[Ombrages]

I moved to Florida in 2017. I work in healthcare as a Registered Nurse. I lived and worked in Fort Myers, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. I kept thinking I was in the wrong city, until I realized I was in the wrong state. No matter where I was in FL, the pay & benefits sucked and the working conditions were atrocious. I kept reminding myself that I didn't pay a state income tax and that the cost of living was ''cheap''. After the 4th year, I gave up and moved to the west coast. Yes, my living expenses have increased, but so has my salary. I am actually better off financially here (California) then I was in Florida. Not to mention that I have great benefits at work, a defined benefit pension plan and a 6% raise every year - all things that are unheard of in FL. In the four years I was a nurse in FL, I got a .99 cent raise.

Florida, for me, will only be for vacation or retirement.

[Dave_n_Tenn]

Originally Posted by Ombrages

I moved to Florida in 2017. I work in healthcare as a Registered Nurse. I lived and worked in Fort Myers, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. I kept thinking I was in the wrong city, until I realized I was in the wrong state. No matter where I was in FL, the pay & benefits sucked and the working conditions were atrocious. I kept reminding myself that I didn't pay a state income tax and that the cost of living was ''cheap''. After the 4th year, I gave up and moved to the west coast. Yes, my living expenses have increased, but so has my salary. I am actually better off financially here (California) then I was in Florida. Not to mention that I have great benefits at work, a defined benefit pension plan and a 6% raise every year - all things that are unheard of in FL. In the four years I was a nurse in FL, I got a .99 cent raise.

Florida, for me, will only be for vacation or retirement.

We're happy for you.

For many of us Floridians... that is not the case. I had a very successful 35+ year career in Florida and now retired. 3 of 4 of my kids graduated college here and have terrific careers... and one went into the Marine Corp who is an Air Traffic Controller. 2 out of 4 kids continue to live and work in Florida and are paid quite well. They are no longer 'kids'.

So for every negative story there are plenty of positive ones. That's how it works in the world.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by Ombrages

I moved to Florida in 2017. I work in healthcare as a Registered Nurse. I lived and worked in Fort Myers, Tampa and Fort Lauderdale. I kept thinking I was in the wrong city, until I realized I was in the wrong state. No matter where I was in FL, the pay & benefits sucked and the working conditions were atrocious. I kept reminding myself that I didn't pay a state income tax and that the cost of living was ''cheap''. After the 4th year, I gave up and moved to the west coast. Yes, my living expenses have increased, but so has my salary. I am actually better off financially here (California) then I was in Florida. Not to mention that I have great benefits at work, a defined benefit pension plan and a 6% raise every year - all things that are unheard of in FL. In the four years I was a nurse in FL, I got a .99 cent raise.

Florida, for me, will only be for vacation or retirement.

Although I'm doing very well here financially, I would be financially better off in other states, such as New York or Connecticut. I did the math. I would actually save an additional $5K or more if I moved there, mostly because of much higher pay. I would get an instant 20% pay raise if I had a similar job in those states. Cost of housing is about the same or even less up there nowadays! Even with a state income tax and much higher property taxes, I would still be financially better off in NY or CT assuming I had a similar house and similar job. However, I would be much worse off in California because the home prices are absolutely outrageous, despite higher pay and slightly lower property taxes than Florida.

Not having a state income tax is severely overrated considering how jobs in my career field pay much less in Florida. This is the case for many other careers as well.

But anyway, money isn't everything in life.

[Racer46]

Originally Posted by nep321

Although I'm doing very well here financially, I would be financially better off in other states, such as New York or Connecticut. I did the math. I would actually save an additional $5K or more if I moved there, mostly because of much higher pay. I would get an instant 20% pay raise if I had a similar job in those states. Cost of housing is about the same or even less up there nowadays! Even with a state income tax and much higher property taxes, I would still be financially better off in NY or CT assuming I had a similar house and similar job. However, I would be much worse off in California because the home prices are absolutely outrageous, despite higher pay and slightly lower property taxes than Florida.

Not having a state income tax is severely overrated considering how jobs in my career field pay much less in Florida. This is the case for many other careers as well.

But anyway, money isn't everything in life.

This is why man people move to FL. They want warmer weather. Now CA is my favorite State, but money is never, or should never be, the main issue, There is good and bad in every State. I have family in FL and my wife and I owned a lot to build on once in FL (West Coast), but sold it later. The family members in FL, have lived in CA and don't want to go back. Everyone is different.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by Racer46

This is why man people move to FL. They want warmer weather. Now CA is my favorite State, but money is never, or should never be, the main issue, There is good and bad in every State. I have family in FL and my wife and I owned a lot to build on once in FL (West Coast), but sold it later. The family members in FL, have lived in CA and don't want to go back. Everyone is different.

Agree. Having lived in several different states, I honestly believe it doesn't matter much where I live anymore. When I was in my 20s I was nearly obsessed with trying to figure out where would be the best place for me to live and even took a few risks and relocated a few times. What I have learned is that, unfortunately, where I live is largely dependent on the ability to secure suitable employment. It kinda sucks because I feel like I don't have the freedom to live wherever I want. But that's okay. There are pros and cons to everywhere and it is difficult to truly say whether one place is better than another.

There are things I dislike about Florida, such as the politics. There are things I like about Florida such as the climate.

When I lived in Connecticut, I liked the politics but disliked the climate.

I truly believe that for any given place, when one attribute sucks, there's usually a positive offsetting attribute.

[Dave_n_Tenn]

New Florida residents who fled high-crime cities praise DeSantis' policies: 'The governor has done a good job'
Sarasota and Tampa both ranked in the top five metropolitan areas people moved to in 2021.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chi...s-move-florida

[k350]

Originally Posted by nep321

What about the other 5.3 MILLION Floridians who voted blue in 2020? Are they all supposed to pack up and leave, too?

Moving because of politics is absolutely ridiculous.

I did not mention politics, you did (by the way, I voted for Biden).

You do not like it here because of fundamental things that make Florida, Florida. You advocate policies that in your head, you think it makes sense, and refer to where you came from as having it, yet you still fail to see how and why these policies turn where you came from into fiscal basket cases, while Florida is one of the top fiscally sound states.

This is not a "I wish we had a Bob's Diner like in Connecticut, such good fries", this is "I wish we imposed a tax that would take money from people, because where I came from has it, and I think it works well", failing to still see, post after post, that it does not work well, and why would a fiscally sound state like Florida, want to put in danger this fiscal soundness with a tax that is not needed?

So in a hypothetical, an income tax does get imposed, revenue starts falling as one of the main drivers for fiscal soundness starts shifting elsewhere, your solution will be "to raise taxes more".

Rinse and repeat.

[k350]

Originally Posted by nep321

Although I'm doing very well here financially, I would be financially better off in other states, such as New York or Connecticut. I did the math. I would actually save an additional $5K or more if I moved there, mostly because of much higher pay. I would get an instant 20% pay raise if I had a similar job in those states. Cost of housing is about the same or even less up there nowadays! Even with a state income tax and much higher property taxes, I would still be financially better off in NY or CT assuming I had a similar house and similar job. However, I would be much worse off in California because the home prices are absolutely outrageous, despite higher pay and slightly lower property taxes than Florida.

Not having a state income tax is severely overrated considering how jobs in my career field pay much less in Florida. This is the case for many other careers as well.

But anyway, money isn't everything in life.

So, Florida having an income tax means your job would pay more?

[Scottamemnon]

Originally Posted by k350

So in a hypothetical, an income tax does get imposed, revenue starts falling as one of the main drivers for fiscal soundness starts shifting elsewhere, your solution will be "to raise taxes more".

Rinse and repeat.

I mean, that is the way Connecticut has treated taxes since they imposed an income tax in the 90s.

[nep321]

Originally Posted by Dave_n_Tenn

New Florida residents who fled high-crime cities praise DeSantis' policies: 'The governor has done a good job'
Sarasota and Tampa both ranked in the top five metropolitan areas people moved to in 2021.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chi...s-move-florida

That's absurd. Florida's cities have VERY high crime, with Jacksonville being the murder capital of the state now. Crime is present in nearly every big city in this nation. I don't care which state it's in.