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and any way OP... im sure i dont have to tell you that latin cultures are different so even though you are used to mexicans im sure you will still find it very different here.
NMB is meh one block is all jews .. some are all black and hispanic... overall its and alright area dunno much about the work opportuinites there though .. Goodluck with your move.
I would say that most of Miami Beach is jewish, even the Argentinian and Russian sections.
It's a good possibility he will be working there but that doesn't mean we have to live there. As long as he's 20min to work that's fine. We will look at the usual suspects, Hollywood, Hallandale, Aventura and inside us1 if we can find a place. We need a house with a yard though and we are trying to keep costs down for our first year there.
He did a phone interview for one job in Hialeah and the guy said he would have hired him over the phone if he spoke Spanish but because he didn't, he didn't get that location. It won't be a problem for him to transfer, we just need to find a location where English is spoken more than Spanish.
I work all over soflo, West Palm to Key West. I mostly work out of the house but to earn my money I'm usually traveling one day a week. Typically, I don't need to speak Spanish to do my job, but my son does.
My sons second interview went very well. The last interview is soon at the regional director level. The Texas regional director has offered to speak to his counterpart in Florida on my son's behalf. If this last interview goes well, then it's a done deal and we are moving and not just visiting this month.
I hope the reality lives up to the fantasy. Mom used to say, be careful what you wish for and my son and I are hoping we wished right.
Next, we have to find an area to live that's 20 mins to NMB at 163rd st and 12th ave during rush hour. From the map is looks like the best bet might be north as far as Hollywood but no further north.
Our plan is to just get there and not spend a fortune on rent until we can live and work in the city for a while. See how his job works out and mine plus what we can live with and can't and put back money not blow it for a while. Once we are there for a while, we'll know where we fit best and maybe look to move to other areas in soflo. Let's be smart.
If I had to guess where we fit, I "think" we would like Brickell much better than Weston. We tend to be on the trendy side of things and far left of center politically. By and large, progressive and liberal. (I lived in Berkley, CA back in the 1960's and it stuck)
We love NYC if that tells you more about who we are. My personal preferences are walkable cities and that leaves, Brickell and parts the Grove if my research is correct. Not a deal breaker either way as long as we are not stuck out in suburbia. We are city people and need to be relativity close.
It's impossble to tell what soflorida is like because of all the varied opinions on here. If we lived in Bal Harbor our opinion would different than if we lived in Opa-Locka.
We're coming one way or another in 14 days and if my sons get's the job he wants, it's a promotion and a pay raise for him as he moves up the corporate the ladder. Not a bad thing for him and I can do my job in any city in the country that people get married. (I'm in the wedding biz)
We're not coming from a small town in Iowa, so at least we have that advantage. Soflorida has a slightly smaller metro area population than where we live now. We are not strangers to big city living and all the pleasures and problems that are associated with that lifestyle. If they are better or worse and to what degree, and if they are intolerably different from Dallas can only be determined by us and only once we are there.
Dude, I am very impressed with your determination to adventure to MIA. You guys sound like a perfect fit - maybe a few lecciones en Espanol. Don't worry about that though - there are plenty of pretty little Cubanas who will be happy to help.
You need to start on the Miami Beach Island. (Why they don't have a name for the whole island, I have no idea - they need to.) But anyways, Sunny Isles is right on the 163rd St causeway. Convenient, but too far north of SoBe for me. Surfside is next and then North Beach. All these are moderate, VERY walkable sweet little beach neighborhoods. Further down you get to the big hotel neighborhood, then after that it's South Beach.
Did I actually read that right? You used the word "boring" in the same article as the word "Miami"? Miami is called many things by many people, but one thing is for sure - it is never never boring. Don't worry about that at all.
Miami Beach Island is geographically almost identical to Manhattan. It is very urban too - population density 10 - 20K / sq mile (Dallas is 3700/sq ml) in the various communities. Double that with tourists. Quadruple on weekends and 10x for major festivals.
It's a gorgeous area with gorgeous people who are ridiculously promiscuous, dramatic, escandolosa, and chock full of vice, curiosity and intrigue. There's also a lot of real crazies there - plotting every imaginable scheme from stealing a cell phone to toppling a foreign politician, so you have to be more on the ball.
But the Island is a world away from the pervasive inner city despair of mainland Miami. Whether you choose to live north or south of 163rd, you need to live as close to the beachfront as possible. Well, within a couple blocks anyways. If nothing else, it is a grandiose feeling knowing everyday at anytime you can throw a towel over your shoulder and walk out to the most gorgeous turquoise water you'll every see. And if you choose to live in South Beach the water won't be the only gorgeous thing you'll see. Shopping at Publix in SoBe is like no place anywhere in Dallas. Where you would see one beautiful woman in Dallas, you'll see 5 in Miami - 25 in MB. And all that's back-dropped against mother nature's amazing blue, white and green color scheme accented by the Miami Vice pastel Art Deco.
Public transit on the Island is also great. You can go get tanked on SoBe and catch a bus back to NoBe w/o any problem whatsoever and it costs almost nothing (or is it nothing?)
And if that's not all enough for you, the Bahamas is an hour's boat ride away, cruise ships leave every hour, Key West, Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Disney ... But honestly, when I lived in SoBe, I never went anywhere, cuz baby, I was already most definitely there.
If you can deal with sitting at an upscale outdoor bar sipping a tropical drink made with some of the best juice in the world enjoying some high quality reggae or Salsa with the ocean breeze blowing immaculately clean air through singing palm trees into your lungs as you watch gorgeous women walk all up and down the strip, then MIA may be right for you.
Ok, that's a lot of good advice for you from a fellow Dallasite. In return, I only ask you come back to the forum and tell us about your adventure. Same day service not required. I'll understand if you're too busy livin' it to share for a while.
You should write for the tourist board as you certainly got my attention
One of the things we decided upon is not to spend more than we make there. Let's be financially responsible on housing and reserve our cash for having fun. We must have a house because we have dogs. Housing near Sobe is less affordable than one further north. If we didn't have dogs, we would be in the thick of things NO doubt.
I've been to Miami once, went there only to Taxi to the port and take a cruise ship out. All I remember of Miami is it was warm and flat. My son has been there 2 times, plus Hollywood and Ftl. He likes it there but didn't stay more than 2 weeks in all his trips. I don't know what soflorida is like at all past what I could gleam from this board and what I've found on the net.
The considerable research I have done paints a visual. It will be intersting to see if what I "think" it's like matches up to the metal picture I have painted.
The good news is, I know where to look and it's not a great distance to travel. There is not much out west to interest us so we'll first explore FTL and Hollywood inside us1 down to the Grove/Gables and all places across the causeways. That should give us an idea what is where at least at a high level. The plan is to video tape our driving for playback and commentary so that we can remember. We know we need to learn the city to enjoy it and the city likely offers much more than just SB @ Lincoln road.
I've spent much of my research using Google street views. I have driven (virtually) down many roads in Miami. 2 things struck me, it's a very white city and there are not many cars on the road. Most things seem very spread out. I've also seen how the poor and the rich live 1 block away. The streets appear very clean in the wealthy areas and much less so in the poor neighborhoods by a disproportionate share.
While I have not met any Miamians in person, I have spoke to numerous ones on the phone, lining up our move and finding basic services. My experience so far is this; True, there are some rude people I have encountered but they have not been the lion share. Most are just like people anywhere else in the US.
I would categorize my experience this way. 5% rude as hell, 10% "curt" and the rest just like normal people. To say all Miamians are rude, is not what I have experienced. What I can say, is it has surprised me how many people speak broken english. Calling into soflo, I don't know who is going to pick up the phone. The people I seem to like the most are they Nyers I have spoken with although I have found that people don't always do what they say they will do, when they say they will do it.
It looks like a very beautiful city, modern and clean. Who would not like to see boats, blue water palm trees and billionaire mansions? The skyline is impressive and from an outsiders view point it's hard to imagine it's considered one of the poorest areas in the country. Looks can be deceiving and apparently that's the case here. My son and I are not poor or rich.
I suspect crime is like any large city. There are places here in Dallas that are so dangerous, even the Police don't go down there during the day much less at night. The mail is not delivered there. Only the stupid or insane frequent those areas. Stay out of there and you will most likely be fine.
Miami may have a larger share of scam artists, and we'll be cautious, but my supposition is that we are not likely to be bludgeoned to death over pocket change as long as we keep our head about us.
Enjoy the beaches by day, stay in groups at night and we should be fine. Got it...
Same goes for every big city. Don't look like a tourist. My plan is to register the cars with Florida license plates soon after we arrive. Don't broadcast your a tourist.
We both love music, my son's part time job is a DJ and he's very good at it. I've been a bit of a music guy myself and listen to more world music than about anything else. We love music festivals, the outdoors and the arts.
I have many more "perceptions", most of them probably incorrect. It will be a fun and new adventure in any case. One of the things I always wanted to do is fly fish for Tarpon and I'm just a few weeks away from that becoming a reality. Disney for sure, Daytona, dive in dry torgugas and lord knows I have a "thing" for hot latin women.
You should write for the tourist board as you certainly got my attention ......
I have many more "perceptions", most of them probably incorrect. It will be a fun and new adventure in any case. One of the things I always wanted to do is fly fish for Tarpon and I'm just a few weeks away from that becoming a reality. Disney for sure, Daytona, dive in dry torgugas and lord knows I have a "thing" for hot latin women.
I "think" we'll "fit" just fine.
Sounds like you pretty much got everything right JM. Just a few comments on a few points.
Regarding rudeness in Miami - no place beats Dallas for customer service - and I mean NOWHERE I've been - unless you isolate yourself to the high end services. Retail workers in Dallas are a pleasantly bizarrely pleasant culture. In Dallas, it's almost like it's a holy obligation to serve the customer and do your job as pleasantly and profitably as possible. I admit I can get used to this. I certainly like it, but I find it kinda weird. Everywhere else I've ever been - NY, BOS, MIA, LA, CHI, EUR - my experience has been people working for peanuts doing the menial tasks at McDonalds, 7-11, etc don't act like they are deliriously happy working long hours for minimum wage. I grew up with that as an understanding. How could anyone be deliriously happy in their day-to-day struggles with a poverty wage?They seem to do it in Dallas though. Unique situation in my experience. You won't find that in MIA. Miamians don't have the smiley-happy people face painted on them on the job.
So, yeah, that's a minor issue, but you can use that to your advantage. People there don't expect to much sunny attitude. Maintain yours, and you will be amazed at how doors open.
About poverty, well yes there are extensive areas of poverty on mainland Dade. That's why I suggest the island. You'll find what you're looking for there - or at least in the ballpark. Condo prices in MIA have dropped 50% in two years, you have a huge opportunity. Just an example: Miami Condos for Sale | The Madison Downtown Miami Condominium
And although MIA has serious poverty, it also has serious wealth. It's listed as like the 54th wealthiest city in the world. The stats you read are for Miami city proper which bears most all the social problems through gerrymandered borders. Miami city is like a measley 34 sq miles - barely bigger than Richardson. Surrounding areas are minutes away yet a world away.
You're pretty much right about Rt1 east. I will caution there are some areas along Rt1 on the north side of Miami where the quality definitely dips. Personally I strongly recommend the drive from Broward - SoBe all along A1A. Of everyplace I've ever been in the USA - and that's many - I think there is no more fabulous drive than A1A From Hollywood to SoBe. Not in Manhattan, Chicago, CA - nowhere. Breathtaking! Check it out.
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Hope Miami treats you well.
