Well done, although I'd argue people wise any state that elects both Boxer AND Feinstein is suspect. Isn't one obnoxious lib, Jew broad enough? On the other hand crime is a bigger issue in Florida than California. Of course that's demographics. The South has more Compton types than California. Location imo is big. Even though SoFla is a long drive from civilization it's nice knowing D.C. and NYC are quick jaunts by air. SoCal seems isolated by comparison. Proximity to Vegas doesn't exactly cut it.
Personally I'd choose Miami - rest of Florida is not for me, although Key West is fun for quick breaks. In Miami you can rent a Cigarette boat and be in Bimini in 30 mins. Caribbean is 1 hour by plane, NYC is not much more, and Europe can be reached for a long weekend trip without risking deep-vein thrombosis. Then there's all those hot Latina and Caribbean girls... You have better trading hours, lower taxes, and real estate is 1/3 the price and getting cheaper by the week. I'd say rent somewhere lush until 2009, then Scrooge your way into a kickass ocean-view condo for 30 cents on the dollar. Yeah there are negatives but they can be overcome: Crime? Obnoxious rednecks? Say hello to my shall-issue CCW. Humidity? "Hey honey, why don't you slip out of that sticky bikini and come join me in the shower?" Hurricanes? No problem, take the Seaplane to Kingston mon. Sick of living in a cultural wasteland? Learn Spanish and take comfort in the fact that you are 3000 miles away from Britney, Paris Hilton, and the rest of the Hollywood airheads. Clinton wins the election? Europe's tax havens are only 8 hours by plane.
Great post. If one has the ability to travel during the summer then SoFla is paradise. The summers are as bad as advertised but that's to the taste of a native Chicagoan. Other folks from Brazil or the Caribbean will say how mild the weather is here. Nowhere in the developed world can you rent swankier on less than Miami. You must laugh your ass off at what a thousand quid a month fetches here. The savings from living in Florida more than subsidize the opportunity for summer travel.
good point I didn't think about that angle. savings subsidizes summer travel to europe, nyc or wherever. I have to agree that Cali is 'out there'. Just damn far from Chicago and NYC. If you can find a area flush with educated professionals in FL then that would have to be the choice.
FL= Hurricanw cycle every couple of years ( two week advance notice) CA= Mud slides one year, Earthqaukes the next, OUT of CONTROL fires the next, FLooding the next...( no advance warning) FL: HUmid CA: The coast is wonderful if you can live within 3 miles...otherwise 110 degrees in summer in the Valley and outside Firsco FL: Police state? Nazi's? way too many Jews down here for that CA: Rodney King, Police Corrupiton and riots and looting every time a court decision doesn't go the right way. FL: FPL...one of the best energy companies.. CA: Rolling blackouts because of poor energy companies and policies FL: Invaded in early 80's for a few years by Cubans CA: In the middle of being occupied and taken back by Mexico FL: Cubans assimiliated and are thriving Americans CA: Mexicans do not want to assimilate and instead are making CA people adapt to them FL: South beach (topless models with thongs showing crack) CA: Venice Beach ( topless hobo's pushing crack) FL: Blue sky and Rain CA: Smog...really bad smog FL: The Sunshine State CA: The Land of Fruits plus NUTS
i would recommend san diego by qualcomm stadium (10 mins inland) from downtown no fires no mudslides not crowded no marine layer not much traffic best weather in the country IMO reasonably priced SDSU USD close by mountains close by ocean close by not too many mexicans around the rest of cal does nothing for me- too many issues
Oh, not to worry... no more rolling blackouts once CA starts requiring those lovely ultra-efficient P.C.T.'s (programmable communicating thermostats). http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/11/us/11control.html "The conceit in the 1960s show âThe Outer Limitsâ was that outside forces had taken control of your television set. Next year in California, state regulators are likely to have the emergency power to control individual thermostats, sending temperatures up or down through a radio-controlled device that will be required in new or substantially modified houses and buildings to manage electricity shortages. ... Final approval is expected next month. ... âCome the next heat wave, the elites might be comfortably lolling in La Jollaâs ocean breezesâ while âthe Central Valleyâs poor peons are baking in Bakersfield.â ..." You can't make this stuff up...
Having just spent some time in Florida, I can say that every other house there is for sale. There was literally an article every day in the local, ie Sarasota, paper announcing that real estate prices had stabilized. Of course, i recall the same articles from two, six and twelve months ago. Florida is not for everybody and there are a lot of differences within the state. Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa, Boca, Naples, Miami, Keys, offer totally different environments. Still, it is a great place with a lot to do, a nice lifestyle, plenty of friendly people and affordable prices. Prices definitely are going lower, in my opinion. The main question I have is whether real estate kind of gradually bottoms out perhaps this year or if there is a total washout with lots of bankruptcies, auctions, etc.
Maybe you should consider the weather factor? I have had friends who were hit by several hurricanes in just a couple of years.
Do you see the dichotomy in your conflicting statements? I'm the same feel as you. Yes Florida is fairly affordable. Certainly so compared to D.C. and Chicago let alone to NYC. It's the former denizens of the major northern metros who keep a viable bid on housing stock anywhere near water. Those prices will stabilize first. In Sarasota I'm talking about Siesta Key and the like. Further inland where there's gluts of NEW housing on tracts that were swamp five years ago, well the supply will outstrip demand for a long time. Here's the dichotomy. The Alexandria guy can pay 850k without a mortgage and he's not interested in the cheap swamp. The sub prime type guy from Ohio can only afford the swamp and he can't get the financing. Hence spreads between "good" and "bad" are widening. Want to live in a converted sugar field with a drug dealing gang banger next door? 225k. Want to live on a canal with a pool and easy access to upscale amenities? 850k. Welcome to<strike> Brazil</strike> America.