Need help choosing between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami (Jacksonville, Tampa: insurance, condo)

[chicagoresident]

Hi,

I'm looking to move from Chicago to a warm city...I really like Chicago and its people but think its time to move on since I can't stand the winters. What city would you recommend for someone who's single, in her early thirties and looking for a safe place with a bit of culture? Am I right in thinking that I may get some/all of these in Ft Lauderdale or Miami? Or should I consider some other city in Florida or elsewhere? Also would be great if you could recommend some nice/safe/popular/ not too expensive neighborhoods. Thank you!

[JProg305]

Hey chicagoresident, if you're looking for a place that is safe (relatively) and has a good cultural environment the greater Fort Lauderdale area would be more appropriate than Miami. Broward county is very diverse and has all of the attractions and amenities of Miami-Dade county with a little less of the congestion and crime. Downtown Fort Lauderdale (around Las Olas) and Fort Lauderdale beach as well as Hollywood (a little south of Fort Lauderdale-closer to Miami) have good restaurants, pubs, nightlife options and beautiful beaches. If you want to go down to Miami on the weekends it's only 20 minute drive to the south (unless you're travelling during rush hour ). Miami Beach is the only place in Miami-Dade county that I would consider living in. This is from someone who was born and raised in the Miami area. While the Miami area has some nice neighborhoods (Coral Gables, parts of Coconut Grove, Brickell, some parts of the upper East side like Wynwood and the Design District, Miami Shores, Aventura) they are very expensive. Also, many parts of Miami-Dade county have neighborhoods that are scary even in the day (remember, this is coming from a 27 year old, 220 pound, Cuban male who has studied martial arts for close to a decade). Of course Broward county has it's share of high crime areas they are not nearly as bad and they do not take up as high a percentage of the county as the ones in Miami-Dade do. That being said, Miami would be a good choice too but just visit first so you can scope out a neighborhood you feel comfortable in. Being from Chicago, you might prefer an area like Miami Beach (both North Beach and South Beach are great) that has all of the aforementioned attractions in a tight walkable, urban, area with people always out and about shopping, eating, running/biking/rollerblading, sunbathing, drinking, etc.

[JProg305]

Oh yeah, some areas to avoid in Miami-Dade would be Opa Locka, Miami Gardens, Norland, Carol City, parts of Hialeah, Liberty City, Overtown, Allapattah, Bunche Park, Brownsville, parts of Little Havana and Little Haiti, the western parts of North Miami and North Miami Beach (the city, not the northern part of Miami Beach which is a different city), Richmond Heights, parts of Coconut Grove, parts of South Miami, Goulds, Perrine, and parts of Homestead, Florida City. Most of these areas are not areas you would consider anyway because of their proximity from the downtown and South Beach areas (where most of the nightlife and attractions are). I just wanted to give you a heads up on some areas you may not want to spend too much time in (especially alone and at night). In Broward county, some areas to avoid would be northwest Fort Lauderdale, Deepside, most of Lauderhill, much of Pompano Beach, some parts of Miramar and Hallandale, some parts of Pembroke Park (not Pembroke Pines which is actually pretty nice), Carver Ranches, most of Dania Beach, Deerfield Beach, and the areas of East Hollywood between I-95 and US 1 (especially near Dixie highway and near US 1) and West Hollywood around 441/State Road 7. Honestly, nothing near 441/State Road 7 in any part of Broward county is great, it runs through some rough areas. Hope this helps.

[Nolefan34]

chicagoresident>

I am a single guy in his 20's and have lived in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale. I will start by saying that Miami and Fort Lauderdale are two different worlds. I would strongly recommend that you make a trip down to visit both places before deciding because Miami is not for everyone. The biggest difference between Miami and Fort Lauderdale is that you pretty much need to know Spanish to live in Miami. It is hard to get a job if you cannot speak Spanish, much less get around. Fort Lauderdale is still predominantly non-Hispanic so you won't need to know Spanish to live there.

Miami is a huge city with a population of 2.5 million (officially), and about 3.5 million if you count illegal aliens. Miami has all of the elements of other major U.S. cities such as heavy traffic, crime, poverty, etc. Its also one of the most densely populated cities in the U.S. meaning more people are crammed into each square mile than most places. There is NO land in Miami, its all been developed for some time. Miami is a very fast-paced/up-tempo city. You may want that being from Chicago, but don't expect to find a laid back lifestyle if you move there.

Fort Lauderdale/Broward County is less urbanized and more spread out. There are only 1.5 million people in Broward County so it is less dense as well. The city of Fort Lauderdale has a small downtown area with some big buildings and a nice entertainment/nightlife district called Las Olas with a bunch of bars and clubs. Its way more laid back than South Beach, so you may be attracted to that or you may not. Overall, Fort Lauderdale is much more laid back than Miami.

The traffic/drivers: BEWARE! Miami has hands down THE WORST drivers in America. Your insurance premium will go up if you move to Miami as it is considered a high-risk environment by the insurance companies. The drivers are ultra aggressive and disregard most of the rules. Getting cut off is an everyday thing and nobody uses turn signals here. The expressways are lawless as cops have better things to do (murders, robberies) than set speed traps. Fort Lauderdale has a lot of bad/aggressive drivers here too, but people actually use turn signals and there aren't as many idiots.

Crime: Don't move here if you cannot deal with crime. Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale are high crime places. Miami is worse though. Also, bums wandering the streets and begging for change is an art here because the counties won't pay for homeless shelters. So you will see a lot of bums wandering the streets.

Places to Live in Miami:
Miami- South Beach, Brickell, Aventura, Sunny Isles, and Coconut Grove are places I'd recommend if you move to Miami-Dade. There are vast areas of Miami that I would avoid if I were you. The previous poster mentioned the names, so just refer to his post.

Places to Live in Fort Lauderdale:
Las Olas (if you wanna be near nightlife), Fort Lauderdale Beach, and Hollywood. There are also areas further away from downtown like Plantation, Sunrise, Coral Springs, and Davie, if you want cheaper living, but you will have to commute further to downtown to go out. I would also consider where your job will be or school.

[chicagoresident]

Wow, thanks so much for the replies! This really helps.. although I actually am concerned about the crime here. Sounds like I might have to carry pepper spray with me all the time if I move to Miami/ Ft Lauderdale! I live in a very safe neighborhood in Chicago and really haven't seen much crime here at all. Are there any low crime cities in Florida that I should be considering? What I really want is to move to a warm city with low crime rate..any thoughts?

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

Crime: Don't move here if you cannot deal with crime. Both Miami and Fort Lauderdale are high crime places. Miami is worse though. Also, bums wandering the streets and begging for change is an art here because the counties won't pay for homeless shelters. So you will see a lot of bums wandering the streets.

[Banx]

I'm also from Chicago and in the exact same situation as u. I'm personally looking more towards Miami than Ft. Lauderdale cause I'm into the bigger city lifestyle. I'm young though (18), and so Miami definately is on the top of my list. Be sure u know what ur getting into though, many areas of Miami look identical to third world countries (no exaggeration), but the crime there is nothing were not used to back in the city of Chicago, some neighborhoods are just a lot uglier though. It's not all paradise down in South Florida and Miami though so definately visit before u make ur decision. Miami is alot of fun and very fast paced and happenin, but it is also really ghetto in alot of parts. It's not a big deal for me, and depending on what neighborhoods u lived in and r used to in Chicago, it might not even fase u either, but it's better that u check it out for a week or two before u make ur final decision. South Florida and Chicago might as well be two different continents, and it is a big move. Ft. Lauderdale is nice too, but coming from a larger city like Chicago, Miami has definately caught my attention more.

[chicagoresident]

thanks for the reply Banx.. yes, Miami does sound quite fast paced.. I think I need to take a trip to Florida before making any decision..to give you an idea, I have lived in Evanston and Lakeview/Lincoln Park areas in Chicago.. so am looking for a place that's pretty safe like these two neighborhoods. Btw..does anyone recommend looking into Tampa, Gainesville, Jacksonville?

[Banx]

Originally Posted by chicagoresident

thanks for the reply Banx.. yes, Miami does sound quite fast paced.. I think I need to take a trip to Florida before making any decision..to give you an idea, I have lived in Evanston and Lakeview/Lincoln Park areas in Chicago.. so am looking for a place that's pretty safe like these two neighborhoods. Btw..does anyone recommend looking into Tampa, Gainesville, Jacksonville?

I think u would like neighborhoods like Coral Gables or Aventura which are more reserved like LP, Lakeview or Evanston, maybe even somewhere on Miami Beach if u want to be safe and near all the action, and check out some areas in southern Miami-Dade county (can't remember the names off the top of my head). Generally, southern Miami-Dade county is considered better than northern (especially northwest) Miami-Dade county, with some exceptions on both sides. Alot of the neighborhoods and areas Nolefan mentioned above would also be a good match for u. And I don't know if it would be a big deal for u, but there are almost hardly any non-hispanic white people residents there, the majority of people being from Latin America (especially Cuba, and alot of South American countries) and Carribean nations (Jamaica, Haiti, Bahamas), with the some African-Americans thrown into the mix. Alot of times, you might not even feel like u r in America, which could either work as either a positive or negative. It all depends on the neighborhoods though. But if u r generally uncomfortable with that idea, u should probably check out Ft. Lauderdale/Broward area. Visit though, u might end up liking that kinda vibe.

Also, coming from Chicago, and having been to Jacksonville at least, I would give that a big NO. You will go bored in Jacksonville fast. Despite somehow being Florida's most populous city, it's like one giant ghost town. I couldn't believe anybody even lived there, nobody, not one person, was out on the street. Didn't seem like there was a whole lot to do at all. I wanted to leave after being there for like 3 hours, you couldn't pay me to live there. Ft. Lauderdale and Miami-Dade are definately more for you than Jacksonville. The others though, I don't know much about.

Just always remember to visit and explore before making ur final decision though.

[Nolefan34]

Banx>

Jacksonville is the most populous city in FL because its city limits cover the entire count of Duval, a very large county in area. Miami's city limits cover a very small geographical area, mainly downtown. So the population is listed as about 300,000. That doesn't count surrounding cities/suburbs like Miami Beach, Hialeah, Coral Gables, Kendall, Aventura, North Miami Beach, Key Biscayne, etc. If you include the greater Miami-Dade area, the population is about 3 million. So overall, Miami-Dade is way more populated than Jacksonville.

Some other interesting facts are that A) Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. in terms of area. B) Miami is the most densely populated city in America, meaning number of people per square mile. NYC is a close 2nd as far as I know.


Back to ChicagoResident's questions:

Crime- You really cannot get away from it in most areas. Miami has vast areas of ghettos and poverty. Even if you stay in the nicer areas like Miami Beach a lot of riff-raff makes its way in and there are robberies, burglaries, murders, etc. Fort Lauderdale is a little bit better in this regard, but still has bad areas. I would say that the safer areas are in western Broward County like Coral Springs, Plantation, Sunrise, and Weston. Aventura is pretty safe too. But regardless of how safe your city/community is, when you go out in either Fort Lauderdale or Miami you always have to be cautious. For example, when you go out to the bars/clubs here at Riverfront it may seem like a bunch of fun-loving young people but you really have to watch your back. There are people out there to take advantage of you, or cause trouble. I see it every time I go out. One thing I would recommend is that you go out with a group at night for protection reasons. There are just a lot of bad people out there. Coming from Chicago, I'm sure you are used to this "watch your back" mentality, but many people have a false sense of security when they come down here thinking that South Florida is some paradise. Those are often the people who get taken advantage of.

The other cities in Florida:
Are much different from South Florida. South Florida consists of a bunch of New Yorkers who flocked down here during the 70's and 80's, and lots of Hispanics and other groups that immigrated here in recent years. The dog-eat-dog, big-city mentality prevails here.

Once you drive north to central Florida you are in the Deep South. Although Orlando has a large Hispanic population, its a totally different scene than South Florida. The mentality of the people up there is totally different. The west coast cities like Tampa, Saint Petersburg tend to be much more laid back for larger cities and consist more of retired Mid-westerners and Southerners rather than New Yorkers. People are a lot more friendly there and say high to strangers. Jacksonville IS the deep south. Northern Florida is the bible belt, so be prepared to deal with lots of redneck types if you live there.

In terms of crime differences, all major Florida cities rank poorly. South Florida often gets the worst rap, but the fact is that Jacksonville, Tampa, and Orlando are all bad as well. The bottom line is if you learn the ropes early on, you should be fine. Make sure you always lock your car doors, whether parking at the grocery store or driving, and don't go out at night to the bars/clubs without a group of friends who will back you up. Don't be afraid to give persistent guys "hard no's". Other than that you should be fine. Its not that bad.

[adam.g.harpool]

Originally Posted by chicagoresident

Wow, thanks so much for the replies! This really helps.. although I actually am concerned about the crime here. Sounds like I might have to carry pepper spray with me all the time if I move to Miami/ Ft Lauderdale! I live in a very safe neighborhood in Chicago and really haven't seen much crime here at all. Are there any low crime cities in Florida that I should be considering? What I really want is to move to a warm city with low crime rate..any thoughts?

No...trust me, it's not that bad! Miami-Dade does have a lot more crime than Broward, though. In Chicagoland terms, it would be the difference between living in some of the older, more inner-city areas of Cook County versus some of the newer suburbs in Lake or DuPage counties.

At the same time, Broward County isn't a typical suburban county. It is definitely less dense than Miami, but it is more dense than 95% of the suburban counties that I've seen, particularly those in the Sunbelt. It has more crime than you would find in a typical suburban county; it's a minority-majority county; it is not only a suburb of Miami, but also a suburb to its own large city, Fort Lauderdale. It has its own major newspaper and major airport, but could not subsist economically (and some would say, culturally) without Miami.

I agree that there are a lot of people who come here - many of them from small towns in the Midwest - expecting some sort of easygoing tropical paradise, and are quite surprised to find that we have all of the same problems that any other metro area of 5 million+ people will experience. Being from Chicago, I cannot imagine that would be a problem for you. Even the worst, grittiest parts of Dade County are fundamentally no different from the worst parts of NYC, Chicago, Los Angeles, etc. Urban poverty and crime are the same regardless of the location. And I can't imagine why you would have to spend time in those areas in the first place!

Plenty of areas in Western Broward are extremely safe. I lived in the Jacaranda neighborhood of the city of Plantation for a period and could have practically left my door open at night. Weston is also good, as is much of Coral Springs and Pembroke Pines. Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowedYou can check crime statistics at this website[/url]. For example, in Plantation, violent crime is only 46% of the national average; in Weston, 21%, and in Pembroke Pines, 44%. In Fort Lauderdale, violent crime is at 140% of the national average, 215% in Miami Beach, and 314% in the city of Miami itself. Just for the record, in Chicago it is 218%. There are definitely safe areas in Dade County, though; Aventura, a wealthy "condo canyon" area on the border with Broward, has a violent crime rate only 33% of the nat'l average; Coral Gables, home to UMiami and lots of other cultural attractions, has a rate only 61% of the nat'l average.

So relax, if you do decide to move here, you won't have to pack heat just to fill up your tank . I am not as familiar with the other large cities in Florida outside of the Southeast coast, but they are very different. You might want to also look at Tampa Bay and Orlando. Jacksonville is closer to the border with Georgia and (by my standards) is not nearly as warm as the rest of Florida. But by Chicago/Northern Illinois standards, it would still qualify as an oven for most of the year! West Palm Beach-Boca Raton is just north of Broward, has virtually the same climate as us, and is still part of South Florida. I have lots of friends there, it's like an even more suburban version of Broward County, if that is your thing.