[silverct9a]

What issues will there be in the rich areas?

Originally Posted by firmbizzle

Miami is either very rich or very poor, not much of a middle class. In the poor areas, there are a lot of issues. Even in the rich areas there will be some issues, although much safer.

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by EscAlaMike

Your family is in the Daytona area, just go there.

I personally don't think that either Daytona or Miami are great options for relocation; but then I don't have firsthand experience with SoCal to know how bad it truly is there.

Strange that everyone in this thread leaning towards SoFla is either just naming places in Miami-Dade or Port St. Lucie. Talk about opposite extremes.

In between Miami and PSL you have Broward and Palm Beach counties which are honestly probably the OP's best option. Fort Lauderdale and its suburbs, West Palm Beach and its suburbs... there are a lot of options there.

I believe that compared to SoCal, Daytona will seem very podunk and backwater.

But maybe "podunk and backwater" is what the OP wants. Daytona is certainly a lot quieter and slower-paced than SoFla.

[firmbizzle]

Originally Posted by silverct9a

What issues will there be in the rich areas?

Drugs

[silverct9a]

The bolded portion from your post isn’t entirely true - I copied my own post from a previous thread to illustrate.

Nice parts of Miami and it’s metro include:

Miami:
Coconut Grove
Coral Gables
Key Biscayne
Indian Creek - Provided you’re in this tax bracket and run in these affluent circles.
Bal Harbour
Brickell

Metro:
Lighthouse Point
Parkland
Weston
Boca Raton
Jupiter
Palm Beach Gardens
Manalapan - Provided you’re in this tax bracket and run in these affluent circles.
Town of Palm Beach - Provided you’re in this tax bracket and run in these affluent circles.

Originally Posted by silverct9a

Being a local, I get a little perturbed hearing this fallacy over and over again...You're simply on the wrong coast of Florida if you place that high of an emphasis on education. Miami has the 1st ranked high school in Florida and the #4 ranked high school in the nation...the nation!

https://www.usnews.com/education/bes...udies-sas-4861

The entire list: https://www.usnews.com/education/bes...ional-rankings

Copied from another thread:
the Miami metro has many more top ranked public high schools than any other metro in Florida. The Miami metro had 97 top 25% ranked public high schools nationally in the U.S. News report below. The Tampa metro and the Orlando metro both had 33 each.


The highest ranked school the Tampa metro had was 632nd (you're seeing that right) and for the Orlando metro it was 354th. The Miami metro had the 4th ranked school nationally, and had 22 schools ranked above the Orlando metro's highest ranked school (354th).


The private schools around South Florida are also better and much more numerous than anywhere else in Florida. Boca Raton alone has 16 private schools. etc. etc. etc.



South Florida just offers so much more overall than every other metro area in Florida and anyone who says it's not "family friendly" has no idea what they're talking about or is just simply in denial.

Originally Posted by RG1981

Could you recommend a "nice" area of Miami. Because—no offense—I've spent a lot of time looking and can't seem to find any. The schools are kind of bad all over the area, even in the more expensive places.

[silverct9a]

Not very specific - drugs are everywhere. How is this only a problem in affluent neighborhoods in Miami? Are upscale areas of Orlando drug free?

Originally Posted by firmbizzle

Drugs

[RG1981]

Hey everyone, thanks again for all of your advice and suggestions but we've decided we're just going to stay put for now.


Maybe in a few more years once our kids are done with school we'll consider moving out to join the rest of the family but I don't see enough benefit to moving out there at present, even if it is cheaper.


Thanks again!

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by RG1981

Hey everyone, thanks again for all of your advice and suggestions but we've decided we're just going to stay put for now.


Maybe in a few more years once our kids are done with school we'll consider moving out to join the rest of the family but I don't see enough benefit to moving out there at present, even if it is cheaper.


Thanks again!

I think this is a good decision

[TestEngr]

Originally Posted by RG1981

Good day, C-D friends.

Points in the Daytona/Port Orange/NSB column:

• Our family is there, so it would be nice to have them nearby.
• Cheap and relatively quiet, particularly in Port Orange from what I gather.
• Uncrowded beaches, especially in New Smyrna.
• Easy-going, suburban lifestyle.

Points in the Miami column:

• My wife is originally from Chile and is not great at English. She would like to be someplace where Spanish is commonly spoken.
• EV charging is much easier to find, which is important because we have an electric car. (Insert California joke here...)
• World-class city with all sorts of great amenities, sports (we're soccer fans, so Inter Miami with Messi is a big plus), diverse dining options, etc.

I lived in both places. I would pick the port orange/NSB/Edgewater over Miami anytime. The main reason is crime. I lived two years in Miami and once a year my car window is smashed and somebody tried stealing anything at all from car. Port Orange has more houses but it is hard to get a 3 car garage when we lived in that area. NSB is a bit more expensive but most desirable. Edgewater below those two is cheaper and quiet if you go to the right place. There is nothing like the food of Miami, it is great so that is wonderful. But in Miami just a rain and your car can be flooded and so are the roads going everywhere you go and it is getting worse by the year.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by RG1981

Checking those places out, here's my objections:


1. Coral Gables looks really old and run down, like it's definitely seen better days. I don't know the area, of course, but to me it looks like one of these places that isn't as nice as it used to be and is just sort of getting by on its former reputation. Plus the schools aren't great.



2. Key Biscayne looks kind of dated as well and is outrageously priced. Schools seem to be about on par with Volusia county.



3. Brickell seems to be like a very urban area and that's really not what we're looking for.


I'm having a really hard time finding anything in the Miami area that really fits what we want outside of "people speak Spanish". It really doesn't seem to be a very good place to live, no offense.

Coral Gables:
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...=srp-list-card

Sold 5 years ago for 25mm, now asking 57mm. Doesn't seem run down or seen better days!


1000 sq ft 2 bed/1 bath. Old Florida house asking 800K 74 yrs old but still a decent looking little house.
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...=srp-list-card

That's basically the high to the low in Coral Gables real estate (single family homes/in Coral Gables).

[NorthofHere]

You might look at Sanford. According to research it has a population of about 25% Spanish speaking. It isn't far at all from Daytona/Port Orange/NSB nor from Orlando. The downtown is really nice, lots of restaurants, good walking and a lake though not a swimming lake I don't think.