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Why would anyone live here if it requires so much tolerance and a very-open mind? Plus, there are very few decent paying jobs in Florida.
U4icmusic - just curious, why do you still hang around on this forum? I'm not dissing you, I just find it odd that you post so much of your "Miami hate" here when you've since found your little paradise in Tennesse. I left Chicago years ago and have visited the Chicago forum perhaps twice in my entire life.
Florida is expensive and the cost of living here is my biggest complaint. The scarcity of high paying jobs doesn't make it easy, I agree with you on that.
Florida is expensive and the cost of living here is my biggest complaint. The scarcity of high paying jobs doesn't make it easy, I agree with you on that.
However, in places like the metro NYC area, comparable properties to what you can find in Florida are at least three times as much. People are always complaining about having $10/hr jobs in Florida, and how hard it is to get by on that. That may be true, but that then translates into having to make at least $30/hr in New York City to struggle in the same way, and it's not like it's that easy to find $30/hr jobs in New York City. You can get slightly cheaper real estate if you move far from the city, but then the savings you're making up in your mortgage payments show up in your commuting costs instead, and the further out real estate is still going to be two and a half times or so more expensive than comparable real estate in Florida. To get significantly cheaper real estate, you have to move far enough out that it's not within a feasible commuting distance, and then you've got the same problems finding a job close to home. It's not as if it's that much easier in Wilkes-Barre, PA, Syracuse, NY, etc. to find high paying jobs than it is in cities with similar populations in Florida.
Depending on one's vocation, it might be easier to find a high paying job in an area with relatively cheap real estate, but then you've got to target the area based on that.
Welcome to Latin America !. You finally got a taste of how vibrant life is in Latin America as oposed to the gray, dull and cold days and ugly women up north (black and white). Do you know what the best thing is about Florida? is that is close to the United States, right on the border. So, if you don't like it here, you can all go back to your country, the old USA....... lol
I'm a native Floridian, who has lived in South Florida all her life. After 20 years, I've had enough.
The Spanish thing bothers me too. I feel that if you are in America, one of the responsibilities is to learn at least enough English to get by. I'm all for keeping your native language and culture, and it's great to use it at home, but when you are in a business or such, it's unfair. I can't even get a job at my local mall because I'm not bilingual. That's a bit extreme....especially since I'm a hard worker, and I see all these workers who are just slacking off and being rude, but they get the job because they can speak Spanish and English, and I can't.
I don't want anyone to think I'm racist, I'm far from that. It's just my point of view, that's all.
As for the weather, I hate it! I'm sorry, but it's late November, it's not suppose to feel like summer time! You get no different seasons, only Spring, Summer, and Sauna.
After I get my AA, I'm so out of Florida, I don't care how much an out-of-state school costs! I'm looking to move to the New England area, hopefully it'll be better.
In my opinion, Florida is a great place to visit, but a terrible place to live. And I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure my kids don't grow up here.
Suprised to hear of another "Native?" Not too many left, and as you can see, most are leaving, or trying to. FCLA 16, I dont blame you a bit, although New England wouldnt be my first choice, but good luck to you.
Suprised to hear of another "Native?" Not too many left, and as you can see, most are leaving, or trying to. FCLA 16, I dont blame you a bit, although New England wouldnt be my first choice, but good luck to you.
I'm originally from Houston and I've been here for almost 2 years. All in all, it was a huge mistake as I pretty much hate south florida for all of the same reasons as everyone else. (Except for the Spanish situation-That never bothered me) But it would definitely be a little more tolerable if it were a lot cheaper. I know that this is going to be offensive to some (I apologize in advance) but I think what bothers me the most is the fact that I would really like to see a STRONGER group of progressive middle to upper class Blacks. I know that they exist down here and that there are many that are doing really well (ie. doctors, lawyers, ect. so I'm not trying to generalize) but it's just not as dominant as it is in cities like Atl, DC, Dallas, ect. I love being around black people! I'm not excluding any other race in my lifestyle because I'm willing hang out with anybody that is cool. But it's challenging not finding a lot of prominent AA people ( especially in the corporate world) that I can relate to and just hang out with on the everyday up-and-up scene. I have to really step out of my box just to meet people that I can have fun with and relate to. I am still really unsure if it is because S. Florida is just so expensive. Disclaimer: I must say that I have met a few but it has still been difficult while down here as opposed to other cities. And that's just aside from the fact that as other people say, generally south florida is not a friendly area. People are on their grind and do their own thing. Anyway, enough complaining for me. Needless to say, I plan on moving out of Florida and to a more affordable city within the near future.
SoFla used to be cheap, but when all the foreigners and Northerners decided to start buying real estate here, it drove the market up. Since tax rates were not adjusted for such high prices, the taxes got unreal. Then add that most insurance companies squandered the premiums over 20+ years till Andrew came along and then decided to jack up insurance 300%-500% for lack of coverage to fund their now "losses" and you get an outrageous cost of living here. Now as for the so called "black" professionals here, If you haven't lived here for 30+ years, then you wouldn't know how racist SoFla used to be. From trying to get a job to racial profiling police. If you were black, you had to move away to get anywhere. Also, with the influx of cubans from the Marial boatlift, they made matters worse. What most don't realize is that Castro open his prisons and released all the criminals of Cuba onto Miami streets. Once these people came into society, they themselves took over jobs and businesses, also discriminating against blacks and favoring felow cubans/latinos. Some might disagree, but, like it or not, this is what it was like. Also, alot of "legal" businesses here were started with drug money, some still running, but of course with a serious influx of "dirty" money. Once you got in, your were basically set. Its basically a younger version of any large city coming into existence in the US. Drugs, crime, corruption, you name it, thats how large cities operate.
Well, I'm currently visiting my mother right now from Chicago in West Palm Beach and am fairly familiar with South Florida all over. I like it down here though, and I think people blow the negatives way out of proportion. That being said, there are some things I'd like to point out.
One thing that bothers me the most is actually the LACK of people. Right now I'm in an apartment in downtown West Palm and looking out the window, I see nothing but high rise apartment buildings with black, empty windows, with maybe one or two windows lit up throughout the whole building. It's actually really eerie and creepy, like a giant ghost town. People talk about gangs and crime, but i don't even know how there are enough people here to commit the crime and give West Palm the reputation it has. I've seen small towns throughout the US that look more alive than West Palm Beach at midnight. Another thing that bothers is the huge lack of public transportation, but the tri-rail is great and miami-dade i think has great public transportation despite what the locals say.
I think alot is blown out of proportion though. I dunno what utopia u guys come from, but people here are very friendly. Coming from Chicago, it always shocks me how talkitive and open people are here. Sometimes I have to kick myself and force myself to be more friendly to people, because it is just not like that in Chicago n u always have to put on a hard face/attitude to get by.
Another overblown thing is the crime. Have u guys ever been to NYC or Chicago and seen a real ghetto? or the projects? These so-called bad areas are laughable compared to other major cities. People here actually have houses to call homes, and just because they might not be the best kept houses and are ocuupied by *gasp* black people, does not mean the neighborhood is completely run down and ridden with crime. The only exception would be the Miami-Dade area, where I have seen entire shanty towns and some serious urban decay, but broward and palm beach's so-called ghettos are jokes, people in Chicago ghetto's (or maybe even regular Chicago neighborhoods) would kill to live in these areas in the warm weather and have a house to actually call their own, black neighborhood or not.
And Spanish, and at least palm beach county n broward, is nowhere near as bad as Chicago either, and the Latino's I've met have been very friendly and even helpful in some situations. Also not as isolated in their own communities as in other major cities. I'll be visiting Miami again soon and do a retake on the Spanish and Latinos down there.
Traffic is also nowhere near as bad as NYC, Chicago or LA or probably even atlanta for that matter.
Now this coming from the perspective of a Chicagoan, so maybe things aren't as bad to me as u all, but I can tell u compared to other major US cities u guys are blowing things a little out of proportion. That being said, South Florida has clearly been effected by the economy in terms of jobs and owning/renting homes and that is a very valid complaint and is seen in in every aspect of living down here. Another is corruption and you can definately tell just by driving around the politicians take the easy way out and cover up problems rather than actually solving them. It's pretty frusturating to look at, actually. If there's other issues or overblown problems I can think of, I'll post more.
One thing that bothers me the most is actually the LACK of people. Right now I'm in an apartment in downtown West Palm and looking out the window, I see nothing but high rise apartment buildings with black, empty windows, with maybe one or two windows lit up throughout the whole building. It's actually really eerie and creepy, like a giant ghost town.
On the other hand, though, you did post this at nearly 2:00 a.m.--at least that's what it says up there. Even in Manhattan, you're not going to see a lot of lights on in apartment buildings at 2:00 a.m.
But you might also be referring to the fact that unlike cities like New York and Chicago, there aren't many people walking on the streets in most Florida cities. Of course, that's partially because things are so much more spread out, but they're not THAT spread out that folks couldn't walk many places.
It's interesting that in some parts of Florida--some neighborhoods and/or some streets in some areas, that is, if you see a woman walking by herself, you can almost guarantee that she's a prostitute, regardless of what she's dressed like. In cities like New York and Chicago, that's impossible, because everywhere you go, there are all kinds of people walking.
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Another thing that bothers is the huge lack of public transportation,
I agree that a more extensive public transportation system is sorely needed. It would help alleviate traffic, and it would get more people walking.
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I dunno what utopia u guys come from, but people here are very friendly. Coming from Chicago, it always shocks me how talkitive and open people are here. Sometimes I have to kick myself and force myself to be more friendly to people, because it is just not like that in Chicago n u always have to put on a hard face/attitude to get by.
Yeah, I don't get it either. Growing up in Florida, it took me forever in the New York City area to not say "Hi" to folks I passed on the sidewalk, etc. When I go back to Florida to visit, people being friendly to each other in public hasn't changed. In New York City, at least outsde of the tourist areas, you'd usually have to literally manhandle someone to get them to acknowledge you--no amount of eye contact, words, etc. would do it, with the exception that if you play "lost tourist", you can get some people to give you directions (even if they're wrong), because they like to play know-it-all.
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Another overblown thing is the crime.
Right . . . they're going by statistics, which I keep stressing do not tell them how likely it is that they're going to be safe somewhere. People have actually been worried about crime in places like Port St. Lucie! I don't know if you've been there yet, but Port St. Lucie makes West Palm Beach look like Chicago--wait, that's not even extreme enough; maybe Sao Paulo. I'd like to take those folks on a walk through Irvington on our way to Newark.
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Traffic is also nowhere near as bad as NYC, Chicago or LA or probably even atlanta for that matter.
Have to agree with you on this one again. I've lived in the New York City area for about 15 years now, but I visit Florida frequently--because I grew up there and I was the only person from my immediate family to move away from there, and I'm close to my family, so I've experienced recent traffic throughout Southeasten Florida a lot. I know that you can get back-ups in Florida, but except for a few poorly designed roads during particular times of the day, they're infrequent, and usually correlated to things like people rubbernecking for car accidents. That doesn't mean that there are no cars on the road, but even driving on 95 from WPB to Miami during rush hours, it's been rare that I've driven in Florida recently where I did not have to watch my speedometer to make sure that I wasn't in danger of receiving a ticket--I could have easily stayed at even 90 mph from West Palm to Miami. Here, in and near New York City, it's rare that I can ever GO the speed limit--it's gotten me out of the habit of looking at my speedometer near home. I like using cruise control on the highways. In Florida, no problem. Near NYC, forget it. I've tried, out of frustration, to set the cruise control at, say 40-45 mph on the New Jersey Turnpike, but even that doesn't work for more than maybe 30 seconds. Hell, I've been in stop and go traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike all the way from Philadelphia to New York City--90 miles where I never got above about 35 mph. That's unusual, but it can happen, and for no apparent reason (I've actually had that happen with relatives from Florida in the car--they kept waiting to see the accident, and then it was like cognitive dissonance to them when there wasn't one). (Also, the the rest stops on the NJ Turnpike looked like trying to stand on the floor of Madison Square Garden during a concert--people were parking on the grass, there were maybe 100 people lined up to use the women's restroom, etc.)
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Now this coming from the perspective of a Chicagoan, so maybe things aren't as bad to me as u all,
Right. We've got to remember that there are people coming from the perspective of podunk southern towns in other states and such . . . which is why I keep stressing that assessments about this stuff are relative.
Last edited by Tungsten_Udder; 11-26-2008 at 06:53 AM..
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Welcome to Latin America !
best of luck to you too!
