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Ok whiners I got you all beat! Kalifornia. I don't really know where to start, but, every possible complaint you have about ANYWHERE else you live in the states is compounded 10x in Kali. You pay $3.60 for gas, I pay $4.25, you want to talk about traffic? Kali has the worst traffic in the nation. Average commute times are 2 hours each way if you live in the San Diego, Lost Angeles or San Francisco areas.! Our beaches? Polluted, disgusting, crowded, Garbage strewn sand with mariachi music playing in the background. Our roads (that the high gasoline taxes pay for) WILL break your vehicle suspension. Car insurance? Better have Uninsured Motorist coverage cause whoever hits you, and you will be hit, doesn't have insurance and probably doesn't have a Drivers License. Oh, our crime rate, for the last 30 years, as a state, has 5 of the top 10 cities for crime in the nation (Los Angeles, Oakland, San Bernardino, Compton, Santa Ana, etc). Our prison system is so screwed up, they have been court ordered to release 50,000, yes, 50,000 felons onto the streets. Meth? Its made here! WE are the meth capital of the world, bar none. We produce more meth than anywhere else in the world. We are a meth exporter for gods sake!! Just as a bonus, our forests are the #1 cultivation area for Gangi! If you hike in our forests there a good chance you will walk into a grow site with armed mexican cartel guards. As a state, our taxes are right behind...oh wait, thats right, our over all tax burden is the highest in the nation. As far as weather? Thats your own fault, next time check it out. Either way, my butt is taking my retirement, my 457 plan, selling my way overpriced house and and moving to Pine Island next summer, where I will be building a house, buying a boat and investing my time, effort and money into my new community. And, you will not find me bitchin about the heat...
The Republic of Kalifornia is an absolute nightmare. Although many posters on this forum will disagree with me, Tejas is just as much of a nightmare as Kalifornia, but for different reasons.
That being said, I'm very happy to hear you'll be escaping the Republic of Kalifornia. It sounds like you'll enjoy living in Florida. I certainly did, and I can't wait to move back. God bless your move.
Wow....$400 a year for insurance in Chicago and only $3,000 a year in taxes...really...you weren't living in any decent area of chicago and you weren't insuring much...let me explain.
Insurance for a house worth 200k is going to run you a minimum $1,000 more than likely $2,000.
Taxes are just rediculous in Chicago....a 200k house will run anywhere depending on location $5,000-$10,000 a year and its going to at least double in the next couple of years and may go as high as 150% increase(to pay for public union pensions that are only funded at 14%)....thats on top of the 66% increase in the state income tax we just suffered through...and they are already talking about increase it another 50%.
People and business's are fleeing Chicago and Illinois..causing a drop in collected taxes and increased unemployment...and significant drop in home values.
The winters in Chicago are brutal....no other way to say that.
And the crime...well everyone knows about Chicago being the murder capital of the country.
Wow you have a lot to learn! Where ever you picked up that info, you might want to avoid it at all costs in the future.
First, home owners insurance doesn't work that way. Yes value influences the cost, but more importantly is the actual chance of a catastrophic loss. Florida compared to almost every other state has a 300% higher chance of a total loss. Which increases insurance premiums by at least 100% for comparable valued properties elsewhere. For instance, I have a few properties in Connecticut all of which are valued at over $200k and all of which have home owners insurance premiums under $1000 a year, not even near 2000. I also have properties right here in Lee County with the same valuation with insurance premiums under $2000. Really need to check your facts!
I was born in Chicago and have family that have been in the area for over 100 years. $10,000 in taxes for a home worth $200,000? Were you sober when you wrote this? You will get into the $4000 and $5000 range for $300,000 houses in Naperville, Barrington and the other North/Northwest Burbs. But the vast majority of the area has taxes comparable to other "urban" areas in the country. 150% increase? I really want to try what you are on!!!
Maybe the unemployment rate is high there, but I will tell you it isn't as high as it is here. It is near 10% in Chicago while it is closer to 13% here. People may be fleeing the state of Illinois, they aren't fleeing the city of Chicago. They are simply crossing state lines into NW Indiana.
As far as murder capital of the country that award belongs to Detroit. And just an fyi you have a better chance of being murdered in Fort Myers than you do in Chicago. Fort Myers murder rate last year was double that of Chicago. The murder rate in Chicago has actually decreased by 34% over last year according this article..Chicago murder rate drops by 34 percent, but does the city feel any safer? | theGrio.. while the murder rate in Fort Myers has increased every year since 2005. You really need invest some time into fact checking before posting!
Ok whiners I got you all beat! Kalifornia. I don't really know where to start, but, every possible complaint you have about ANYWHERE else you live in the states is compounded 10x in Kali. You pay $3.60 for gas, I pay $4.25, you want to talk about traffic? Kali has the worst traffic in the nation. Average commute times are 2 hours each way if you live in the San Diego, Lost Angeles or San Francisco areas.! Our beaches? Polluted, disgusting, crowded, Garbage strewn sand with mariachi music playing in the background. Our roads (that the high gasoline taxes pay for) WILL break your vehicle suspension. Car insurance? Better have Uninsured Motorist coverage cause whoever hits you, and you will be hit, doesn't have insurance and probably doesn't have a Drivers License. Oh, our crime rate, for the last 30 years, as a state, has 5 of the top 10 cities for crime in the nation (Los Angeles, Oakland, San Bernardino, Compton, Santa Ana, etc). Our prison system is so screwed up, they have been court ordered to release 50,000, yes, 50,000 felons onto the streets. Meth? Its made here! WE are the meth capital of the world, bar none. We produce more meth than anywhere else in the world. We are a meth exporter for gods sake!! Just as a bonus, our forests are the #1 cultivation area for Gangi! If you hike in our forests there a good chance you will walk into a grow site with armed mexican cartel guards. As a state, our taxes are right behind...oh wait, thats right, our over all tax burden is the highest in the nation. As far as weather? Thats your own fault, next time check it out. Either way, my butt is taking my retirement, my 457 plan, selling my way overpriced house and and moving to Pine Island next summer, where I will be building a house, buying a boat and investing my time, effort and money into my new community. And, you will not find me bitchin about the heat...
The Mass of Humanity that inhabits the hot sickly south florida would drive me mad. Toss in the vigilantes and their love of standing their ground and you have the recipe for a bitter life; thats if no one decides to shoot you cause you look "suspicious".
Though I always hope there will be a florida, just as long as i am not sentenced to life there.
The wife and I have been here just over 2 years and love it. Guess we're just not bright. To the OP and subsequent negative posters: Congrats; there are no gates nor bars on the freeways out of here. I wish you well wherever you will dwell, and am glad you and your attitudes will no longer be down here.
The Republic of Kalifornia is an absolute nightmare. Although many posters on this forum will disagree with me, Tejas is just as much of a nightmare as Kalifornia, but for different reasons.
That being said, I'm very happy to hear you'll be escaping the Republic of Kalifornia. It sounds like you'll enjoy living in Florida. I certainly did, and I can't wait to move back. God bless your move.
Ah yes, the more expensive bit about Cali.... As a reference my husband can get a job (same one he does now ,911 dispatcher) for over $30 an hour, sometimes higher there because hes a senior dispatcher, Here he's under $20... So it's all relative, and have u see rent in Naples...
Wow you have a lot to learn! Where ever you picked up that info, you might want to avoid it at all costs in the future.
First, home owners insurance doesn't work that way. Yes value influences the cost, but more importantly is the actual chance of a catastrophic loss. Florida compared to almost every other state has a 300% higher chance of a total loss. Which increases insurance premiums by at least 100% for comparable valued properties elsewhere. For instance, I have a few properties in Connecticut all of which are valued at over $200k and all of which have home owners insurance premiums under $1000 a year, not even near 2000. I also have properties right here in Lee County with the same valuation with insurance premiums under $2000. Really need to check your facts!
I was born in Chicago and have family that have been in the area for over 100 years. $10,000 in taxes for a home worth $200,000? Were you sober when you wrote this? You will get into the $4000 and $5000 range for $300,000 houses in Naperville, Barrington and the other North/Northwest Burbs. But the vast majority of the area has taxes comparable to other "urban" areas in the country. 150% increase? I really want to try what you are on!!!
Maybe the unemployment rate is high there, but I will tell you it isn't as high as it is here. It is near 10% in Chicago while it is closer to 13% here. People may be fleeing the state of Illinois, they aren't fleeing the city of Chicago. They are simply crossing state lines into NW Indiana.
As far as murder capital of the country that award belongs to Detroit. And just an fyi you have a better chance of being murdered in Fort Myers than you do in Chicago. Fort Myers murder rate last year was double that of Chicago. The murder rate in Chicago has actually decreased by 34% over last year according this article..Chicago murder rate drops by 34 percent, but does the city feel any safer? | theGrio.. while the murder rate in Fort Myers has increased every year since 2005. You really need invest some time into fact checking before posting!
I noticed you left out a comment on the 66% increase in income taxes.....and if you don't believe that your property taxes are not going to be going up by 100-150% then you just haven't been paying attention.
For the last 10 years Illinois including Chicago has seen mass loss of people and business's fleeing the area and they are not just going to Indiana.....My vacation home in Phoenix is surrounded by people from Illinois and California....imagine that.
Ok whiners I got you all beat! Kalifornia. I don't really know where to start, but, every possible complaint you have about ANYWHERE else you live in the states is compounded 10x in Kali. You pay $3.60 for gas, I pay $4.25, you want to talk about traffic? Kali has the worst traffic in the nation. Average commute times are 2 hours each way if you live in the San Diego, Lost Angeles or San Francisco areas.! Our beaches? Polluted, disgusting, crowded, Garbage strewn sand with mariachi music playing in the background. Our roads (that the high gasoline taxes pay for) WILL break your vehicle suspension. Car insurance? Better have Uninsured Motorist coverage cause whoever hits you, and you will be hit, doesn't have insurance and probably doesn't have a Drivers License. Oh, our crime rate, for the last 30 years, as a state, has 5 of the top 10 cities for crime in the nation (Los Angeles, Oakland, San Bernardino, Compton, Santa Ana, etc). Our prison system is so screwed up, they have been court ordered to release 50,000, yes, 50,000 felons onto the streets. Meth? Its made here! WE are the meth capital of the world, bar none. We produce more meth than anywhere else in the world. We are a meth exporter for gods sake!! Just as a bonus, our forests are the #1 cultivation area for Gangi! If you hike in our forests there a good chance you will walk into a grow site with armed mexican cartel guards. As a state, our taxes are right behind...oh wait, thats right, our over all tax burden is the highest in the nation. As far as weather? Thats your own fault, next time check it out. Either way, my butt is taking my retirement, my 457 plan, selling my way overpriced house and and moving to Pine Island next summer, where I will be building a house, buying a boat and investing my time, effort and money into my new community. And, you will not find me bitchin about the heat...
You want to talk about uninsured drivers on a FL board, that is too funny.
FL is LOADED with uninsured drivers.
In FL they get a ticket and keep driving...LOL, in other states you get your car impounded and get it back after you provide proof to DMV that you have purchased insurance.
FL is the hit and run capital of the US.
BTW, FL is the "pill mill" state. Huge drug problem.
I have lived my entire life in the Chicago area and now have a second home in FM for over a year and a half, so I think I am in a reasonable position to comment about some of the "factoids" being stated here.
First, if you are paying $400 for homeowners insurance and $3000 for real estate taxes, I am not sure where you lived in the Chicago area, but it is sure nowhere near where I live - and that is 35 miles outside of downtown where everything is supposed to be cheaper. My son lives in the city in Wrigleyville and it is much more expensive to live there than out where I do. Real estate taxes on my home up north are $12,600 for a 3000 sq ft 30 year old frame tract home in a middle class suburb. Nothing special. Move up to a "higher" level suburb like Long Grove or Barrington and it is higher. My RE taxes in FM for a 2500 sq ft 12 year old home with a pool and a spa with 180 foot lake frontage last year was $3,200, including a CDD. Homeowners insurance is $1,400 (tornado and hail risks) up north and $1,700 in FM (hurricane risk). Gas has been over $4/gallon up here for a long, long time - premium was just below $5/gallon a few weeks ago. In my situation, utilities when looked at on an annual basis are a little lower in FM - a little higher in FM in the summer but much higher in Chicago in the winter. Water and sewer rates are higher in FM, but up north, we have no cheap reclaimed irrigation water. When we water the grass, it is regular potable water at regular water and sewer rates, and can really add up in the summer - where BTW, it hits the high 90s and 100s nearly every summer - but no rainy season to keep the grass and gardens irrigated. So not much difference on the bottom line.
And of course, IL now has a 5% flat income tax which is set to roll back down to 3% but the politicians are already talking about an increase - after the next election of course. IL also has a state estate tax that applies even where the federal estate tax does not. Sales tax in many Cook county cities, including Chicago is over 10%. And Illinois now has the worst credit rating of any state, and Chicago just had its debt rating reduced by 3 notches just a couple of weeks ago. The state is bankrupt, and while not anywhere near the devastation in Detroit, is headed for a similar financial fate for similar reasons. And I do not want to be a resident when it all comes tumbling down.
We liked the FM/Estero area because it had a very familiar Midwestern vibe which made us feel right at home. We had been coming down to the area annually for 9 years before we bought. So it was not a rash decision. After a year and a half of home ownership in FM where one or both of us is in FM pretty much every month, we feel we made a great choice and as my career starts to wind down, we look forward to spending more than half of our time in FM and get out of the crumbling state of Illinois.
But, everyone has their own opinion and needs to do what they feel is right for them. Good luck to you.
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