How safe is the state of Florida? If you believe the results of a new study, it’s not very safe at all. The WalletHub study ranks Florida as the third most dangerous place to live in the entire country.
Six years ago, Joe Micciche moved to South Florida from Plymouth, Massachusetts for what he calls a peaceful retirement spent in the sun. And summer involves spending a lot of time on the water with family in Stuart.
“It’s warm all the time, close to the beach, and it doesn’t seem unsafe to me,” said Micciche.
“The joke is the sidewalks roll up at 9 or 10 o’clock at night,” added Joe McGahan, Micciche’s nephew.
Both men were surprised to learn what they call paradise ranks as the third most dangerous place to live in America, according to the study.
”You got to come and judge it for yourself,” said Micciche. “I wouldn’t look at those rankings at all - I don’t believe half of them.”
The survey looked at five categories: personal and residential safety, financial safety, workplace safety and emergency preparedness.
Road safety which includes driving under the influence (DUI), fatalities and the number of uninsured drivers received the worst score.
“Yes, it’s very hectic out here,” said Nick Marley, a Miami-Dade County resident. “People need to be more aware what they’re doing on the roads.
Workplace safety and emergency preparedness tied as the second worst scores.
The latter surprised the employees of Liberty Impact Windows in Stuart who make sure Floridians are prepared for weather emergencies like hurricanes. He says calls for window installations began increasing months before the start of hurricane season.
”We’re going on sales calls everyday,” said Jeffrey Walsh, president of Liberty Impact Windows and Doors. “We’re booked out about 12-weeks now."
But Walsh and others say Wallet Hub’s study does suggest you can’t be too safe or over reminded.
”There’s thousands of homes that need it,” Walsh added.
Out of the five categories measured Florida’s highest score was in financial safety, but it was still only ranked as 34th in the country.
To read the complete study, click here.