[Tsitsipas]

Originally Posted by FloridaWestCoastGuy

Let's not forget the warm weather. The "riff raff" can live in a car here. Much worse to live in a car in colder weather.

Exactly. Unaffordable housing + warm weather just seems like a perfect breeding ground for homelessness.

[Daryl_G]

I don't think it keeps any of the "Riff Raft" out as there are plenty of dirty rundown trailer parks and areas in Florida to live in. I think this hurts people either in the Middle class or moving into the middle class from the lower classes. That jump from living in a scummy run-down place to a decent place with a good school zone is such a big jump that people who are "doing the right thing" are being pushed out.

it is hard to afford many areas in Florida where the majority of the jobs are given you NEED not only to cover rent but a car, insurance, gas, and on and on to live in middle-class locations in Florida. Or you can afford it but you have little left after covering expenses that you really don't have the disposable income to support any local business in your area, small local businesses struggle in areas with increasingly high costs of living and relatively flat incomes, it means less potential business for them. Think about the number of colleges we have in Florida and the strain those people are having coming out of school and trying to get started, its part of the reason so many moves back home after college even with a "good" job".

Large Professionally managed properties like apartments function like a cartel as well. They will each watch the other raise a rate then all set their rates to a higher standard and call it "Market Pricing" and repeat the cycle over and over as well as raise fees constantly. I have no idea how you would combat this as I assume you would need more oversight which is not something most local governments in Florida seem to want to get involved in (not talking rent control here).

It is difficult to know how long Florida can sustain the constant cost of living increases without turning into California where cites are unaffordable and commutes for the middle class are 1 hour each way into town due to how far out one needs to live to afford working in that area.

[Corrie22]

well whoever told you that is mistaken.....Riff Raff can be any color....and usually applies to non-black

...there's much harsher words for blacks

[Tsitsipas]

Another thing to keep in mind about "riff raff"... there is a misconception that ultra wealthy people are classy, law abiding, well behaved. In my experience, the ultra wealthy often act extremely entitled. They do whatever they want, without concern for whether it's legal, moral, considerate of others, etc. The rich riff raff can be just as much of a nuisance as the poor riff raff.

[lluvia]

Originally Posted by Tsitsipas

Exactly. Unaffordable housing + warm weather just seems like a perfect breeding ground for homelessness.

Then how do you explain the homeless in Seattle or Portland? Those aren't exactly warm weather locales.

[Charlie&Rose]

Riff Raff means trashy people.....white people, black people. That has been the meaning for as many years as I can remember.....and I am old.

[Tsitsipas]

Originally Posted by lluvia

Then how do you explain the homeless in Seattle or Portland? Those aren't exactly warm weather locales.

I did not assert that homelessness only occurs in warm climates. I said that warm weather plus unaffordable housing seems like a perfect breeding ground for homelessness.

[Corrie22]

New York, Los Angeles, and Seattle/King Country...have the most homeless

California has 9 times as many homeless as Florida.....

political party has much more to do with it than weather

http://www.citymayors.com/society/us...elessness.html

[achtung baby]

Keep out the “rift raft”, what is this, Marie Antoinette Florida version?

FL is not exactly some swanky private islands in the seclusive Caribbean locations that only the “ultra” rich gets the access to go. The state literally builds its wealth, branding and notoriety on making the rift rafts falling in love with the amusement parks, the public beaches, the chain restaurants, the cookie cutter housing stock…..have you seen the crowd in Busch Garden? rift raft would feel very much at home there.

Sharky’s on the Pier? Other than the pricing, it’s basically a glorified version of Dennis and Olive Garden so let’s not pretend Venice or FL is some painfully exclusive “elitist” center of aristocratic upper class blue blood enclave that keeps the “rift raft” out.

For many former Californians or Manhattanites, the real estate in FL is getting expensive but not that expensive. Any nice neighborhood with great school district in Los Angeles area would have sold for pushing $700 per square foot in 2010 and sold for $1000 per square foot in 2019.-FL pricing is still relatively cheap to people who are so used to seeing much higher prices.-you don’t see these people scoffing off and looking down on the rift raft .

We bought the house all cash in Sarasota in 2020, lived for almost a year and sold it for a nice net profit. We are one of those people who moved out of FL of our own accord. We could more than afford living here, but we chose not to, partially because of the attitude of “we are living in paradise!” “we are so desirable!” “you’re bashing FL, why don’t you leave!” “we are so rich, keep the rift raft out!”

FL is such a physically beautiful state. We didn’t like the summer overcast/violent thunderstorms, but when it’s nice and sunny it’s perfectly glorious. We had a lot of lovely time there but we don’t regret leaving at all. One year is good enough, in less than 6 months we had seen all FL but the Panhandle area.

Just FYI, not everyone leaving FL because they are “priced out”.

Also, it’s great to enjoy one’s wealth with hard work and smart investment. However the attitude of looking down on someone because his/her income is deemed “low income” is very gauche, not to mention unkind.

Enjoy your privileged life, but if you’re so concerned about having the “rift raft” around you I suggest you buying a private island and moving to somewhere like Harbour Island in the Bahamas. (population: 1762 in 2010 census.)

FL loves to talk about “freedom” and acts like it’s the beacon of patriotism and personal freedom, then everybody in this country has the personal right and freedom to move to any state/city they want. Sure they should come fully prepared and do their homework, as they should with any place they plan to move to. The existing residents, though, aren’t the official gatekeepers to screen who gets to move here and who doesn’t.

If FL is so “desirable”, shouldn’t people here be more secure and welcoming to whoever voluntarily joins to drink the cool aid too?!

[Dwatted Wabbit]

I'm skeptical of anything that comes out of Haavahd. They are hardly unbiased.