Why do so many people HATE Florida?? (Jacksonville, Miami: health insurance, homes)

[Bette]

Originally Posted by vabuda1

Has any of you raised children here?? I am not so worried about myself or my husband because I grew up in some rough areas up here in Mass so I know how to spot a dirtbag from a mile away, and I can hold my own. But I just don't want my kids to be affected, they say the schools have elementary aged kids with guns, drugs etc. that is CRAZY!!! Now our schools here have their fair share of issues as well but that usually is not until high school so I get that there are problems every where but I just don't want my kids to feel as if in order for them to 'fit in' they will have to be like those types of kids. So I wonder if any of you have kids in the schools or have had kids in this school system and had any problems??

My husband is a native. Grew up in Miami. Only child. Still lives in Florida but we live on the East Coast of Florida - love it. I came to Florida when I was 11. My sibs are all younger. We all got married, still married and between us 4 had 12 kids (now 29 to 22) - of those 12, only one lives out of state (our daughter) so obviously, Florida's not so bad. Of the 12, 8 are college graduates, 2 are still in college and 1 is in law school in Florida! My children are different from each other but alike in many ways - I would say they both got very good educations (daughter ended up going to Vanderbilt) and graduated near the top of her class.

Sometimes, I thank God my kids are in their 20's and not having to deal with some of the peer pressures today (cell phones - pictures, etc). As a parent, be a parent - you are there to guide and nurture them.
I think my children and my nieces and nephews are amazing young people but I could be a little biased

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by corvidae

The weather is incredible half the year, the other half you can't do anything outside.

You need to change that "you" to "I" in that sentence, as we are outside all the time. "Some" people don't want to be outside in the summer, but not all. "We" have always been outside in weather hotter (95-105 degrees) and just as humid as here.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by corvidae

Plus, Disney is kind of stupid unless you're a child.

Could not disagree more with this.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by corvidae

The everglades are incredible, but they are being drained.

They are actually doing work to allow the everglades to re-flood, so as to get it back to its original condition, yet allow traffic to pass. It is very nice to see.

[Roscoe Conkling]

[quote=corvidae;28599896

Plus, Disney is kind of stupid unless you're a child.[/quote]


That's a bit like someone in Paris saying the Eiffel Tower is kind of stupid if you suffer from vertigo.

The simple solution, of course, is not to visit the place if you don't like it but Florida without Disney and all the ancillary parks and attractions would be a very poor state financially.

[gardenpearl]

Rather than overbuilding and spreading out into more land, I think some of the older, bad neighborhoods should be bought out and redeveloped. Often they have been there the longest and are in some of the more convenient locations. St. Pete is a perfect example of this. Huge areas are old and seedy that are relatively near downtown.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by gardenpearl

Rather than overbuilding and spreading out into more land, I think some of the older, bad neighborhoods should be bought out and redeveloped. Often they have been there the longest and are in some of the more convenient locations. St. Pete is a perfect example of this. Huge areas are old and seedy that are relatively near downtown.

The mayor of Tampa is trying to do this exact thing and I am 100% in favor of it. THIS is what "I" consider "smart" investment. I believe they said it costs the city about $5,000 to tear down each house on each lot. He would rather tear them down for that low cost, rather than having it be the base for drug deals and prostituion. Once they have eliminated enough of the enticement for illegal activity by removing the structures, the city can them sell off the land to be redeveloped.....thus recovering at least as, if not more than, the original investment amount.....thus lowering crime activity.....thus saving the city expenses for police protection, investigation and prosecution......all the while making formerly seedy areas places to be down the road and increasing the tax base. In the end, the city ends up way ahead financially. THIS is good government management.

These are the types of things I see happening locally and I am all in favor of them!

[corvidae]

Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling

Without tourists and older transplants Florida would still be a swamp.

I personally wish more of Florida was still a swamp. I prefer swamps to strip malls and theme parks.

[xz2y]

Originally Posted by PriusH8r

The mayor of Tampa is trying to do this exact thing and I am 100% in favor of it. THIS is what "I" consider "smart" investment. I believe they said it costs the city about $5,000 to tear down each house on each lot. He would rather tear them down for that low cost, rather than having it be the base for drug deals and prostituion. Once they have eliminated enough of the enticement for illegal activity by removing the structures, the city can them sell off the land to be redeveloped.....thus recovering at least as, if not more than, the original investment amount.....thus lowering crime activity.....thus saving the city expenses for police protection, investigation and prosecution......all the while making formerly seedy areas places to be down the road and increasing the tax base. In the end, the city ends up way ahead financially. THIS is good government management.

These are the types of things I see happening locally and I am all in favor of them!

Sounds like a good idea to redevelop the land with is run down and lower the crime. However, the criminals, like cockroaches, will simply scurry and move their operations elsewhere. Unfortunately, both the cockroaches and criminals survive most attempts to remove them.

[The Villages Guy]

Originally Posted by xz2y

Sounds like a good idea to redevelop the land with is run down and lower the crime. However, the criminals, like cockroaches, will simply scurry and move their operations elsewhere. Unfortunately, both the cockroaches and criminals survive most attempts to remove them.

Free one-way bus rides to Miami?