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Originally Posted by rich67 View Post
YES! I see some guy posting about being a European traveler who wants to jet to the mountains if he needs a "mountain fix", and I wonder how realistic that is for the majority of people. I consider myself a middle class, child support paying, 50+ hour a week workin' chap who lives paycheck to paycheck. I think I am pretty qualified to comment on what is going on in my state. I don't post internet links to crime stats or wage stats, because I see it and live it. If you came from another state and like the beach, good for you. Enjoy it here.
I always like to voice my opinion of this fine state, because I think a lot of people come down here expecting sand and fun, and end up realizing it isn't easy to make it down here. Life can't be a daily vacation-unless you're retired-because real life gets in the way. I try to be realistic, and if that upsets some people, so sorry. Either that, or you may be THIS guy:
"Some guy":
I was explaining how Florida works for us and what we thought was really great about it....as opposed to other places like California.. I'm not a jet setter or anything else. I'm a retired Firefighter from NY(31 yrs)...Done with my child support, blended family with 5 kids, always worked a second job. Traveling is a priority for my wife and I, we both have family in Europe. We do it on a budget. Airfares can be very affordable. Costs less than driving. Frontier has some very cheap flights (like $39 one way). That is what I meant by jetting to the mountains...It's not expensive. Maybe you're struggling with your situation, I hope it gets better soon. Everyone is in a different boat. You have to make it work.
Originally Posted by rich67 View Post
YES! I see some guy posting about being a European traveler who wants to jet to the mountains if he needs a "mountain fix", and I wonder how realistic that is for the majority of people. I consider myself a middle class, child support paying, 50+ hour a week workin' chap who lives paycheck to paycheck. I think I am pretty qualified to comment on what is going on in my state. I don't post internet links to crime stats or wage stats, because I see it and live it. If you came from another state and like the beach, good for you. Enjoy it here.
I always like to voice my opinion of this fine state, because I think a lot of people come down here expecting sand and fun, and end up realizing it isn't easy to make it down here. Life can't be a daily vacation-unless you're retired-because real life gets in the way. I try to be realistic, and if that upsets some people, so sorry. Either that, or you may be THIS guy:
"Some guy":
I was explaining how Florida works for us and what we thought was really great about it....as opposed to other places like California.. I'm not a jet setter or anything else. I'm a retired Firefighter from NY(31 yrs)...Done with my child support, blended family with 5 kids, always worked a second job. Traveling is a priority for my wife and I, we both have family in Europe. We do it on a budget. Airfares can be very affordable. Costs less than driving. Frontier has some very cheap flights (like $39 one way). That is what I meant by jetting to the mountains...It's not expensive. Maybe you're struggling with your situation, I hope it gets better soon. Everyone is in a different boat. You have to make it work.
Thanks. I do appreciate the words. Travel is my wife and I's priority as well, but we travel on a severe budget. We sleep in tents out west and love the outdoors. Doesn't cost anything for us to drop a kayak in a lake. Being that you are a retired FF from NY, your pension is quite comfortable, especially since you relocated to a state tax free area that is inexpensive compared to housing/property/state taxes in NY. If I had stayed in California, I would have been retired by now and in the same boat. But, life happens. Like I said in my original post, I have definitely made the best of it while living here.
Traveling isn't cheap even if you manage to find cheap airfare- there is still the rent a car, hotel and food expense. Again, I reiterate, it isn't economically feasible for many people. Your situation is by no means unique, just well planned and executed.
My situation is getting better, I just don't care for Florida any longer, and that is my personal opinion. A forum such as this is a place where people can come and voice their opinions on how they feel about a place- and allow prospective residents to hear differing viewpoints that may help them make a decision about where they want to relocate. Good and bad points included. The odd thing is, when someone speaks negatively about Florida, there are a couple people on here who always belittle their opinion and essentially dismiss them as "disgruntled" and "negative", and tell them to pack up and move if they don't like it. Maybe it's easy for some people to be vagabonds, but for those of us living, working, have kids in the area that don't live with them, it isn't that simple. This is the case with both my wife and I; she and I also have one short of the Brady Bunch between us.
I don't bash anyone on here for having a positive view of FL. Because, as you can see, I also have a certain positive view of it myself...heck, even my City Data album photos show images of Florida that I find beautiful. But there are other facets of FL that I despise, and I mention those as well. But then all of a sudden, I am labeled as a negative person. Quite the contrary. I'm a pretty happy dude despite all I have been through. I am just happier among the pine trees, mountains and red rocks than I am on a beach or stuck in traffic on I75.
Wish everyone could have a civilized conversation on here about the pros and cons. But there's always someone (not you) who likes to chime in and tell you that you're wrong and "if you don't like it, move". That is just lame.
Maybe you are actually gaining quality residents? There are good paying jobs for hard working educated people. My wife took a 30% pay increase to move to Tampa for a job.
This is a flawed argument. If your wife was getting 30% less in NE for a similar job function, it simply means she was underpaid where she was. If she is promoted to a high paying job when moving to Florida, that is like an orange and watermelon comparison . A person who is not currently working could claim a 100% increase in salary if they get one when they move to Florida. Salaries are set for a market using a variety of factors including cost of living, the supply of the skill in that area, complexity of the job function, profitability of the job function, etc. You have to compare similar jobs at two different locations to make an informed comparison AND should not be anecdotal.
This is a flawed argument. If your wife was getting 30% less in NE for a similar job function, it simply means she was underpaid where she was. If she is promoted to a high paying job when moving to Florida, that is like an orange and watermelon comparison . A person who is not currently working could claim a 100% increase in salary if they get one when they move to Florida. Salaries are set for a market using a variety of factors including cost of living, the supply of the skill in that area, complexity of the job function, profitability of the job function, etc. You have to compare similar jobs at two different locations to make an informed comparison AND should not be anecdotal.
And suddenly, I see a lot of people closing their eyes and ears. Statistics? Who needs 'em?
When I lived in Orlando, albeit 10 years ago, my car ins. went up $10 a month when I came to
"rural" Spring Hill. I would guess its been a while since you have been up this way but
"rural" its not. There are over 98k people living here. A whole lot of people make the daily
trek from SH to Hillsborough and Pinellas. US 19 going is a steady stream of cars in
the am and pm commuting hours. Most of the people I know work in Pasco with a
sprinkle of those who work in Brooksville (as do I) and SH.
Job hopping may work for many but Ive aleays found out a poor way to advance and have some stake in the operation. A thing called "senority" which brings its own rewards as time goes by. More vacation time, annual raises, the trust bestowed upon you by the employer are all good reasons to
be with one company for a while. Sure, sometimes it is time to move on but I've never found it
beneficial as employers have to figure a job hopper is more like a temoorary employee.
In Orlando my HOI hit $800 after I made a claim for thousands due to a ktchen fire. I guess you folks with the$250k + homes a beating on homesurance. ;-)
NYC is a different playing field all together and cannot be compared to many other places.
I am still in the work force as I am 58. I work on my own schedule, make my own appointments and do a lot from home.
in
Quote:
Originally Posted by DUNNDFRNT
You live in a rural area. I dont know how many commwhile, but the way people advance and make more money in the 21st century is by hopping employers its really hard to do here of course I can only speak of the industries I am familiar with but in NYC I had dozens of companies that I could move to so if a position opened up in my next level I could jump there, in Tampa I have to wait for people to retire or create new positions so its a drag. I will say this when I talk to my NYC contemporaries they work a lot more than me, I am well compensated even on a national scale I am able to flex my schedule, go to school functions, coach my kids teams things that were impossible to do in NYC unless i took days off.
This is a flawed argument. If your wife was getting 30% less in NE for a similar job function, it simply means she was underpaid where she was. If she is promoted to a high paying job when moving to Florida, that is like an orange and watermelon comparison . A person who is not currently working could claim a 100% increase in salary if they get one when they move to Florida. Salaries are set for a market using a variety of factors including cost of living, the supply of the skill in that area, complexity of the job function, profitability of the job function, etc. You have to compare similar jobs at two different locations to make an informed comparison AND should not be anecdotal.
First off we are not from NE, we're from Buffalo, NY. Secondly I am not making any argument or quoting statistics and whether she was under paid I do not know. I will say she looked for a better position with better pay for over a year in Buffalo and did not find it. Tampa is where she found it. Additionally I will be making about 10% more here than I did in Buffalo.
- So that's a 40 % pay increase
- No state income tax
- Lower sales tax
- Almost identical cost of living
I'd say we made out pretty good, not too mention the sunshine, palm trees, beaches, etc etc,etc
When I lived in Orlando, albeit 10 years ago, my car ins. went up $10 a month when I came to
"rural" Spring Hill. I would guess its been a while since you have been up this way but
"rural" its not. There are over 98k people living here. A whole lot of people make the daily
trek from SH to Hillsborough and Pinellas. US 19 going is a steady stream of cars in
the am and pm commuting hours. Most of the people I know work in Pasco with a
sprinkle of those who work in Brooksville (as do I) and SH.
Job hopping may work for many but Ive aleays found out a poor way to advance and have some stake in the operation. A thing called "senority" which brings its own rewards as time goes by. More vacation time, annual raises, the trust bestowed upon you by the employer are all good reasons to
be with one company for a while. Sure, sometimes it is time to move on but I've never found it
beneficial as employers have to figure a job hopper is more like a temoorary employee.
In Orlando my HOI hit $800 after I made a claim for thousands due to a ktchen fire. I guess you folks with the$250k + homes a beating on homesurance. ;-)
NYC is a different playing field all together and cannot be compared to many other places.
I am still in the work force as I am 58. I work on my own schedule, make my own appointments and do a lot from home.
in
Ok so you are saying SH is NOT in the middle of nowhere, its like 50 miles from Tampa and not like an easy no exits on the turnpike kind of 50 miles. At any rate that's really not the point I am sure SH is great, works for you, awesome, my point was that it's distance to Tampa does not make it a good indicator as far as the cost of insurance in Tampa.
I have only worked for 2 employers 1 in NYC and 1 here, but I been offered better positions which I have turned into more money. Most employers are not going to pay you what you are worth, unless they have to, not having the threat of leaving makes that hard. I hate the concept of seniority I think is an excuse to promote incompetent people, the worse people I have ever worked with had union jobs for 30 years completely incompetent but got to the top of the food chain on pure complacency I guess.
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. A person who is not currently working could claim a 100% increase in salary if they get one when they move to Florida. Salaries are set for a market using a variety of factors including cost of living, the supply of the skill in that area, complexity of the job function, profitability of the job function, etc. You have to compare similar jobs at two different locations to make an informed comparison AND should not be anecdotal.
