[weatherfordfan]

My answer would be that because we don't want Florida turning into Florida York. We have way too many New Yorkers coming down here and ruining the old friendliness, cheap prices/housing, and creating traffic problems that didn't exist in 90's. See, I'm not saying every NY'r is bad, but anytime you involve a majority of New Yorkers you are headed for disaster. My neighbhor is from Buffalo, NY and doesn't own up to anything and she considers herself a 100% Floridian and disowned her NY roots told me that anytime you involve New Yorkers it's a disaster. Look at what they have done to their own state and now they want to bring that down here? We don't need high taxes, overpriced houses, and crowded traffic everywhere. That's exactly what is happening and look who is moving down. Hmmmmmmm.

[weatherfordfan]

Also wanted to add, I'm tired of going to the local sports bars and seeing the New Yorkers root for their sports teams to beat our local teams. I was at the bar the other day watching the New York Jets vs. the Bucs and almost all the people in the place were rooting for NY to beat Tampa. Give me a break! No other state would you see this sort of behavior. If you like NY so much, turn around and go back. If you want to be a Floridian:

1. Learn how to speak English
2. Root for Florida teams
3. Be friendly to others (this is not push, push, shove)
4. Slow down a little bit (we are not high stressed but please dont make us that way)

[SunnyDog]

FL needs an aggressive plan to attract high wage jobs ASAP. What's the point of spending all this tax money on education in FL when the students are getting out into a job market full of low skill, low wage service jobs? Unfortunately, the middle class is shrinking nationwide, not just in FL. People move for jobs more than housing costs (need a paycheck first), and FL creates alot of jobs but they're overwhelmingly low-paying.

[chocomom]

Originally Posted by SunnyDog

FL needs an aggressive plan to attract high wage jobs ASAP. What's the point of spending all this tax money on education in FL when the students are getting out into a job market full of low skill, low wage service jobs? Unfortunately, the middle class is shrinking nationwide, not just in FL. People move for jobs more than housing costs (need a paycheck first), and FL creates alot of jobs but they're overwhelmingly low-paying.

Sunny, you should run for office. You just clearly explained the thorn in the side of FL economic outlook. I only want to add, they need to make sure the businesses they recruit are going to provide hundreds of jobs within a five-year period. The corporations they are currently going after are forecasting ten-year outlooks with jobs only in the hundreds. This is great, but what if the business deosn't work out? There is no short-term gain involved.

[weatherfordfan]

Sunnydog, I agree 100 with you but that won't happen for many reasons. There is such a large supply of people (and it gets bigger everyday with people moving down) that there is a high demand for work. With the high demand, they don't have to ever pay an honest wage because if you don't take the job for $10/hour that pays $16/hour in other states, some desperate newbie that just relocated and needs to pay his/her rent will pay it or some mexican that crossed over illegally will gladly take it. I know places around here that if you applied for a job, they wouldn't even look at you unless you were mexican because they have the perception that mexicans will work harder for the $8 than the white male that just moved here from New Jersey. Orlando, Tampa, and Miami are all underpaid workforces. It's getting to be that you need to be a doctor, a lawyer, a builder, or a small-business owner to make any money down here. The professional occupations don't even pay down here. Law enforcement and teaching both underpay their workers. There's not a lot down here unless you are pushing buttons and making moves with a business or construction for the most part. Wages are getting tighter here and they will continue to get tighter with the influx of people from other states.

[SunnyDog]

Actually, from what a few lawyers have told me, they'd make more money in lower-cost Atlanta or Dallas than in Miami, but they stay here for the beach and sun. And small business owners have a struggle here in Miami from competition with small businesses that were bought and exist only to get citizenship for their wealthy foreign owners. Many immigration attorneys double as small biz agents. The small biz market here is oversaturated.

FL is attractive and growing, and the future demographics of increasing immigration and baby boober retirement will keep it from ever being cheap again. What we need now are better jobs to keep up with it. We're at a turning point now.

[Southside Shrek]

Florida is a great state for extended visits during the cold, gray and dreary winter months up North. the traffic though in Ft Myers can be a nightmare unless you know the city well enough to weave your way around it and drive back out to Sanibel. Sanibel is a true island paradise retreat and I find it to be great.

[sami]

I just love the hot weather and lifestyle...... And if I could survive being broke in NJ....I can survive here....and love it..... The sad fact of high housing prices is who gets burned. The rich and upper classes can live where they want. The middle class starts to hurt....often a LOT.... And the lower classes---who provide many of the labor and services that make everybody sooo comfortable---are the ones who are being squeezed out..... Who are going to be our teachers, nurses aides, waiters, and so on? (I am near the bottom and so are most of my friends and family.) About the only good thing I can say is that somehow the upper classes manage to find workers.....and the workers find a way to survive.... Hey New Jersey is expensive and we bottom feeders managed to survive. LOL

[sami]

Let me state for the record that my family are all Americans and we have whites, hispanics, etc. all mixed together. We also have some former illegal aliens thrown in through marriage......... I also did immigration paperwork..... Many of my friends are/were illegal aliens at one time..... There are two sides to every story. First off many illegal and legal aliens take jobs the gringos (Americans) don't want. They pick the lettuce, watch the kids and clean the houses of the rich...... Even in Puerto Rico....a relatively poor US territory.....the Puerto Ricans (American citizens) don't want to do these jobs. ................................ The flip side unfortunately is that cheaper paid workers--illegal aliens and some legal aliens--are willing to do the jobs AND American employers hire them BECAUSE they are cheap and they do not have to pay social security or benefits. That is why you see so many in construction while our own people go begging. One time my (half) Puerto Rican son----English as a first language and born and educated in NJ......got mad and yelled at a construction boss that he would not work for the cheap wages like the "Mexicans".... (Uh, he is referring to illegal aliens not any one race.) It is a d*mn shame that too many of us chase the almighty consciousless dollar by hiring the cheapest workers and outsource jobs to other countries. As long as there are greedy no good selfish Americans, our own poor and middle classes will always suffer......................................... I find nothing wrong in these poor illegal aliens taking jobs we Americans don't want......but our own #@$# fellow Americans give away the jobs we want and need, just so they can make more profit. Oh well that is just a fact of life.

[sami]

Originally Posted by weatherfordfan

Also wanted to add, I'm tired of going to the local sports bars and seeing the New Yorkers root for their sports teams to beat our local teams. I was at the bar the other day watching the New York Jets vs. the Bucs and almost all the people in the place were rooting for NY to beat Tampa. Give me a break! No other state would you see this sort of behavior. If you like NY so much, turn around and go back. If you want to be a Floridian:

1. Learn how to speak English
2. Root for Florida teams
3. Be friendly to others (this is not push, push, shove)
4. Slow down a little bit (we are not high stressed but please dont make us that way)

Funny, I went through the same sh*t in Puerto Rico. Everybody has different tastes and even native New Yorkers cheer for other teams in NY. Believe me, the non English speakers desperately WANT to speak English and just can't seem to get the hang ot it.....(So many Spanish only speakers in my own family and friends.) Being friendly depends on the person not where he/she is from.... Some places AND some people people are just naturally high stress..... You live in Florida and ignore the Type A personalities. I have made Puerto Rico my home....and then left for medical reasons....and now I am in Florida....(Originally from NJ) Hey, I am an AMERICAN and I do not have to be like everyone or anyone else. What IS wrong about people enjoying life their way if they are not hurting anybody? Peace, people.