Can anyone help me to see the good side of Palm Beach County? (Jacksonville: apartment, crime)

[Megatron]

Well, before I begin, a little background on me:

I'm 23 years old and have lived in West Palm Beach since July. I moved here with my fiance from St. Augustine, which I had moved to in March from right outside Washington, D.C. I moved down to Florida to start a new life away from the ongoing drama and stress that IS the DC area. I also wanted to be able to see my parents more often. I had lived in the DC area my whole life before moving to St. Augustine. My fiance and I are expecting our first child in December (we got pregnant right when we moved).

I really liked St. Augustine, but the wages are HORRIBLE and there are basically no jobs available for an IT Professional. There also was not much to do. Jacksonville gets old after the 3rd time going there. I ended up looking down by West Palm Beach, and I got myself a great job that pays very nicely. I got an apartment in a nice section of West Palm. The problem is, I am just very depressed here. There are many bad neighborhoods not far from me, I see nasty or ghetto people almost constantly whenever I go out, the traffic is crazy here, the drivers are horrible, and the prices of homes are damn near criminal. I just want to be happy again, but I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life moving here.

I feel bad for my fiance, because I know my complaining and depression from this is wearing thin on her. Considering she is still pregnant and far along now, I DO NOT want to stress her out. I just can't help being in this funk I am in right now. My mother lives in West Palm, and really likes it here. She always tells me "I've lived here for years and nothing bad has ever happened to me" and "the media over-exaggerates all the crime here". It helps me sometimes to just not think about it, but it always comes back to me.

I just feel like my quality of life was better up north in St. Augustine, even though I had basically ZERO money and would not had been able to support my family like I can now.

I guess what I am hoping for is someone who lives in this area that can show me or tell me some of the upsides to living here and make me feel a little better about West Palm and the surrounding Palm Beach County.

I just want a good life for myself and for my family without ever having to worry about the crap that resides around here. I didn't used to feel like this, and I've spent much time in Baltimore and DC. I guess it never affected me like it does down here. Maybe since my child is on the way, it makes me more paranoid/depressed.

Thanks for reading my rant, if you did. I hope to hear from some of you.

[Megatron]

[Moderator deletedrphaned post)

I'm not devout Catholic, but thanks for your stellar input.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by Megatron

I'm not devout Catholic, but thanks for your stellar input.

Well, it's clear from your post that you have real issues with this baby. It's clear you are feeling trapped and are looking for a way out of town. There is a lot to do in West Palm; the issue is you feel like it was a mistake.

That's why I asked what in the world you are doing having a child without the solid commitment of marriage.

You may think otherwise, but I have seen this a hundred times.

[Megatron]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Well, it's clear from your post that you have real issues with this baby. It's clear you are feeling trapped and are looking for a way out of town. There is a lot to do in West Palm; the issue is you feel like it was a mistake.

That's why I asked what in the world you are doing having a child without the solid commitment of marriage.

You may think otherwise, but I have seen this a hundred times.

The stress I'm getting has nothing to do with having the child. I'm over-joyed I'm having my first son, and the woman I am having him with will be my wife before he is born. We were already engaged and planned on the wedding before she was pregnant. Commitment is not a problem when it comes to the woman I'm engaged to or my child.

I feel like my mistake was moving to West Palm, not having a baby. I simply brought up the issue of "I'm having a baby" to inform the reader that I am starting a family soon.

If I'm unclear in my response, then I guess I am confused on what you're talking about then..

[INeedAChange]

you've only been there for 2 months--maybe you need more time to adjust? You said you've never lived outside of the DC area so of course any move is going to be a big shock at first. Coming from DC you should be used to being close to bad neighborhoods and all that goes with that, unless you lived in the burbs.
As for Palm Beach Countyy, I thought Boca Raton was okay--a little bit plastic but well kept and definitely not "ghetto" at all, with some things to do--are you living in one of the really bad areas of West Palm? I know that the entire city is not bad.

I'm not just saying this to be a Florida booster, but making another big move back to DC (or wherever) right now with this baby coming will probably just increase your stress level. I think you should just stay put and sort out your issues, see a doctor if its really bad. In a year or two, if you still hate it, consider a move out of state.

[THASPECIAL]

Originally Posted by Megatron

Well, before I begin, a little background on me:

I'm 23 years old and have lived in West Palm Beach since July. I moved here with my fiance from St. Augustine, which I had moved to in March from right outside Washington, D.C. I moved down to Florida to start a new life away from the ongoing drama and stress that IS the DC area. I also wanted to be able to see my parents more often. I had lived in the DC area my whole life before moving to St. Augustine. My fiance and I are expecting our first child in December (we got pregnant right when we moved).

I really liked St. Augustine, but the wages are HORRIBLE and there are basically no jobs available for an IT Professional. There also was not much to do. Jacksonville gets old after the 3rd time going there. I ended up looking down by West Palm Beach, and I got myself a great job that pays very nicely. I got an apartment in a nice section of West Palm. The problem is, I am just very depressed here. There are many bad neighborhoods not far from me, I see nasty or ghetto people almost constantly whenever I go out, the traffic is crazy here, the drivers are horrible, and the prices of homes are damn near criminal. I just want to be happy again, but I feel like I made the biggest mistake of my life moving here.

I feel bad for my fiance, because I know my complaining and depression from this is wearing thin on her. Considering she is still pregnant and far along now, I DO NOT want to stress her out. I just can't help being in this funk I am in right now. My mother lives in West Palm, and really likes it here. She always tells me "I've lived here for years and nothing bad has ever happened to me" and "the media over-exaggerates all the crime here". It helps me sometimes to just not think about it, but it always comes back to me.

I just feel like my quality of life was better up north in St. Augustine, even though I had basically ZERO money and would not had been able to support my family like I can now.

I guess what I am hoping for is someone who lives in this area that can show me or tell me some of the upsides to living here and make me feel a little better about West Palm and the surrounding Palm Beach County.

I just want a good life for myself and for my family without ever having to worry about the crap that resides around here. I didn't used to feel like this, and I've spent much time in Baltimore and DC. I guess it never affected me like it does down here. Maybe since my child is on the way, it makes me more paranoid/depressed.

Thanks for reading my rant, if you did. I hope to hear from some of you.

At least you admitt there is some problems in Florida that you didnt think it would have......this is the message i try to let everyone know....because lots of people from up north come here with stars in thier eyes when they see the palm trees and they really take the stories of crime and ghetto areas and brush the stories off because hey nothing could be worse than a city from up north since there arent palm trees and a beach to go to when they are stressed.....

Well i shouldnt have to say anymore about things, so ill just let your personal story explain the truth about things since you did grow up in a city that was worse than NYC (Washington DC) and im sure there are neighborhoods and bad areas i wouldnt want to be caught around up there but its hard to convince people that dont know anything about crime in Florida that there actually is areas that are the worst in the country down here because all they know about Florida really is the memories of thier vacations and the nice 250k home neighborhoods they move to after living in nice neighborhoods where they are from hearing the stereotypes of their own cities that they bring down here and try to convince people that there cant be those kinds of problems in a tropical paradise like Florida.........Im tired of hearing people say "Im not saying there isnt bad areas in Florida, BUT..." or ....."this kinda stuff happens everywhere".......i am pretty sure you know more about Washington DC than people who didnt live there and so you know about the bad neighborhoods but you are giving your description of "why" you dont like Palm Beach and your visions of what "you" see living there......there are some oblivious people on this site that cant even spot an undercover cop in a Wal-Mart parking lot

[logybogy]

Why are you living in West Palm Beach? Move to Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter. Much much nicer.

[THASPECIAL]

Originally Posted by logybogy

Why are you living in West Palm Beach? Move to Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter. Much much nicer.

true, but maybe his budget wont let him....or maybe he is actually living in those areas but saying "palm beach" because it is the hub of the area

[FoRuMRideR420]

boca dont have no ghetto areas

[INeedAChange]

He said his mother lives in WP and doesnt have a problem with the crime--don't you think he should give it more time there?

Originally Posted by THASPECIAL

At least you admitt there is some problems in Florida that you didnt think it would have......this is the message i try to let everyone know....because lots of people from up north come here with stars in thier eyes when they see the palm trees and they really take the stories of crime and ghetto areas and brush the stories off because hey nothing could be worse than a city from up north since there arent palm trees and a beach to go to when they are stressed.....

Well i shouldnt have to say anymore about things, so ill just let your personal story explain the truth about things since you did grow up in a city that was worse than NYC (Washington DC) and im sure there are neighborhoods and bad areas i wouldnt want to be caught around up there but its hard to convince people that dont know anything about crime in Florida that there actually is areas that are the worst in the country down here because all they know about Florida really is the memories of thier vacations and the nice 250k home neighborhoods they move to after living in nice neighborhoods where they are from hearing the stereotypes of their own cities that they bring down here and try to convince people that there cant be those kinds of problems in a tropical paradise like Florida.........Im tired of hearing people say "Im not saying there isnt bad areas in Florida, BUT..." or ....."this kinda stuff happens everywhere".......i am pretty sure you know more about Washington DC than people who didnt live there and so you know about the bad neighborhoods but you are giving your description of "why" you dont like Palm Beach and your visions of what "you" see living there......there are some oblivious people on this site that cant even spot an undercover cop in a Wal-Mart parking lot