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Let's face it drugs our big business. When you see a kid of 22 driving a high end car, and by their demeanor it is pretty clear they're not from a wealthy family...something is up.
Something doesn't add up when they have no formal education and carry themselves in a manner that shows they didn't grow up wealthy.
Where did the money come from?
You cannot tell by sight who is wealthy and who is not. I bet most on this forum would walk right by Eminem or some very wealthy rap artists on the street and would roll their eyes as they considered them to be pond scum and beneath them whispering, "it's drugs, drugs, drugs." How ridiculous and small-minded is that. Eminem could walk out of his $250K car [with your not knowing WHO it is] with his pants hanging down to his knees, walking with his infamous lack of grace and 'couldn't give a crap' attitude. . . and he would be accused of selling drugs. New money, old money - who cares - money is money - and money does NOT buy CLASS any more than someone can decipher what is in someone elses bank account by SIGHT.
Wake up time - it's the internet age - which means that money IS out there to literally GRAB by all with the right know-how and five pennies worth of common sense. More and more younger individuals and so-called "lesser classed" people are making it big on the web in a multitude of ventures with very little money invested. It's not 1980 anymore, 22 year old's are retiring these days. The "and you know their family is not wealthy and they had no formal education" is so 30 years ago. Good morning, welcome to late 2009.
Last edited by JeepGirl118; 11-24-2009 at 11:36 PM..
Seain.....I hate to tell you but these days kids coming from rich parents are the rudest you will ever see and have no manners because:
1. parents preferred to buy them expensive crap rather than teach them manners and how not to have their pants hanging!!!!!!!!!
2. or they were so busy working and making money for themselves that they just didn't have time......
3. They grew up with non-English speaking nannies who taught them nothing because they were busy talking on their cell phones while at the playground! I saw them in my own sub division here.......
.......either way, it is VERY RARE that you will see a kid coming from a rich family that has any manners!!!!!!
If YOU want to believe that everyone shopping at International Plaza is a drug dealer, then by all means, dream on.......Should I mention that a parent who now stays home maybe had a working life prior to staying home? or still has a working life AT HOME? I had sold property overseas and that was how I was able to buy a brand new car! that must make me a drug dealer........right? ohh wait, "a stay at home legitimate business owner/mom drug dealer?" do you see how ridiculous that sounds????????? ohh ....I see, you wanted me who don't work 9-5 in an office to buy a Yugo with that money? or a Trabant? right? not working in an office doesn't qualify me to buy whatever car I want.......? I forgot......
Have you checked out the cars in the parking lot at University Mall? I doubt you will see any Jaguars there!!!!!!!!! The International Plaza or Westshore Mall's are smack in South Tampa and I am not sure if you wondered through there before (I do thanks to my business) but that is where you will find some of the most expensive properties in Tampa...........and most beautiful looking ones! there are plenty of "high end" stay at home mom's and dad's there!!!!!!! trust me!
HOW YOUNG PEOPLE ACT these days is due to what they watch on TV and also LACK OF PARENTING.......have you seen this website?: www.peopleofwalmart.com .......can you imagine these people raising kids who do not have pants hanging? or who would open or hold the door for you? KIDS are born naked and can't talk.....so, someone either the birth parents or the adopted ones WOULD HAVE to teach them everything from how to eat/crawl/walk to how to say "please" and "thank you" and how to present themselves to the rest of the world........when you have no one to teach you any of this then they will act the way you are describing! however.........one of these people you are talking about could be a student at med school?!, but that doesn't mean that at the same time they are going to look and act like one! you are also forgetting that young people these days can make a choice since they don't have a family to support, so if they want to have a $400/month car payment who are YOU to tell them they can't????? I knew people back in Fort Lauderdale at my old job that were like that and were driving the coolest BMW! they live on the cheap housing wise because they are out most of the time so a gourmet kitchen is useless to them.....or they live with parents at home and whatever they make at their job goes on whatever is more important to them! big deal! a LOT of young people these days run web design companies which do not require a formal office environment, graphic design, online stores with drop shipping where they don't need to have an inventory in their own house........millions of things can be done from home thanks to new and improved computer technology....I know moms who make jewelry and sell it solely online........why pay rent to own a store front? and the list goes on and on.......
On daycare, let me just tell you this......it is useless and pointless to put your child in daycare if you don't have too! someone can live here comfortably on one income, because even if you make $40,000 a year, by the time you're done paying all their fees/supplies/gas there and back 5 days a week, PLUS your house expenses, it all ads up and it is almost like you are paying YOUR JOB to keep your kids in daycare........which makes no sense.....not to mention the fact that why have a baby if someone else is going to raise him/her???????? so, people give up going out to eat 5 days a week, big whoopy do! I can see how this would affect a waitress's tip, however, even at $50,000 a year daycares can be unaffordable! Also, mom's don't go to the mall to shop every time.......have you heard of playdates? at the mall they can do that free, they have kids areas and are indoors if say it may rain outside! there aren't many CLEAN INDOOR playgrounds around that are affordable in Tampa, so the Mall IS a popular hang out from that stand point, because see, if you looked carefully, these mom's didn't have 10 designer bags full of stuff hanging on the strollers!!!!!!! next time pay attention! not to mention that generally the playgrounds found in sub-divisions are NOT COVERED Thanks to those "smart builders" again....and the metal of those structures gets burning HOT in the Tampa sun, add to that the older kids who think the playground is a smoking place and who also can't throw their garbage in the CAN'S and spread it all over where the little ones play!!!!!!!!! so, for sure, the Mall starts to be a LOT more appealing for moms and dads!!!!!!....
Ohh, and by the way, I have seen high end cars at the Dollar store many times before..........not all rich people shop at Versace! Dior etc...some of these rich people care and know value versus "showing off"! I know that must sound horrible to you! right? how dare they!?
Again, judging people by the cars they drive is the most deceiving thing ever.....have you thought for a second that those cars might just be rented? for the day? to impress someone? or just because someone wanted to drive a cool car that day??????????????? I could do that if I wanted too...........I could wake up tomorrow and go, "you know what, today I am renting myself a Rolls Royce!"
......and stop picking on my minor spelling mistakes, nothing else in my post was related to tires! and I was in a hurry! But I am 100% sure that NEVER happened to you!!!!!!!!! all perfect typing you!
Hmm "Let's face it drugs our big business." have you forgotten something here?
Someone who owns a parking garage, works from home as there is no need for an office, they make a killing money wise and they can look however they want to look! same goes for the ones who own storage facilities! and you know what, young people with good credit can own these places right and left! and they sure don't need to wear a tie!
I suggest next time you are lurking through the mall, (or the mall's parking lot, you seem to have a problem with the cars people are driving?!) dare and ask a few people how come they are at the mall at 10pm instead of being in their office working hard! ohh and while you're at it, ask Ford how come they don't make the '85 Bronco anymore! since the non-professional looking people and the unemployed don't deserve to drive whatever cars they want anymore according to you! and they have to go back and pick a car from the junk yard now to show off their unemployment and non-professional status!!!!!!!
I am not sure how to YOU and YOU only, Think that working anywhere outside of a 9-5 office is not acceptable work!? we are no longer in the '80's...were you frozen and just woke up and you don't recognize world anymore?
It's hilarious how some people have taken things out of context to such extremes and turned this into an opportunity to rant.
One of my thoughts in the original post was a little misleading -- the people I have seen during "normal business hours" are not all driving around in expensive cars. I see expensive cars during all hours of the day in the area, and many of the drivers are obviously going to or coming from work.
But the fact still remains there is the appearance of more wealth in this area (represented in one factor by car value) than the statistics can support. Yet the Tampa Bay area has had lower pay across the board for years now. As someone else pointed out, the unemployment in Florida is over 10% by official numbers, extrapolated to well over 20% in real world numbers. Decent jobs in the area have been scarce.....for years. This is nothing new. With the exception of MI, CA, AZ, and a few other areas, the rest of the country has finally caught up to the level where Florida was 2-3 years ago!
As for the car thing, maybe a good portion of it is all about image? People living in a dump, eating Ramen every day, just do they can afford their Land Rover? LOL I have known someone like that...
I do know people here are very image conscious. Two years ago I read an interesting statistic that with the exception of California (mostly LA area), Florida had the highest concentration of SUVs per capita. Meanwhile, in mountainous areas with more rugged terrain where you would think they would be used, few people are driving them! So how much of this is just vanity?
I have known several people who have worked for small businesses in the Tampa Bay area which were ripping people off, taking their money without fulfilling their obligations, only to open up shop again under another name 6 months down the road. My understanding is that there's a lot fewer loopholes to jump through to setup your own business in Florida. I know there is a lot of people selling snake oil and other MLM sales garbage going on here as well. This gives rise to fraud, which is what's lead me to believe that's where a lot of people are drawing their income -- fraudulent businesses.
A poster from Virginia mentioned they had witnessed this in their area too. Would you by any chance be near the DC area, or near several military bases? The reason I ask is because that is pretty much the only area that is truly growing right now -- government/military and anything related to the support of it. I have been in the DC area recently, and there's still a lot of active construction and many jobs to be had. It can all be tied back to an ever-growing and expanding government and support of that infrastructure. Take that away, and the area would be much like anywhere else in the country. BTW, I still didn't see many high end cars when I was up there! ;-)
I do know people here are very image conscious. Two years ago I read an interesting statistic that with the exception of California (mostly LA area), Florida had the highest concentration of SUVs per capita. Meanwhile, in mountainous areas with more rugged terrain where you would think they would be used, few people are driving them! So how much of this is just vanity?
A poster from Virginia mentioned they had witnessed this in their area too. Would you by any chance be near the DC area, or near several military bases?
I have an SUV in Tampa, and also two dogs, two mountain bikes and two kayaks, and I do alot of work on the hosue and yard..hence necessity for my SUV(a 4Runner - freakin love it!)
MacDill AFB is about 6 miles south of downtown Tampa, and where Central Command was headquartered for the Iraq wars.
As for the car thing, maybe a good portion of it is all about image? People living in a dump, eating Ramen every day, just do they can afford their Land Rover?
My husband and I have lived all around town in different apartments. Back when I was a student we lived in some pretty seedy areas of town, and we were always surprised at the amount of people who had expensive cars and parked them in front of their cheap apartment. Even my last complex, a mid-range sort of place, featured multiple Hummers, Escalades, BMWs, a Plymouth Prowler, and lots of brand new Altimas and similar cars. I figure some people really enjoy having a nice car and they are willing to make sacrifices in other areas such as housing in order to continue driving their nice car, and really it is none of my business what other people do with their money. The only time it really bothers me is when people are on Section 8 but somehow driving around in a tricked-out Escalade.
Also remember that many people lease their cars so that they can drive a better car than they could afford if they were making loan payments for purchase. This is especially true of the vast numbers of newer BMWs you see all around. I have known lots of people who drive them but not one who actually owned it.
Hmmm, I am going to go to the Smart Car dealership on Dale Mabry and see if I can fit all the 3 car seats I have in my car into a Smart Car..... I am sure if I drive one of those then I will not look like I run a "fraudulent" business since it is not an SUV!!!!!!!!!
It's hilarious how some people have taken things out of context to such extremes and turned this into an opportunity to rant.
One of my thoughts in the original post was a little misleading -- the people I have seen during "normal business hours" are not all driving around in expensive cars. I see expensive cars during all hours of the day in the area, and many of the drivers are obviously going to or coming from work.
But the fact still remains there is the appearance of more wealth in this area (represented in one factor by car value) than the statistics can support. Yet the Tampa Bay area has had lower pay across the board for years now. As someone else pointed out, the unemployment in Florida is over 10% by official numbers, extrapolated to well over 20% in real world numbers. Decent jobs in the area have been scarce.....for years. This is nothing new. With the exception of MI, CA, AZ, and a few other areas, the rest of the country has finally caught up to the level where Florida was 2-3 years ago!
As for the car thing, maybe a good portion of it is all about image? People living in a dump, eating Ramen every day, just do they can afford their Land Rover? LOL I have known someone like that...
I do know people here are very image conscious. Two years ago I read an interesting statistic that with the exception of California (mostly LA area), Florida had the highest concentration of SUVs per capita. Meanwhile, in mountainous areas with more rugged terrain where you would think they would be used, few people are driving them! So how much of this is just vanity?
I have known several people who have worked for small businesses in the Tampa Bay area which were ripping people off, taking their money without fulfilling their obligations, only to open up shop again under another name 6 months down the road. My understanding is that there's a lot fewer loopholes to jump through to setup your own business in Florida. I know there is a lot of people selling snake oil and other MLM sales garbage going on here as well. This gives rise to fraud, which is what's lead me to believe that's where a lot of people are drawing their income -- fraudulent businesses.
A poster from Virginia mentioned they had witnessed this in their area too. Would you by any chance be near the DC area, or near several military bases? The reason I ask is because that is pretty much the only area that is truly growing right now -- government/military and anything related to the support of it. I have been in the DC area recently, and there's still a lot of active construction and many jobs to be had. It can all be tied back to an ever-growing and expanding government and support of that infrastructure. Take that away, and the area would be much like anywhere else in the country. BTW, I still didn't see many high end cars when I was up there! ;-)
Have no idea where you got your statistic about FL and SUV's, perhaps someone talking out of their ear on a message board forum, perhaps? I just did a search using various search words to find this "statistic." Comes up empty. Being the fact that someone can buy a vehicle in Atlanta, does not mean that the vehicle resides in Atlanta. The car I drive now was bought here in FL and will be leaving FL soon. The Wrangler I used to drive in Phoenix was brought to FL. I know someone who drove up to Maryland to buy their vehicle to bring it back to FL. So tell me, how accurate can any "SUV statistic" be. . . as accurate as the one of those driving a $60K+ car being a drug dealer maybe? Car movement is too whimsical of a statistic to remain accurate.
As for the mountainous areas having less SUV's, untrue. When I was living in Phoenix, Vegas and LA/Burbank, CA. . . I saw positively more than in Florida. Ever been to Denver? Mighty high SUV and Jeep population, especially there.
If you have ever tried to get up a sharp mountainous road in AZ, CA or CO, where they instruct you with a warning about 2 miles ahead to turn off your A/C to prevent overheating of your vehicle. . . you would re-think the fluff. When you live in it, you cannot miss the fact you need some power in the engine and so forth to get up it steadily and without killing your car. Maybe you have never heard a car whine and groan proceeding up the aforementioned.
As for fly the by the night outfits here in Tampa [which are everywhere in the country]. Do tell your friends to stop responding to job ads on Craigslist and check out the employer. When someone has numerous events happen to them as such, it denotes utter and sheer stupidity.
.....GAS up north is always more expensive than here....up north, also, they have higher and many more taxes than we do here......driving an Escalade or a Hummer up north would ruin someone's wallet thanks to those gas prices! yet enough people drive them there as well, what you want to tell me you went to the Poughkeepsie Mall and didn't count enough SUVs in the parking lot??? on a weekday? LOLOLOL .....why do you think the "up north" people are moving to Florida?????? Plus, why own a convertible up north? they do get snow up there and I highly doubt you'll ever see someone all bundled up driving his/her Corvette!!!!! LOLOL The image of that alone makes me laugh! so, even if they do own a Convertible...that sits in the garage for most of the year!!!! of course you will see more high end expensive cars here and SUVs, gas is cheaper here and the weather permits!
Here, I'll give you this, (but the explanation to go along with it as well)....I am European and honestly I have never in my life there encountered the "Keeping up with the Jones" mentality anywhere, .....THAT my dear, IS INDEED something found here in LARGE amounts! and not just in the car shopping dept.....I am sure up north the Keeping up with the Jones is mostly on who has the more Gourmet kitchen or the bigger house considering how homes up there look like.... than who has the better car......don't worry, this "Keeping up with the Jones" is a contagious disease in the US not just Tampa!
yah, but the OP is not talking about dollar genaral and save alot. He/she is seeing a lot of people that appear to be in good shape with 60K and 100K worth cars. It also doesn't make sense to me when you can't even pay a day care or pre-school you would be driving that kind of cars, and hence those are stay at home mon and dads . But that's just me.
You could give argument on both sides. The underlying economy doesn't seem to support that. It is not out of the world to wonder why if that's what the OP is seeing.
I'm full well aware of what the OP was talking about, just pointing out that while there are folks running around in expensive cars spending at the malls there is also a significant increase of purchases at lower end stores which is more indicative of what the economic statistics reflect.
As I and other posters have mentioned there are an almost infinite number of reasons why these folks are out and about spending money and driving expensive cars. To assume every 20 something driving a BMW who is not wearing Wall St. attire is a drug dealer is laughable.
I've always said and have come to the conclusion myself that for many to be succesful in FL, not only does one have to have skills but creativity as well. FL is not the kind of place where your going to get a $25 an hour job at the local factory where dad worked for 35 years and everthing is going to be "leave it to Beaver" okay.
I used to have a business down there and I would fall into the category of not being impeccably dressed and being spotted shopping when everyone else should be working and although I coud have afforded payments on an expensive car, I don't think my customers would have equated my services with value had I showed up in a Mercedes with suit and tie to hang window film. A lot of people don't work by the hour , they work by the job or sq. ft. and make as much money in 2 days as regular "Joe Lunchbuckets" do in 40-50 hours.
I mentioned a barber shop where I did get a feeling something else was going on besides haircuts...at 10:00am on a Thursday it had several 20 somethings who had high end cars who kept stepping outside to make cell phone calls.
And they weren't getting haircuts...lol. I noticed a few would come in clench hands and leave...something seemed out of whack.
I agree money doesn't buy class, look at the Jordan Valdez family. She went to cheerleading practice the next day after her hit and run. Yes the woman was wrong to be in the road, but you still stop.
She was only sorry about getting caught.
FL is known as the "pill mill" state, to act as if there is no drug element here is to be putting on blinders.
Of course it doesn't mean everyone you see driving a high end car is a drug dealer...and they're proably are a lot of people eating macroni and cheese to drive a a fancy car.
But let's not pretend a heavy drug culture doesn't exist in FL. Someone is making money off of it.
They just broke up a huge drug ring that spanned three counties, the head guy was in his late 20s. Both he and his wife drove high end cars.
They're too stupid to even stay under the radar....lol.
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ohh ....I see, you wanted me who don't work 9-5 in an office to buy a Yugo with that money? or a Trabant? right? not working in an office doesn't qualify me to buy whatever car I want.......? I forgot......
. But that's just me. 
