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I would be very interested to know where you saw this. Maybe Google Earth can help you show us what you speak of?
I just looked at Google and I'm still not sure where I was. It might have been Mariner or Northcliff, but when I looked at street view it didn't look as blighted as what I saw. I'm not sure when the pictures where taken with google, I was there about a year ago.
I have been a Spring Hill resident for over ten years. Right after the Parkway was built, a lot of nice, young families began moving in. We were a part of that influx. We built a beautiful custom home in Plantation Estates and enjoyed being here for many years. The cost of living was lower than what was further south and the people here were really nice. We decided to sell our home when the market was at its peak. We made a great profit and moved into a smaller place in the 34608 area code, just off of Deltona. Though we weren't in as nice a spot as Plantation Estates, our neighbors were wonderful and took good care of their homes. Even when we had a sinkhole and had the home repaired several years ago, we were still happy living where we were because it was still a relatively nice area.
Things started changing a few years ago. We noticed the people moving into the area were low class and crime began going up (we've had stuff stolen off our front step twice now). My husband witnessed a drug deal go down right in the dried up lakebed in the rear of our house just the other day. People are also not taking care of their houses as well as they used to. And we had our first drive-by shooting just five houses away from us! So yes, things in Spring Hill are changing for the worse … at least in the area in which I live. The other day, I checked recent sale prices of homes in our neighborhood. Many are going for under 100K … I am nervous about who will be moving in to those places.
I work at one of local schools. Several of our teachers have mentioned that in the past few years they have noticed a large influx of students who are not prepared to handle the academics, and the parents aren't willing or aren't able to help them succeed. It's really sad. I feel for so many of our families because one or both parents have lost their jobs or are having to work from early morning until late in the evening just to pay the bills. Most of the parents in the county are not well educated. The economy has really devastated Spring Hill. The last time I checked our county's unemployment rate (December), we were up around 13%.
I think our zip code is one of the worst areas in the county … things seem a little better the closer you get to the Parkway. If I were moving to Hernando County now, I would try my best to find a place in a gated community or perhaps on some acreage. I think if you are retired, it would still be a decent place to settle provided you chose a community such as Timber Pines. However, if you have children living at home and are looking for an area where a good chunk of the population is middle to upper middle class and/or fairly well educated, I would recommend looking elsewhere. Because we no longer feel Hernando County is a good fit for our family, we are going to be leaving it. Although I am sad to leave some good friends and my job behind, I can honestly say I am looking forward to getting out of here before things get even worse.
Economy is an excuse that had little to do with it. The decline of the area happened well before the housing bust. It certainly made it worse but the change from retired folks to families of six living in a two bedroom house started a while ago.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike1306
The average household size is 2.4 per household, lower than the average for Florida. And the economy has everything to do with seeing more unkempt houses due to the foreclosures.
Don't let facts get in your way though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatornation
SH was on its way down well before bust. Every house used to have two people in it. The fact is many retired people have been replaced by low income families.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike1306
Besides the fact that your post lacks absolutely any facts, being the current household size is 2.4, do you have anything else?Did you think that every HH in Spring Hill was 1 or 2 persons and no families lived in Spring Hill previously?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatornation
You can deny all you want but the fact is SH used to be mostly all retired folks in two bedroom homes. Now you have lower income families in them. That's a downgrade.
Your 2.4 fact is useless if it's not compared to other cities and back 10/15 years ago which is what I'm referencing. This entire thread are people agreeing that it's declined a lot over the last 10 years or so but you clearly don't want to face that reality.
My posts in the thread, all 2 of them, merely disputed what you posted, with facts. The average household size is, as I said 2.39, which would dispel your untrue claim about 6 person families living in 2 bedroom homes replacing retired folks. While there may be some 6 person families living in 2 bedroom homes, as will happen in every city, it is not some sort of epidemic as you make it out to be and the average household size of less than 2.4 clearly shows your claim to be false. The stats would have to be higher if this was a big trend.
You have posted absolutely no facts, only broad brush untruths. Yes, the average age has gone down some, there are more younger families moving in. Where you come up with it being all low income families of 6 or more replacing all the retired folks is beyond me.
I also bolded for you where I mentioned in my first post in the thread where we are seeing more unkempt homes due to the economy since you seem to have missed it.
I didn't see anyone claiming there has not been some decline due to the current state of the economy but I do see people that seem to know the area better and countering the completely over the top posts about widespread despair and 6 person, low income families living all over in 2 bedroom houses.
My 2.4 per household really does not need to be compared to other cities since we were talking about Spring Hill and the household size there not how it compares to other cities. Since you seem to want more facts though, how about the fact that less than 1.8% of the households in SH are 6 or more persons, even adding in 5 person HH's you are still under 6%. One and 2 person HH's comprise over 70% of Spring Hill HH's add 3 person HH's and you add another 13%. All this should clearly dispel your notion that 6 person low income families are replacing all the retirees.
Your posts are always the same, you try and blast Pasco/Hernando county with absolutely no facts. Don't try and call me out about reality when all you post are ridiculous claims with no basis in truth.
My posts in the thread, all 2 of them, merely disputed what you posted, with facts. The average household size is, as I said 2.39, which would dispel your untrue claim about 6 person families living in 2 bedroom homes replacing retired folks. While there may be some 6 person families living in 2 bedroom homes, as will happen in every city, it is not some sort of epidemic as you make it out to be and the average household size of less than 2.4 clearly shows your claim to be false. The stats would have to be higher if this was a big trend.
You have posted absolutely no facts, only broad brush untruths. Yes, the average age has gone down some, there are more younger families moving in. Where you come up with it being all low income families of 6 or more replacing all the retired folks is beyond me.
I also bolded for you where I mentioned in my first post in the thread where we are seeing more unkempt homes due to the economy since you seem to have missed it.
I didn't see anyone claiming there has not been some decline due to the current state of the economy but I do see people that seem to know the area better and countering the completely over the top posts about widespread despair and 6 person, low income families living all over in 2 bedroom houses.
My 2.4 per household really does not need to be compared to other cities since we were talking about Spring Hill and the household size there not how it compares to other cities. Since you seem to want more facts though, how about the fact that less than 1.8% of the households in SH are 6 or more persons, even adding in 5 person HH's you are still under 6%. One and 2 person HH's comprise over 70% of Spring Hill HH's add 3 person HH's and you add another 13%. All this should clearly dispel your notion that 6 person low income families are replacing all the retirees.
Your posts are always the same, you try and blast Pasco/Hernando county with absolutely no facts. Don't try and call me out about reality when all you post are ridiculous claims with no basis in truth.
Yikes. Six was an exaggeration to make the point that Two bedroom homes used to be fille with a retired couple and now are being filled with low income families You are the only one in denial in this thread. All you can do is focus on my 6 statemnet as you wont address the the MAIN point which is everyone seeing SH decline. SH has seen a HUGE drop in quality over the last ten years.
If you want facts we can talk about all the ways SH lags the rest of the state. Income/education/employment.
Last edited by Gatornation; 03-21-2012 at 05:17 AM..
I have been a Spring Hill resident for over ten years. Right after the Parkway was built, a lot of nice, young families began moving in. We were a part of that influx. We built a beautiful custom home in Plantation Estates and enjoyed being here for many years. The cost of living was lower than what was further south and the people here were really nice. We decided to sell our home when the market was at its peak. We made a great profit and moved into a smaller place in the 34608 area code, just off of Deltona. Though we weren't in as nice a spot as Plantation Estates, our neighbors were wonderful and took good care of their homes. Even when we had a sinkhole and had the home repaired several years ago, we were still happy living where we were because it was still a relatively nice area.
Things started changing a few years ago. We noticed the people moving into the area were low class and crime began going up (we've had stuff stolen off our front step twice now). My husband witnessed a drug deal go down right in the dried up lakebed in the rear of our house just the other day. People are also not taking care of their houses as well as they used to. And we had our first drive-by shooting just five houses away from us! So yes, things in Spring Hill are changing for the worse … at least in the area in which I live. The other day, I checked recent sale prices of homes in our neighborhood. Many are going for under 100K … I am nervous about who will be moving in to those places.
I work at one of local schools. Several of our teachers have mentioned that in the past few years they have noticed a large influx of students who are not prepared to handle the academics, and the parents aren't willing or aren't able to help them succeed. It's really sad. I feel for so many of our families because one or both parents have lost their jobs or are having to work from early morning until late in the evening just to pay the bills. Most of the parents in the county are not well educated. The economy has really devastated Spring Hill. The last time I checked our county's unemployment rate (December), we were up around 13%.
I think our zip code is one of the worst areas in the county … things seem a little better the closer you get to the Parkway. If I were moving to Hernando County now, I would try my best to find a place in a gated community or perhaps on some acreage. I think if you are retired, it would still be a decent place to settle provided you chose a community such as Timber Pines. However, if you have children living at home and are looking for an area where a good chunk of the population is middle to upper middle class and/or fairly well educated, I would recommend looking elsewhere. Because we no longer feel Hernando County is a good fit for our family, we are going to be leaving it. Although I am sad to leave some good friends and my job behind, I can honestly say I am looking forward to getting out of here before things get even worse.
Spring Hill was designed to be a retirement community. That was the plan. Times and demographics change. The people who are claiming "decline" don't live here so I don't know what they are complaining about.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatornation
You can deny all you want but the fact is SH used to be mostly all retired folks in two bedroom homes. Now you have lower income families in them. That's a downgrade.
Your 2.4 fact is useless if it's not compared to other cities and back 10/15 years ago which is what I'm referencing. This entire thread are people agreeing that it's declined a lot over the last 10 years or so but you clearly don't want to face that reality.
Spring Hill was designed to be a retirement community. That was the plan. Times and demographics change. The people who are claiming "decline" don't live here so I don't know what they are complaining about.
Agree on design as was much of west pasco. The retirees just never were replaced after they died. House prices now are at the levels they were when the area was very nice 10/15 years ago so the housing bubble is a poor excuse. The difference is who and how many people are now in those homes.
Well, I actually live here and have for several years.
When you can identify the "blight" you refer to, please let me know.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Not_liking_FL
I just looked at Google and I'm still not sure where I was. It might have been Mariner or Northcliff, but when I looked at street view it didn't look as blighted as what I saw. I'm not sure when the pictures where taken with google, I was there about a year ago.
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