Moving To Miami

I can't stand the traffic in Dade or Broward counties. Even Palm Beach can be pretty bad. I only commute about 5-6 miles to work with no highway driving. It is okay here but I would rather live in the mountains of North Carolina. I grew up in Miami area and moved to Palm Beach in latehigh school. Then back to Miami for collegeand settled in Palm Beach county after college graduation about 17 years ago. Palm Beach is a nice place because it has many classy areas (Palm Beach island, some of West Palm Beach, part of Jupiter, part of Palm Beach Gardens). You can still make an easy day trip to Miami beach or to the city for cultural events, but you don't have to deal with Spanish first on a daily basis. Many stores put their signage up in Spanish in Dade county, and offer English subtitles. The predominantly Spanish influence seems to move north at around 2 miles per year. Today I would put it at around Deerfield beach / Fort Lauderdale. If you have the time to visit you should try doing some rush hour driving at three or four different cities to get a feel for it. The beaches are all excellent in South Florida so I can't say one area is any better than another. If you want to see lots of models and freaks on the beach, you gotta go to Miami Beach. If you want good water, strong sun, and clean sand, anywhere will do.
You might post this same topic in the Florida section and see what other responses you get. Robert_M can probably find you a great deal for a condo (he and JPD1977) run a development company in Delray Beach.

BT

 

I personally think Ft. Lauderdale is much nicer. Seems like a lot more laid back which is what I would want if it was a full time residence. You also might want to check out Naples. There isn't as much of a nightlife, but I don't think you will have to worry about the crime.

 

Chicago to Miami, thats a big move..

 

Send Adnan a pm, he recently moved to Miami from LA....I have some friends that live in Miami and love it for about a year then move elsewhere, alot of my friends have moved to Lauderdale over the past year and most love it.////

Good Luck with the move

 

Go to the west coast if you are primarily in search of hot and humid weather. Naples is nice, and rich, and laid back. Not much night life, but a good quality of life is there. I'll have a nice little waterfront house in Homasassa for sale in about 6 months if that area interests you.
BT

 

I lived in Miami for 21 years. Still have family living there and they are counting the days till they can leave. It is wayyyy to hispanic now (not racist) but if you don't speak spanish it is a struggle. The culture and the lifestyle has changed from layed back to this urban/latin style that many are not used to. It is a fun place to visit but I would never move back. The traffic is horrible (second to LA and maybe Atlanta). The general attitude is arrogance and the city and surrounding communities are busting at the seams with population. The beaches are grossly overcrowded and the nightclubs are over-rated. The boating scene is excellent though. There are many fine dining establishments and a few enjoyable venues to visit on occasion.

This is my opinion after many, many years of living there. To each their own. I wouldn't go back.

 

Ft Lauderdale is a much nicer place to live than Miami. I spent several weeks in Florida a few years ago and loved Ft Lauderdale, stayed in Miami for a few nights and couldn't get out of there fast enough. Its a great place to go and have fun but there is no way I would live there. Ft Lauderdale on the other hand I would love to live in and will most likely move there at some point.

 

I love Miami, as long as you get a place on the water you'll be fine and the view is incredible

From Oct to April you will totally forget about Chicago & the beastly winters there

The women in Miami are gorgeous, the scenery is spectacular, and home values are cheap

Yes its very latin but thats part of the charm, its like being in South America and the US simultaneously

Illegal Aliens are everywhere in the US so no matter where you go they are inescapable these days

 

My wife and I lived in miami for multiple years. Left to raise a family (orlando) but recently bought a weekend place in south beach. best of both worlds...

 

What about the Hollywood area?

 

Way to many illegals. I might as well be walking through Havana.
Miami is a great place to visit and have fun. I just wouldn't want to live there.

 

That's one of the biggest things that stood out in my mind when I visited Miami about 3 years ago. I went into a Subway with about 6 workers and I couldn't even communicate with them. This was the first time I had ever encounter such a problem as I grew up in Kentucky. I live in Orange County, SoCal now and I guess it's just something that wears on you. Even as rich as the county is, you can still go to cities like Santa Ana and find places of business that will not speak English to you at all(mainly restaurants). Anyone other than hipanics would stand out greatly here, the crime rate is terrible, and the city is stricken with poverty. Still some of my closest friends come from areas like this and they're parents aren't even legal, so I am not suggesting anything but simply stating the facts. You will either embrace it and broaden you're cultural knowledge or you won't spend your money in places such as I stated above. I'm from typical conservative/traditional views, but I've realized that you cannot place blame on the people that are here illegally but rather your own government. If you lived in the ghetto and had nothing, you would do everything you could to escape and raise your family in a better environment. I'm not trying to sound like I'm taking up for illegal aliens by no means because I strongly disagree with them being here. You have to understand realities and circumstances though, and they are simply here because they CAN be. My point, a restatement of everyone else's.....there are bad parts everywhere, you learn places that catered towards your crowd and you forget about the ones that don't. As for Miami though, I love it, move there so I'll have a place to stay on vacation. lol I'll bring some fine ladies with me to make up for your inconveniences, and I do mean fine! =P

Another helpful tip for everyone searching for nightlife, food, haircuts, hotels or anything of the likes in your area - www.yelp.com - and no this isn't my site nor a friends, I realized it's usefulness after moving 2,200 miles from home and simply couldn't find a decent haircut.