from racism in LA because there are so many cultures that the day to day, overall "texture" is just not one of racism, despite the odd sensationalized "race riot" story. And there is not a "good ol boy" network in the west at all.
OK so in this job, I come in the first day, and of 29 programers, every one is about 31ish, white, tall and male, except for one female who is the wife of one of the programmers, and one black male who hung around with the secretaries who were minorities. I never once saw him hang out with one programmer. And he looked extremely uncomfortable all the time
This reminded me SO MUCH of NJ. It is a lot of the reason I left. NJ was like that. On most professional level jobs, the minorites were secretaries or worked in the cafeteria (with a few odd exceptions) and if you were a profl minority you found yourself hanging out with the cafeteria workers because you were marginalized by the "environment" there. It has been 19 long years since I've seen that.
I don't want to go into more details about that job but suffice it to say, I am super outgoing and I can deal with the "good ol boy"network. I have a thick skin and can "push on" with that. But what bothered me more was the clicque-ishness. The dept was broken into clicques and you couldn't break in. They were not friendly. Or they were but only to a point. Note that the other depts, marketing, sales, had females and had more minorities, and the people WERE friendly. It was just that programmer department. They also had these basketball teams after work (of course no females could play on that. In LA they wouldn't do that. If they had teams of something, it was somethign both sexes could do.)
This job was like the first large groups of people I met in the Ft Myers area. So this stuff was "impressing" me, perhaps more than it should have. This would not have been significant to me if I had lived here several years, because I would have just chalked it up to that specific company.
But what I find interesting is, my husband found a neighborhood park that had a men's baseball team around the same time I started working there. He signed on to an existing team because he didn't have a true team. His team was some company - and they needed an extra player. My husband is really good. And he is super friendly with everyone. He was on a team like that in LA - a real estate co needed an extra player. That team was so friendly and open and they got on famously. But with this Ft Myers team, he dropped out after like 4 games, saying they were totally clicque-ish, were not friendly, would not put him on till like the end of the game (and it is NOT his playing - he is really good ) like they were all sucking up to some boss on the team. So it strikes me that his experience on that team was EXACTLY like my experience at this job. Are people in Ft Myers just clicque-ish?
So needless to say, we are not really caring for this place. My husband just had an interview in Broward County and he has one in Tampa tomorrow. I too am sending resumes to the both areas. Whichever one works out better, we are out of here.
Please chime in, old timers, and let me know if we are just having an unusual experience, or if our experience strikes a familir chord, and that is how it is here, and please explain why. I would be really curious. (BTW I am no longer at that co. they let me go after 5 weeks with no explanation. I was 6 years at last job 4 years at previous one. Never been let go of anywhere in my life. I am published in my field. Excellent at what I do. I think I know what it was. I don't think it had to do with the stuff above. I don't care to go into it here. They did same thing to previous person, I found out. Talk about poor employee relations. Ca is the "seat" of IT - it seems Ft Myers is just 'boonies" for IT.)
Anyway, that is my newbie, virgin impression of Ft Myers
Cheers
G
PS Naples is gorgeous - I love the posh restaurants - but there you are either rich and retired, or you have one of those servant type jobs working for the rich - neither of which fits my husband or me. My husband's family (his uncle and his grown kids) have those type of jobs - working at Marshall's or in construction or tiling or as a butcher so they are happy. My husband and I are in the "middle" service sector so Naples is not for us. But it truly is beautiful there. The services are marvelous - the parks and recreation, streets, restaurants, etc. I wish I were rich enough to buy a house there, or rent. Actually you can but you have to look. And it is NOT patchy there at all. The people all look "top shelf." hahahaha I did a lot of campaigning for Obama while staying with his uncle and got a chance to meet a lot of naples folks and I really liked the people there - even the rich ones were super nice and friendly - and nobody had a comb stuck in the back of their hair. (jk)
I've lived in Ft. Myers for 20 years. I'm American, but my parents are Hispanic. I've never had racial issues here. Yeah, the jobs and schools can be a bit cliquish but try to find a place that isn't... I used to commute all the way to Bonita, not beause of the cliques but because of the great pay. I worked for a Magazine distributor (lots of white, older CEO types) and they were all very nice and never made me feel like I was beneath them. I worked with the biggest Magazine publishers and distributors in the world. They have an IT department there and I think you would fit in nicely. It's called Source Interlink, maybe a move to the Bonita area would do you well, it's close to Naples. Look it up. Good luck!
There are middle class jobs in Naples. I would think teachers and tech support staff would be considered middle class. What I have found working in the schools, and I've worked in 4 different schools, a LOT of teachers and support staff work in Naples, but live someplace else; especially if they have young families. Bonita seems to be the most popular place.
Wow...honey, next time you move somewhere, do more research. Believe it or not, this is not "good ole boy country", try the Appalachians if you want to truly experience that. Fort Myers has been ruined by a lack of foresight by city planning. It is a sea of tacky neon signs and strip mall after strip mall. There are a few good neighborhoods tucked in. Did you not visit the area first and not see that? And just because there is a community "behind a gate" that means nothing more than they suckered some people into paying bigger HOA fees for believing they are safer there. I think if you come to any area with such paranoid attitudes that is what you will experience. You got your fears right in your face.
As to Naples......I've lived there the better part of 34 years. It used to be really natural and beautiful. Now more and more aggressive people from the north have moved here with their bad attitudes and pushy behavior. The only saving grace has been the city commissioners trying to hold on to what they have. Yes, it is more expensive, but I live here, just a normal white gal, not rich, work for a living and don't think it's any more expensive than any other place in usa worth living. There is NO perfect place. If there was, I'd be there already.
Wow...honey, next time you move somewhere, do more research. Believe it or not, this is not "good ole boy country", try the Appalachians if you want to truly experience that. Fort Myers has been ruined by a lack of foresight by city planning. It is a sea of tacky neon signs and strip mall after strip mall. There are a few good neighborhoods tucked in. Did you not visit the area first and not see that? And just because there is a community "behind a gate" that means nothing more than they suckered some people into paying bigger HOA fees for believing they are safer there. I think if you come to any area with such paranoid attitudes that is what you will experience. You got your fears right in your face.
As to Naples......I've lived there the better part of 34 years. It used to be really natural and beautiful. Now more and more aggressive people from the north have moved here with their bad attitudes and pushy behavior. The only saving grace has been the city commissioners trying to hold on to what they have. Yes, it is more expensive, but I live here, just a normal white gal, not rich, work for a living and don't think it's any more expensive than any other place in usa worth living. There is NO perfect place. If there was, I'd be there already.
I must disagree with you regarding gated communities. They offer a lot more than a false sense of safety. They usually are nicely landscaped, well kempt and have amenities too.
When I bought in a gated community they were clear to point out that it did not mean the neighborhood had a guarantee to be crime free, especially if a gate is unmanned.
I love my gated community. The plantings are lovely and well cared for, we have pathways thru that you can walk and bike without traffic and an awesome pool. My hoa fees are reasonable and worth every penny.
my take on gated is that it is a meaningful enough barrier to keep out the brainless riff raff that might engage in petty crimes of opportunity or vandalism.
Any criminal with a couple of brain cells to rub together can overcome the barrier or figure out how to sneak in, but once they have a couple of said brain cells, they are smart enough to figure out that the risk reward ratio is not good for theft, rape and pillage in most gated communities.
There has to date never been a crime of any importance in my gated community. Personally, I would not do Florida (or most of America) without a gate.
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No Unions in the South, Including Florida
