[FlyMIA]

To get good answers you will really need to ask when you have a few cities in mind. Anyway my opinion in bold.

Originally Posted by mlwl8521

My wife and I are both white-collar professionals and we want to move out of our neighborhood in the Baltimore region around 2015. We are probably going to move to Florida (or Texas) because we want a place:

1. That offers affordable real estate (3BR/2BA homes for under 200k)
Most of Southeast Florida wont have that in the best areas. Under 200k is pretty cheap.
2. Where many big accounting firms hold an office
Well that would be Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and Miami/Ft. Lauderdale/Palm Beach.
3. Where there is a reasonable amount of affluence nearby (I am a financial advisor)
Plenty of Rich people all over Florida's coast.
4. Where the population is formally-educated.
Its no D.C. but yea plenty of college grads.
5. That is more politically conservative than where we are now. I don't think I could live in an area where there weren't at least 25% Romney voters.
That is a good anywhere in the state even the most liberal areas will have 25-35% vote for Republicans.




My questions to you on Florida are as such:

1. If I move to Florida, what is the biggest disadvantage? Is it the hurricanes? The illegal immigrants? Poverty?
Are you planning on being poor? Not sure how poverty is a problem. Illegal Immigration is a problem but this is not a border state. Nothing the ordinary person needs to worry about. Hurricanes are annoying. The biggest problem is insurance prices. Of course there is always a chance that a large one can hit too.

2. When I say "hurricane", I don't mean "oh wow this heavy rain has prevented me from hosting a birthday party in my front yard". What I mean is "The wind has ripped the roof of my house, or the trees out of the ground, or I'm out of power for more than 12 hours"
12 hours? If you get a direct hit you might have no power for 12 days. A type of storm like that comes along every 5-10 years or so in the state, not every city. But Florida does have lots of thunderstorms etc.. so sometimes you lose power sometimes you dont.

3. Are Hurricanes and floods evenly distributed amongst Florida or are there certain pockets/cities that are really bad and giving the state a bad name?
Floods are not a problem for the majority of the state. I am trying to think of an area that gets less hurricanes than others and really there isnt any. I feel like Tampa has not gotten a direct hit in a long time. Same with Jacksonville. I would say the Panhandle and Southern Coast get the most hits.
4. How often do people get attacked on the beaches by animals (sharks, stingrays, jellyfish etc)
Hahaha. This is a funny question. Sharks not often. Stingrays it happens but not often. Just shuffle your feet in the sand to scare them away. Jellyfish all the time. Almost all of them are not dangerous it just stings. They don't "attack" people just run into them or step on the dead washed up ones. Also Alligator, Crocodile and Panther attacks are rare
5. In Baltimore, the neighborhood can change rapidly within 2 or 3 city blocks. Is it like that in Florida's major cities?
In Miami it can change fairly quickly. Not sure about other large cities.
6. I think Miami is out of the question. I am thinking about going to Orlando or Boca Raton the most. I am also interested in Tampa, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Do any of these cities have bad traffic? I used to live in Mclean VA near Washington and I have been to NYC on business. The traffic is murderous and I refuse to live in a place like that.
Boca is not a cheap place to live. Most of the Miami Metro is not. Remember Fort Lauderdale is bascially a suburb of Miami. Palm Beach is a bit away so it is not really considered Miami.
Traffic in any city down here is nothing like D.C. or NYC but lets sum this up.
Fort Lauderdale has bad traffic as it is basically Miami. Miami has bad traffic not D.C. traffic but its getting there. Orlando has bad traffic and Palm Beach is probably not so bad. Tampa's can't be great but I don't know.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

The biggest disadvantage here IMO in general is the schools (relevant if you have or plan to have kids).

A bit off topic Robyn, but that's kind of outdated information. Florida ranks in the top 10 to 12 states the past few years in terms of college preparedness and teacher accountabilty (to name a few criteria). We're not Texas or Mississippi-like any longer. Where you live (St Johns County) is the number one ranked district in the state. #1 in a Top 10 state is about as good as it gets in public education in the US, like it or not.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

A bit off topic Robyn, but that's kind of outdated information. Florida ranks in the top 10 to 12 states the past few years in terms of college preparedness and teacher accountabilty (to name a few criteria). We're not Texas or Mississippi-like any longer. Where you live (St Johns County) is the number one ranked district in the state. #1 in a Top 10 state is about as good as it gets in public education in the US, like it or not.

I don't think the information is outdated unless public school systems like those where my husband and I went to school in New Jersey have gone downhill. I agree that we're not as bad as some states - and that the schools in St. Johns County are at or near the top of the heap when it comes to Florida. But that doesn't mean they're in the top 25% or so in the country.

FWIW - I'm not sure how we wind up in the top ten 10 states in terms of anything educational. Because just about 50% of our kids in Florida don't graduate from high school and a very large % of those who go to college need remedial courses when they get there. Guess it all depends how you measure things.

Also - I don't know anything about the school system in Baltimore - except what I saw on The Wire (if 25% of that is true - the school system there looks totally dismal). Robyn

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

I don't think the information is outdated unless public school systems like those where my husband and I went to school in New Jersey have gone downhill. I agree that we're not as bad as some states - and that the schools in St. Johns County are at or near the top of the heap when it comes to Florida. But that doesn't mean they're in the top 25% or so in the country.

FWIW - I'm not sure how we wind up in the top ten 10 states in terms of anything educational. Because just about 50% of our kids in Florida don't graduate from high school and a very large % of those who go to college need remedial courses when they get there. Guess it all depends how you measure things.

Also - I don't know anything about the school system in Baltimore - except what I saw on The Wire (if 25% of that is true - the school system there looks totally dismal). Robyn

Robyn you need to stop spreading misinformation. I had always thought you were a fairly reliable source. No wonder with folks out there like yourself that there is still a poor reputation for Florida's schools overall. Actually in 2011 Florida ranked #5 in Education Week's well-regarded rankings (by educators) and in 2012 slipped to 11th after the state drastically cut per student spending. In terms of your assertion that nearly 50% of kids in Florida don't graduate high school, that's ridiculous. In 2011 statewide the number reached 80%, with top districts (like St Johns County) achieving 90%-93% rates. Of course it's not terrific here when the US Quality of Education Ranking average is 76% out of 100%, but apparently the state is doing some things right and for all of those who think it's so awful here for their super-special offspring should consider moving back to NY, NJ or wherever that's so much "further ahead". If parents put as much effort into parenting (as in overseeing their child's progress) as they do complaining about teachers/administrators not doing it instead, we'd be much further ahead.


Florida high school graduation rate: Florida's high school graduation rate highest ever - Orlando Sentinel
Education Week: Quality Counts 2012 - State Report Cards

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

A bit off topic Robyn, but that's kind of outdated information. Florida ranks in the top 10 to 12 states the past few years in terms of college preparedness and teacher accountabilty (to name a few criteria). We're not Texas or Mississippi-like any longer. Where you live (St Johns County) is the number one ranked district in the state. #1 in a Top 10 state is about as good as it gets in public education in the US, like it or not.

Do you have any proof of Florida being a Top 10 state in education ? I can't find any recent data, but as of around 2008-2009, Florida was one of the leaders for high school dropout rates... The Condition of Education - Elementary and Secondary Education - Student Effort, Persistence and Progress - Public High School Graduation Rates - Indicator 32 (2012) and as of 2011...

This data suggests Florida and Texas are about the same..

Education Week: Quality Counts 2012 - State Report Cards

So no, Texas and Mississippi should NOT be lumped together.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Robyn you need to stop spreading misinformation. I had always thought you were a fairly reliable source. No wonder with folks out there like yourself that there is still a poor reputation for Florida's schools overall. Actually in 2011 Florida ranked #5 in Education Week's well-regarded rankings (by educators) and in 2012 slipped to 11th after the state drastically cut per student spending. In terms of your assertion that nearly 50% of kids in Florida don't graduate high school, that's ridiculous. In 2011 statewide the number reached 80%, with top districts (like St Johns County) achieving 90%-93% rates. Of course it's not terrific here when the US Quality of Education Ranking average is 76% out of 100%, but apparently the state is doing some things right and for all of those who think it's so awful here for their super-special offspring should consider moving back to NY, NJ or wherever that's so much "further ahead". If parents put as much effort into parenting (as in overseeing their child's progress) as they do complaining about teachers/administrators not doing it instead, we'd be much further ahead.


Florida high school graduation rate: Florida's high school graduation rate highest ever - Orlando Sentinel
Education Week: Quality Counts 2012 - State Report Cards

Great post, Kyle.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by TXRyan23

Do you have any proof of Florida being a Top 10 state in education ? I can't find any recent data, but as of around 2008-2009, Florida was one of the leaders for high school dropout rates... The Condition of Education - Elementary and Secondary Education - Student Effort, Persistence and Progress - Public High School Graduation Rates - Indicator 32 (2012) and as of 2011....

Those links were in my post. Here's the link from 2011.
Florida schools ranked No. 5 in U.S., according to Education Week - Tampa Bay Times

Here are the other links:
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/...-national-data
http://www.edweek.org/ew/qc/2012/16src.h31.html

I think the overall percentage is dragged down by the massive population center in SE Florida, many of whom are immigrants from Latin American and Caribbean nations who deal with learning via ESL classes as well as living in extreme poverty. Otherwise in much of the state graduation rates are in the 80%-90% bracket and is certainly most reflective of the average student.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Those links were in my post. Here's the link from 2011.
Florida schools ranked No. 5 in U.S., according to Education Week - Tampa Bay Times

Here are the other links:
florida high school graduation rate: Despite gains, Florida's high-school graduation rate is among the worst in the nation - Orlando Sentinel
Education Week: Quality Counts 2012 - State Report Cards

I think the overall percentage is dragged down by the massive population center in SE Florida, many of whom are immigrants from Latin American and Caribbean nations who deal with learning via ESL classes as well as living in extreme poverty. Otherwise in much of the state graduation rates are in the 80%-90% bracket and is certainly most reflective of the average student.

I will absolutely give credit to Florida schools in that case then. The last I had seen showed that they were near the bottom. One thing that strikes me odd from the Times story was this...

In most of the academic categories considered by Education Week, Florida students are in middle of the pack or worse when it comes to overall performance. In eighth-grade reading, they're No. 30. In graduation rates, they're No. 44.

But Education Week gives points for progress, and there Florida students rack up Top 10 finishes like Florida State once did on the gridiron.

How can you rank a state in the top 5 based on "progress" alone, when scores were middle of the pack ?

I think the biggest reason for my reply in the first place was the slam on Texas schools, comparing them with Mississippi. The schools here are very good, we're also plagued by the problem on immigrants that don't speak English. The only problem is that our problem covers 100% of the state, not just one region.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Robyn you need to stop spreading misinformation...

Still looks pretty bad to me:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/loc...,1033177.story

Robyn

[cfbs2691]

It's too far into the future.
Florida's constantly changing.