Why Does Everyone Hate Florida So Much??

U.S.A. Florida

Published

I live in Chicago and have visited almost every part of Florida, I am actually going to be visiting Ft.Lauderdale at the end on January. I ask anyone here that has ever lived in Florida and they have nothing but terrible things to say. They tell me the schools and education systems are bad and that the majority of the population have low Iq's and are poor. I don't know why this is, everyone seemed pretty normal to me?? I would like to move there one day and start a new life with my husband but I'm worried about salary and job placement for both himself and I. Why are some peoples experiences so bad, its so beautiful and the people are very nice. I just don't get it. Can someone help me understand why this is??

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.

I really don't like living in Florida, and I am a native.

But the West Palm Beach/ Boca Raton area, is a special kind of Hades, that is difficult to surpass.

Patients in WPB/BR- I have never met a nastier, more psychotically elitist group of patients in my life. I have had famous patients and rich patients before, and none of them treated as badly those in that area. They have money, they want you to kiss their feet, and they seem to frequently suffer from an abundance of unadmitted psychological disorders, substance abuse (from meds prescribed by several different MDs - who don't know about each other), inappropriate behavior, and psychosomatic illness.

They, of course, do not recognize or admit that there is anything wrong with them. A random example: I had several patients that would promise to eat, so you would give them their AM insulin and then refuse to eat. They expected you to beg them to eat....then if they bottomed out, and "accidently" pull out their IVs, you would have to restart (a lot of drama there with the stick) and give D50W. Then they would get the family in with the drama on how THEY ALMOST DIED!!!!! and everyone fawns, and takes the nurse to task on how that happened, and why is the old IV site bruised, and how bad it will look at, and surely we can get in a specialist to heal it faster....maybe a plastic surgeon....and.....and....and WHY didn't you call the MD to come in to start the IV or use nitrous oxide so that Mamma would have been more comfortable....and....

Well you get the idea.

I had 3 of these, within 6 weeks of an assignment.....and carried 6-7 on dayshift, on a floor that gives chemo - with 2-3 admits and DCs per day.

One of them jerked the MDs and the staff around for 6 weeks, because she did not want to go to rehab....did want to go...can't wait to go...won't go if her life depended it.... should have gone yesterday but her MD screwed up....After being emotionally held hostage by her, the facility finally DC'd her against her will, complete with police presence. Upon leaving, she got so angry, she took her freshly manicured nails and dug the into her forearm, cutting a nasty gouge in her arm. This of course, was witnessed and charted, cared for and sent, anyway)

Two hours later, the receiving facility called trying to send back, and threatening file a complaint - because she claimed the staff did this to her, and was demanding to go to the ER.(As to why someone was demanding to go back to a facility that so "abused" her, and wouldn't go to any of the other close but non-private facilities, is anyone's guess)

I felt like I was in a giant psych unit there....but I am not a psych nurse.

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As far as the rest of Florida, the pay is poor, conditions for nurses are bad, ratios that are dangerous, and the patients are older, sicker and with more comorbidities. I have had nights that a third of the patients were having sundowner's

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

That sounds terrible Ladycarolbelle, just terrible.

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I love Florida...did you hear me I LOVE FLO RIDA, I have abosultely no complaints except for when theres a hurricane but you can always pack up and go visit a long time family member or friend for a few days. plus (everything is closed down) cant say that if you live up North snow storms, ice on the road you still have to go to work or school and hell no im am not getting outta my bed to shovel snow in 10 degrees weather. NO THANK YOU. your car is iced up, the driveway iced up and its dangerous to drive in those snow storms.

Give me hot weather over snow any day.

:onbch:

Florida is:nmbrn:to live in!!!

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

As a transplanted Northerner, I have to add my two cents.

First, I don't know where Caroladybelle worked, but it does sound awful. It's not that bad where I am. I'm not thrilled with the salary, but then I don't have to shell out money for oil heat every year. My poor mother got a nearly unbreakable contract and locked in at over $4/gallon for the stuff and now she's afraid to turn the heat on, bringing just her heating bill to over 400/month, not counting electric. Whereas my electric bill including heat (yes, we turn on the heat when it's below 73 in the house) and a/c is pretty reasonable, less than $180/mo.

The cockroaches up North are way way faster than the "palmetto bugs" down here. I only see them occasionally and I'm way more skeered of the huge spiders that eat them. :uhoh21:

Nah. Just kidding. :D

But look. We're not exactly on Survivor Island down here. They (and we) spray for bugs, just like y'all do up North. I've only seen a couple of gators and they were both at Busch Gardens.

Yes, the pay rate could improve. But we're working on that. A new grad RN at my place makes $21.74 and $5/hr more on night shift, plus $1/hr more on weekends. Pool nurses can make more and can choose plans with or without benes. Assignments are doable most of the time as in everywhere else in the country. I work evenings and get an average of 6 patients with a tech, a unit secretary, monitor tech, and a Charge nurse who takes no patients.

In my home town, supposedly progressive and with NYSNA, the nurses are working with very similar ratios. They have to pay for parking --?!!!--- and they only make a few bucks more per hour than I do.

The entitlement attitude is everywhere, maybe more so in PB and Boca, but it's not so bad over here on the Gulf side.

I've dealt with tourists, residents, and coworkers from all over the world, both up North and here, which is both cool and maddening at the same time.

The roads are definitely better here. So is the weather. I don't have to worry about snow tires, shovelling, driving on black ice, and freezing to death. I don't have to wait for any particular season before I can enjoy being outdoors. I have as much culture as I want here. Everything is super handicap-accessible. No stairs. No hills. Nice clean sidewalks. Twice a week garbage pickup. Oh, and the DMV absolutely rocks! We get a number and we sit down and watch TV till our number is called--last time I was there for a whole 25 minutes to register my car. And the ER wait time is also great -- 4 hours for DS with a sprained ankle, less than an hour for DH who was having chest pains.

It's not muggy where I am, near Tampa, because we always get a nice Gulf breeze that keeps us warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Still, we're not uncivilized and we do have heat and ac almost everywhere, so that wherever you go, it'll be a nice 72 degrees.

It took awhile for me to really love it here, but you couldn't drag me back to upstate NY for anything at this point.

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I grew up in New Jersey. We lived in North Jersey, very very close to NYC. I went to nursing school in Pennsylvania, right outside of Philadelphia. The only reason I am living in Florida is because of my parents. My Dad's job transfered him down here to the Tampa Bay area while I was halfway through college. I had no choice after graduation but to leave PA/NJ/NY and relocate to the Tampa Bay area of Florida. I am an only child. No siblings. My mother has many health problems. Dad now has many health problems as well.

In my experience, healthcare in Florida is very backwards and is many years behind healthcare in NY/NJ/PA. The hospitals up north are much much better. Technology, equipment, training, education, staffing, all much better in PA/NJ/NY in comparison to Florida. Nurses in NJ/NY/PA earn much better salaries and better benefits and live very comfortably.

I have friends I went to nursing school with who stayed in Philadelphia, and they work in some of the best hospitals in the USA. The type of hospitals with Magnet status and that only hire RNs who have their BSN. My nurse friends earn very good money and live in very nice houses and live comfortably. They are given lots of vacation time. They are very happy in their nursing careers. They are not at all worried about the current economy. They know their jobs are secure and they are well paid.

Compare that to Florida. Florida nurses are very very underpaid. Our salaries are lower than nurses up north. Our gas is just as expensive. Our groceries are just as expensive. Our cell phone bills are just as expensive. These stupid deed restricted master planned communities that are everywhere in the Tampa Bay area are expensive. Cars are just as expensive. The cost of living in the Tampa Bay area of Florida is very similar to the cost of living up north, but we have to make do with a lot less money. Our working conditions are worse. The hospitals I worked at in Pennsylvania and the hospitals I had clinical at in PA were way better than the hospitals down here in Tampa. I don't care about TGH, because TGH has got nothing on the best hospitals of NYC and Philly.

Nurses down here in Florida have less education. There are too many LPNS and ASNs from 2 year community colleges and not enough highly educated RNs with their BSNs here in the Tampa Bay area. Nurses up north are better educated. Here in Florida, the hospitals don't care if you have your BSN. The salary for an ASN nurse is exactly the same salary for a BSN nurse. I never see job postings down here that say "BSN required". The hospitals do not give enough incentive for their nurses to go back to school and further their education. Tuition reimbursement is not great down here.

I don't like living in Florida. I hate the weather. The hurricanes are deadly. The bugs are disgusting and dangerous. Gators, nough said. There is very little mass transit. We have no trains. Tampa is a dinky little city, nothing compared to NYC and Philly. Nothing to do down here, compared to up north. The only reason I am stuck down here is thanks to the major corporation my father is employeed by. They relocated us. As an only child who has 2 aging parents who have health problems, I feel it is my duty and responsibility to be here for my parents. But, I know I would be happier and better respected and enjoy a great social life and be paid higher if I could move back home to NJ or PA or NY.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Nurses down here in Florida have less education. There are too many LPNS and ASNs from 2 year community colleges and not enough highly educated RNs with their BSNs here in the Tampa Bay area. Nurses up north are better educated. Here in Florida, the hospitals don't care if you have your BSN. The salary for an ASN nurse is exactly the same salary for a BSN nurse. I never see job postings down here that say "BSN required". The hospitals do not give enough incentive for their nurses to go back to school and further their education. Tuition reimbursement is not great down here.

No comment... :rolleyes:

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Everything is super handicap-accessible. No stairs. No hills. Nice clean sidewalks.

Well, yeah. You'd expect God's Waiting Room to be comfortable. ;)

We have relatives in the Boca area. I love them, but they are definitely of the spoiled and demanding milieu.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

Nurses down here in Florida have less education. There are too many LPNS and ASNs from 2 year community colleges and not enough highly educated RNs with their BSNs here in the Tampa Bay area. Nurses up north are better educated. Here in Florida, the hospitals don't care if you have your BSN. The salary for an ASN nurse is exactly the same salary for a BSN nurse. I never see job postings down here that say "BSN required". The hospitals do not give enough incentive for their nurses to go back to school and further their education. Tuition reimbursement is not great down here.

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Where are you working?

Nurses at our hospital do get paid more for having a BSN, and there are lots of jobs that require a BSN or require the applicant to get a BSN within a specified period of time. Almost everyone I work with is going to school for something -- an RN, a BSN, or a Master's.

I think it's unfair to generalize.

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Specializes in Utilization Management.
Well, yeah. You'd expect God's Waiting Room to be comfortable. ;)

We have relatives in the Boca area. I love them, but they are definitely of the spoiled and demanding milieu.

Again, even though FL is a top retirement state, the stats from 2006 say that folks > 65 accounted for only 16.8% of the population, whereas the under 18 group accounted for 22.6%.

http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/12/12103.html

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I didn't move to FL by choice either, so that's part of why I don't care for it. My husband got transferred, and his office back home closed after Katrina. We have no family within 600 miles, and no real close friends after 3 years here. Those are our problems though, and maybe we aren't looking for friends in the right places.

Things I like about FL: the weather is great, in my opinion. It's less humid here than where I moved from, and the "winter" is much more pleasant. Summers don't bother me. The roaches are smaller than in Louisiana as well, and there seem to be less of them! I've only seen one gator in the wild in either state, and it was in LA. Being close to the beach is nice, although we don't go as often as we should. There's no income tax, which some people consider a positive, but I'm not one of them. State universities are inexpensive (but you get what you pay for).

Things I don't like: taking a pay cut to move here. Being in another "right to work" state. No income tax = very poor services from the gov't, combined with high sales and property taxes. We still have to worry about hurricanes. The complete lack of any functional public transportation, combined with sporadic sidewalks and a culture that encourages driving everywhere. Chain restaurants and strip malls as far as the eye can see. Few good places to eat. The large population of Fundamentalist Christians who fight (and often win) against things like the teaching of evolution, civil rights for people who are gay, and the separation of church and state. So many people who complain about both taxes and poor services...um, how exactly do you expect them to be paid for?

That's a small sampling. There are tons of people who like many of the things that really bother me about this state, and for whom my positives are more significant. Moving here with more of a support system probably helps too.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
The roaches are smaller than in Louisiana as well

Lovely... :chuckle A bit like saying that Anchorage Alaska isn't as cold as Fairbanks Alaska...:D

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We moved to Florida when I was 10 and I liked it ok growing up but I am SO ready to move. Cost of living has gone up a lot in Orlando so my one bedroom isn't that much cheaper than my mom's ( who now lives back in California). Weather is good temperature wise, BUT I hate the humidity hate hate hate it. I want to leave after nursing school and can not wait.

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