[Suncoaster]

Originally Posted by Old Man Winter

....And for the poster that says we need to attract wealthy people that buy high end houses to drive the market, we need the market to bust so working class people can buy. That will drive the market, not a greed driven market, but it will drive the market. Don't forget it was wealthy homebuyers that got Florida into this mess, not the average working class folks.

Absolutely correct. The high-income folks are the ones who demand "emerald-green golf courses" - what a waste of water, not to mention a total waste of real estate. If you think I'm wrong, there were developers in S/W Florida who wanted to put up a big community w/ golf course - and the water requirements would have drained the Corkscrew Swamp. These folks are also the ones who demand bigger and bigger mansions - each one of these things takes up enough land that could have been used to house two or three working families.

I remember when the low wages weren't a problem - sure wages were low but you could rent a nice apartment for very little and could even buy a modest home. There wasn't as much upward pressure on utility rates (dang, those mcmansions sure suck up the juice, don't they) and on the water supply. And yes, you could live the simple life.

If I could have a wish come true, it would be a return to those times.

[soundbreeze]

Originally Posted by bale002

Infrastructure (like public transportation) and education, sure.

But amenities? Are you sure about that?

Do you want to attract people with high wealth seeking rents or high income?

High income based on what? High levels of debt? On passive interest and dividend income?

Or an economic policy model that allows more room for local, truly productive enterprises of all sizes and across as many sectors as possible?

The time for "amenities" is over. Has our greed for "amenities" brought about a better quality of life for the balance of society?

It's time again to put the nose back to the grindstone, and I don't care how many "babyboomers" are "retiring" in the coming years and decades.

AGREED. We need more clean industry jobby jobs, and the companies w. the vision and high growth that will be able to attract and support young peeps to the state.

We need LESS of overpriced homes, w. the caddies or lex's out front, and a half a million dollar RV parked out back.

I LOVE the bb's, my folks are in that group, but after Ivan, they moved to Alabama because the cost of the existing homes was too high for their blood. They got ALOT more house for the money, by moving to south Alabama, which is only about 45 mins away from where they used to live in the Panhandle. They can still enjoy the beach, see their friends, but not get jacked by the cost of living. Thankfully, prices are coming down, so now they're looking to come back.

[Chromedome]

the florida allure comes and goes.

[floridamove2]

Florida allure will be there as long as New York and Boston people have money. Don't forget they keep Ted Kennedy and put Clinton on the hill!

[FireballFL]

Originally Posted by sunrico90

Forbes.com has just ranked Miami and Orlando as the two riskiest housing markets in the country.

I'm not sure of the scientific methodology behind such lists, but obviously this isn't a good thing. Talk of a Florida recession grows. There are disturbing reports of school enrollment declines and of moving companies moving more people out than in. A recent Yahoo Finance story on best places for empty nesters noted it was time to rethink the age-old strategy of migrating to places such as like Florida. A growing number of states are tinkering with their tax codes to attract them. The long-term solution requires more than whacking taxes and budgets. Done to excess, that only makes the quality problem worse.

It can cripple our ability to upgrade infrastructure, improve schools and universities, and build the kinds of amenities that attract the high-income home buyers we desperately need to bail us out of this mess.

Well, I can answer part of this. The gluttony of investment housing is over. It is forcing sellers to lower prices and give further incentives. To answer this one part, is Florida's allure vanishing? Nope, it is just becoming more sensible for Floridians, like myself, to buy a nice home, in a decent area, for a price that can be agreed.

[Strel]

Originally Posted by floridamove2

Florida allure will be there as long as New York and Boston people have money. Don't forget they keep Ted Kennedy and put Clinton on the hill!

What does this have to do with anything?

There are political forums all over the Internet, if raging against "liberals" is your idea of fun.

[Cameron Cayman]

I don't know about allure and I probably have a different perspective since I grew up around it and my family, etc. are natives. I guess there'll always be some kind of allure in the minds of those who live far away from Florida. For me though, it's more like a "home" type of setting rather than some perceived paradise that so many yankees make it out to be. What is the big deal about Florida? A milder winter? Proximity to water? LMAO at so many who want to move there thinking it will be some paradise........

Speaking in general terms, the "it's all about me"..."get-out-of-my-way"...."build it bigger, build it now"...."consume all available land" type of growth has turned Florida into the same type of hell-hole that many folks are trying to move away from, re-creating the same type of mess....only further south.

[121804]

There will always be those who want to move here due to the weather. Why? Beats me. But I think most of those are people who are retireed & can afford NOT to live in FL during in the summer.
Then there are just people who love the sun & heat.

It is a greedy society that has caused the real estate mess in MANY parts of the US; a mix of people who convinced themselves they could afford a home b/c a mortgage lender told them they could afford it & developers who saw acres upon acres of empty land that they could build on.

We are in Punta Gorda where there are condo developments upon condo developments sitting empty & MORE being built. There are 5 houses for sale in the area we live in; all been on the market for 6+ months & I've never seen anyone look at them.

But there are people here who are convinced the masses still want to move to Florida & I guess Punta Gorda b/c the ridiculous building is not stopping. There is no professional industry to speak of anywhere in Charlotte County [minus doctors] but someone believes thousands are going to migrate here over the years & my guess is they assume it is the older generation.

[Cameron Cayman]

121804, that is the sad state of affairs of what has become of Florida. It's sad to see some of the areas I played in as a kid now being nothing more than shopping malls, busy highways, ridiculous golf neighborhoods and cookie-cutter condos that sit vacant. Well, at least there are the memories.... Driving down the old dirt/sand trails out to the farm, throwin' rocks into the creek, eating swamp cabbage, fried chicken with tomato gravy and rice.

If you really think about it, much of Florida is very "wild" in terms of the swamps, forests, and ecosystems and, really, not meant to be developed on. I am of the opinion that some type of land/environments were meant to stay as nature intended. The growth is really stressing out some parts of this great state. Years and years ago, not that many people wanted to come down to Fla. Very hot, and often inhospitable land was not that desireable. My own family, way, way back in the old days had some beachfront land in Pinellas county.....and sold it for nothing because they said, "we cain't grow anythang in that sand"....now, what would that area be worth?

Anyway, I guess at some point, for a number of reasons, Florida became "desireable" and perceived as a sort of paradise by many. So many factors have gone into why the state has changed over the years. We all have our theories and many of us are right......

[bloop4]

Originally Posted by Kingsnkali

Maybe Florida should learn to set aside and protect what remaining beach front/estuaries/woodlands are still there. They tried the peddle to the metal development plan and it sure doesn't look like that worked so well.

Nobody will want to move there if the whole place is paved over with bumper to bumper traffic and endless sprawl. Most people won't even want to visit.

Right on Dude