[MotleyCrew]

Well I have to again thank all of you Floridians for the wonderful information that real estate agents tend to leave out of a conversation. The insurance problem is huge and we certainly hope you can resolve it and middle class people can continue to live there. We will be staying in Arizona for our retirement dreams now. Our electric bill this month was $89.00! We have a 2,069 square foot new build home in a fantastic development. Insurance is only $500 a year (I am over insured) and property tax was $2,000.
We will continue to bring you our tourist dollars twice a year to see Mickey and friends and we will certainly keep you all in our thoughts. We will always love Florida best.

[Need_affordable_home]

Stay in Arizona. I personally may move to AZ myself when I get old and can no longer handle Pennsylvania winters. AZ is a much better deal in everyway.

[elfyum]

Must disagree...Love Miami!!!!! Would NEVER leave except for large acreage in a rural enviornment. But that's either if we strike it rich, or when we retire...Otherwise, Miami is the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!

[tallrick]

My goodmess. WHAT is good about Miami that you can't find elsewhere?

[lonelychicagoan]

Originally Posted by Lookin4myMountain

You can not live in Miami unless you are RICH!!! I've been here close to 30 years let me tell you...

Traffic is BAD! Depending how far you work from home, plan at least 1 hour ahead for the Turnpike if you hit it by 7 am./ 1 1/2 for local streets and the Palmetto (which is using peoples former back yards for enlarging lanes ) 3hours! I do not drive on it!! Drivers are aggressive, they hardly ever allow you to merge in their lane, and the boomboxes on wheels, please I haven't had my coffee yet...

Buying a house - my biggest mistake or was it ? I rent 3bed/ 2bath in south miami, no yard $1200 a month, cable $50, phonebill with dsl / cell phones -$175, electric $250, water $150 , food at your local Publix where shopping is highway robbery $200 per week!!!!!!!! Gas $2.50 per gallon.......

Ya you've seen beautiful pics of our state, but can you afford to live here? For me noo, the beaches are always packed, parking is expensive, crime in certain areas are scary, people will kill you for your car!!! Malls are always packed, forget Walmart during Holidays, sardines in a can have more space!The rude people in our town is saddly our kids - teenagers - hardly into puberty making out, cussing at you, racing around in their boombox cars, and the way they dress my God, what are parents thinking! The girls act like slushies and the boys like foulmouth punks.

There are nice places, but be prepared to pay, can you believe a 3 bed/ 2 bath old house in Miami Springs,no land $600,000 !!! It was advertized in their local gazette! INSANE!!! don't even ask about the taxes every year...

Think it thru man don't move here theres no room to evacuate when a hurricane hits...stay home or drown in your car...that is the way i see it. IR

want really insane taxes, costs, real estate, and really insane lifestyles? check out du page county, illinois!

[Chelito23]

The original poster hit the nail on the head!
Do not believe other posters who glamorize life in South Florida. Those are people who are not life long residents and are most likely new to the area or are extremely wealthy. OR evil real estate agents! Sadly, when us native, life long residents post what life is like for the middle class and the daily problems we have to endure, we are called bitter, sheltered or negative. NOT true at all. Here there is a sickness, if you criticize the comunity or any of its aspects, you are the problem! Forget trying to address an issue or resolving it E.I. crime, traffic, pollution. People will say, well its a big city! crime is everywhere! of course theres traffic! But I say, at least in other cities these are confined to certain areas and there is viable mass transit. Plus you can try to imrpove your community without being attacked! The people who rant and rave are the truely sheltered ones here. They live a secluded life in gourmet boutique stores, valet parks their cars, kids go to walled off private schools, they have pools (therefore have no concept of trying to drive to the PUBLIC beach) and the list goes on. I loved the quote about Publix where shopping is highway robbery! haha. It is one of the nicer stores here but IS overpriced...but Winn Dixie makes anyone want to go home and curl up with a bottle of red wine. Poorly managed and physically dirty and poor selections and horrible service. SCARY employees. SCARIER customers. But then again, they are fading away into oblivion as they have declared bankruptcy. maybe a nicer chain will replace them? The funny thing is, many long time chains have left the South Florida market completely...remeber Sonic? Albertson's? I guess it is such a "unique" market they don't even bother. The sad thing is, I shop at Publix because that is the one store where the employees aren't totally nasty. You actually might be treated like a human being there! A rarity in Miami! But then again, got o a Publix in Georgia and you will be blown away by how much nicer they are there....but I really think the lifestyle here just doesn't allow people to put down their guards...and many people here suffer from the ME syndrome. It is sad. I really miss the days when there was a sense of cummunity and respect for others. I love the diversity and beaches and shopping, but I think meaningful human relationships and interactions on a daily basis are more important than year round warm weather! Well that was my rant of the morning haha. Hope you all have a nice weekend.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Jill Warner

Well I have to again thank all of you Floridians for the wonderful information that real estate agents tend to leave out of a conversation. The insurance problem is huge and we certainly hope you can resolve it and middle class people can continue to live there. We will be staying in Arizona for our retirement dreams now. Our electric bill this month was $89.00! We have a 2,069 square foot new build home in a fantastic development. Insurance is only $500 a year (I am over insured) and property tax was $2,000.
We will continue to bring you our tourist dollars twice a year to see Mickey and friends and we will certainly keep you all in our thoughts. We will always love Florida best.

What is the cost of electric there? I live in Fort Lauderdale and mine was $65.60 this month. That is not by chance, we make an effort to keep it down. It is like a game to us.

[vpcats]

Originally Posted by macguy

What is the cost of electric there? I live in Fort Lauderdale and mine was $65.60 this month. That is not by chance, we make an effort to keep it down. It is like a game to us.

My electric just came for $120. It's been coming down from $300/mth over the past 3 months. It's only a 1650 sq. ft. house and I had the heavy duty insulation put in in the attic. I keep the a/c on 78 during the day. Goes to 75 at 5pm, then 74 at 10pm. Have ceiling fans. Hardly ever use the oven and the electric stove is a 15 min deal. We BBQ a lot. Microwave gets a lot of use as does the washer & dryer & vacuum cleaner. Water heater is always on. Computers and TVs are usually all on as I keep watching parts of shows as I move from one part of the house to another. I put "daylight" curly lightbulbs throughout my house. Have to figure out how long it will take for those to pay for themselves. They're not cheap!

The cost of food and cleaning items
No matter where you buy. Publix, WD (which I despise and only go in there for the small items (milk, bread, etc.) I go to Costco a lot but as much as I love going there, I am petrified. You have to buy huge amounts of anything and you end up spending a fortune. The good side is that a lot will last for a while - detergent, paper towel, toilet paper, meat, chicken, fish (break up into portions) and so you don't have to get the same stuff every week. But you have to have the space to store and freeze.

[vpcats]

Originally Posted by Steve-o

Ditto everything, except the hurricanes, here in Chicagoland. It doesnt sound all that bad down there really. I was paying 1,000 a month for a 750 sq ft apartment, then 1,300 a month for a 2BR 1 BA apt, now we had to move 50 miles west just to get decent prices and get out of the area.

Taxes here in some areas will run you 9 grand a year and a fixer upper in a nice neighborhood is anywhere from 4-700 grand in spots, who most people end up tearing them down and putting up 1 million dollar McMansions. Where do all these people get all this money? Gas here is more expensive, drivers are utterly aggressive, and it just gets worse every year. I feel your pain, but to be honest, Miami is far more relaxed than Chicago is, trust me on that. The only downsides to Florida are the hot summers and the potential hurricanes. Other than that you guys still have it better than NYC, Cali, NJ, etc. Plus, your winters are the best in the country (minus Honolulu).

My taxes are $3300 this year and I have the Homestead exemption. My homeowners insurance is $6482 with a $3200 deductible for hurricanes. Homeowner's is not tax deductible.
You do need quite a good income to live in Miami - Then again, it all depends on your expectations, home ownership, lifestyle, etc. but at the bottom of the totem pole standards and average income, you would not be a very happy camper.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by vpcats

The cost of food and cleaning items
No matter where you buy. Publix, WD, which I despise and only go in there for the small items (milk, bread, etc.)

To save on fresh produce costs, seek a fresh produce stand where they usually have mostly local fruits and vegetables mixed with imported goods (like bananas and pineapples). Maybe they are not a shiny as the produce at Publix, etc. but the quality is fine if you go at the right times and pick carefully, and they cost as little as half the price, maybe less for some products.

There is still local agriculture in Florida. If you find a fresh produce stand in your area, support it! Furthermore there are farmers markets in virtually every county in Florida. I believe there is a listing with maps on the Florida State Agriculture Department website.

Local agriculture deserves support.