The other side of the Coin from up North!

[TerriC]

TwoBeach,
I can relate to your description of how horrible it is in the North. I'm in the Midwest, the heart of GM, Ford, Chrysler. Michigan just announced unemployment rates of 14.1% today. Taxes are sky rocketing, break ins, drugs, shootings are increasing. If I could move today I would but I can't. I love SW Florida but there's also another area of the country that is actually so beautiful, low cost of living and has been spared some of the pit falls of our horrible economy. If your driving to FL sometime go down 81 South to the Tri-City Area in TN ( Britol, Johnson City & Kingsport) The people are so friendly the area is beautiful with the mountains and VERY Low Cost of Living. And there still are jobs in the area. Plus homes/condos are equally low in price. Best of Luck.

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by TerriC

TwoBeach,
I can relate to your description of how horrible it is in the North. I'm in the Midwest, the heart of GM, Ford, Chrysler. Michigan just announced unemployment rates of 14.1% today. Taxes are sky rocketing, break ins, drugs, shootings are increasing. If I could move today I would but I can't. I love SW Florida but there's also another area of the country that is actually so beautiful, low cost of living and has been spared some of the pit falls of our horrible economy. If your driving to FL sometime go down 81 South to the Tri-City Area in TN ( Britol, Johnson City & Kingsport) The people are so friendly the area is beautiful with the mountains and VERY Low Cost of Living. And there still are jobs in the area. Plus homes/condos are equally low in price. Best of Luck.

I know that Michigan leaked their unemployment rate, but the official numbers won't be out until tomorrow, so I have no way to compare your number to southwest Florida's. Also, it will be a few more days before they release specific numbers and not just the state rate.

Florida is a big state and there are other areas that are doing much better than southwest Florida. Last month, for instance, Gainesville's unemployment rate was 5.7 and Fort Walton Beach's was 6.5.

I don't think anyone moving from the auto belt will be doing themselves a favor by moving to southwest Florida unless they are retired. If you are a family looking for work, unless you've already have it secured, good god, stay away.

Thanks for the good word about Tennessee, though. It's why we moved here four years ago.