[**NoodLes**]

Sad to say but I lived there for a decade and all he said is 100% true. Especially the part where everyone is treated the same. After a while you stop working any harder because you don't get recognized for it. Why work harder when the slacker next to you gets paid the same as you and probably is a new employee.

[D-R-B]

Originally Posted by **NoodLes**

Sad to say but I lived there for a decade and all he said is 100% true. Especially the part where everyone is treated the same. After a while you stop working any harder because you don't get recognized for it. Why work harder when the slacker next to you gets paid the same as you and probably is a new employee.

Thank you. How long did it take for your "sunshine denial" to wear off?

[**NoodLes**]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

Thank you. How long did it take for your "sunshine denial" to wear off?

A few years actually. I live in Dallas now and I miss the Florida sun and sunsets. It's been cloudy and gloomy all week here and it basically sucks. Dallas is 180 degrees different than Florida. Alot of workaholics, conservative people here. Truthfully I miss Florida except for the wages of course but than again there's no perfect place. If the cost of living didn't skyrocket overnight while the wages stayed the same Florida would be much more enjoyable.

[On-da-Beach]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

It is a common misconception that in Florida, the wages are less-but the cost of living is less, so it all evens out.

I want people to understand that there is way more to it than that. The general attitude towards business down here is very different than in other places. It is taken with a certain degree of informality and lack of professionalism.

The average wage earner makes less here than other places yes, but what isn't discussed is the stagnation of that wage. Many people focus on starting pay as a comparison to other places. For example: a first year school teacher in Florida may make a few thousand less per year than a teacher in the North East-but the cost of living is less so you may actually wind up on top. What people don't realize is that after ten years their salary has only gone up a few thousand. The school teacher in the North East will out-earn the Florida teacher by a very large margin over the course of their carreer. It only takes a couple of years to see the difference. Wages stagnate in Florida.

This is also true with most other professions/occupations. Business just moves faster and is taken more seriously up north- a hard working, honest, PROFESSIONAL, and reliable employee will see more opportunity for advancement over time up north than in Florida. Five years with a company in Florida might get you a couple dollars an our if you're lucky. I know and have spoken to many, many people who can validate my point.

A source of proof is in the fact that many people move to Florida with a large amount of savings and rip through that money in no time. There is a saying- "once you get here, you can't leave". That's because the person who makes 11 dollars/hour thinks that in a few years they'll be making a better living-and a few years and a lot of hard work later, they make 11 dollars/hour.

The other problem is, ALL employees are treated the same. Great workers and useless workers alike. You can outwork everyone in your office and they (and your boss) just look at you like your crazy. This has ALWAYS been the case down here. Many people just think they can buck the trend so to speak. Good luck with that.

Florida is a "right to work" state. Which basically boils down to the fact that anyone can be fired for any reason at any time. No paper trail, no warnings, no sit downs, ect. This and the extreme transient nature of Florida combine to make an unprofessional, stagnant working envinronment. Most don't believe it untill they are stuck in it. Many people are at work staring at the clock untill the can go get drunk after work 7 days a week. But that is another thread all together.

Florida is, has been, and always will be set up for tourists and retirees. Neither of those groups require gamefull employment. This state has been letting down it's permanent residents for years. Florida is littered with too many small bussinesess and not enough big businesess to offer stable jobs with advancement opportunities for it's workers. So what you wind up with is hundreds of people lining up for a 10 dollar/hour grocerey store jobs. But, if they work real hard for 4 or 5 years, they could make 11 or 12 dollars/hour!

The only part I believe truly pertains to Florida is the issue with transient residents. People go to Florida for the weather and then decide to stay and look for employment. Too many claim to know how to perform jobs that they really can't, which lowers the professional standards. Employers compensate accordingly to find the right people for the jobs. Once they know that a person is a true professional, they are usually happy to accommodate them with appropriate wages and benefits.
Anyone in the labor force (Florida or anywhere else) that isn't happy with their wages should sell their services elsewhere. Companies are always looking for good people. Just be good enough to justify your demands.
By the way, when I worked in a labor union (IBEW in Ohio) I hated the fact that the moron next to me, who couldn't even read a tape measure, was earning the same wages as I and I couldn't do anything about it.
Other than that, I think most of the comments are unsubstantiated, untrue Moderator cut: comment

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by **NoodLes**

Sad to say but I lived there for a decade and all he said is 100% true. Especially the part where everyone is treated the same. After a while you stop working any harder because you don't get recognized for it. Why work harder when the slacker next to you gets paid the same as you and probably is a new employee.

I lived in Florida for much longer than a decade and not everyone is treated the same. Not that I'd have to live someplace to know that's false about any place, but if you think that counts for some reason, then there it is.

"It's not the case that everyone is treated the same by others (and especially not by all others)" is a generalization that I believe is true for every place in the world.

For that matter, I believe, "It's not the case that any person, anywhere in the world, is treated the same by any other person at two different instances in time", but that's more of a technical philosophical issue having to do with nominalism and genidentity.

[D-R-B]

It has been common knowlage forever that the wages in Florida (and the south) are FOR THE MOST PART lower than their northern counterparts.

If you take off your blinders (and stop picking apart my posts) and read the MANY threads containing discussions on this very topic-you will see the VAST MAJORITY would agree with my observations.

If that doesn't "do it for you"-why don't you go out and take a little survey for yourself. Ask 100 working class Floridians if their jobs/occupations/careers pay more in the Northeast. Once again....VAST MAJORITY.

As someone else said "people move here for the weather".......EXACTLY- they (for the most part) DON'T move here to advance their careers or make top notch wages.

I actually can't beleive that some people are trying to dispute my claims that Florida's wages and opportunities are substandard. I heard people telling my parents the same thing when I was 10 years old. Along with the "florida classic"...."good help is REALLY HARD TO FIND IN FLORIDA".

I literally have heard all this stuff (and lived/witnessed it) for more than 20 years now. I'm sorry folks........"if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck......."

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

It has been common knowlage . . . read the MANY threads containing discussions on this very topic-you will see the VAST MAJORITY would agree with my observations.

That's similar to an exchange we already had: You said, "I am confident that most people who respond will agree." And I responded, "I agree with you there."

If that doesn't "do it for you"-why don't you go out and take a little survey for yourself. Ask 100 working class Floridians if their jobs/occupations/careers pay more in the Northeast.

That survey would tell me about persons' beliefs, not about whether the jobs pay more in one location or another. The beliefs could have a positive correlation with a fact about what the jobs in question pay, but they might not, and the beliefs alone will not tell us this.

Once again....VAST MAJORITY.

Have you ever heard of the following? Argumentum ad populum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As someone else said "people move here for the weather".......EXACTLY- they (for the most part) DON'T move here to advance their careers or make top notch wages.

People move to Florida for many different reasons, including weather for some people, of course.

I actually can't beleive that some people are trying to dispute my claims that Florida's wages and opportunities are substandard.

I wouldn't deny or affirm, "Florida's wages and opportunies are substandard", so if you're referring to me there, that would be a straw man. For "Florida's wages and opportunities are substandard", I'd want to better define the terms so there's no ambiguity (well, relatively little, at least), and then look at the relevant data.

I literally have heard all this stuff (and lived/witnessed it) for more than 20 years now.

I lived in Florida for more than 20 years. (And according to you, you haven't lived there for 20 years--you were in the Air Force in New Jersey for 4 years, so at the most, you lived in Florida for 16 or 17 years according to what you've claimed so far).

[D-R-B]

Thanks again..............

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by D-R-B

Thanks again..............

Glad to be of service.

[Mugatu]

I agree 100% with the original poster and this is a big reason why I left the state. Not only are the wages low, but employers have a "cattle call" mentality when it comes to their employees. I've gone on degrading group interviews where you wait in line to be marched in front of a hiring manager, was told "here's the salary, take it or leave it," and they had no interest in my actual experience or skill set. I've known many other people that have gone through this type of interview as well. It wasn't until I interviewed out of state that I had my first opportunity to actually negotiate a salary. Many employers in FL are just looking for the cheapest labor, rather than the most skilled, which never made any sense to me as this usually results in such high turnover because the employees often aren't a good fit for the position and end up leaving after a few months, and then the process starts again.

Originally Posted by On-da-Beach

Employers compensate accordingly to find the right people for the jobs. Once they know that a person is a true professional, they are usually happy to accommodate them with appropriate wages and benefits.

I disagree with this. In my last job before leaving FL, I was a true professional and went above and beyond in all my duties. My manager had great confidence in me, and continually expanded my duties. I ended up filling in for him in a supervisory role when he was out of the office, I was the "unofficial" trainer of all the new hires, I helped transition a large group of employees to our location after our company bought theirs, and I led training seminars when our company rolled out new updates to the computer system. My manager was hoping that "upper management" would allow me to move to a permanent trainer role and be compensated accordingly. When it came time for my review, I was told they would not be adding an "official" trainer at this location, but asked if I would continue to "help out" with the new hires. I was then offered the "maximum" raise of .50 cents an hour which put me up to a whopping $12.06/hour. That sealed the deal on my move out of FL.