Expert Opinions Needed - To move or not to move? (Miami: rent, insurance)

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by crisp444

That's a really discouraging thing to be telling people who want to move here.

I'm one of the more positive people on here but honestly it's true...of course there are some exceptions and I even said that most of the elementary schools are fine. It's not even the schools themselves in a lot of cases, but it's the bad influences in the system. I have seen a few schools do a really good job trying to overcome it (South Plantation and Fort Lauderdale come to mind) but generally speaking we are in pretty bad shape down here.

As far as Dade schools, that's off topic at this point but I do believe the issue is in the schools themselves there too. They got slammed on the news for having MICE in most of their schools. IMO if they can't keep the places clean, they can't possibly teach. Granted it can happen anywhere (the only Broward school that had mice happened to be a "good" school) but the fact that the problem can get that widespread speaks for the system.

[Mason19]

So for those of you still living there, what motivates you all to stay there if it’s so bad? I imagine some of you are quite comfortable because you make a good living but for those of you struggling through like I more than likely will be (by the sounds of it), what keeps you there? There’s gotta be something that keeps you there.

[compelled to reply]

Over 55 thousand people have left Broward County over the past two years...mostly working and middle class families...upper middle class families seem to be staying. Is is worth noting that schools in Weston and west Pembroke Pines keep on growing (upper middle class areas) and schools in areas like Hollywood and Pompano Beach (working class) are declining in population. South Florida is basically a place for the childless. It has good family areas if you need it, but the expenses...if your job provides a lot of room for advancement, your kids can get a decent elementary education here in most areas and if you can bump your budget up somehow a little more, you can live someplace that you can be proud to call home.

[AJ1972]

You could find a house in a nice area in a better school zone for 300k easily and nowadays 250k, but I don't know how your budget is that high with only 38k a year. I wouldn't move here, this place is very hard on working class families. I wouldn't move here with children making under 75k a year.

Compelled has a great point.
My husband makes more than 75k, we own our 3 bedroom condo, have 2 kids, live in a nice area (Coral Springs area), and are looking to buy a 4 bedroom home....but with taxes, home owners insurance, and the cost of the homes we're looking at (in our area are easily average $340k), with school loans, we are not going to make it here. We are in the process of trying to decide where to go.

[zoran]

We're from Canada and have been spending most of our winters in Florida for the last 15 yrs. We brought our kids with us and I schooled them so they didn't fall behind. We were thinking of buying a small home for our retirement but since the war broke out we haven't been back and don't think we will. The weather is not that great at certain given times, the prices are much higher than canada for just about everything and we find their is more crime out there. So I think we'll stay in Canada and enjoy our homeland. With young children you also have to remember that medical care is not the same as ours.

[Mason19]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Over 55 thousand people have left Broward County over the past two years...mostly working and middle class families...upper middle class families seem to be staying. Is is worth noting that schools in Weston and west Pembroke Pines keep on growing (upper middle class areas) and schools in areas like Hollywood and Pompano Beach (working class) are declining in population. South Florida is basically a place for the childless. It has good family areas if you need it, but the expenses...if your job provides a lot of room for advancement, your kids can get a decent elementary education here in most areas and if you can bump your budget up somehow a little more, you can live someplace that you can be proud to call home.

This has been very educational and enlightening, thanks for the insight. I look forward to hearing as many more comments as possible.

Thanks,

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by zoran

With young children you also have to remember that medical care is not the same as ours.

I'm not even going to go there...however it would be comforting to know that in the US, your kids don't have to wait 6 months for a doctors appointment. No we don't have that socialized healthcare nonsense but the quality of healthcare in the US is unmatched. Our system is broken, but not in terms of quality standards.Your job will most likely provide health insurance benefits.

[AJ1972]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

I'm not even going to go there...however it would be comforting to know that in the US, your kids don't have to wait 6 months for a doctors appointment. No we don't have that socialized healthcare nonsense but the quality of healthcare in the US is unmatched. Our system is broken, but not in terms of quality standards.Your job will most likely provide health insurance benefits.

You hope. lol And hopefully they're not expensive. In the med field, my hubby (before taking a job) was offered positions, and the health insurance would cost us $1000 (with dental) if we took their plan. LOL Now we pay $526 per month for the 4 of us. Still a lot.

[Mason19]

Originally Posted by zoran

We're from Canada and have been spending most of our winters in Florida for the last 15 yrs. We brought our kids with us and I schooled them so they didn't fall behind. We were thinking of buying a small home for our retirement but since the war broke out we haven't been back and don't think we will. The weather is not that great at certain given times, the prices are much higher than canada for just about everything and we find their is more crime out there. So I think we'll stay in Canada and enjoy our homeland. With young children you also have to remember that medical care is not the same as ours.

Toronto is pretty expensive; are you saying that the cost of living is higher in Fort Lauderdale? That is surprising to me but I guess you would know since you’ve lived both places. My job would cover healthcare though so thats a plus.

[crisp444]

For what reason do you wish to move to South Florida? I would honestly say that if you are doing fine where you are to stay put. I will normally give positive feedback about South Florida, but I think that it would be very hard to live on $38,000 with kids. If you were single, I would definitely be telling you do "come on down." I would say that for you to live a middle class lifestyle with kids in Broward County, you will need to make $20,000 more than your salary will be.

In the early 1990's my mom got sick and was told not to work for a few years, and during that time my family of 4 lived on my dad's income of $35,000. I don't know how they did it! We really had to cut corners and had to be very frugal... and that was $35,000 in the early/mid 90's! The funny thing is that my parents make more than triple that now and still complain about things like hurricane insurance and gas prices. It's an expensive area, but if you are frugal it can be done. However, my main point is that you don't want to sacrifice a comfortable middle class lifestyle in Canada just to come struggle in sunny Florida.