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Letter to the editor

Survey: Living here is not all rosy

Residents are unhappy with the quality of life in Florida. Some even want to leave.

By CHRISTINA REXRODE, Times Staff Writer
Published December 15, 2007

No matter what the chambers of commerce say, living in Florida is not all sunshine and beaches.

Just ask a Florida resident. Almost half think the state's quality of life has gone downhill over the past five years, and more than a third think it will continue to get worse.

That's according to the perhaps misnamed second annual Sunshine State Survey conducted for Leadership Florida, a statewide networking and training group.

Joslyn Elliott wasn't surprised by the sentiments of her fellow Floridians. Elliott, 50, and a homemaker in Lutz, grew up in the bay area and remembers Old Florida, when the water was cleaner, the beaches less crowded and the housing affordable.

"There should just be a sign when you drive into Florida," Elliott said. "'Come here if you can afford it.'"

She and her husband, a chiropractor, moved to Nebraska in 2003, lured by the cheap cost of living and bucolic setting. They moved back in 2005 to be closer to family, but they're appalled by the high housing prices and low wages, Elliott said.

Bob Forsythe, dean in Tampa of the University of South Florida's business school, also was not surprised by the Florida cynicism, given the costs of property taxes and insurance, and the uncertainty caused by the state budget crunch. "If somebody would give them a plausible solution," Forsythe said, referring to Florida residents, "at least they could see there's some light at the end of the tunnel."

Leadership Florida is releasing the Sunshine State Survey results in increments. It revealed which issue Floridians think is the most pressing property taxes followed by K-12 education and insurance rates.

And next week, it will release results on its questions about immigration, government performance and education, among other topics.

In the meantime, according to the survey, 20 percent of Florida residents like Elliott say they're seriously looking to leave the state.

Christina Rexrode can be reached at crexrode@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 14, 2007, 23:25:28]