[backtofla]

would anyone agree with me, after debating the home prices on the forum, along with "1000 ppl move to fla everyday", that if prices stay higher than other states throughout the south, losing a little population wouldnt be a bad thing???

i mean, we all agree that schools and roads are too crowded, but if housing were cheap in fla, then we would have more than 1000 ppl moving to fla everyday. and not only that, the ones that are leaving our state for more affordable housing would probably stay.

w/o digging too deep into the whole supply/demand side of it, wouldnt one agree that for THIS purpose, high home prices arent necessarily a bad thing?

[macguy]

Originally Posted by backtofla

would anyone agree with me, after debating the home prices on the forum, along with "1000 ppl move to fla everyday", that if prices stay higher than other states throughout the south, losing a little population wouldnt be a bad thing???

i mean, we all agree that schools and roads are too crowded, but if housing were cheap in fla, then we would have more than 1000 ppl moving to fla everyday. and not only that, the ones that are leaving our state for more affordable housing would probably stay.

w/o digging too deep into the whole supply/demand side of it, wouldnt one agree that for THIS purpose, high home prices arent necessarily a bad thing?

The answer is all the people who live in those expensive houses need goods and services and they are provided by low paid workers. This creates haves and have-nots and then you get very low rent areas along with the high end areas and everything that goes along with it. You want middle class, the people who work, make pretty good money and spend it back into the economy.

Most of those people who buy those high end homes spend very little after that. They go to early bird specials, their families are already out of the house and they put very little back into the economy. Overall, not good, give me a good working man community any time.

[bamboosmom]

If the darn state would start paying the middle class better salaries then things would work out. It all comes from the higher ups. They need to increase the pay wages here. Period. Then we, as a state can have the better things in life. It's the middle class that is having the problems.
BETTER PAYING JOBS will help this state. This state needs to draw business' here. Even satalite offices from major corporations would kick start our economy.
Then the home prices wouldn't be considered so high. A $290,000 home with enough square footage and a nice piece of property would be attractive to a couple coming from NY, Mass, NJ as long as the payscale meets up to today's standards but Florida's payscale is back in the 70's! It's time we do something to make this state a better place to live.

[pslOldTimer]

Originally Posted by bamboosmom

If the darn state would start paying the middle class better salaries then things would work out. It all comes from the higher ups. They need to increase the pay wages here. Period. Then we, as a state can have the better things in life. It's the middle class that is having the problems.
BETTER PAYING JOBS will help this state. This state needs to draw business' here.

I understand your sentiments. The problem is that, outside of state employees, the state has nothing to do with wage levels. There is no way the state will force businesses to pay higher wages. Heck, they can't even agree to raise the minimum wage, let alone middle class salaries.

The only way that wages can be raised is for there to be a shortage of workers. If employers cannot find enough people to work, they'll have to increase the salaries in order to compete for the workers who are available -- in other words, to buy the employees from some other business. This is not going to happen as long as so many people are moving into Florida and need work, so they will work for whatever salary is offered.

Remember, however, that even if businesses (or the state or anyone else who pays wages) decided tomorrow to double everyone's salary, the money has to come from somewhere. Prices would also double, as would taxes. Costs would go up dramatically and everything would be more expensive, not just houses. Peoples' salaries would not buy as much as they did before, and we would be right back where we started. This is what is known as inflation.

So, be careful what you wish for -- you may get it and not like it very much.

[bamboosmom]

PS, it's going to be an uphill battle, I guess. You will either have to be rich to buy or they will have to build more affordable housing.

[MortonR]

I have argued Bamboosmom's point ever since we came down in 1996. Florida employers recruit using the "sun and fun" approach, appealing to people's desire to escape the seasonal changes up North. Problem is, they typically pay 2/3 of what the same job would pay, say, in the Midwest.

And the minute someone says, "But it's cheaper to live there - you don't have to buy winter clothes!" I jump all over that. Energy prices, along with many other commodities, are higher than anywhere I lived in the Midwest. Taxes are the same, if not more. While we don't have a state income tax, that 5-7% is money that's not going into the state's coffers to deal with infrastructure issues, like roads.

It's all what you make of it, but IMHO, people who come down here at the behest of their employers more often than not end up getting *****ed.

RM

[nRitzy]

I want to move to Florida some day also, but I can't see that the standard of living being much cheaper in Fl than where I am in NH. My father lived in Middleburg, FL and the groceries were just as expensive there as here, some more expensive in FL. I can usually get a gallon of milk for $1.99, Store brand bread for $.99, and other groceries are similarly priced or cheaper. We don't have a state income tax here. A gallon of gas is $2.83 today. Homeowners insurance on a $300K home is $500/yr, car insurance is probably more here than in Florida. Property Taxes @2900/yr for a $300K home. The min. wage in NH is $5.15. Our big expense up here is for heating fuel. I suppose it equals to Florida's electric bill for A/C. But, I just want to move there cuz of the weather. Ah, yes, warmth, beautiful beaches.

[bamboosmom]

Ah, just come on down!

[nRitzy]

Originally Posted by bamboosmom

Ah, just come on down!

Thanks !! I will - it's just a matter of time. My son graduates in 2 years then I'm free to move.

[grammy164]

Actually the government can help. Florida doesn't do much to make it an appealing place for companies. Did anyone read the article in the Sun-Sentenial about a month ago where they interviewed Scott Deal--owner of Maverick Boats. He said Florida is losing many of it's boat manufacturers (a billion dollar business for FL) because they can't afford to stay here when states like SC, NC and GA are offering them so much to move there. He just built a new plant and not in Florida, but NC. They gave him an offer he couldn't refuse.
We also need to end the free trade agreement. We don't make anything in this country anymore. The jobs are all overseas and the people that used to work in manufacturing were our middle class. Do you realize we ship so many goods in that our ports can't handle the load. We use ports in Mexico. We need new people in Washington. No middle class weakens this country. A weak country is an easy target. The best way to fight terrorism is to be a strong country. We're losing that. Read other forums. Same problems everywhere. Washington has forgotten the middle class.