[aewan68]

Originally Posted by expatCA

It does not seem to be current either as the last date mentioned is 2008 for a rage issue and 2009 for a law. Plus it really shows South FL is worse and that is to be expected around the Miami area which has the worst traffic. That does not mean the other cities were bad or are bad.

Miami Metro Area is quite big, covering three counties, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Glades, you have nearly 6.7 million people jammed in this area, with only 95 and the FL Turnpike for N and S travel. With the exception of 595 in Broward, there are no real freeways with limited access in SoFla that go east and west, they did improve Southern Blvd in West Palm Beach but it's more of a bypass/hightway with traffic lights.

That is, no 78, 56, 52, 8 or etc. like what's in San Diego County, though most of those roads are filled with heavy traffic during peak times, SoFla doesn't have any plans to add more roads with it's future growth projections to be quite high, gridlock and road rage will only get worse. They are already saying it will mirror LA in due time.


"South Florida’s traffic headaches are going to get worse, according to traffic engineers. The map below compares road conditions in 2014 with projections for 2040. A rating of "D" means speeds sometimes decline slightly in heavy traffic. An "E" indicates the road is operating near or at capacity, while an "F" means the demand is often greater than the road was designed to handle."

South Florida's plan for traffic: 'We're going to make them suffer' Sun Sentinel

A lot of people commute north and south then east to west and vice versa on roads that are congested with school zones, residential suburban sprawl and the retail jungle. During my time there I had jobs in various locations in SoFla and it was no longer fun commuting after 2000 or so.

The link states they want people to use Mass Transit, which for the most part sucks in SoFla compared to here and other metro areas. For what exists, it's not convenient or useful for many outside of Miami's Metrorail system, which is small compared to MARTA Light rail system in Atlanta.

While in San Diego County, mass transit is improving. They are adding a Trolley line that will go as far north as La Jolla UTC. Personally for me it's a lot easier to hop on that and go downtown SD then attempting to drive and find parking.

[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by expatCA

It does not seem to be current either as the last date mentioned is 2008 for a rage issue and 2009 for a law. Plus it really shows South FL is worse and that is to be expected around the Miami area which has the worst traffic. That does not mean the other cities were bad or are bad.

I have a friend in Sunrise, a brother in Pembroke Pines and a friend in Miami Lakes. I dont know how they do it. The traffic is horrendous.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by aewan68

Miami Metro Area is quite big, covering three counties, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Glades, you have nearly 6.7 million people jammed in this area, with only 95 and the FL Turnpike for N and S travel. With the exception of 595 in Broward, there are no real freeways with limited access in SoFla that go east and west, they did improve Southern Blvd in West Palm Beach but it's more of a bypass/hightway with traffic lights.

That is, no 78, 56, 52, 8 or etc. like what's in San Diego County, though most of those roads are filled with heavy traffic during peak times, SoFla doesn't have any plans to add more roads with it's future growth projections to be quite high, gridlock and road rage will only get worse. They are already saying it will mirror LA in due time.


"South Florida’s traffic headaches are going to get worse, according to traffic engineers. The map below compares road conditions in 2014 with projections for 2040. A rating of "D" means speeds sometimes decline slightly in heavy traffic. An "E" indicates the road is operating near or at capacity, while an "F" means the demand is often greater than the road was designed to handle."

South Florida's plan for traffic: 'We're going to make them suffer' Sun Sentinel

A lot of people commute north and south then east to west and vice versa on roads that are congested with school zones, residential suburban sprawl and the retail jungle. During my time there I had jobs in various locations in SoFla and it was no longer fun commuting after 2000 or so.

The link states they want people to use Mass Transit, which for the most part sucks in SoFla compared to here and other metro areas. For what exists, it's not convenient or useful for many outside of Miami's Metrorail system, which is small compared to MARTA Light rail system in Atlanta.

While in San Diego County, mass transit is improving. They are adding a Trolley line that will go as far north as La Jolla UTC. Personally for me it's a lot easier to hop on that and go downtown SD then attempting to drive and find parking.

I have just driven through the Miami Metro area, but lived in SD County for many years. SD County is bigger, but I was just there and while some areas were fine others, especially the 15 and 5 are bad for traffic. The SE FL traffic is very much like LA, bad ..... However other than say the Tampa/ST Pete area the balance of FL is pretty good.

The trolley will help people in that area, but not the County as a whole. The problem for SD County and in fact all of coastal SoCal as well as SE FL, is the number of people who live there and want to live there. The growing population just makes it worse. However growth will not stop. People for some silly reason keep having kids. Then we have migration into both SoCal and FL ....

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by expatCA

I have just driven through the Miami Metro area, but lived in SD County for many years. SD County is bigger, but I was just there and while some areas were fine others, especially the 15 and 5 are bad for traffic. The SE FL traffic is very much like LA, bad ..... However other than say the Tampa/ST Pete area the balance of FL is pretty good.

The trolley will help people in that area, but not the County as a whole. The problem for SD County and in fact all of coastal SoCal as well as SE FL, is the number of people who live there and want to live there. The growing population just makes it worse. However growth will not stop. People for some silly reason keep having kids. Then we have migration into both SoCal and FL ....

Glad you can agree the traffic in SoFla is horrid, many who live here think that the area I came from is much like other parts of the state and it's not. I take it upon myself to constantly remind CA natives I work with on how it is in SoFla based on my years of experience in living there.

[Csonka]

I am from Tampa (20 years there) and live in Los Angeles (20 years here) plus places in between.

If you want to make money, move to CA. The weather (dry, etc) is also more conducive to working and motivating yourself to attack the day. A lot more opportunity. There is so much to do here, and the place is changing every day as different neighborhoods transition into the next big thing. The people are a little more reserved.

The humidity in FL makes it, at least for me, hard to get motivated and makes me sleepy. I hear a lot of people say the same. The strengths of FL are the beaches (far better) and the beautiful nighttimes with all of the stars out, and boating if you like it, BBQ, and fishing. FL at night, in a word, is more romantic, and the violent weather can be exciting.

[Elbig]

Originally Posted by Csonka

I am from Tampa (20 years there) and live in Los Angeles (20 years here) plus places in between.

If you want to make money, move to CA. The weather (dry, etc) is also more conducive to working and motivating yourself to attack the day. A lot more opportunity. There is so much to do here, and the place is changing every day as different neighborhoods transition into the next big thing. The people are a little more reserved.

The humidity in FL makes it, at least for me, hard to get motivated and makes me sleepy. I hear a lot of people say the same. The strengths of FL are the beaches (far better) and the beautiful nighttimes with all of the stars out, and boating if you like it, BBQ, and fishing. FL at night, in a word, is more romantic, and the violent weather can be exciting.

Having lived in LA and SoFla, I have few comments. I agree the nice dry weather is great although I can handle the humidity in Florida. I am not sure I agree that the weather makes it more conducive to work but I'll take your word on that. There are more job opportunities BUT the cost of housing is out of site. Taxes overall are higher plus horrendous traffic and smog add to the mix.

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by Elbig

Having lived in LA and SoFla, I have few comments. I agree the nice dry weather is great although I can handle the humidity in Florida. I am not sure I agree that the weather makes it more conducive to work but I'll take your word on that. There are more job opportunities BUT the cost of housing is out of site. Taxes overall are higher plus horrendous traffic and smog add to the mix.

Weather never bothered me in West Palm Beach where we lived for a long time but compared to SoCal, the cost of housing and rent, taxes, car & homeowners insurance, traffic and overall high cost of living based on median incomes in SoFla are not much to brag about even after you consider the expense of CA State Income Tax.

My expenses actually dropped substantially from SoFla since moving here. I got my Geico bill from West Palm Beach right after I moved here, it went up $30/month for no reason, would have made it $330/month for two average cars, safe drivers, excellent credit, no tickets and etc. Here my bill is $80/month for the same coverage and cars. Also my company supplied health insurance is 50% less than what it was in SoFla.

I moved here for my Career and yes, it's was a good move that I put off for a number of years. Problem with SoFla is the jobs typically don't pay enough to make it sustainable, employers don't care, there is no competition like here for talent nor is there a lot of companies and the morale is quite poor.

Co-workers there complained about the pay and etc. From job to job, I heard it and I worked in a Professional setting with a highly educated workforce.