County wages

And they say nobody listens!!! How about another alternative thrown into the mix? Say, better paying jobs? If people have to move from their homes, where they have lived for generations, just to better their lifestyle, this choice leads often times to depression. Quite a dilemma actually, sometimes leading to the popular pastime, sit in the woods and drink BEER!

there are far more job opportunities in sowal and surrounding areas these days than ever before, with all the medical services, hospital, doc offices, etc. real estate, our primary job market, is in a bad way for the first time in many years. I used to know almost no one who was NOT an agent. building, architectural and engineering firms offer many opportunities, PR and marketing, although these services are lagging these days due to the market. the market is effecting us all at this point.
sowal being a new community has also provided many locals an opportunity to be creative and start businesses, many many successful ones.
artists have enjoyed a lot of attention and success as well.

I think part of it is that people need to adjust their expectations/how they figure what is affordable. Owning a home is a big achievement and not something everyone can afford, especially on just one salary.

The national average salary for someone 25 years or older who works full time and only has a high school education is $31,500 a year - basically $15 an hour.

IMO we shouldn't be basing our analysis of the affordability of local housing costs on a single income with only a high school diploma.

This is where I was getting my stats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

Excellent point.

there are far more job opportunities in sowal and surrounding areas these days than ever before, with all the medical services, hospital, doc offices, etc. real estate, our primary job market, is in a bad way for the first time in many years. I used to know almost no one who was NOT an agent. building, architectural and engineering firms offer many opportunities, PR and marketing, although these services are lagging these days due to the market. the market is effecting us all at this point.
sowal being a new community has also provided many locals an opportunity to be creative and start businesses, many many successful ones.
artists have enjoyed a lot of attention and success as well.

That covers the medical and building profession, or self-employed small business, and artists. Just about it. The majority of that caters to the tourists that come. I think the percentage of work in Walton County should be more diverse, not focusing totaly on tourism. We still need to be concerned about all of our citizens, not just those categories, or those peoples.

I think part of it is that people need to adjust their expectations/how they figure what is affordable. Owning a home is a big achievement and not something everyone can afford, especially on just one salary.

The national average salary for someone 25 years or older who works full time and only has a high school education is $31,500 a year - basically $15 an hour.

IMO we shouldn't be basing our analysis of the affordability of local housing costs on a single income with only a high school diploma.

This is where I was getting my stats:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_income_in_the_United_States

If I remember correctly, someone posted how that several of their restaurant employees had college degrees. Our high school work program is teaching the kids to be hotel and restaurant workers, etc. Not college preparatory work. Many older people I have spoken to say their children live somewhere else, not here. The jobs are not here for them to support their families and do the kind of work they went to college to do. I suspect many folks move here to get away from their children, knowing they can't live here.

That covers the medical and building profession, or self-employed small business, and artists. Just about it. The majority of that caters to the tourists that come. I think the percentage of work in Walton County should be more diverse, not focusing totaly on tourism. We still need to be concerned about all of our citizens, not just those categories, or those peoples.

Do you remember the Sam Kinnison comedy bit back in the 1980s where he would scream at the Ethiopians who were starving "Look around-sand, all thats here is SAND! Its a DESERT! MOVE OUT OF THE DESERT WHERE YOU CAN GROW STUFF TO EAT"! Well, if Sam were alive today, he might be yelling "Look around-sand and sea, thats all there is! SAND AND SEA!!! TOURIST TOWN!!! MOVE AWAY IF LIVING IN A TOURIST TOWN BUMS YOU OUT!!!"

Ahhhhhhh-Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Do you remember the Sam Kinnison comedy bit back in the 1980s where he would scream at the Ethiopians who were starving "Look around-sand, all thats here is SAND! Its a DESERT! MOVE OUT OF THE DESERT WHERE YOU CAN GROW STUFF TO EAT"! Well, if Sam were alive today, he might be yelling "Look around-sand and sea, thats all there is! SAND AND SEA!!! TOURIST TOWN!!! MOVE AWAY IF LIVING IN A TOURIST TOWN BUMS YOU OUT!!!"

No, I've never heard of this person. Although it seems to me to be ironic that the word MOVE comes up in this discussion, what you may not know is that the same word is used on the other side! I think this is the basic problem, stubborness. Those who are not willing to negotiate, or discuss, to come to a reasonable compromise. As far as the local native person's position, we were here first! Many years of blood, sweat, and hard work have gone into our lives here, not easily forgotten. We've endured many hardships, because we love our land. Moving, should not even be an option. I believe all citizens voices should be heard, not just the transplants.

I suspect many folks move here to get away from their children, knowing they can't live here.

.....Sounds like a plan!!

The FAR should jump on that for their next "buy now" campaign.


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Do you remember the Sam Kinnison comedy bit back in the 1980s where he would scream at the Ethiopians who were starving "Look around-sand, all thats here is SAND! Its a DESERT! MOVE OUT OF THE DESERT WHERE YOU CAN GROW STUFF TO EAT"! Well, if Sam were alive today, he might be yelling "Look around-sand and sea, thats all there is! SAND AND SEA!!! TOURIST TOWN!!! MOVE AWAY IF LIVING IN A TOURIST TOWN BUMS YOU OUT!!!"

Thanks for this blast from the past. I remember him. Loved him. So un-pc but so funny.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKNoJ2BzSRU"]YouTube - Sam Kinison about world hunger (1st Letterman appearance)[/ame]

florida girl -- I don't think anyone is trying to dismiss your heritage here. My brother and I grew up in a much larger town, and we both have degrees. We both had to move away from that town to find decent jobs. I still miss home, and every time I drive across the Chattahoochee River I still tear up.

We live in a highly mobile society, and people move for jobs. There is little the county can do to spur growth in high wage industries, there is just too much competition for those things. And the cost of living here is just too high. The best thing the county can do is build on what makes it unique -- the fact that it isn't overly commercial and chain-filled. I'd love to see it cultivate the whole "design coast" image. We should make sure our schools are superior. We should elect officials that project and image of a progressive county, not a backwater Dixie throwback. We should not tolerate community leaders that mount campaigns against harmless plays at our high school, or suspend students for putting stickers on their notebooks.

This is a beautiful place, and it's a shame the locals didn't fight the developers a little harder back in the day. It's a shame that so many locals saw dollar signs when they looked at their family's land. I envy and respect the people that managed to preserve their own pieces of old Walton County. Unfortunately, it was developed as a high-end tourist destination and most of the locals were complacent. Now, it's not just hard to live here on a county salary. This place makes doctors feel poverty-stricken.

If you do want to stay here and earn a very good living, I'd encourage you to look into the nursing program at OWC. There is a two year A.A. in nursing that qualifies graduates to sit for an RN license. RN's make extremely good money, and they are desperate for them around here.

If I remember correctly, someone posted how that several of their restaurant employees had college degrees. Our high school work program is teaching the kids to be hotel and restaurant workers, etc. Not college preparatory work. Many older people I have spoken to say their children live somewhere else, not here. The jobs are not here for them to support their families and do the kind of work they went to college to do. I suspect many folks move here to get away from their children, knowing they can't live here.

I am really starting to wonder if this is a chicken/egg situation. Not factoring in the recent economic downturn, this area has exploded over the last 10 years and brought many new jobs & options to the area.

Children moving away from home isn't exactly a concrete indicator of the job market - in my family all of the current generation who are gainfully employed have moved far away from home and those who have employment issues are close to home (and huge cities with many options).

Exactly what jobs do you want here? You've been complaining about the lack of jobs/cost of living for months, but IMO haven't offered any realistic or constructive solutions.

The foundation for some nice high wage/high tech development is in place a little bit to the west. With all the military engineering jobs in the area, it seems like it would be possible to encourage some big tech companies to work on civilian spin-off development in our area instead of some random place in Texas.

Problem- there's a limited amount of land available for those kinds of civilian shops just a little to the west. Okaloosa's working on a lease from Eglin for something like 200 acres for a technology park, but even that's not a lot of land in some ways.

I could actually see Freeport as a good location for a large science and technology park. There's space to build, and many housing options are popping up in that area for people who have those kinds of high wage/high tech jobs.

The foundation for some nice high wage/high tech development is in place a little bit to the west. With all the military engineering jobs in the area, it seems like it would be possible to encourage some big tech companies to work on civilian spin-off development in our area instead of some random place in Texas.

Problem- there's a limited amount of land available for those kinds of civilian shops just a little to the west. Okaloosa's working on a lease from Eglin for something like 200 acres for a technology park, but even that's not a lot of land in some ways.

I could actually see Freeport as a good location for a large science and technology park. There's space to build, and many housing options are popping up in that area for people who have those kinds of high wage/high tech jobs.

Hear, hear. None of our county officials seem to be able to understand this, or do anything about it. Valparaiso has a nice little tech sector which services Eglin, and if I had to bet on the next growth area for these companies it would be Crestview, not Freeport.

Thanks Florida Girl. I think what you did was great. Citizens should be allowed to know the salaries of county and city employees.

On a somewhat related note....if the economy is so terrible and people are so far in debt....how are police officers and other "regular" working class affording to live in Hammock Bay? The way people in this community are talking, foreclosures should be all around.

Lots start in the $50's; Homes start in the $150's...

Did you read this? Good news!

"Commissioners discussed a cost of living adjustment in the exempt and non-exempt employee's pay. This came through Walton Comptroller Martha Ingle.

Commissioner Sara Comander made a motion to approve the raise in next year's budget based on the matter being time sensitive.

Commissioner Meadows disagreed, saying she is not saying the matter is right or wrong, only that the matter should be brought before the residents in a different time frame since the money can be given back to the public.

The estimated cost of the raises is $750,000.

The motion to proceed was passed."

http://www.waltonsun.com/news/living_2019___article.html/raises_totaling.html

Pat Blackshear is the only one mentioned. Is this a veiled attempt to bring attention to her salary under the guise of looking at all wages?

Pat Blackshear is the only one mentioned. Is this a veiled attempt to bring attention to her salary under the guise of looking at all wages?

Should I post who earns the least? Hurray for their raises! Talking about issues is beneficial!

I am glad the BCC employees are getting COLAs this year. It's normally an annual event and not newsworthy, except that the possibility was raised this year that it might not be doable.

Wages do serve to return at least some of the taxpayer's money back to them through purchases of goods and services. As long as the government is not borrowing to provide the raises they can help local business. That is if those dollars are spent in this county.:shock: Unfortunately much of our payroll is spent in other counties and states.:angry: