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Yes the CA Coastal commission has done an excellent job with the beaches in CA compared to most of FL, though not all of it.
How do high rise condominiums destroy the beaches when houses don't? Most of SoCal's coastline is built with houses that hug the coast. I know because I used to live in one off Sunset Cliffs in San Diego.
The beaches in Florida are as, if not better, maintained than Southern California.
Also you haven't lived until you lived in a high-rise condominium on Miami Beach - fantastic views, contemporary inside, all new amenities.
You really have me thinking! I was driving around today noticing so much is being built around here and the surrounding areas I wondered what am I doing leaving. Im used to that though being military everytime we get used to a place its time to move. I think you will really love it here maybe not the dry heat and traffic but the people are nice and there is so much to do. Although its traffic it never takes me more than 1 1/2 (sometimes an hour, I'm a Ca driver..lol) to get to beach area or places like Pasadena. Don't forget its only 3 1/2 hrs to Vegas from here on a good day.
And the growth won't stop and traffic will get worse as people flee the higher cost Counties in SoCal.
When I moved to Murrieta it had just over 30,000 people, not it is well over 100,000.Temecula ditto.
Im noticing the cost of big homes out there are very expensive. We have a 3300 sq ft home and will need the same size at least 3000.
I did the quotes based on the homes we liked in parkland and wellington. When I did one for the west side of Lake worth it was higher but the rep said there are ways I can get it lower since we have really good coverage now. She said we wouldn't need as much as we have here.
The drive is not bad I have found so many shortcuts I know how to get there and back in no time but sometimes that traffic gets me. I see more people have found those same shortcuts so it takes a little longer sometimes but still better than sitting in traffic. Traffic here starts around 2 sometimes but it gets congested closer to 4-5 and I mean congested but you get used to it, or maybe I'm used to it.
The job is a pay increase but we will be spending more so were wondering if its worth it even with the pay increase. We will have the opt to transfer if a job opens somewhere else thats one of the reasons we are on the fence.
You really have me thinking! I was driving around today noticing so much is being built around here and the surrounding areas I wondered what am I doing leaving. Im used to that though being military everytime we get used to a place its time to move. I think you will really love it here maybe not the dry heat and traffic but the people are nice and there is so much to do. Although its traffic it never takes me more than 1 1/2 (sometimes an hour, I'm a Ca driver..lol) to get to beach area or places like Pasadena. Don't forget its only 3 1/2 hrs to Vegas from here on a good day.
Big homes + big A/C cooling bills my 2/2 townhome is around half that size and during the summer my power bill is $150 to $175 per month and we keep the temperature 75F roughly, turn off most lights as well.
Homeowners insurance here if you buy is expensive, near the coast it is even higher.
Have you been here before? Driving here sucks, sorry to be blunt, people are really bad here and lived and worked in Baltimore and Rockville area, Atlanta and a few other places in the northeast, iit just is not a pleasure to commute far to work especially into Miami like me. I know driving from Palm Beach County south would also equally blow on 95 and since you are looking way out west in Wellington or Lake Worth your only other option would be the turnpike which moves if there are no accidents but traffic is equally heavy and worse the further south you go, but is a long drive easily 50 miles plus a day one way depending on where in Fort Lauderdale you are going to work.
I don't mind the dry heat, but the traffic in San Jose and San Diego did not seem too bad to me after driving into and working in Miami and this surrounding area.
Do you think a salary of $120k will be hard to live on in those areas?
Gross combined or single earner? Depends on many factors, expense load, kids and if you decide to rent or buy, public or private schools but it's a good income and above average.
Were used to a commute with a drive to San Diego everyday for work but we don't want to do it if we don't have to. The crime is a big issue for me we don't really see it too much out here. I know things happen but nothing like home invasions or shootings in my area.
Flat land is not a problem for me, I really don't like hills they scare me. We have a lot of little quakes all the time but you barely feel it. I was here for the big quake in the 80's in SF felt it all the way in San Diego. I keep hearing we're due for one bigger but no one can really predict when that will happen. I will say I'm not scared to live here even after the SF one and the recent one from Mexico that we felt a few years ago. Earthquake insurance is not mandatory but I'm sure if a big one hits again they will make it mandatory just like hurricane insurance out there. I always said I would rather a warning like with hurricanes but after your evacuation discussion I'm not sure thats enough.
If crime is a big concern, I would not suggest moving to Florida, most of our big cities are bad some are worse, even the smaller ones around here but there are affluent areas where it's not as bad. I never lived in fear, but I know what areas to avoid and when in the city know what time to not be out walking down the wrong side of the tracks common sense stuff. I heard of more home invasions in Atlanta than here when I was living there, but they do happen, but there is a lot of fraud, petty theft and car break-ins depending on where you live, shootings are often drug deals gone bad and in the bad areas, car jacking happens occasionally, a woman in a complex where I worked was car jacked by a group of teenagers who took her and her car on a joy ride doing up to 100mph on 95 with her in the backseat and they crashed with FHP in pursuit, all survived but the woman was emotionally traumatized and probably will be for life. This complex was near the hood and I use to see the element riding bicycles around the complex in the middle of the day. After that they had 24 hr security.
A Mall in Boca Raton which is right on the border of Palm Beach and Broward County, affluent wealthy area, lots of celebs and famous and very rich people live there, well a number of years ago a woman and a woman and her daugther were murdered, first woman was abducted at the mall, shot at point blank range and kicked out of her Mercedes at a nearby park. The other two were a mother and daughter who were abducted and shot execution style in the parking lot while tied up in their car,this happened during Christmas and really shook up the area. You can read about it here, along with this smash and grab crimes are also popular in these affluent areas, jewelry stores, saks and nordstrom.
Suppose most big cities are the same and San Diego is not perfect either.
There is a lot of poverty here and into Miami, jobs are not great and pay is low, people resort to other means to make money because working a full-time job does not pay the bills.
Earthquakes are only scary when they happen. Don't require evacuation, though if you live in an apartment building and a somewhat reasonable earthquake strikes, you may sleep 1-2 nights outside to hedge your bets on a stronger or similarly strong quake striking and bringing down the place. No evacuation, no "earth-quake proofing" your homes (that's already done in the building codes). That being said, California is due for a big one, and they do unsettle a lot of people, myself included.
The Mountains provide a nice backdrop in SoCal, and some weekend getaways. I don't know why they need adjustment, most of SoCal is hilly which can make biking cumbersome if you're not used to that. That's the only adjustment I can think you will need.
Finally Temecula is boring, stay away.
When I was looking at moving to San Jose, had the offer that I declined but did not turn it down due to that, the risk was even higher for quakes. If you happen to be standing in a field, you will be okay, as long as you are not standing over a fault, if in or on a structure that cannot handle it, then it's bad news. I cannot imagine what a Cat. 5 would do to South Florida now, more people living here and when Andrew hit Homestead was wiped off of the map, over 100,000+ homes some right down to the foundations, building codes have improved but there are a lot of pre-Andrew construction out there and the insurance rates after another bad season as 2004 and 2005 would make living here even more expensive and risky.
I also miss the mountains, I mountain bike and well there are no mountains here other than old dumps turned into parks and am usually stuck with little artificial hills and trails. I use to ride in the mid-atlantic and northeast so to me that's a big plus and a much better work out. Roads here are also boring, flat and straight and too dangerous to road bike on. I saw a lot of people riding bikes in Carlsbad, and the local area, more so than here as most people I know gave up road bikes, too dangerous as nobody respect the bike lanes here.
I did not find Temecula to be boring, far from the beach and different family oriented community. I am not into clubbing or the party scene of Miami Beach, but we go down to Los Olas and the area often, older we get the less interesting it is though.
How do high rise condominiums destroy the beaches when houses don't? Most of SoCal's coastline is built with houses that hug the coast. I know because I used to live in one off Sunset Cliffs in San Diego.
The beaches in Florida are as, if not better, maintained than Southern California.
Also you haven't lived until you lived in a high-rise condominium on Miami Beach - fantastic views, contemporary inside, all new amenities.
For me I find many to be overkill and it looks like Clearwater and touristy. Most of these high rises are seasonal and sit empty with the hurricane shutters closed during the summer, looks bad.
The beaches here are nicer in a different way than CA, both have their pros and cons, flesh eating bacteria is a rising problem along with the polluted river way up north that is flowing green algae and loaded with dead fish. Every summer it just seems that this issue arises, don't go the water with a cut, also shark attacked, neither of which ever phased me I go out and swim anyways.
And the growth won't stop and traffic will get worse as people flee the higher cost Counties in SoCal.
When I moved to Murrieta it had just over 30,000 people, not it is well over 100,000.Temecula ditto.
Same thing is happening here, people from Miami are moving north or have been for a long time into Broward and now Palm Beach Counties. Some get sick of the overcrowding, traffic and cost of living in those areas and move even further north into Martin or St. Lucie. Problem is no jobs. I always liked Naples but it's very heavy seasonal/tourist type of place with a terrible professional job market, sure is nice though if you are rich and do not have to work, Marco Island, Naples and Sanibel/Captiva are nice.
And the growth won't stop and traffic will get worse as people flee the higher cost Counties in SoCal.
When I moved to Murrieta it had just over 30,000 people, not it is well over 100,000.Temecula ditto.
You're right when we moved here the highways weren't crowed during the day just during rush hour (before work, after work hours) now it can be all day sometimes, but I'm used to it.
Big homes + big A/C cooling bills my 2/2 townhome is around half that size and during the summer my power bill is $150 to $175 per month and we keep the temperature 75F roughly, turn off most lights as well.
Homeowners insurance here if you buy is expensive, near the coast it is even higher.
Have you been here before? Driving here sucks, sorry to be blunt, people are really bad here and lived and worked in Baltimore and Rockville area, Atlanta and a few other places in the northeast, iit just is not a pleasure to commute far to work especially into Miami like me. I know driving from Palm Beach County south would also equally blow on 95 and since you are looking way out west in Wellington or Lake Worth your only other option would be the turnpike which moves if there are no accidents but traffic is equally heavy and worse the further south you go, but is a long drive easily 50 miles plus a day one way depending on where in Fort Lauderdale you are going to work.
I don't mind the dry heat, but the traffic in San Jose and San Diego did not seem too bad to me after driving into and working in Miami and this surrounding area.
I keep my temp at 78 and I pay $350-400 during the summer months which in this area can be 6 months (May-June).
Ive only visited Central and Northern Fl and we experience some traffic in those areas but for the most part it flowed. I will come visit soon to see the area hopefully we can get some what of an idea.
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