Unsure of moving to Fort Lauderdale.. (Miami, Boca Raton: environment, real estate, property taxes)

[alwayschels]

I am 21 years old and looking for a college to transfer to but unsure of where to move.. Anyone have any opinions on the following.. Fort Lauderdale, Scottsdale or Chicago? Looking to spend max 2000 on a rental. I enjoy the nightlife scene and would move to Las Olas area but I'm just wondering what city would have the best opportunities for a young person?

[bale002]

Originally Posted by alwayschels

I am 21 years old and looking for a college to transfer to but unsure of where to move.. Anyone have any opinions on the following.. Fort Lauderdale, Scottsdale or Chicago? Looking to spend max 2000 on a rental. I enjoy the nightlife scene and would move to Las Olas area but I'm just wondering what city would have the best opportunities for a young person?

What university are you looking at in Fort Lauderdale?

Part of the answer may depend on what point in your university career you are and what you want to do.

If you want a career in the yachting industry, for example, Fort Lauderdale may be the place. If you want to study economics, Chicago may be better.

In any case, with a $2000 budget for rental you should be fine in Fort Lauderdale, not sure about Chicago.

Overall, though, I would think that Chicago would offer more opportunities for a young person than Fort Lauderdale (no clue about Scottsdale).

Good luck!

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by alwayschels

I am 21 years old and looking for a college to transfer to but unsure of where to move.. Anyone have any opinions on the following.. Fort Lauderdale, Scottsdale or Chicago? Looking to spend max 2000 on a rental. I enjoy the nightlife scene and would move to Las Olas area but I'm just wondering what city would have the best opportunities for a young person?

For me, Chicago would be #1. Amazing city, great schools, tons to do and depending on your field, loads of opportunities. You can get decent rent in some areas of the city or metro area as well. It is my second favorite city. The winters are a little ridiculous but, if you can adjust to that, its all to the good. Also, its the birth place of house music and me = house head.

Fort Lauderdale is ok, the schools are ok. You will definitely need a car if you don't already have one. Chicago you can rely on mass transit which is another plus. I guess it boils down to what you are looking for in life.

Best of luck in your search. Oh and whats your major? Some schools are better than others in this regard.

[runswithscissors]

Yeah I agree withe Wild Style and say Chicago. My son, age 28 agrees. And there are still things to do in the winter indoors. Even say, volleyball leagues, they play then party at the local pubs. All the neighborhoods of Chicago are interesting, fun restaurants. Culture abounding in the city. Summers are great that's why there are so many marathons etc outside. I think Chicago has tons of community spirit. My son would have moved there after being in FLL area for 10 years (or Phila our hometown which is really geographically excellent but not as culturally great) except for his business, he has to stay based here for awhile. He's always been bored here AND points out that travel anywhere takes several hours. Up in Philly you can be in Canada even, really "quick".

[Lost in Translation]

Knowing both cities well (moved to Miami from Chicago), I say Chi-town hands down! Much, much better schools (Northwestern, U of Chicago, Depaul, etc.), and many more work opportunties for fresh graduates. I say work for five or ten years in Chicago, get some serious work experience under your belt, and then consider a move to Ft Lauderdale for a middle or senior management position. Entry level jobs down here are hard to get, and pay really poorly. It's easier for grads to find work in Chicago, and jobs pay reasonably well comparatively.

Knowing what I know now in middle age, I would have tried much, much harder to go to a real school like U of Chicago or Northwestern. These schools on your resume will open doors for life. University of Miami, FIU, FAU, etc., are good schools, but their reputation unfortunately stays here.

Although I love Miami and Ft Lauderdale, I think these are cities you have to graduate to in life due to the dearth of job opportunties down here. Plus, I hate to say it, but Chicago is a world class city and MIA/FTL are both still trying to define themselves as up and coming places. If I were 21, I would be bored in Ft Lauderdale, and South Beach would get old quick.

Winters do suck though. One of the reasons we moved out.

Can't say anything about Scottsdale. Never been.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

Knowing both cities well (moved to Miami from Chicago), I say Chi-town hands down! Much, much better schools (Northwestern, U of Chicago, Depaul, etc.), and many more work opportunties for fresh graduates. I say work for five or ten years in Chicago, get some serious work experience under your belt, and then consider a move to Ft Lauderdale for a middle or senior management position. Entry level jobs down here are hard to get, and pay really poorly. It's easier for grads to find work in Chicago, and jobs pay reasonably well comparatively.

Knowing what I know now in middle age, I would have tried much, much harder to go to a real school like U of Chicago or Northwestern. These schools on your resume will open doors for life. University of Miami, FIU, FAU, etc., are good schools, but their reputation unfortunately stays here.

Although I love Miami and Ft Lauderdale, I think these are cities you have to graduate to in life due to the dearth of job opportunties down here. Plus, I hate to say it, but Chicago is a world class city and MIA/FTL are both still trying to define themselves as up and coming places. If I were 21, I would be bored in Ft Lauderdale, and South Beach would get old quick.

Winters do suck though. One of the reasons we moved out.

Can't say anything about Scottsdale. Never been.

Yep, my wife graduated from NWU and Father in law from Depaul.

[Lost in Translation]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

Yep, my wife graduated from NWU and Father in law from Depaul.

My wife went to Depaul, and many of her friends NWU. Everyone we know who went to NWU earns well over $100/year. Our U of Chicago alumnus friends are doing even better...

I don't have many regrets in life, but I do wish I had tried harder to get into a better school.

[chisoxfan]

I grew up near Chicago, live in Fort Lauderdale and have family in Arizona -- so I'll take a shot at answering this one as succinctly as possible.

If I were at your stage in life, I'd probably pick Chicago. For schools, Northwestern and DePaul are excellent options as is the U. of Chicago, but there many others in the metro area. In South Florida, basically all you've got are UM, FAU, FIU, Nova, St. Thomas and Barry. Many Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Chicago and it's a financial and transportation hub, so job opportunities are plentiful. Nightlife? My brother used to live in the Lincoln Park area, which is full of terrific bars and restaurants -- and the same can be said for many other parts of Chicago. And the cultural opportunities there are as good as you'll find outside New York City. As Runwithscissors observed, you'll never run out of things to do.

The observation that you have to "graduate" to South Florida is a good one -- it does seem like you have to put together a track record somewhere else to get paid what you're worth here (and even a good track record isn't enough sometimes; you might be better off here as an entrepreneurial type instead of in a corporate environment). Not that I don't think a young, single, recent graduate can't live reasonably well here, but the opportunities probably will be better in Chicago.

Scottsdale has always seemed to me like the Phoenix area's version of Boca Raton -- lots of old money, new money and wannabe money there. Haven't heard what it's like to live in Scottsdale specifically, but the Phoenix area shares a few of South Florida's issues -- too much rapid growth straining the infrastructure, rising property taxes, a crumbling real estate market and an economy heavily dependent on development and tourism. Though 115-degree high temperatures are common in the summer, at least it doesn't have hurricanes!

[compelled to reply]

Chicago, that's it. Don't even consider Scottsdale or Ft. Lauderdale. It's not even really worth explaining.

[heydade]

I have heard a lot of good things about Chicago too from alumni of schools there. Nothing but awesome things.