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AGAIN, the "cost of living" here is SO MUCH BETTER than it was years ago, when people were moving here in droves. Let us recap AGAIN:
Taxes down
Home prices down (in some places, RIDICULOUSLY down, to 1990s levels)
Rents down
Interest Rates down
Gas prices down
Insurance prices down
What else is there that is so much cheaper elsewhere?
For many retirees, or soon to be retirees, especially, it's a good time to snap up a winter home, for example. For those with in-demand skills who can land professional jobs in Florida, it's a good time to put down roots. If you're a minimum wage type, however, good luck, cause you're going to need it as much here right now as anywhere else.
And by the way, Florida is not the worst when it comes to unemployment. NC, SC are way worse off, and even Georgia, home to the much exhalted "Manahattan of the South," Atlanta, is right on Florida's heels in terms of the unemployment rate. Yet, many on this board see the green grass in Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh, despite what people up there are saying.
In fact, the only places that seem to be doing alright include those states that nobody has historically been attracted to in large numbers, like South Dakota and Montana. Texas is doing well, and still has a construction boom. Let's see how long that's going to last.
Thank you!
I can live in the town of my choice in Florida for 20-25% cheaper then in Ohio. That can add up to a ton of money difference.
Pretty to look at and visit but personally I would not live in any of those places.
Raleigh is ok, but nothing that great.
If you were paying attention we have had many people who were living in the NC triangle and are moving to Florida or back to Florida.
I know the NC-Tenn mountains very well, its beautiful there but no place to live that is for sure!
Atlanta is the new hot spot for jobs but I would not live in near Atlanta myself.
Charlotte, no amount of money ever get me to live there.
Two ways to look at it, if you have money and like nice year around weather you sure the heck wont want to live in the Carolina's. If you are poor or have low income skills I would be as far south as I could get, being cold and having no money is not fun. I would much rather been warm then cold.
Florida population is expected to grow another 1/2 to 1 million by 2012.
So do not kid yourself, many on this board who have went to the Carolina's have headed back to Florida.
I swim in the ocean in Feb in Florida, I swim in the hotel pools in Dec in Florida.
If you like year around warm air and being close to nature, water etc why would you not want to live in Florida? No other state other then lower California, Hawaii and some parts lower Georgia offer what Florida has.
If you want to a snowman and do not enjoy beautiful sunsets, nature and being around things to do all year around then head north where all the other snowmen are wanting to be.
Snowbirds go south, snowmen and snow women come north because they enjoy being cold and frizzin' their butts off for nothing!!
Wonder how many people have had frostbite that think living in the north is so darn great.
I can always find a way to chill in warm weather but you can put all the layers of clothes on your want but you still have to breathe the cold air into your lungs and sinuses, why be so miserable?
This might sound silly, but I think moving to Florida is somewhat of a tradition for those of us from colder climates. Grandparents retire and plant roots there, then parents, then the kids follow. (My parents are going and that is a major reason why I am; they are my best friends ).
Cost of living might be high, but in comparison to other states (Long Island, here --- nightmare), it's not so bad. I make good money here, but it doesn't go far at all. It pays the bills and that's about it. I've done the math and even with an expected 20% paycut, I will still be able to live very comfortably in Florida -- far more comfortably than I am here. The closest thing I have to a backyard is a fire escape! (These little things are important).
As for those who head down with no jobs lined up, I guess they don't have much to lose. If you're struggling in an area you don't like, why not struggle amid more pleasant surroundings?
Hardee har har...where do you live? I live in SC, close to the NC border.
Not freezing? are you kidding me? Let me count how many plants I lost over the winter due to the severe cold weather. Why dont you check out our wildfires and the homes people are losing because it's so hot and so dry?
Three weeks ago on a Monday, I wore my winter coat to work. Yeah the weather in NC and SC is picture perfect not. Snow 3 times, temps in the teens. Temps in the teens less than 3 weeks ago? Wow, that's interesting! So one day, it's 75 and one day it could be snowing? Kick a$$!!! How does 97 for a high sound the other day? And STILL 94 degrees the other night at 9pm in Central FL? I checked on weather.com, the weather in Charlotte late last month was ranging from 45 to 60 degrees for the LOW and the HIGHS were anywhere from 75 too 88 degrees. Right now, it is 72 degrees in Charlotte. I'm just sayin'.
And as far as laying on a hammock yeah, if you want to be a human meal for mosquitoes. Please don't make NC and SC sound like a haven compared to Florida because they are not. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!! We dont have misquitoes here in FL to worry about! LOL! They like hot, humid air!!! We dont have misquitoes in the "winter time" in FL... so you all actually have far less of a problem with misquitoes than we do due to the cooler, drier air. Hello!
NC is the most tax happy state in the entire South. I hate that place.
So from this forum here's a post:
I HATED NC AND LEFT 2 years after I made the unfortunate decision to move to that (I don't have time to put all the negative adjectives I can think of here) state. Couldnt have elaborated? Anyway, dont you think it's realistic to assume that some people arent going to like it? Especially considering the thousands that have moved there from FL and do like it?
MrsP, have you spent much time in FL? Honestly, with the arguments you are making, it doesnt seem very likely.
I mean, you bring up misquitoes (the FL state bird), then you compare losing a few plants in the winter while some of us in Central FL are dealing with crazy wildfires, and ALREADY dealing with temps in the 90's?
Do not take this as rude, but you really arent making much of an argument. In fact, some of what you are saying is doing the exact opposite.
Yes I have spent time in Florida part of my family moved there in 1962. Suffice to say I've been in Florida for years off an on and saw it go through immense changes.
I love people who tell me I don't know what I'm talking about when in fact in the last four years I lived 2 of them in NC and 2 of them in SC, but hey you tell yourself all you want I don't know what I'm talking about.
My point is there are people that continually say NC SC are the answer to God's prayers and it's just not true. I'm not saying FLorida is perfect either, but neither is NC SC. Yes people may like NC and SC and move there, however there are people who like Florida and will move there and LIKE it too.
I see it's ok to blast Florida but not NC or SC eh?
I elaborated enough on NC with just one reason being tax happy, and soon to get even worse and have many more, but this isn't the NC board.
I know about your wildfires, NC and SC have them too. We were in the same drought you are in for 2 straight years, we just now got out of it. Matter of fact we get every single weather issue Florida gets, plus snow, ice and freezing temperatures. Our bugs are just as plentiful, our humidity can be just as bad, even in the mountains. We have just as many poisonous snakes and on it goes. So fleeing Florida for NC or SC? I'd say do research, lots of research and make sure it's what one would want. It's not much different. Oh and those temps you quoted? yeah with 60 and 70 dew points.
It reminds me of the retiree across the street who left Florida and move to my townhouse community, she cries all the time to go back to Florida. She misses her life, her friends, but needs to be by her adult children. But she wants to LEAVE and go back. Actually I talk to many people here in my area that want to go back home (wherever that is). It happens. Not every single person will love where they moved to, and that goes for every state, NC SC TN and FL.
Last edited by Mrs. P; 05-16-2009 at 06:46 AM..
Reason: typo
I can live in the town of my choice in Florida for 20-25% cheaper then in Ohio. That can add up to a ton of money difference.
My best friend (40 years) just left Florida for the winter, to go back home to Ohio for the summer. She stops here on her way down and then again on her way back SC is a good 1/2 way point when one is driving.
Anyway since she's been back home to NE Ohio, she's been really upset with the weather, etc. So she is rapidly cleaning her home out, selling off 30 years of "things" getting her house ready for sale. She should be able to sell because she has a house on a lake. She wants to live in Florida full time, and misses it horribly. Albeit our part of Ohio is very cheap to live in (except utilities and real estate taxes) , and Florida is and will be slightly more expensive...however she and myself in a year or two, will both be scaling WAY down, and that in turn will cause our expenses to be actually cheaper. She retired at 57 and I will be hopefully behind her soon. We worked hard, we worked at young ages, and we both stayed at our separate companies 30 years plus. We relish being able to come down there and enjoy it. I'm a little younger but God willing I'll be down 1 to 2 years. I probably will have an easier adjustment than she did (weather wise) because I'm already used to sun, hot and humid. But she found out she loved the weather, she worked outside all her life (winter in Ohio ? yuck and in the heat and humdity of the summer) so humidity and warm temps doesn't bother her at all.
Yep my hardest decision will be: leaving my adult son (oh well he can travel to see me) and what city / town/ village I want to move to. Right now it's Bonita Springs/Estero area on my radar
"If you are poor or have low income skills I would be as far south as I could get, being cold and having no money is not fun. I would much rather been warm then cold."
^^^ That's part of FL's problem. Many, many others are doing the same thing you are talking about. The more educated are leaving for places like Atlanta, Raleigh and Charlotte. People from Raleigh, Atlanta, and Charlotte arent moving to FL. Maybe, like you said, in a couple cases, but overall this isnt the trend.
I can live in the town of my choice in Florida for 20-25% cheaper then in Ohio. That can add up to a ton of money difference.
You must be referring to Ohio, Switzerland or Ohio, Dubai and not U.S. Ohio. Ohio is probably one of the cheapest places to live. They will practically give you a house just to move to Ohio. A friend of mine just moved back up there and to a decent area. He bought a house in a decent area for 50% less than Florida. He moved because he couldn't afford it in FL anymore. What makes you think Florida is so cheap when people are losing their homes every second and trying to move away due to the high cost of living?
I grew up in FL and lived there from 1974 - 2006. We've been northeast of Atlanta for 3 years now.
Here are my observations:
1. Yes, spring is nice here in GA, but it doesn't make up for the yucky (cloudy & wet) winters and bare trees!
2. Summer is just as bad here as in FL. Even more humid due to lack of seabreezes. The air is very polluted around Atlanta and traffic is terrible.
3. Crime is on the increase in the metro ATL area. In fact, ATL is now the major hub for drug smugglers coming up from Mexico to distribute drugs to the US East coast.
4. In my experience as a teacher both in FL and GA, schools are not any better here. (of course, school and teacher quality varies widely depending on the area). My school was much better in Clermont, FL.
5. Mosquitos are less of a problem here (way smaller) and there are more months where they are not out at all (due to freezing temperatures!) but we did find a baby copperhead snake on the driveway by our car. (we live in a wooded neighborhood)
6. There are way more big trees in the ATL area than in FL. However, with these trees comes more pollen in the spring (and I mean LOTS of yellow pollen everywhere, like cotton candy) and tons of leaves to rake in the fall. Also, these big trees have been falling down lately. Several people were killed when trees fell on their homes and cars. That is scary. Tornadoes are also bad here north and west of ATL.
7. Unemployment here is about the same as FL. In my county, we had an increase of 160% of so from a year ago. We also have a very high teen pregnancy rate (I did not know that). Textile and manufacturing plants are closing right and left up here.
It was 17 degrees here in December when we were loading the family into our car to visit my family in FL. We enjoyed an outing to Blue Springs and nice, sunny weather while we were there. Returning here to bare trees, wet everything, and cold was kind of bleak.
"If you are poor or have low income skills I would be as far south as I could get, being cold and having no money is not fun. I would much rather been warm then cold."
^^^ That's part of FL's problem. Many, many others are doing the same thing you are talking about. The more educated are leaving for places like Atlanta, Raleigh and Charlotte. People from Raleigh, Atlanta, and Charlotte arent moving to FL. Maybe, like you said, in a couple cases, but overall this isnt the trend.
Bingo, bango, bongo!! The Florida mentality is if you are going to be poor and jobless or work for minimum wage you may as well do it somewhere warm and where there is a beach.
This might sound silly, but I think moving to Florida is somewhat of a tradition for those of us from colder climates. Grandparents retire and plant roots there, then parents, then the kids follow. (My parents are going and that is a major reason why I am; they are my best friends ).
Cost of living might be high, but in comparison to other states (Long Island, here --- nightmare), it's not so bad. I make good money here, but it doesn't go far at all. It pays the bills and that's about it. I've done the math and even with an expected 20% paycut, I will still be able to live very comfortably in Florida -- far more comfortably than I am here. The closest thing I have to a backyard is a fire escape! (These little things are important).
As for those who head down with no jobs lined up, I guess they don't have much to lose. If you're struggling in an area you don't like, why not struggle amid more pleasant surroundings?
Meg,
I disagree with you... People without jobs have everything to lose. Have you heard that lay-offs from GM alone will exceed 100000 people? The ripple effect will have a profound effect upon virtually every sector and region in our country. Now is not the time to leave any job.... even with the 20% paycut... because there will be intense competition both for the job that you are seeking, as well as, the job(s) being left behind. Will your parents be willing (and able) to support you (if their savings will carry them) until you arrive at this same conclusion? Some may disagree with you, as well, about moving to "more pleasant surroundings" being that unemployment, disappearing job opportunities, foreclosures, shorts sales, et al are not making Florida such a pleasant place to be, right now.
Some traditions are best left to die, at least until people can afford to pay for them with real money, not pipe dreams of the way you think that it will be.
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). 
I checked on weather.com, the weather in Charlotte late last month was ranging from 45 to 60 degrees for the LOW and the HIGHS were anywhere from 75 too 88 degrees. Right now, it is 72 degrees in Charlotte. I'm just sayin'.
