[utsava]

I ended up in Florida and deceided to stay!

I need some help where exactly to move to.

I will be working as a loan officer and get promising job offers everywhere.
I do have limited funds right now.
I like the late back life style around hollywood etc, but also would not mind Tampa. i don't know many more places in Florida.
What I find difficult, is the living situation. It seems,there are more cheap rentals in Tampa, I could also have a weekly rate at a motel etc., while around Miami, that seems impossible.

To start off, it seems I should stay in Tampa, because of financial reasons.
Any comments?
Are there any other places they are more liberal?

I don't want to work to just pay the rent....or does anyone know a place outside miami/hollywood etc. where you could commute from?

thanks for any ideas.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by utsava

I ended up in Florida and deceided to stay!

I need some help where exactly to move to.

I will be working as a loan officer and get promising job offers everywhere.
I do have limited funds right now.
I like the late back life style around hollywood etc, but also would not mind Tampa. i don't know many more places in Florida.
What I find difficult, is the living situation. It seems,there are more cheap rentals in Tampa, I could also have a weekly rate at a motel etc., while around Miami, that seems impossible.

To start off, it seems I should stay in Tampa, because of financial reasons.
Any comments?
Are there any other places they are more liberal?

I don't want to work to just pay the rent....or does anyone know a place outside miami/hollywood etc. where you could commute from?

thanks for any ideas.

Go Tampa. Hollywood has the liberal bend that you might be looking for, but just go Tampa, seriously. Especially with limited funds. Do NOT move to Miami. Miami has a reputation for ruining peoples lives in your situations. You come with limited funds, leave with nothing + debt.

Hollywood is a part of the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area actually, which is an area I would recommend strongly over Miami. In general, if you want a liberal bend,diverse populace, and tropical climate, go greater Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood. Your quality of life is a little higher, but the same thing about Miami applies fiscally. If you don't want to go broke, go Tampa. I do NOT recommend South Florida in your situation.

[utsava]

thanks for your advice. Do you live there?
So you are saying, that they are liberal people in Fort lauderdale area and Tampa, but Tampa is actually great financially....while Fort Lauderdale might be like miami, money wise, but a bit better....but I guess you still have to make a fortune to survive....any other options...thanks for any more thought, they are so far helpful.....

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by utsava

thanks for your advice. Do you live there?
So you are saying, that they are liberal people in Fort lauderdale area and Tampa, but Tampa is actually great financially....while Fort Lauderdale might be like miami, money wise, but a bit better....but I guess you still have to make a fortune to survive....any other options...thanks for any more thought, they are so far helpful.....

Fort Lauderdale is far more liberal. This is one of the most progressive areas in the United States. I live in an outlying upscale suburb of Fort Lauderdale. I love it, but you better have 350k to plunk down on a home. I'm personally a political moderate, going either way drifting towards Conservative, but at the same time I don't really feel like a misfit down here. Anything goes really, which is precisely what I love about this area. I have never seen a place with such a mix that actually works. Fort Lauderdale is just a little safer, a LOT friendlier, and less congested than Miami. Job market is also a little better if you don't speak Spanish. Don't come down here seeking a "laid back" lifestyle though. Tampa actually has more of that. Fort Lauderdale is FAST paced.

Tampa is more politically conservative, but honestly, that might be a good thing (look at the cost of living). It's also more socially conservative, which may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your views. Fort Lauderdale is pretty much "whatever floats your boat" socially, whereas in Tampa you might feel just a TAD uncomfortable as anything but a conservative. It's not exactly backwards, just fairly conservative. Lauderdale area seems to be open to both sides of the spectrum.

You could look into Orlando, but personally, I hate Orlando. The economy is stronger in Orlando than anywhere in the state really though (which is sad), but Fort Lauderdale has better wage potential. Tampa wages suck, and wages in Fort Lauderdale area are still crappy compared to the cost of living.

Hey, feel free to send me private message about specifics , so we can go ahead and let others reply to your thread.

[JohnVosilla]

Originally Posted by not a member

Technically you live in Metro Miami. The Census Bureau recognizes Metro Miami as being comprised of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. This includes Ft. Lauderdale, Weston, and Hollywood. Even Boca Raton! (sorry guys). These cities are recognized as suburbs of bright lights-big city Miami. Anyways, the demographic/population differences between the 3 counties is getting smaller every year. If the traffic/Spanish of the City of Miami proper turns you off, you'll not find major relief in Hollywood or Ft. Lauderdale or Weston. Try Palm Coast or somewhere like that.

I agree. The other poster must have some 1992 flashback of what Broward and Palm Beach County once were. It has changed dramatically as has metro Orlando. You still have a few gems in SoFla like Palm Beach Gardens and seaside in Delray Beach though that are holding up quite well.. All just our humble opinions in the end of course..

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by JohnVosilla

I agree. The other poster must have some 1992 flashback of what Broward and Palm Beach County once were. It has changed dramatically as has metro Orlando. You still have a few gems in SoFla like Palm Beach Gardens and seaside in Delray Beach though that are holding up quite well.. All just our humble opinions in the end of course..

Are you kidding me? Delray is full of slums when you go off of the glitz of Atlantic Avenue. It has a nice downtown area, but you must be kidding me to say that "its holding up as a little gem". But like you said, all just our opinions...

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by not a member

Technically you live in Metro Miami. The Census Bureau recognizes Metro Miami as being comprised of Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. This includes Ft. Lauderdale, Weston, and Hollywood. Even Boca Raton! (sorry guys). These cities are recognized as suburbs of bright lights-big city Miami. Anyways, the demographic/population differences between the 3 counties is getting smaller every year. If the traffic/Spanish of the City of Miami proper turns you off, you'll not find major relief in Hollywood or Ft. Lauderdale or Weston. Try Palm Coast or somewhere like that.

Well, for one, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach are still considered micropolitan areas. For another, the differences are huge. Dade is almost entirely foreign influences from Caribbean (including Cuba) and South American nations, Broward is a big mess of West Indian (more per-capita than Dade), whites from the Northeast, growing presence of Asians on the SW corner, and the latins aren't really immigrating here, but tend to be professionals moving in from Miami Dade,are mostly of Colombian and Venezuelan descent, and almost all of them speak English.You hear Spanish spoken, but English remains the rule. Not many Cubans at all, so that alone is a huge difference, plus we are a White plurality (not Majority) county, which alone is a huge difference from Dade. Palm Beach County remains a solid White majority, with most Latins being poorer immigrants from Central America or Mexico,settling in central PBC or out in the agricultural areas, and some Haitians in Delray, Boynton, and the central east parts of the county. The rest is pretty much solidly white.

I need to ask, have you even been out here before?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by not a member

You need to realize, unlike you I'm a lifelong resident of Dade/Broward Counties. Currently I live in Broward, work in Dade. I remember back when Broward more resembled today's Treasure Coast than it did today's Dade county, as it does today. Doesn't necessarily mean the place has declined, but it sure has changed. The differences USED TO be huge, but I personally think anybody who believes 2007 Broward is hugely different and worlds apart from Dade or even Palm Beach is shunning reality. The difference isn't very great, especially to outsiders. I can't begin to tell you how often I hear when I'm in other parts of the state how "everything south of PGA Boulevard should be cut off from the rest of Florida/avoided/blown up etc." I don't necessarily agree with this negative outlook, but fact is most people, especially those from outside the region, see this as all one big metro mass with increasingly only marginal differences between the 3 counties.

Well, I can agree with that philosophy. Now I see exactly where you are coming from. I have family that was raised in North Miami Beach in the 70s, and they tell me how Hollywood used to be semi-rural. Of course it has changed in that respect. I just was saying that the quality of life is slightly higher. The demographic differences between the 3 counties are still major though...I obviously can not deny the differences just from 10 years ago...

[mrs1885]

My only suggestion would be stay away from the coastal areas. Before we moved from Naples we were looking in other areas of the state. As would be expected, with perhaps a few exceptions, the coastal areas are way more expensive.

Only other suggestion is avoid anything on the SW coast of the state. The population and cost of living are just sick. Florida really isn't - generally speaking - a place for a person with limited finances.

[NatureCoastFL]

Seems like the OP just asked for an opinion where to live, not a dissertation on what constitues "miami"....
Go to tampa, its not perfect for sure, but its a good place to start. There are many different areas of tampa, so depending on where your job is, you would want to find a apt/home near it. Tampa is not the city to have to commute across to get to work....