• If you log in, the ads disappear in the forum and gallery. If you need help logging in or getting registered, send request to: webmaster@southernairboat.com

Great point of veiw in Florida Today

Waterthunder

Waterthunder

Well-known member
The expansive growth we have had in recent years is responsible for the
situation described in this article. Florida used to be a tourist
destination and a retirement community to most of the country. In the past,
people drove for days to bring their kids to our theme parks and beaches.
Many dreamed of their retirement to the sunshine state. That Florida no
longer exists. For better or worse, we have become an industrial state
with commerce and business. As all this commerce is drawn into the state by
our politicians, these are the consequences. If you do not have a
competitive income, you can no longer afford to live here. Just like in the
rest of the country, where you have to keep pace with the economy, the
absence of an income tax will no longer offset a change to a fixed income in
the twilight of your life. As tourism dwindles due to the decreased
attractiveness of our state, the taxing structure that once tapped that
substantial flow of external revenue will increasingly have to look to the
citizens for replacement funds. This is why I oppose the growth for the
sake of growth that Brevard county seems to be driving. This is why parks,
green spaces, and attractive landscapes are necessary. You can drive in
Chicago, New York, or Columbus and see plenty of industrial settings.
Florida is different and it is that which draws people from all over the
world to come spend their money here. When our landscape looks like every
other place, then they will cease travelling here and we will be responsible
for 100% of our bloated governments' hungry appetite for cash.
 
Waterthunder":zcjzvc5s said:
Florida used to be a tourist
destination and a retirement community to most of the country. In the past,
people drove for days to bring their kids to our theme parks and beaches.
Many dreamed of their retirement to the sunshine state. That Florida no
longer exists. If you do not have a competitive income, you can no longer afford to live here.
Click to expand...

You said it right there... in 2003 I moved back to Florida as I was born and raised here. After being gone for 20 years in the Army and then spending an additional 2 in South Carolina, I returned to a state that I no longer knew.

I built my home here in Central Florida in 2003 for $120,000 which included 2.5 acres. I recently had an appraisal and it came in at $300,000. Although one might think this is good, I think it SUCKS. Not only has my taxes increased to the point where I will have paid for my land twice in just 5 years from taxes alone, I can not afford to help my children buy land and/or a home here (land was $11,500 and my taxes are $2500 per year).

I have 63 acres in Jefferson county as well and the taxes there are slowly going up. I'm up to $1,000 a year in taxes for land that is totally paid for... I love Florida but I'm not sure just how much more I can take.

The crime in Orlando is absoloutly obsurd. I'm a Deputy here in Central Florida and I tell you one thing, I can no longer recommend this area as a place to raise children.
 
Whew, you fellas have hit a nerve. Every time I think about this stuff, I get so aggravated that I have a hard time getting my point across. I'm right there with you Bowhntr, I don't know how much more I can stand either. It irritates me to no end to see my home state ruined by people who never even leave their city limits and have no idea about Florida's history or culture. I don't know if it's best to stay here and try to preserve what we once had, or go somewhere like Georgia or Alabama where it's the way it used to be here.
 
Well it wont get any better, I loaded up my fourwheeler tonight headin out earlty in the morning to glades county workin on a 463 acre condo project boundary survey. They have a new huge power plant planned there and with the jobs come people. I spent the first part of this week working on a 800 acre condo and single family subdivision boundary in sarasota county and a little ole .81 acre parcel which is selling for over 3 million dollars in charlotte county. I don't see any end in sight for the growth, the so called real estate bubble may have burst for current home sales but those who build for the future are not even blinking an eye over it.

I would move but then I would have to take another lisc test in another state and I really would rather not so i will stay and ride it while I can. I have seen a ton of change in my hometown and worked on a ton of the projects but it is sad. unstoppable but sad just the same
 
I bought my current home, in Polk Co., at the end of 2001. Since then it has tripled in value. Alot of people think that's a great thing, but like Bowhntr said, I think it sucks. For years I've dreamed of finally being able to buy a nice piece of property and building our dream home on it. But, now I can't afford the land here.
 
I was born and raised in Auburndale, and its sad to see all of the groves that are being plowed down for new subdivisions. I live on a private lake with a 120 acre pasture on the back side that they were trying to get apartment complexes built on just a couple years back, and that would have totally killed the water and fishing quality of the lake. What sucks is that it all comes down to dollar signs... the grove owners can make more money by selling it to developers than they can by harvesting the crop that Florida was founded on. With all of that being said, we still sit back and wonder why Brazil and other South American countries are taking over the citrus industry. We're slowly but surely going to be responsible for our own ecological destruction and collapse.
 
Like my father said, just because you pay taxes on it don't think you own it! We all need to be greatful we lived here when we did. I would be an outcast if I were born now.
 
Years ago a piece of ground was almost sacred. It was the Home place, and it was where you're roots were, and where you lived and died.

In today's world we've all become nesters. There isn't any attachment to the land anymore . We sell off the old place and move on to the next. It's not all our faults .... there are reasons we have to move in today's world like a need to change jobs for example, but I read something interesting a while back,

In our lifetimes all of you reading this will have more things to do, more places to be, and things that you've committed yourselves to do in only ONE YEAR .... than my grandparents had in their entire life.

They had their farm. On Friday night they went into town to get what they needed at the A&P, and on Sunday they went to church. A few times a year my granddad would go to a cattle sale, and he'd hang out over at a general store/feed store when the weather was too bad to farm. The old cow had to be milked every day, there was always something that needed fixin', and the rest of the world was on the radio.

olf
 
Truer words were never spoken- that's how things used to be out in Texas when my folks ran cattle out there. i love sitting back and listening to how things USED to be, and that's why they're called "The Good ol' Days"
 
highlands co adopted low density law years ago 5 acres for a home in unicorporrated land, its a 1/4 mile to my nearest niebor 3100 sq ft cracker house 40x35 ft shop 6ac land built 91 taxes 1100 a year, now insurance sucks because all those canes came right thru here but not gonna complain , oh yea did i mention i can hear an airboat running arbuckle creek as i type this from my back porch ihope nobody ever finds this place; but i under stand yalls frustration fla is going down the tubes in most places :x
 
Hey Plum low density in unincorporated but remeber that big old subdivision we rode through on the way to go froggin well it is exempt from that law I betcha because it was platted before it was passed. But there will be less growth there in highlands than in other places in florida unless they make new towns there and incorprorate them. I had one client who was looking at 9000 acres to do just that on, he wanted to build his own town and retirement center like sun city center in hillsborough county.

So enjoy it while you can we are envious for now.
 
If you guys think you got it bad. I'm only 19 and I don't know what I'm gonna be able to afford. Just a plain 1 acre lot in my area is 100000 plus. I'm gonna have a good career in my trade but I still won't be able to afford anything around here.
 
You guy's hit the nail on the head , I moved to south florida in 1968 when you could put an airboat in anywhere and hunt and fish anywhere I sold my home last year and moved to central fl. to be near my kids , thinking it would be cheaper, not a chance , my day's of owning land or a home in Florida are over. South Carolina or Georgia are looking real good they have ruined the natural beauty of our state. I told my kids get out of this place the handwriting is on the wall.
 
Some of you need to move up here. We average a little over 40 murders a year for the whole state. The average value of an acre of farmland in Iowa increased $290 to an all-time high of $3,204 in 2006. Plus you can use a gun to hunt and protect yourself. If you buy a farm you can get paid by the government to not plant things and still get paid. In fact most farms are bought by individuals but paid for by the government.

Of course it gets a little cold this time of year but you can still airboat on the snow and ice. The schools are going down hill with the diversity and pro-homosexual agenda they teach the kids, but heck, they do that in every state. It's called no childs behind left alone. Unemployment is less than 4%, so, you don't get the best people serving you.

Actually you could move here to live and snowbird in the winter and complain about the noise they make in Florida.
 
Des, I've always liked Iowa. My life course just never left me there.

When I got out of the Army at Oakland Army Terminal in '68, I took a bus down town and sat down in the first McDonald's that I had seen in many moons and ate two double cheeseburgers and two orders of fries ..... and chewed and enjoyed every bite.
I still hadn't decided just how I was going home, and then I walked past a motorcycle shop and there in the window was a brand new '68 Mk.III Spitfire BSA. I had saved enough to buy it.

Tax, tag, on the street it was $1260.00. I rode out of Oakland early that afternoon, and a few days later I stopped for gas at a Gulf station on Main St. in Grinnell, IO.
The older gentleman that ran the place was named Harry Patrick, and while he was pumping my gas we started to talk. He needed a mechanic, I needed money by then, and so I ended up staying there for about two weeks pumping gas and changing tires.

He and his wife wouldn't let me spend my money. They took me in like a son. We ate breakfast together, Helen brought us a sandwich at lunchtime, and she always had something excellent to eat for supper. I slept in a little basement room in their little home.

I had to leave. I had to get home, but there has never been two people who ever treated me finer in all my life. I will always love Iowa because of them.
 
Great to Hear Olf Art. Bring your boat and head up for some fun winter riding. We just got 7 inches of fresh snow and boy is it fun. I just run the boat around in my back yard but that's 20 acres. I forgot how slick the snow is. I had to do a couple of fast 180's because it is hard to stop on the snow.
 
great topic. i joined the military in 2002 and got stationed in nwfl. back then you could but a lot in palm bay for 2500. i planned on moving back in a year and with the prices of land and homes now i don't know if we'll be able to. we used to be able to jump on the 4wheelers and ride all day long anywhere we wanted, those days are gone. all our family lives there but we might be the only ones that don't move back home because the cost of living is too much for us. sounds like we might be alabama residents or even georgia in another year. i don't mind that so much, its just the 8hr drive to take my kid to see her grandparents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top