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OK - I've been here on this forum for a while now. And there are so many messages about people moving to NE Florida without knowing anything about it - what it has to offer - what it doesn't have to offer - without even having a job or having interviewed for a job! Trying to find a place - and perhaps spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on it - in a week or two.
Drives me nuts. I got out of school in the early 70's - a little before the '73-'74 recession. And would never in a million years think of moving to a new place - even as a young single person - without having a job (or - at a bare minimum - excellent prospects). I did have a job when I moved to Miami in 1971. First the job - then a modest rental (albeit in a nice neighborhood - real estate was a lot cheaper then) - which I could easily afford.
The way I see things now. We are still in pretty bad shape job-wise. We have always been a low income area compared to a lot of Florida - and a lot of the rest of the country. But now a primary area of decent jobs for hard-working but relatively uneducated people - i.e., construction - is gone. Poof. And - with it - a lot of jobs that rely on people having money to spend. The unemployment rate overall is over 10% - and - in the worst areas - probably well over 20%. And that doesn't count underemployment. Are people smoking something when they think this is a great place to come to work (especially if they just come here and try to "wing it")? (We have lots of opportunities in areas like health care - but - in general - the job situation here isn't good - and there is no way IMO that a health care professional should move to a totally new place - and deal with issues like licensing without having at least some type of job offer in hand.)
And then there are all the inquiries about neighborhoods and housing. Got news for you newcomers. The average price of a house when we moved to the JAX metro area in 1995 was under $100k. And - unless this job market starts to boil soon - it may get back to that point IMO. And those big areas like Nocatee. We have hundreds of thousands of acres of pine lands in St. Johns County - where Nocatee houses can be duplicated ad nauseum. I'd never spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house like that. Because - 10 years from now - there'll be a newer house 5 miles away - and no one will want yours.
And don't feel so smug about places like Riverside either. Yup - there are some nice houses there - but walk 6-8 blocks west - and you're in the middle of urban semi-garbage (we do have some terrible neighborhoods here - but most people don't seem to ask about them for the most part - not too many people on chat boards trying to find places to live that look like places you've see on The Wire).
Anyway - what is the motivation for people to move to a place when they don't have a job? Or to buy an expensive house after looking here for 2 weeks? I just don't get it. I like this area - but I still wouldn't jump into it head first without knowing anything it - or having a life preserver. Robyn
P.S. For everyone interested in good schools. We have some excellent private schools here. Best way to insure a great education is skimp on housing - and pay private school tuition fees.
I see pretty much the same thing where I live here in GA. Athens. People are convinced this is the end of the rainbow with a pot of gold just waiting on them. There is rarely any greener grass and definitely no pot of gold. I tend to think people are running away from things rather than moving to something else. Our unemployment rate around here is around 8.5% with GA around the 10.5%. Here we have the University of Georgia and other government jobs. They are not hiring. They are debating on how many jobs to cut out altogether. Students drive down local wages. Construction is zero. Poverty rate is 30%. High school dropout rate is 50%. And yet, Athens is rated as a destination of choice. Oh brother!
Robyn, I agree with much of what you have said in this post. I looked up Jacksonville's unemployment rate on the Bureau of Labor Statistics and it shows to be 12.1% and Jacksonville is in 279th place out of 372 cities. This is extemely devastating news for Jax and I wonder how people are surviving. I think that many are coming because the conditions are far worse in places like Los Angeles, New York, Chicago because the cost of living is so high. I believe the thinking must be, "well it can't be worse than where we are now." It's almost a refugee scenario and I hope the situation doesn't last too many more years, however I've heard experts predicting this downturn might last another 10 years. This blows me away. I'm glad I'm retired. Thanks for your post!
OK - I've been here on this forum for a while now. And there are so many messages about people moving to NE Florida without knowing anything about it - what it has to offer - what it doesn't have to offer - without even having a job or having interviewed for a job! Trying to find a place - and perhaps spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on it - in a week or two.
Drives me nuts. I got out of school in the early 70's - a little before the '73-'74 recession. And would never in a million years think of moving to a new place - even as a young single person - without having a job (or - at a bare minimum - excellent prospects). I did have a job when I moved to Miami in 1971. First the job - then a modest rental (albeit in a nice neighborhood - real estate was a lot cheaper then) - which I could easily afford.
The way I see things now. We are still in pretty bad shape job-wise. We have always been a low income area compared to a lot of Florida - and a lot of the rest of the country. But now a primary area of decent jobs for hard-working but relatively uneducated people - i.e., construction - is gone. Poof. And - with it - a lot of jobs that rely on people having money to spend. The unemployment rate overall is over 10% - and - in the worst areas - probably well over 20%. And that doesn't count underemployment. Are people smoking something when they think this is a great place to come to work (especially if they just come here and try to "wing it")? (We have lots of opportunities in areas like health care - but - in general - the job situation here isn't good - and there is no way IMO that a health care professional should move to a totally new place - and deal with issues like licensing without having at least some type of job offer in hand.)
And then there are all the inquiries about neighborhoods and housing. Got news for you newcomers. The average price of a house when we moved to the JAX metro area in 1995 was under $100k. And - unless this job market starts to boil soon - it may get back to that point IMO. And those big areas like Nocatee. We have hundreds of thousands of acres of pine lands in St. Johns County - where Nocatee houses can be duplicated ad nauseum. I'd never spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a house like that. Because - 10 years from now - there'll be a newer house 5 miles away - and no one will want yours.
And don't feel so smug about places like Riverside either. Yup - there are some nice houses there - but walk 6-8 blocks west - and you're in the middle of urban semi-garbage (we do have some terrible neighborhoods here - but most people don't seem to ask about them for the most part - not too many people on chat boards trying to find places to live that look like places you've see on The Wire).
Anyway - what is the motivation for people to move to a place when they don't have a job? Or to buy an expensive house after looking here for 2 weeks? I just don't get it. I like this area - but I still wouldn't jump into it head first without knowing anything it - or having a life preserver. Robyn
P.S. For everyone interested in good schools. We have some excellent private schools here. Best way to insure a great education is skimp on housing - and pay private school tuition fees.
No, I do not believe that young people are stupid. They may be uninformed but stupid? No. And that is why we have a forum like this to inform and let people know what the deal is.
I know it may be difficult for some of us who are doing well and living in places like Ponte Vedra to understand that when you don't have a job every other city looks like a better place. We have to keep telling people that applying for a job from out of town may be a waste of time, and it generally is.
The employment picture here in Jacksonville is bleak but in spite of the percentages, there is still a trickle of these job seekers that find work in some field or other in Jacksonville, e.g. IT, health services. People who are desperate don't look at percentages. My neighbor just moved here from MI and found a fairly decent HR job in in 3 weeks. But that is always gonna be the exception.
The truth is the whole country is sick righr now. I would advise anyone with any kinda job in hand in Jax to stay put. The job situation here is definitely not good.
As far as real estate, I would say don't wait for 1995 prices to come back. Real estate has always been the engine in NEFL. Imagine what would happen if every househunter stopped buying Maybe rent first and when you buy, buy within your means. This might just turn out to be the best time to buy real estate for many years.
Last edited by cricketfan; 04-17-2010 at 07:37 AM..
I see pretty much the same thing where I live here in GA. Athens. People are convinced this is the end of the rainbow with a pot of gold just waiting on them. There is rarely any greener grass and definitely no pot of gold. I tend to think people are running away from things rather than moving to something else. Our unemployment rate around here is around 8.5% with GA around the 10.5%. Here we have the University of Georgia and other government jobs. They are not hiring. They are debating on how many jobs to cut out altogether. Students drive down local wages. Construction is zero. Poverty rate is 30%. High school dropout rate is 50%. And yet, Athens is rated as a destination of choice. Oh brother!
My husband and I once spent a New Year's Eve in Athens (just happened to be on the road going from here to there - and that was when the economy was in general pretty good). And if people think that Athens is the end of the rainbow with the pot of gold at the end - well that is pretty sad IMO. OTOH - it is a great drinking town - and certainly far from the worst place in the US to spend New Year's Eve . Robyn
P.S. Don't have a clue who you are - but if you ever get down here for the FL/GA game - get in touch and we'll try to give you the $5 tour of JAX (we've only been to the game once - it's an interesting experience - but once is enough!).
No, I do not believe that young people are stupid. They may be uninformed but stupid? No. And that is why we have a forum like this to inform and let people know what the deal is.
I know it may be difficult for some of us who are doing well and living in places like Ponte Vedra to understand that when you don't have a job every other city looks like a better place. We have to keep telling people that applying for a job from out of town may be a waste of time, and it generally is.
The employment picture here in Jacksonville is bleak but in spite of the percentages, there is still a trickle of these job seekers that find work in some field or other in Jacksonville, e.g. IT, health services. People who are desperate don't look at percentages. My neighbor just moved here from MI and found a fairly decent HR job in in 3 weeks. But that is always gonna be the exception.
The truth is the whole country is sick righr now. I would advise anyone with any kinda job in hand in Jax to stay put. The job situation here is definitely not good.
As far as real estate, I would say don't wait for 1995 prices to come back. Real estate has always been the engine in NEFL. Imagine what would happen if every househunter stopped buying Maybe rent first and when you buy, buy within your means. This might just turn out to be the best time to buy real estate for many years.
I agree with you to some extent regarding looking for jobs. Like if you have X skills - and there are no jobs in your area anymore for those skills - makes sense to look elsewhere. Like hypothetically - say you're an auto worker in Michigan - and there's no hope for a job - whereas you might be able to get a job in Alabama. Well then I'd explore the situation. But just to jump from one place to another without any specific prospects doesn't make sense IMO. Robyn
I'm not sure if I grasp what you are talking about, but I graduated from college in 1976 (education degree) from a university in Indiana. I moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1979 with no job. I had a job within a day of arriving in Phoenix.
I moved to Las Vegas in 1981, but I had a job before I left Phoenix. I moved to Dallas, TX in 1984 without a job, but had a job within two months after moving.
I don't see a problem with moving without a job, if you have a marketable skill.
Being at the tail end of BBoomership, I don't pretend to understand Gen Xers or Gen Y/Millenials. I do know that they think and behave differently, though, and that they probably have the optimism of youth and are still idealistic, to boot. I can remember being somewhat like that - once. The three young adult children that I have will not hear me discourage them from trying anything at least once. Especially in this economy, which will beat them down soon enough.
I'm not sure if I grasp what you are talking about, but I graduated from college in 1976 (education degree) from a university in Indiana. I moved to Phoenix, AZ in 1979 with no job. I had a job within a day of arriving in Phoenix.
I moved to Las Vegas in 1981, but I had a job before I left Phoenix. I moved to Dallas, TX in 1984 without a job, but had a job within two months after moving.
I don't see a problem with moving without a job, if you have a marketable skill.
Ditto. 55YO here and I'm moving WO a job and two minor children. Not sure what that makes me..... a stupid old fart?! LOL!
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. Robyn
What's the worst that can happen?
