What I dislike about Florida so far !!! (Tampa: salary, tax)

[rich67]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

I was a little apprehensive when you opened up by blaming your 22 YEARS stay in Florida on an ex-wife.
And more than confused when you reckoned Florida was terrible to work in but you've had a very good career that gives you a nice retirement in four years time.
And I was kinda understanding where you're coming from until the point where you reckon good weather only coincides with the Monday-Friday working week.
Then I understood.
You like isolation and you're a loner.You don't like the " pollution of people."
That's fair enough but the Florida I enjoy is remarkably different to the one you appear to inhabit.
Give me the beach chair and umbrella'd drink and great social life any time.

It's hard to summarize 22 years of marriage,divorce, irritation, my job situation, etc. in a short post in an internet forum. Florida IS terrible to work in. Wages are low, job security is awful. I happened to survive my career and stuck with it so I could enjoy some form of retirement. Does that mean my pay was stellar and I didn't have to struggle? No. Could I have relocated? No, because my kids live here. Some people have responsibility and stick with it despite what predicament it may put them in.
I am not a "loner". I don't care for EXCESS people pollution. And Florida has got a lot of it. You like it. To each his own. I like a small town, I like being social, but I don't like sitting in traffic for an hour and battling crowds every time I turn around, or waiting an hour to be seated in a restaurant.
I've sat on a beach with an beer in my hand, but found a place nearby that didn't have a wait to go eat, and spoke to a bunch of really nice people. Different strokes for different folks.
You like people and hustle-bustle. You'd probably not enjoy sitting camping in the middle of the woods with no one around for a week. I do.

[Spring Hillian]

It's not FL, it's the fact that you live in a city.

I read a lot about low wages and lack of job security. If you are good at what you do there is
no worry about either of those unless you go to work for a new business that could quickly fail.
Employers in FL are like employers every where. You do a job for them, show up for work everyday
and do your job well. Employers reward their performers and dump slackers, malcontents and non-team players. Employers have the goal of making a profit. That is not possible if your business is a merry-go-round with employees jumping on and off all the time.

As far as wages go, they are in line with the local economy. Comparing the lack of income taxes, lower housing costs, lower utility costs, an overall lower cost of living is what results in wages lower than cities where the COL is overall higher.

To prove the lower COL go to CNN.COM and use their COL calculator and compare other cities
around the country against where you live now. You can use other websites to compare salaries in
any occupation anywhere. You will find that apples to apples comparisons will show you that employees are not getting rich through their 9-5 jobs anywhere. Things are tough all over and there are many places where the COL greatly outstrips the wages in many occupations.

I enjoy a few days in the woods myself. FL has State parks with various camping options from primitive tent sites to fullly furnished 2 bedroom cabins.

There are a lot of people in this state and more keep coming. They aren't being drawn here to enjoy low wages and tyrant manical employers.







It.sQUOTE=rich67;41043125]It's hard to summarize 22 years of marriage,divorce, irritation, my job situation, etc. in a short post in an internet forum. Florida IS terrible to work in. Wages are low, job security is awful. I happened to survive my career and stuck with it so I could enjoy some form of retirement. Does that mean my pay was stellar and I didn't have to struggle? No. Could I have relocated? No, because my kids live here. Some people have responsibility and stick with it despite what predicament it may put them in.
I am not a "loner". I don't care for EXCESS people pollution. And Florida has got a lot of it. You like it. To each his own. I like a small town, I like being social, but I don't like sitting in traffic for an hour and battling crowds every time I turn around, or waiting an hour to be seated in a restaurant.
I've sat on a beach with an beer in my hand, but found a place nearby that didn't have a wait to go eat, and spoke to a bunch of really nice people. Different strokes for different folks.
You like people and hustle-bustle. You'd probably not enjoy sitting camping in the middle of the woods with no one around for a week. I do.[/quote]

[retiredcop111]

I have been in Florida for 9 months now. I hated NY. Each day I live here I feel lucky that I was able to leave. There are a few things I don't like. However they are few and far between. I guess its all relative. Best move me and my wife ever made!!!

[Lavs]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

It's not FL, it's the fact that you live in a city.

I read a lot about low wages and lack of job security. If you are good at what you do there is
no worry about either of those unless you go to work for a new business that could quickly fail.
Employers in FL are like employers every where. You do a job for them, show up for work everyday
and do your job well. Employers reward their performers and dump slackers, malcontents and non-team players. Employers have the goal of making a profit. That is not possible if your business is a merry-go-round with employees jumping on and off all the time.

As far as wages go, they are in line with the local economy. Comparing the lack of income taxes, lower housing costs, lower utility costs, an overall lower cost of living is what results in wages lower than cities where the COL is overall higher.

To prove the lower COL go to CNN.COM and use their COL calculator and compare other cities
around the country against where you live now. You can use other websites to compare salaries in
any occupation anywhere. You will find that apples to apples comparisons will show you that employees are not getting rich through their 9-5 jobs anywhere. Things are tough all over and there are many places where the COL greatly outstrips the wages in many occupations.

I enjoy a few days in the woods myself. FL has State parks with various camping options from primitive tent sites to fullly furnished 2 bedroom cabins.

There are a lot of people in this state and more keep coming. They aren't being drawn here to enjoy low wages and tyrant manical employers.

Some good points here. I did the COL calculator and realized I could effectively take a $20K salary reduction and maintain the same QOL. Do I want to? No, but where I live currently (Northeast) has a much higher COL so that compensation effectively eats itself up in high rent and taxes.

The fact of the matter is, those J&J jobs are supposed to be paying somewhere around $75K which is a nice salary for anyone, in my opinion, unless you're used to high six-figures. So I hardly think that FL is only catering to the service economy like my home state of RI tends to do.

And yes: my wife being from the small town of Crescent City, FL, I can tell you there are plenty of places to get some alone time!!!

[Lavs]

Originally Posted by retiredcop111

I have been in Florida for 9 months now. I hated NY. Each day I live here I feel lucky that I was able to leave. There are a few things I don't like. However they are few and far between. I guess its all relative. Best move me and my wife ever made!!!

I am trying (unsuccessfully) to get my parents out of NY. They live in my hometown of Poughkeepsie, which has become an utter dump thanks to IBM leaving, and yet they still pay $13K in property taxes annually. It is a dead-end and I hope they leave soon. You were smart to leave.

[retiredcop111]

Originally Posted by Lavs

I am trying (unsuccessfully) to get my parents out of NY. They live in my hometown of Poughkeepsie, which has become an utter dump thanks to IBM leaving, and yet they still pay $13K in property taxes annually. It is a dead-end and I hope they leave soon. You were smart to leave.

I was lucky. All the stars aligned for it to happen. I was paying 12k a year in taxes. Plus the state tax,,oil,,home insurance,,tolls,,,gas. Its a no brainer coming down here. Saving money hand over fist!!! Yes its hot in the summer. However the nights are awesome. The fall spring and winter are awesome. Anyone that *****es about Tampa go try and make it in NY!!!!! You will be back in Florida before you know it!!!!

[Pragmaticus]

Originally Posted by rich67

I have been here for 22 years, courtesy of an ex wife who wanted to move here from California. Upon arrival, the first thing I said was "my God, what have I done". I have made the best of it though. I bought a boat and jet ski, bikes and kayaks. I partake in all this state has to offer. That being said, it isn't much once you have a few years under your belt.
I have kayaked almost every natural spring. I have SCUBA'd in the same. I have ridden every off-road mountain bike trail in this state. I have visited every decent beach with the exception of the ones in the panhandle. I have criss-crossed this state in the miserable traffic, amidst the terrible drivers, through gridlocked Tampa traffic, overcrowded Jacksonville, tourist trapped Orlando, insane Miami, slow-going Key West, and all along the I10 corridor in and out and all points in between.
Florida is flat, boring, and the only refuge is a nice powdery white sandy beach. That's it. If I was retired or on vacation, my choice would be Florida--if that's all I wanted each day...a beach chair and a beach.
But I am active and I like doing stuff. Don't get me wrong, I like to unwind on New Smyrna Beach or cruise along Daytona Beach in my Jeep. But that really is the only thing left. Off roading in Florida is even worse- the scenery is all the same. Bland and green, sugar sand, flat and humid.
I am stuck here because of a career that gives me a nice retirement in 4 years. I plan on packing it up and selling my house and going west at that point. Back to the mountains, back to the endless miles of mountain bike trails, the beautiful desert or alpine lakes, where the water is crystal clear and like glass...and you can find a cove and sit all day without seeing another person. Back to the off road trails that end high on a ridge so you can watch the sunset over a valley carved out by the Colorado River millions of years ago. Back to the days of no humidity, where it may be 90 outside, but you don't feel like someone put a plastic bag over your head. Back to the places where there are miles of empty highways, towns with one traffic light, dark sky communities so you can see the Milky Way at night.
Florida is polluted with people. Because everyone comes here thinking they want to live in "paradise", and listen to Jimmy Buffet while they enjoy a drink with an umbrella in it sitting at some tiki bar. But reality sinks in for them when they realize their wages are so low they can't afford to go get that drink, or they can't afford to buy that boat to enjoy the water. Then they become angry, irritated and realize that Florida isn't all it's cracked up to be. Now you're left with angry Floridians. Trapped by a job or trapped by family. In a way, I feel trapped, but I see the light at the end of the tunnel. And my opinions on this place, while seemingly negative, also include the positive because I see the good in this state (since I have tried to make the best of it every day).
Bottom line? Florida has beautiful beaches and waterways. It's cheap to live, but terrible to work in. Commuting in it stinks, the traffic is awful, and the scenery away from the beaches is dull, bland, flat and uninspiring. The weather is awesome in October and November, and it's cool to be able to go to the beach in December when the rest of the country is shivering, but when August rolls around and you can't bear to set foot outside or escape you air conditioned car, you are cursing all of summer. Then when the love bugs pelt your car for a month twice a year, you want to beat your head against a wall. Oh, let's not forget the tropical weather that seems to always roll through on a weekend, but it's sunny and beautiful while you're working Monday through Friday, washing out your weekend beach/kayak,bike plans. But that is coming from someone who had lived in So Cal for 25 years, been to Lake Tahoe, been to Moab Utah, been in Colorado, cruised Lake Powell, and gambled in Vegas. To each his own, but Florida is not for me. 4 years and counting down....

This is one of the best post I have read in a long time here.

I applaud you that you made the best out of it and.......you now earn the right to complain .

Those who are here for a few months or retired and don't get into all the other hassles that actively working people do have no real credibility in my book on what they say.

Having said that I will also say that after 22 years I would be bored anywhere in this world and would be itching for a change .

Best of luck in your move!

[BucFan]

Originally Posted by Lavs

I am trying (unsuccessfully) to get my parents out of NY. They live in my hometown of Poughkeepsie, which has become an utter dump thanks to IBM leaving, and yet they still pay $13K in property taxes annually. It is a dead-end and I hope they leave soon. You were smart to leave.

It'll be a tough sell. I've spent a lot of my summers over the last 5-6 yrs in upstate NY and loved it. I can't speak to the dump conditions, but have really enjoyed the smaller cities, towns in NY and getting out of the FLA heat. Could live up there 6 months out of the year without a second thought. Too bad about the taxes though -

[Tominftl]

Just a reminder: summer lasts until November maybe longer some years. While they are enjoying autumn north of us, we only have two seasons here. Wet and dry.

[retiredcop111]

Originally Posted by Tominftl

Just a reminder: summer lasts until November maybe longer some years. While they are enjoying autumn north of us, we only have two seasons here. Wet and dry.

I like the summer. I will take Tampa summers over NY winters any day!!! I will take January dryness in Tampa over the threat of foot high snow in NY any day. I will take Florida taxes over NY taxes any day. 95% of Tampa daily life is better than NY!!!!! That's a fact!!