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But Florida is NOT the only state facing income issues & housing issues. Florida is NOT the only state where people are struggling.
If a person is at bare low bottom here & has to foreclose here & can't find a job here, all of a sudden running to another state is not going to guarantee better income, better job, better job security, lower crime, lower property taxes, etc.
Figure out how to fix the situation where one is at. Running b/c the "grass is greener" scenario is not the guaranteed solution
Someone please tell me where all the perfection lies & where they have it all. I would like to move there.
Job security & wages is a country wide problem. Buying above ones means is an individual fault. Can't afford a second home in FL. My heart doesn't break for you.
You just have to face it Florida is a mess, This all stems around GREED. The biggest problem is people need to realize this is not Long Island. Most Florida natives homes were away from the water.Thier properties would reach the water, but thier homes were not near the water. Why do you think all that waterfront zero lot line land was available? We understood that storms come and take anything close to the water with them as they go. That's why our insurance went through the roof. When was the last time Long Island was hit by a catagory 4 or 5 storm? But watch what happens when a storm hits the coast with any significant storm surge. It won't be pretty. Wev'e just reached the point in Florida where purchasing homes and land seems to be done without any concern of the consequences. Here's a few basic rules to follow. 1. If you can't afford it, don't buy it! ( i.e. If you bag groceries at the Winn Dixie chances are you cannot afford a 500k home. ) 2. Don't build your home on a sand bar. (i.e. Did you ever build a sand castle at the beach? It's amazing what happens to your castle when a wave hits it. ) 3. Don't buy 5 houses to flip then cry about how you were conned into buying these houses when you can't sell them. 4. Remember South Florida is a swamp. The Everglades start south of Tampa and your house is built on muck. ( ever look at an overhead view of Florida? ) 5. You will pay taxes! Florida's infrastructure has fallen so far behind it's growth someone has to foot the bill. If you think taxes are high in New York just sit right back and you'll hear a tale.
You just have to face it Florida is a mess, This all stems around GREED. The biggest problem is people need to realize this is not Long Island. Most Florida natives homes were away from the water.Thier properties would reach the water, but thier homes were not near the water. Why do you think all that waterfront zero lot line land was available? We understood that storms come and take anything close to the water with them as they go. That's why our insurance went through the roof. When was the last time Long Island was hit by a catagory 4 or 5 storm? But watch what happens when a storm hits the coast with any significant storm surge. It won't be pretty. Wev'e just reached the point in Florida where purchasing homes and land seems to be done without any concern of the consequences. Here's a few basic rules to follow. 1. If you can't afford it, don't buy it! ( i.e. If you bag groceries at the Winn Dixie chances are you cannot afford a 500k home. ) 2. Don't build your home on a sand bar. (i.e. Did you ever build a sand castle at the beach? It's amazing what happens to your castle when a wave hits it. ) 3. Don't buy 5 houses to flip then cry about how you were conned into buying these houses when you can't sell them. 4. Remember South Florida is a swamp. The Everglades start south of Tampa and your house is built on muck. ( ever look at an overhead view of Florida? ) 5. You will pay taxes! Florida's infrstructure has fallen so far behind it's growth someone has to foot the bill. If you think taxes are high in New York just sit right back and you'll hear a tale.
I guess it just sounds like so many are whining for mistakes that could have been avoided.
I just don't feel sorry for many who are in the mess.
I should would have loved a home a few yrs ago, but guess what, no matter what the realtor told me or what the seller told me or what the mortgage company told me...I did the math & figured out that if certain things went up, we would not be able to pay our basic bills.
FL sure is a mess. So is SoCal, certain areas of TX, certain areas of OH, certain areas of many, many places.
The thing that has got FL in that choke-hold is the inevitable Mother Nature.
I guess it just sounds like so many are whining for mistakes that could have been avoided.
I just don't feel sorry for many who are in the mess.
I should would have loved a home a few yrs ago, but guess what, no matter what the realtor told me or what the seller told me or what the mortgage company told me...I did the math & figured out that if certain things went up, we would not be able to pay our basic bills.
FL sure is a mess. So is SoCal, certain areas of TX, certain areas of OH, certain areas of many, many places.
The thing that has got FL in that choke-hold is the inevitable Mother Nature.
This is so True ! But alot of people think the days of shoveling are gone once they move to Florida. Its just a different type of storm.
This is so True ! But alot of people think the days of shoveling are gone once they move to Florida. Its just a different type of storm.
that article is scary.
It seems that people will still flock to S Florida if they are from NY or NJ and feel it is cheaper. The question is how much longer that ratio will last.
S.
Last edited by dreamofmonterey; 04-29-2007 at 12:04 PM..
Reason: add
That's funny, someone accidentally gave me positive feedback instead of negative for my thoughts earlier in this thread. The comment registered as 'positive,' but said "Inappropriate."
Exactly what is inappropriate about me looking forward to the crash? Even if I loose my job and all of my money I still look forward to the housing crash. Unlike all of the investor numbskulls that ruined Florida, I work for a living and don't need appreciation in a house to maintain a lifestyle - especially an unsustainable one. If you are for high housing prices you neither understand the problem nor the solution.
What's wrong with being foreclosed? Just rent a damn apartment. It's no big deal. Don't lean on the taxpayers to correct your idiocy.
I could be living in a tent and flippin' burgers and I'd still go to the library to come here and say the same thing: the economy expands and contracts; we're going to go down for a while; chill out and be realistic about the situation. It's still sunny and the beach is free. Isn't that why you moved here?
My name is Muggy and I enjoy watching fools get fleeced. Hi Muggy, welcome to the club.
That's funny, someone accidentally gave me positive feedback instead of negative for my thoughts earlier in this thread. The comment registered as 'positive,' but said "Inappropriate."
Exactly what is inappropriate about me looking forward to the crash? Even if I loose my job and all of my money I still look forward to the housing crash. Unlike all of the investor numbskulls that ruined Florida, I work for a living and don't need appreciation in a house to maintain a lifestyle - especially an unsustainable one. If you are for high housing prices you neither understand the problem nor the solution.
What's wrong with being foreclosed? Just rent a damn apartment. It's no big deal. Don't lean on the taxpayers to correct your idiocy.
I could be living in a tent and flippin' burgers and I'd still go to the library to come here and say the same thing: the economy expands and contracts; we're going to go down for a while; chill out and be realistic about the situation. It's still sunny and the beach is free. Isn't that why you moved here?
My name is Muggy and I enjoy watching fools get fleeced. Hi Muggy, welcome to the club.
Prob's in Fla housing market aren't unique to Fla. I'm glad to see it happen everywhere, not just Fla, because it needed to happen. It was out of control. The greedy were getting greedier all while the needy were getting needier. Sad, but it's true. The housing market was insane and bound to plummet. A monkey could've foreseen that. I live in PA. My hubby and I are considering a move to Fla or Az but will proceed with caution because we don't want to make more mistakes. My hubby can transfer down to Fla (Tampa area) in the company he works for and make good money with good benny's. However, even though a job would be secured first, we're still researching all of our options and trying to see what is best for us in the long run.
We do not wish to make the same mistakes we've made before.
My hubby and I moved here to Pa from central NJ, hoping to make a better life for ourselves three years ago. We could afford more house here and sold our two bedroom townhouse for the same price we bought our 4 bedroom house here. Smart move, right? Well, we have the same money prob's now that we did before. Just in a bigger house. Dumb with a capital D. All around us people are struggling, too. Everyone put in pools and spent over $50,000 doing so. Or redid their landscaping and spent an extra $15,000 or upgraded the carpets in the house or the siding...it goes on and on and on. You know what? Between the 401K loans and Home Eq loans we barely see our neighbors because everyone's at work to afford their homes and no one is at home to enjoy it. That's just plain stupid if you ask me.
This past Christmas my husband and I took our fingers out of our ears, opened our eyes and looked at our bills. We came to a painful but liberating conclusion...
We're done with the 'keeping up with the Joneses". My hubby and I are selling this ball and chain and moving into a rental townhouse community complete with lawn care, fitness center and swimming pool we don't have to maintain. The price each month is waaaay lower than what we're paying now (especially with all the bills paid off). I'd rather rent for the rest of my life and be able to watch my kids grow up at home instead of someone else watching it in daycare. I'd rather be able to go away on vacations without worrying about where the money for it is going to come from because we always have more month left over at the end of our money. I'd rather not be like everyone else who's pretending they have the money to make ends meet every month, plastering little smiles on their faces and waving to you while they walk they're dogs down the carefully landscaped community paths.
This is not for me. I'd rather be free.
This keeping up with the Joneses is waaaaay to life-draining for us.
We're outta here.
"We drive our cars everyday, to and from work both ways, so we make just enough to pay, to drive our cars to work each day..."
That is a line from the song "Rockin' the Suburbs" from the movie Over the Hedge, BTW, a very eye-opening movie.
That's funny, someone accidentally gave me positive feedback instead of negative for my thoughts earlier in this thread. The comment registered as 'positive,' but said "Inappropriate."
Exactly what is inappropriate about me looking forward to the crash? Even if I loose my job and all of my money I still look forward to the housing crash. Unlike all of the investor numbskulls that ruined Florida, I work for a living and don't need appreciation in a house to maintain a lifestyle - especially an unsustainable one. If you are for high housing prices you neither understand the problem nor the solution.
What's wrong with being foreclosed? Just rent a damn apartment. It's no big deal. Don't lean on the taxpayers to correct your idiocy.
I could be living in a tent and flippin' burgers and I'd still go to the library to come here and say the same thing: the economy expands and contracts; we're going to go down for a while; chill out and be realistic about the situation. It's still sunny and the beach is free. Isn't that why you moved here?
My name is Muggy and I enjoy watching fools get fleeced. Hi Muggy, welcome to the club.
Hi Muggy, my name is SunKissedBeach and I too enjoy watching the masses of sheeple get sheared.
Sirensong, glad to know that we share the same philosophy. We are some of the most depressed people on earth and we have so much compared to people in a lot of other countries. For me, materialism just isn't worth the hassles and the debt.
Prob's in Fla housing market aren't unique to Fla. I'm glad to see it happen everywhere, not just Fla, because it needed to happen. It was out of control. The greedy were getting greedier all while the needy were getting needier. Sad, but it's true. The housing market was insane and bound to plummet. A monkey could've foreseen that. I live in PA. My hubby and I are considering a move to Fla or Az but will proceed with caution because we don't want to make more mistakes. My hubby can transfer down to Fla (Tampa area) in the company he works for and make good money with good benny's. However, even though a job would be secured first, we're still researching all of our options and trying to see what is best for us in the long run.
We do not wish to make the same mistakes we've made before.
My hubby and I moved here to Pa from central NJ, hoping to make a better life for ourselves three years ago. We could afford more house here and sold our two bedroom townhouse for the same price we bought our 4 bedroom house here. Smart move, right? Well, we have the same money prob's now that we did before. Just in a bigger house. Dumb with a capital D. All around us people are struggling, too. Everyone put in pools and spent over $50,000 doing so. Or redid their landscaping and spent an extra $15,000 or upgraded the carpets in the house or the siding...it goes on and on and on. You know what? Between the 401K loans and Home Eq loans we barely see our neighbors because everyone's at work to afford their homes and no one is at home to enjoy it. That's just plain stupid if you ask me.
This past Christmas my husband and I took our fingers out of our ears, opened our eyes and looked at our bills. We came to a painful but liberating conclusion...
We're done with the 'keeping up with the Joneses". My hubby and I are selling this ball and chain and moving into a rental townhouse community complete with lawn care, fitness center and swimming pool we don't have to maintain. The price each month is waaaay lower than what we're paying now (especially with all the bills paid off). I'd rather rent for the rest of my life and be able to watch my kids grow up at home instead of someone else watching it in daycare. I'd rather be able to go away on vacations without worrying about where the money for it is going to come from because we always have more month left over at the end of our money. I'd rather not be like everyone else who's pretending they have the money to make ends meet every month, plastering little smiles on their faces and waving to you while they walk they're dogs down the carefully landscaped community paths.
This is not for me. I'd rather be free.
This keeping up with the Joneses is waaaaay to life-draining for us.
We're outta here.
"We drive our cars everyday, to and from work both ways, so we make just enough to pay, to drive our cars to work each day..."
That is a line from the song "Rockin' the Suburbs" from the movie Over the Hedge, BTW, a very eye-opening movie.
I agree 100%. Sounds like Long Island Everyone maxes out credit- my friend lives in a 900k house (with no yard or privacy) they struggle every month and have a Mercedes and a boat (all bought on credit)
I could NEVER live like that anymore. Its insane. Give me a vacation every year (paid in cash) I refuse to pay Citifinancial 25% usury fees for another home equity loan (btw they are aplenty in S Florida- predatory banks w/special ""equity"" loans)
that saying is a variation on ..""I owe, I owe, so its off to work I go""...as everyone goes to work so they can pay their gold Visa card bills that month.
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yes-
So true
excellent post!!
Everyone maxes out credit- my friend lives in a 900k house (with no yard or privacy) they struggle every month and have a Mercedes and a boat (all bought on credit) 
