Key West / Florida Keys... Any traders down there??

[Pa(b)st Prime]

Quote from opt789:

If you care at all about your children's education you will not send them to a FL public school. I looked into it and have talked to teachers who have worked in FL as well as other states as a comparison. If you live in FL the taxes are very cheap, low property tax, low sales tax, and no state income tax. That means there is less than is necessary to run a quality public education program.

Teachers have an ax to grind because Florida (except for unionized Miami) doesn't pay teachers the ridiculous salaries they make up north. What the media, politicians and the NEA DON'T want to mention is municipalities all over the country are teetering on BK because of education costs.

'Good kids" get good educations even if they're taught school out of a barn. Gang bangers will destroy a school no matter how much we spend. Just look at the cost of education in Chicago, Detroit and D.C. Each of those systems spend 15k a year per kid and have 50% dropout rates. Public schools in solid Florida suburbs deliver a decent education.

As far as Boca: Edgar Prado has it right. Nice place but some pretty obnoxious New Yorkers there.

Boca and public school irony: Ken Griffin, Harvard grad and hedge fund manager extraordinaire came out of Boca Raton public high school. I guess he got what he needed out of Florida's beleaguered schools.

 

[opt789]

Quote from Pa(b)st Prime:

Teachers have an ax to grind because Florida (except for unionized Miami) doesn't pay teachers the ridiculous salaries they make up north. What the media, politicians and the NEA DON'T want to mention is municipalities all over the country are teetering on BK because of education costs.

'Good kids" get good educations even if they're taught school out of a barn. Gang bangers will destroy a school no matter how much we spend. Just look at the cost of education in Chicago, Detroit and D.C. Each of those systems spend 15k a year per kid and have 50% dropout rates. Public schools in solid Florida suburbs deliver a decent education.

As far as Boca: Edgar Prado has it right. Nice place but some pretty obnoxious New Yorkers there.

Boca and public school irony: Ken Griffin, Harvard grad and hedge fund manager extraordinaire came out of Boca Raton public high school. I guess he got what he needed out of Florida's beleaguered schools.

How many kids do you have, and where do they go to school? Which highly regarded academic university did you and your wife attend? How much research have you done as to average standardized test scores as well as a plethora of additional measurement standards, personally visiting the school and talking to other parents and college admissions people, etc? Or are you just spouting the standard internet line of I know what I am talking about because I know everything. If you think that a child will get the same education at a Fort Myers public school that they will get at Canterbury, then you quite literally have no idea what you are talking about. Decades ago there were quite a few good public schools around the country, it is simply not the same anymore.

Again, if you actually care about education and know what you are talking about you will send your kids to a quality private school in FL. If you think education is overrated and want to perpetuate the uneducated masses then feel free to send them wherever you want.

 

[Pa(b)st Prime]

As a guy who grew up in the city of Chicago and was forced to attend private schools I'm not going to argue that public schools with crap demographics offer kids a good learning environment. Here's my opinion though. The COST of education is the least important variable in the mix. The quality of STUDENTS is the ultimate arbiter of "performance". My Catholic high school in Chicago spent far less per pupil than Chicago public schools yet while the CPS has a 51% drop out rate my school sent 90% of it's graduates to college. Ultimately my schools tested performance wasn't as much about what went on inside the school as much as how my classmates lived outside of school.

When people like you talk about under performing schools are you talking about the curriculum"? Doubtful. ABC's are the same everywhere. I'm sure the public schools in Ft. Meyers cannot compete with Canterbury. But then again Ft. Meyers spends the same amount on education (the mid 5k's) as do school systems in Iowa. Naples only spends a tad more than Ft. Meyers. Can you guess why Ft. Meyers tests lower than Collier County or Iowa? Of course you can.


I'd bet in a Trading Places type experiment that if you took the kids from Canterbury and placed them alone-an uncontaminated sample- into the Lee County school system and then took all the mischief makers out of Ft. Meyers schools and placed them at Canterbury that the “former” Canterbury kids would STILL test better. Why? Better kids, better parents. In solid communities public schools still deliver a competative educational product. The problem isn't the “schools” it's the communities.

Quote from opt789:

How many kids do you have, and where do they go to school? Which highly regarded academic university did you and your wife attend? How much research have you done as to average standardized test scores as well as a plethora of additional measurement standards, personally visiting the school and talking to other parents and college admissions people, etc? Or are you just spouting the standard internet line of I know what I am talking about because I know everything. If you think that a child will get the same education at a Fort Myers public school that they will get at Canterbury, then you quite literally have no idea what you are talking about. Decades ago there were quite a few good public schools around the country, it is simply not the same anymore.

Again, if you actually care about education and know what you are talking about you will send your kids to a quality private school in FL. If you think education is overrated and want to perpetuate the uneducated masses then feel free to send them wherever you want.

 

[Jayford]

Quote from Pa(b)st Prime:

SoCal's lack of humidity is a real plus but during the winter when the California coast is 59 degrees and foggy SoFla is 78 and sunny. As previous guys have mentioned Florida is only over the top humid for about 4 months and if you're near the coast (within blocks not miles, lol) then summer in SoFla is really no diff than summer in NYC.

The fog is more of a summer time phenom here in SD. Usually sunny in the winter, but does have highs around 60. I like it actually. Probably a result of spending most of my youth at ski resorts! As long as its sunny, the cold is fine. Wear a jacket.

As for summer in NYC, I've experienced that twice. Never care to do it again. Nothing like going into a super hot/humid subway, that smells like shit. When you have a hangover!

 

[opt789]

Quote from Pa(b)st Prime:

The COST of education is the least important variable in the mix. The quality of STUDENTS is the ultimate arbiter of "performance".
The problem isn't the “schools” it's the communities.

No argument here.

As to FL weather I will agree with some others, 6 months great, 2 months pretty good, and 4 months just bad. The difference though is that in places like FL, TX, AZ where the summer is no fun, you can at least go the pool, beach, etc. as apposed to places with bad winters you can't really go outside and do anything. But I have been through a hurricane before, don't take them lightly.

 

[EPrado]

Quote from Pa(b)st Prime:

Teachers have an ax to grind because Florida (except for unionized Miami) doesn't pay teachers the ridiculous salaries they make up north. What the media, politicians and the NEA DON'T want to mention is municipalities all over the country are teetering on BK because of education costs.

'Good kids" get good educations even if they're taught school out of a barn. Gang bangers will destroy a school no matter how much we spend. Just look at the cost of education in Chicago, Detroit and D.C. Each of those systems spend 15k a year per kid and have 50% dropout rates. Public schools in solid Florida suburbs deliver a decent education.

As far as Boca: Edgar Prado has it right. Nice place but some pretty obnoxious New Yorkers there.

Boca and public school irony: Ken Griffin, Harvard grad and hedge fund manager extraordinaire came out of Boca Raton public high school. I guess he got what he needed out of Florida's beleaguered schools.

Boca is nice. If you can deal with the a-holes there it's fine. I spent 10 yrs in Chicago before moving down here. Nothing beats summers in Chicago.


Impressed you knew who Edgar Prado is.

 

[AMT4SWA]

Quote from EPrado:

I suggest you spend some time in Boca before buying there. It's like another world there. I have some friends down here who bought places in Boca and moved out soon after. The whole town is full of "uppity/arrogant" people. I couldnt imagine sending my kids to a school in Boca. Picture stuck up/snob-like people from NYC...then multiply that by 100.

There are plenty of surrounding areas which are just as nice and you wont deal with the Boca attitude.

I am not going to send my kids to school in Boca....I just want to make sure I buy in a decent place. If I live in FL parts of the year when my kids are off from school, I want to make sure they will not be exposed to crack deals and gun fights all the time (once in a while is fine though.....LOL!). I will probably hang out in FL during parts of the summer, Christmas break, spring break, etc.

I am 44 with one child in 8th and one in 9th for this upcoming school year, so once they both finish high school then I will probably spend even more time in FL....that is my longer term plan. I LOVE the schools where my kids attend here in the Austin TX area so I will keep them in TX until they finish high school (Cedar Park/Leander ISD .... and now moving over to the Lake Travis area where my kids will be in the Lake Travis ISD......really excellent schools imo and I am from Minnesota where the schools were exceptional). I have also noticed the public schools in Austin seem to have an IT/Technology bias which I like....I want my kids exposed to that as we all know how dependent the world is on computers.....LOL!

 

[Pa(b)st Prime]

Quote from EPrado:

Boca is nice. If you can deal with the a-holes there it's fine. I spent 10 yrs in Chicago before moving down here. Nothing beats summers in Chicago.


Impressed you knew who Edgar Prado is.

I think I kidded you about it once before but you must not have seen my post. For a about a year I would think"I know Prado often races at Gulfstream-there's an ET guy who's a race fan and a South Floridian-could it be?

Funny thing bro: I LOVE Prado but EVERY friggin' time I bet on him I lose. Just random but wtf.

 

[EPrado]

Quote from AMT4SWA:

I am not going to send my kids to school in Boca....I just want to make sure I buy in a decent place. If I live in FL parts of the year when my kids are off from school, I want to make sure they will not be exposed to crack deals and gun fights all the time (once in a while is fine though.....LOL!). I will probably hang out in FL during parts of the summer, Christmas break, spring break, etc.

I am 44 with one child in 8th and one in 9th for this upcoming school year, so once they both finish high school then I will probably spend even more time in FL....that is my longer term plan. I LOVE the schools where my kids attend here in the Austin TX area so I will keep them in TX until they finish high school (Cedar Park/Leander ISD .... and now moving over to the Lake Travis area where my kids will be in the Lake Travis ISD......really excellent schools imo and I am from Minnesota where the schools were exceptional). I have also noticed the public schools in Austin seem to have an IT/Technology bias which I like....I want my kids exposed to that as we all know how dependent the world is on computers.....LOL!

I hear ya. It is great down here. If you can deal with the heat, old people who shouldnt be driving causing havoc, and crack dealers who like to have gunfights, its a great place to live.

 

[EPrado]

Quote from Pa(b)st Prime:

I think I kidded you about it once before but you must not have seen my post. For a about a year I would think"I know Prado often races at Gulfstream-there's an ET guy who's a race fan and a South Floridian-could it be?

Funny thing bro: I LOVE Prado but EVERY friggin' time I bet on him I lose. Just random but wtf.

Damn...must have missed the posts. Prado is the man. Problem is he gets overbet a lot. Very streaky rider.

I head to Gulfstream a few times a year....even now sometimes for simulcasting. Got to love the fact they have like 400 bars in the place. If I didnt live 40 miles away I would spend more time there throwing back beers there. Just not interested in driving on the I-95 Speedway after drinking.