[TKramar]

Excuse me...but what do "butchers" do nowadays? When the meat comes into the store prepackaged anymore?

[mec1212]

seriously, it's bad all over. but New England is the worst. I can tell you we are thinking of relocating to FL for a change and the job market is a lot better there and pays more than new england. we are the only area of the country in a confirmed recession, our state is the only state in the last year to LOOSE population.

I've actually flown down there twice for interviews because companies are looking for folks out of state because they can't find good help in FL.

[neverstuck]

The point was missed .the point was that the payscale in florida is rediculous..And as a skilled worker with 20 years experience in the field of auto and diesel repair with federal certifications along with every ase cert available I should not need 3 jobs to survive ...as far as butchering goes thats always been a fall back job ,if i wanted to make a few extra bucks for a nice vacation,wanted to buy another motorcycle put in a pool etc .BTW there are at least 2000 privately owned butcher shops in the 5 boroughs of NY ,that make custom cuts of beef ,make hand made sausages ,etc..they all do very well in fact most butchers make mad amounts of money .there is at least a 2 year wait to get into the meat cutters union and there is never a lack of work...Supermarket meats come from mass slaughter houses that are for the most part filthy.how do I know this because One of my oldest friends is a health inspector for meat plants and he has told me of thousands of horror stories from different plants in the eastern corridor of The US...all these places care about is numbers numbers numbers.even try some meats from one of the mail order places and taste the difference..omaha steaks makes some nice cuts and tastes nothing like a supermarket steak.the smaller shops use a higher quality of meats because they buy from smaller slaughter houses that arent trying to bang out mass amounts of meat every second .

[mec1212]

well have you worked anywhere else? here in boston the cost of living is a lot more than down there and most jobs i interviewed for are 75-100% more pay than there are here...double and the cost of living is cheaper there than in boston.

[neverstuck]

Ive worked In conn florida ny minnissota and was offered a job in boston for a major beer distributer as a mechanic on there trucks ..there pay was equal to what nys was and the cost of living in boston(one of my fav cities btw) was very close to NYs ...For skilled and unskilled labor here its tough ,white collar jobs do fair quite a bit better but dont be fooled the cost of living isnt as cheap as you might think ...gas is a little cheaper no lie ,ciggerates are way cheaper but ive found that food and other needs are the same as NYs ,taxes are cheaper but you dont get as good sevices...also my water bill is double nys and the water is UNDRINKABLE you need an expensive water filter on your home ..my elec during the summer months is what i paid up north during the summer ...they lowered taxes by 200 bux a year here but now the fire dept addedd a bill of 100 a year and they want us to pay for the street lights too....Im not saying its terrible here but Its not the golden savior of life people once thought it was..If I could have made the choice again I probably would have moved to NC where there is a better pay rate ,not by much but better....It just kind equals out ..I dont know what kind of job you have in boston but I have alot of friends up there and even though times are tough they are making good livings and would never consider moving ..

[121804]

The streets are not paved with gold in FL as some are so determined to think or convince themselves.

FL is not NE or any of the northern states. Not even close, minus the transplants. Take that statement as you wish.

COL is tough everywhere. Jobs are a blessing no matter what the pay.

Be wise in your spending. Be aware of what you spend.

If your wish is to move to FL, best of luck. Do the research prior to the move. Know what will be economically expected of you in the area you wish to live.

Good luck. It's tough out there if you are a physican or work the night stock shift at WalMart.

[121804]

Originally Posted by neverstuck

.I dont know what kind of job you have in boston but I have alot of friends up there and even though times are tough they are making good livings and would never consider moving ..

Ten years ago I was offered a teaching position with a private school in a suburb of Boston with a base pay of $21k. I could not afford it due to cost of living back even then.

My dh is from western MA. You couldn't give him enough money to convince him to live on that side of Mass. Just a preference I guess as we all have them.

Boston & NYC....why people insist on comparing these cities to FL gets me.

These two cities have been some of the most expensive places to live in the US for decades & most people of average intelligence know that.

So, if you move from Boston, YES, your overall COL is probably going to be cheaper.

COL cheaper in FL than NYC? Ya don't say??? Honestly.

But, just b/c it's cheap doesn't mean it's better for some

If you are looking to move b/c you want to move & start fresh, hey, go for it Jobs are not a promise anywhere; I don't care what you do; they are not a promise nor a guarantee.

Live where it makes you happy. And, yes, it's cheaper to live in almost 75% of FL than NYC or Boston. There are reasons for that...

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by mec1212

seriously, it's bad all over. but New England is the worst. I can tell you we are thinking of relocating to FL for a change and the job market is a lot better there and pays more than new england. we are the only area of the country in a confirmed recession, our state is the only state in the last year to LOOSE population.

I've actually flown down there twice for interviews because companies are looking for folks out of state because they can't find good help in FL.

Salaries area way higher in New England then here but it's all relative to the high cost of living.

The few companies that do look outside the state and say they will relocate (usually they don't want to but that's changing) find it's hard to lure people here now at the given salaries in relation the the high cost of living. The affordable areas of Florida pay even less and then you have to take into consideration there are little if any jobs in these areas.

Florida's future, at least South Florida will be small companies with less then 20 employees, the day of large employers like Pratt & Whitney, IBM and Motorola are history. One example is when Nasa cans the Space Shuttle program in 2010, thousands will be out of work and the economy around the Cape will feel it.

[neverstuck]

florida is really nice ,dont get me wrong ,I really like alot about it .though times are tough everywhere this is true it just seems that when i speak to my family and friends up north they arent feeling the crunch as bad as my family down here ..all are laborers in one form or another and they just are not feeling it as bad ...noones getting laid off ,and they are still driving the cars and trucks they want without worrying about gas prices..

[121804]

Originally Posted by neverstuck

florida is really nice ,dont get me wrong ,I really like alot about it .though times are tough everywhere this is true it just seems that when i speak to my family and friends up north they arent feeling the crunch as bad as my family down here ..all are laborers in one form or another and they just are not feeling it as bad ...noones getting laid off ,and they are still driving the cars and trucks they want without worrying about gas prices..

That's b/c they are use to COL there. It's always been expensive.

So, again, yep, to many FL is probably a "cheaper" place to live initially & depending on what part of the country they are coming from, may always be "cheaper".