[bmurphy]

In your opinion, will the high taxes, huge homeowner's insurance, etc, level back out in Florida? Will it become more middle-class again? Or only get worse and worse? Do you believe that the projected more hurricanes/tornadoes due to global warming is true and will play a role?

Just want some opinions

[sunrico90]

Florida will continue to be a transitional state. Due to the influx of tourist and snowbirds the state will continue to grow and individuals will start to discover the rest of the state. Hurricanes, tornados, and any other disasters will continue to take place like in the past, we don't have control. Be aware of the risk, if you decide not to be aware don’t complain.

But as citizens we must stay informed about all the issues that will be affecting the state and voice our concerns and make or take educated decision. As of today I'm planning on not moving out of the state. I live in a great area and everyone is welcome.....

[Cougar31]

Originally Posted by bmurphy

In your opinion, will the high taxes, huge homeowner's insurance, etc, level back out in Florida? Will it become more middle-class again? Or only get worse and worse? Do you believe that the projected more hurricanes/tornadoes due to global warming is true and will play a role?

Just want some opinions

It seems that FL will be the playground for the rich--if things keep on going the way it has been for the last few years-- working people are facing more challanges to keep their living-standard. But, still much better than being in a third world country.(I do not mean to offend by this)
Crime has spread to a lot of places, that never had trouble before.
But the sunshine state will always be a warm place attracting people from all over the world.
regards,

[firemed]

Originally Posted by Cougar31

It seems that FL will be the playground for the rich--if things keep on going the way it has been for the last few years-- working people are facing more challanges to keep their living-standard. But, still much better than being in a third world country.(I do not mean to offend by this)
Crime has spread to a lot of places, that never had trouble before.
But the sunshine state will always be a warm place attracting people from all over the world.
regards,

See Florida 1920s. Florida was the playground for the rich ! Americans were captured by the materialism and prosperity of the times, which seemed to indicate that anyone could become rich by simply investing in the proper instrument of instant wealth. Florida land appeared to be in 1921 one of those instruments of future success. It didn't matter if you lacked the money, credit was easy to obtain, with economic prosperity and a good job.

These sudden winter migrations of vacationers and speculators had an enormous impact upon every aspect of public investment in Florida. Prior to 1920, the majority of Florida's Northern arrivals were the elderly, the rich, and the ill, not necessarily in that order. The Florida Land Boom brought middle aged, middle class Americans,

[MaryLou2007]

FL will continue to be transitional, people will come and go all the time.

Honestly, I think that the situation will NOT get any better, I am quite disapointed with what I have seen happen in the last 5 years and I don't see things getting any better.

But again, that is my opinion looking back 5 years. My understanding is that people who have lived down here for the last 10+ years will say that things have progressively gotten worse, not better. So, I am thinking to myself... WHY WOULD THINGS GET ANY BETTER IF ALL WE HAVE SEEN IS THINGS GETTING WORSE FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS (AT LEAST)?

[Need_affordable_home]

I agree, FL is transitional meaning people dont stay long, they come and go. In other states they stay for a very long time. The middle class is leaving, replaced by the rich, poor, illegals, snowbirds and tourists.

[Jammie]

The cost of insurance will probably be one of the biggest burdens in Fla. Just when it appeared that the state government had a way to ease the premiums for residents, the tornadoes hit. IF there should be a hurricane that hits Fla., I'm not sure that a lot of homes will even be insurable anymore. There will be too many companies leaving the state and the ones who will stay will have astronomical premiums.

As far as the predictions~they were wrong about this last year and I personally don't believe they can predict a 15-20 year span of powerful hurricanes. It just seems like it's too far into the future to be accurate.

[bale002]

I agree with all that Jammie said.

The biggest issue is the cost of insuring hurricane risk and whether a category 3-5 should ever devastate a large swathe of the state.

Otherwise, and here I disagree with some of the other opinions, while Florida will probably have transient features in terms of population for a long time to come, actually the state's economy is diversifying to certain upscale sectors with a view to making it more competitive on a global scale, or at least this is the policy aim, and if there is any success in this regard the population profile will continue to change and some of it will develop into a new permanent core.

While the "experts" could very well be wrong about global warming and a 10-20 year hurricane "season", if indeed another major hurricane passes through the state within the next year or two, all bets are off, and, as we all know, a tornado just passed through a relatively small area and twenty people died; this certainly doesn't help.

[Prichard]

Florida is far from the land of the rich. Many large areas of Florida are made up of mostly middle class people. In fact the majority of the small towns and small cities through out Florida are inhabited by mostly middle class people.

BUT, if you are looking to be on the water, or live within one of the larger metropolitain areas, it will cost more to do so. I've heard many people complain about how bad the wages are here in Florida, how they can't make ends meet, etc. However, the truth is that anyone who is making $25,000 or more /year can own a home. It might not be where they want it, and they might not be able to drive a fancy car and support children. There is a tremendous amount of public assistance available for lower middle class and poor people to purchase decent homes.

If you want to live in a "nice" area, with "good" public schools, and near where you can find that particular job you want to do, in a larger city, and drive a car that is less than 3 years old, and have children - then you've got to pay for all of these things. On the other hand, if you don't mind living in Live Oak, Starke, or Bronson and working for $22,000 - $32,000 / year a person can live in Florida, own a small home and make ends meet.

[shedav]

Many people struggle regardless of what state they are in. West Virginia is considered a poor state but we seem to make it. I think with a good work ethic and hard work you can make it in Florida. Like above post I beleive what happens with many people we dream above are means all wanting that Perfect life. Unfortunately, that does not always happen. For me and I think most middle class families we are all struggling with the cost of living everyday regardless of where we live. The rich will always seem like they are running the show, but then again arent they???? Like the ol saying goes "Money talks and bull**** walks". The problem is nationally the gab is spreading and the middle class is being absorbed eventually there is only going to be two class of people....the rich and the poor. Any thoughts on this???