jeanne

has written 9 SperlingViews. Currently, jeanne is living in Arlington, TN and has a little something to say:

Palm Coast like a mini Bronx - large Puerto Rican Posted On: 2/14/2008 1:45:11 PM

I can remember when Palm Coast was just being developed. Developers would target the northeast with a promise of utopia. Of course, only those who had nothing to loose, no job, running from problems, criminals and etc.. ran to this area. People who had good incomes, careers and futures, did not move away. It appeared that only the misfits made the journey. Now the Palm Coast area is home to those and many others who fled South Florida, running from criminal pasts, bad marriages, drugs, and the like. If living among this element is what you desire, then Palm Coast may be right for you. I believe this area to be the least desirable part of Florida, mainly due to the low end elements.

Beautiful Lakeland Tennessee offers a great qualit Posted On: 1/18/2008 7:48:38 AM

When we were transferred to the greater Memphis area, we looked everywhere. Realtors push Germantown and Collierville, and while those are lovely suburbs, the traffic is a nightmare, the houses are crowded in, and the taxes are steep. Lakeland offers rolling hills, tree lined streets, plenty of room between homes, good schools, low taxes, less pollution, and easy access to everywhere. The crime is low as well. Lakeland also boasts itself a "tree city USA" which means that developers should not be able to come in and rape the land. (though some have slipped by) Coming home to Lakeland after a long hard day of fighting traffic, feeling like a sardine most everywhere else, this little spot of West Tennessee is a haven. I hope and pray it remains this way.

Jacksonville and it's surrounding neighborhoods ar Posted On: 7/3/2007 5:35:35 PM

After living in this odor ridden, bug & snake infested, ugly area, I have to tell everyone what a ridiculous city it is. Schools are terrible, including the over rated all white St. John's County schools. They are worse than the city schools, but people here rate by color. Backwards is an understatement. The housing, while it may appear attractive to the unsuspecting home buyer, is pure garbage. The worst construction in the nation, I do believe. All the subdivisions look alike, and because developers have been given free reign here with no regard for infrastructure, production housing is everywhere. It is sad. There isn't any character except for a few older sections of San Marco & Riverside, but crime is the issue here. The biggest problem with the First Coast is the high cancer rates. It is alarming to say the least, allergies and sinus infections also top the charts due to the terrible air quality. The drinking water is extremely hard and smells as well. So lets sum up this town, -- the air you breathe is bad, the water you drink and wash with is bad, health risks are high, housing is shoddy, racial harmony does not exist, schools are terrible, bugs and snakes are everywhere and crime is high. Aren't these the things that define "quality of life"?

Highest population of public assistance in the cou Posted On: 6/13/2007 3:35:40 PM

I have never seen so many people on welfare in my life. Generations of them, one after the other, having more and more babies. I don't think any one bothers to get married in Deland. Just read the birth announcements. It is unbelievable. Very low class of people make up a huge percentage of this part of Florida.

A very ugly city with a lot of crime, pollution an Posted On: 2/1/2007 11:11:07 AM

All of the things that one does NOT want from a place they call home is in this city. Jacksonville is divided by the St. John's River, which smells so bad that the city was nicknamed the "stinky city" for years. The river is one of the most polluted rivers in the country with high levels of carcinogens. The north side of the city has the paper mills and a nuclear reactor. The beaches which are to the east, are some of the dirtiest in Florida, if not the entire east coast. Southside is a postcard of urban sprawl, in fact, most of the city is. Crime is terrible. I was robbed twice in one year, I had a friend raped,(and I lived in the "good area") and there is a murder a day practically. "White Flight" is huge there, which is the reason for the county that lies just south's recent boom- St. John's County is a joke. Oh, no one will admit it of course, they would rather tell you it is because the schools are better but they are NOT. My child went to one of the claimed "good schools" and saw things that I can't repeat here. There aren't adequate roads, schools, medical, well, basic infrastructure. Most people pay way too much for lousy built homes in so called master planned communities where developers scam the people into these stucco boxes with no land but supply a community pool. (ecoli pit) The few smart folks who don't buy into all that nonsense, find themselves living with septic and well. YOU DON"T WANT SEPTIC OR WELL here. I've seen homes with septic mounds that are taller than their front door. Sadly, there isn't anything anyone can do because the land does not perk. The air smells like sewage most all of the time, and the water like rotten eggs. The wild life ie. squirrels, birds, etc. all appear to have tumors. In my one neighborhood alone there were 5 dogs with tumors and cancer, one child, and those are only the one's I know of.
Rattlesnakes, coral snakes, cottonmouths, roaches, gators, & fire ants, however, seem to thrive.
I honestly cannot find anything nice to say about this horrible, dirty, smelly, unhealthy, expensive, city, which is why we left.

bubble market about to burst Posted On: 1/30/2007 11:09:24 AM

Reading the stats on Deland Florida, you would have to be a fool to invest in the housing market which at the moment is inflated. The income or job market is not anywhere near this town that warrants these over priced homes. This will lead to a collapse according to all the experts. South Florida, California, and the Northeast have already begun to see home prices fall and those areas at least have an average income that can support it. There is nothing, absolutely nothing in Deland, unless you want to pick ferns for the fern industry. Daytona isn't a great job hub, and Orlando, well, everyone knows what Orlando is. I suppose you can work for Micky Mouse.

Jacksonville Fl. smells bad, the water is bad and Posted On: 1/29/2007 1:10:51 PM

Of all the places I've lived, I can honestly say the Jacksonville and the surrounding area was the worst! I found the area to be unlivable. Traffic is a nightmare, medical is below average,the air smells like a toxic waste land and the drinking water(if you can call it that) isn't fit for toilet flushing. Jacksonville has a lot of cancer issues, polluted waters and superfund sites. The weather is HOT and HUMID without the lovely trade winds that one associates with Florida. Rattlesnakes, cottonmouths and coral snakes are common, as well as gators. Oh, and be prepared to live with bugs, lots and lots of bugs, termites,giant roaches, spiders,& scorpions just to name a few. The housing looks nice but after three homes I can honestly tell you, they are all built like garbage, no matter how much you spend. I spent over 500,000 on the last one. GARBAGE! I found the city to be all about appearances, the people too, very pretentious and over the top competetive. The education system is the biggest joke of all. I found that to be all about "white flight". I've never seen so many people judge a particular school by the amount of minorities it has. It's ridiculous. The city is very racially divided and backwards. Think really hard about how much you value your health before moving to this city

Memphis is a great place to call home! Posted On: 1/29/2007 8:21:45 AM

I moved here three years ago now, and I get so tired of hearing people bash it. Yes, there is crime, but it's not as bad as the media makes it out to be. The climate is wonderful, four beautiful seasons, and while the summers do get extremely hot, there is usually a breeze and the heat spell is usually not too long. People claim that it is humid but I came from hell (Florida) and they don't know what humid is until they lived there. This is down right arid to me. The housing market is delightful, lot of bang for your buck, and the construction is pretty good. Much better than in other places I've lived. The downtown is charming, not too large and very managable. The public school system is supposed to be bad, or at least that is the rumor but I don't see it. If a student wants an education, it's here. This city is a diamond in the rough and one of the few cities I have ever lived in where the African-American population is treated as equals, and quite frankly, I find it refreshing! (BTW-I am white)
We get transferred approx. every four years, but we are hoping to remain in this lovely city for much longer.

Better learn to speak Spanish before moving here Posted On: 1/29/2007 8:07:24 AM

Deland is a pretty city as far as Florida goes, there is a slight roll to the terrain but is over run with illegals from Mexico. The US census figures are not accurate as there are so many that are unaccounted for. Some days while out and about I don't hear one word of English being spoken. I saw the same thing happen in Miami & San Antonio. Give Deland 10 more years, The weather is unbelievably hot and muggy, much worse than South Florida and the snakes, roaches and alligators thrive. There is a lot of crime for such a small town as well, and the medical situation is real bad.
I think you must learn Spanish before moving to this little part of our State.