where are the middle class working???? (friendly, coastal, single)

[macyny]

My son works as a recruiter. The top pay is for high level IT positions and Engineers . Many companies require skilled and experienced IT people and can't find them here. They offer higher pay to try and get potential clients to locate here. It isn't easy and they have to offer good salaries.

Another sought after job are skilled welders and big machinery workers. Hard to find skilled people living here so they have to offer higher salaries and moving compensation to get them.

[Volgirl65]

I am a nurse that wishes she made 100k a year. Does that count?

[ess.ess.ess.esq.]

Basically, the only jobs in Florida that pay a living wage, unless you are the owner, are some higher level sales jobs, and government employees. For this situation, you can thanks BOTH the political parties, which in the late 1990s, passed new laws that allow American companies to move to Asia and use semi-slave labor at peon wages to make goods. Those good are then shipped back here. So far, we have lost 10 million+ good factory jobs that paid a living wage....that directly affects 50 million workers and their spouses and their kids....plus it hurts all the stores and restaurants those 50 million can no longer afford to shop at. And both parties do noting to change this.....because of who gives them their campaign contributions. Sadly, this economic decline will get worse, never better, as more jobs go overseas....

[Harbor Hopper]

Those that put in the time & effort with a usable education (not an art history major) will be able to find work in SW FL. Maybe not in the town you want, but somewhere. Sales jobs and gov't jobs are not the only decent industries. In fact, their some of the lowest-paying! The state of FL pays horribly for degreed posiitons, as compared to other states! Those that spit out false comments like "there are no jobs" or "nothing pays over min wage" either A) have ZERO experience and education, or B) are LAZY and not truly looking.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by Geeky

That is quite the bold statement...

I am not inexperienced...nor am I uneducated...and I am most certainly not lazy, yet I cannot find employment..also..I do not have the means to travel much farther than 15 to 20 minutes away from my home..because of the cost of gas in my old vehicle..In terms of computers and networks....there is nothing that I cannot resolve...the only thing I don't do is servers..but that might change in the next year or so..

What you have failed to consider..is that in a perfect world...people would not be discriminated against based on looks, race, gender, age, socioeconomic status or disability.

We...do not live in a perfect world..in case you haven't noticed there's no middle class anymore. There's the super-rich-and the super-poor. Just because I have a home and a car that runs doesn't mean I have even 4 digits in my bank account. Right now? There are three digits in my bank account. It's scary..I live week to week. But I try and forget about that because worrying does nothing but stress me out more..I just place my trust in the Lord and say to myself ok Geeky...someday somebody's gonna see your talents...and God given gifts..and look past your Aspergers...

How many people like me are there out there? I can tell you there are thousands of us in this area alone...Maybe you were blessed with enough money for college and a decent family, enough money to help out..and all you had to do was just show up and get good grades...some of us need a little help...but theres no help here..its sink..or swim...and a lot of us are just doggy paddling at this point.

Here is one word that wil expand your job opportunies beyond "15-20 minutes from your home". This word will quadruple the number of potential jobs available for you: The magic word is: BUS

[Enigma777]

I realize that this forum presents a huge spectrum of opinions, but I believe, and statistics will back up that this area has a huge disparity of incomes. If you come from NY or other high income state, you will be shocked at the salaries in this area. Tampa and St. Pete are only slightly better. I noted that someone put attorneys in the middle class here, and I strongly disagree with that perception. Having worked at one of the larger law firms in Sarasota, I can tell you that many of the wealthiest people here are doctors and attorneys. It is more difficult for men to find high paying jobs here than women, as there are a lot more administrative positions for women than men. A lot of the retirees arrive with a decent bank account and many pay cash for their homes. Some of the "middle class" neighborhoods contain a large percentage of homes bought several decades ago before housing prices rose and have affordable mortgages. In the 90s, I worked for a technology placement firm and when IT candidates were told the salaries here, they would not even consider it. The favorite saying of employers was "you get paid in sunshine and beaches." Seriously, I have heard this come out of people's mouths. I am a paralegal and the statistics for jobs in Sarasota/Manatee are 10 people for every one job. For Miami/Ft. Lauderdale it is 4 people for every one job. And though doctors and attorneys make very good money here, many still pay slave wages for their admin employees if there is a surplus of employees. Anyone who doubts that things are getting worse can read this article -- Poverty rate soars in Sarasota County | HeraldTribune.com, which documents that Sarasota poverty rates have risen and that wages are down. Some people do well here--many do not.

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by Geeky

We...do not live in a perfect world..in case you haven't noticed there's no middle class anymore. There's the super-rich-and the super-poor.
Maybe you were blessed with enough money for college and a decent family, enough money to help out..and all you had to do was just show up and get good grades...some of us need a little help...but theres no help here..its sink..or swim...and a lot of us are just doggy paddling at this point.

There is still a middle class Geeky. My family is middle class. The unfortunate thing is that we often get taxed the most by our gov't that spends WAY too much to support those that don't want to work and for other pet projects that make absolutely NO sense.

And no, we were not blessed financially whatsoever. I grew up in a single-mother home who made $13/hr. We didn't have much AT ALL. I started working at age 15 at an ACE hardware, then after high school was an electrician for 3 yrs, then went to a crappy union factory making $14/hr (same one as my mom). I was 23 when I decided to go to college. I immediately got in with a company that, after 1 year, starting chipping in on my night classes. I got my BSBA at age 29 after 6.5 yrs of night classes, all AFTER a 9hr work day. I am still with that company (10 yrs now) and they allow me to work from home here in FL. My wife was similar. No family assistance with PT school. She had student loans that we just paid off 4 yrs ago when our son was born. We got where we are on our own, working HARD.
I feel bad for your situation. Trust me, I've been in similar situations when I was younger. You'll get through it. Especially if you're as good in IT as you say you are. Companies are always on the look out for honest, hard working, dependable employees. You will find yours. Keep at it

[AB777]

Originally Posted by krh6609

Can anyone shed some light on this for me? I moved here a year and a half ago and see only two income classes. The above average and the $ 10.00 hr folks. I have always been a tradesman and earned $ 25-55 per hour, but threw that out the door a few months into the stay. I was making $ 9.00 hr 20 years ago being a slacker, but here I see fairly qualified people making 10 to 12 and barely getting by. I own a rental here and it seems that all my tenants are extended family members combining to have a decent place to live. I live in a modest neighborhood and rarely hear of anyone making 30k+. So many people tell me that they make 1/2 of what they did before coming here. So, I'm confused....... I see a lot of nice neighborhoods and a lot of nice vehicles, but in a town of tons of service oriented jobs, what is producing the middle+ incomes? I'm not ripping on Sarasota at all. I'm just trying to figure out how to stay here instead of backtracking. Any thoughts?

KRH6609 - I understand your confusion. From many, many people I know, I can tell you, many of those Bradenton/Sarasota families who live in nice neighborhoods and drive nice cars are losing both homes and cars, are struggling a lot to pay the bills, or are extended family members as your tenants that moved together to survive.
Example: Family of 3 with a nice 300K house in Sarasota - real case so I won't give details but they can't afford mortgage (house bought about 20 yrs ago). Daughter and son-in-law + kids (both with stable jobs-renting a house) could not afford neither renting nor buying a house so they moved with the parents (similar situation as your tenants).
Many people lie or hide the truth about their economic situation. And many like you move here to this area thinking this is different when it's not. Retirees are probably the only stable class here, no one else.

[beninfl]

If Geeky is strong in computers/IT/admin work, have you checked out eLance.com?

[Enigma777]

Originally Posted by Harbor Hopper

There is still a middle class Geeky. My family is middle class. The unfortunate thing is that we often get taxed the most by our gov't that spends WAY too much to support those that don't want to work and for other pet projects that make absolutely NO sense.

And no, we were not blessed financially whatsoever. I grew up in a single-mother home who made $13/hr. We didn't have much AT ALL. I started working at age 15 at an ACE hardware, then after high school was an electrician for 3 yrs, then went to a crappy union factory making $14/hr (same one as my mom).

Not sure why you think taxes are the issue with middle class wages, but I don't think that is what the OP was referring to. Americans have the lowest taxes in the world, and Florida has some of the lowest taxes in the US. Friends who work in NYC and Massachusetts make much higher salaries and have much higher taxes, but all enjoy a very good standard of living. The federal tax cuts of the last decade did nothing to help the middle class, but the wealthy did very well, and the middle class wages continued to stagnate as they have since the 90s.

Not sure if you are aware of it, but in Sarasota, a job for someone without a college degree or specialized training is closer to $9-11 per hour. The thing is, the disparity of Sarasota area salaries and Sarasota area cost of living is very large. Please see: Housing becoming unaffordable for many | HeraldTribune.com as I think this article closely describes the situation people like the OP are describing.