I was raised in Broward County from a very young age (County Seat: Fort Lauderdale..... or if that doesn't mean anything to you, it's the county immediately north of Miami-Dade).
I grew up in a gentrified bubble of the suburbs. Money was rarely an issue for the majority of people that I knew; little did I know at that time that for most of them, 'their' money belonged to the banks. The Great Recession hit and house upon house was foreclosed. Entrepreneurship, once king industry of South Florida, began to collapse as people were no longer able to spend. I watched my bubble burst.
My family was fortunate enough to have enough reserves to pull through the bulk of the recession just fine. But it was heartbreaking to watch neighbor's go out on their asses.
And while much of the North has begun to show strong signs of recovery, South Florida still struggles financially.
I do hold a level of gratitude for having to witness this to three affects:
1) My bubble popped. I moved to downtown Fort Lauderdale where it was further popped. I was forced into a world where a good amount of full-time, minimum wage-earning single mothers were forced to rely on Food Stamps to feed their children. I was there to witness first hand their struggles of living hand-to-mouth.
2) I was forced into a period of living hand-to-mouth. It taught me prudence. It taught me resilience. It taught me gratitude for simply being able to live inside.
3) It helped me realize that there's no fucking sustainable industry in South Florida and that if I wish to build a successful career for myself, I'll have to leave.
I've made a level of peace with item 3. I have to finish up this round of schooling, and then I'll be looking for jobs in the DC metropolitan area. I love South Florida because in my heart, it's home. But I don't like it here -- I don't like it here at all.
I grew up in a gentrified bubble of the suburbs. Money was rarely an issue for the majority of people that I knew; little did I know at that time that for most of them, 'their' money belonged to the banks. The Great Recession hit and house upon house was foreclosed. Entrepreneurship, once king industry of South Florida, began to collapse as people were no longer able to spend. I watched my bubble burst.
My family was fortunate enough to have enough reserves to pull through the bulk of the recession just fine. But it was heartbreaking to watch neighbor's go out on their asses.
And while much of the North has begun to show strong signs of recovery, South Florida still struggles financially.
I do hold a level of gratitude for having to witness this to three affects:
1) My bubble popped. I moved to downtown Fort Lauderdale where it was further popped. I was forced into a world where a good amount of full-time, minimum wage-earning single mothers were forced to rely on Food Stamps to feed their children. I was there to witness first hand their struggles of living hand-to-mouth.
2) I was forced into a period of living hand-to-mouth. It taught me prudence. It taught me resilience. It taught me gratitude for simply being able to live inside.
3) It helped me realize that there's no fucking sustainable industry in South Florida and that if I wish to build a successful career for myself, I'll have to leave.
I've made a level of peace with item 3. I have to finish up this round of schooling, and then I'll be looking for jobs in the DC metropolitan area. I love South Florida because in my heart, it's home. But I don't like it here -- I don't like it here at all.