If you could move, where would you go? (Miami, Plantation: insurance, home)

[tpitner]

A question for the Miami-haters, or those that just want to live somewhere else:

If you could "freely" move out of Miami to any other US city, where would you go? And why?

Let's stretch and assume money is no issue.

TP

[doggiebus]

I would move to live in Carmel or Newport Beach California if money wasn't an issue.

They have great temperatures all year round, nice and cool. I could exercise outdoors year round without over heating. Because it is cooler there, there are many more things that I could do. I could go to outdoor cafes and actually sit outside without sweating. Sitting next to the ocean and watching the beauty of the ocean with the kelp swaying in the water is far superior to any of the beaches in Florida, IMO. Traffic wouldn't be an issue. I love that I could be at the beach in morning and skiing at night.

I could drive to great cities instead of flying always. It doesn't take you 6 hours to just get out of the state like it does in Florida, so I could drive to great cities within a few hours like San Fran, San Diego, Santa Barbara or LA. There are many great winerys close by. Carmel and Newport have that small town feeling yet have many great restaurants, shops and entertainment that larger cities have. Whale, seal and sealion watching love it!

I am sure I forgot things. If I think of something else I will add it later.

[tallrick]

I want to move to Miami in 1957. Money no object, so I could buy a time machine, right?

[mbmouse]

I moved from Palm Beach County to North East TN and love it even with the money issue.
4 season, polite people, great schools, easy traffic patterns and did I mention the people? The word neighbor has a different meaning than just the people that live around you.

[Carlitosway]

Originally Posted by tpitner

A question for the Miami-haters, or those that just want to live somewhere else:

If you could "freely" move out of Miami to any other US city, where would you go? And why?

Let's stretch and assume money is no issue.

TP

I am moving this month. I'll be moving to Las Cruces in New Mexico. Why? OK. Las Cruces is a city of about 80,000. It has many restaurants, movie theater, an University with many community classes, it has two large hospitals, it is about 40 minutes from El Paso, and also Ciudad Juarez in Mexico in case I want to go shopping/ or do cultural things. Las Cruces has an opera, it is sorrounded by mountains, and this makes it looks like it came out of a picture. It is culturally rich, the people are friendly, less crime, and traffic, people smile when they meet you in the stores, sidewalks, churches, laundrymat, etc. Property taxes, and insurance are a spit compared to Miami. There is less subdivision of people, there are natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, snow, humidity, tornadoes, etc. The pace of life is slower, and cost of living is about 32% less than in Miami. Las Cruces is growing, so if it gets huge like Miami, I'll move to Arizona.

[JimKing]

Originally Posted by mbmouse

I moved from Palm Beach County to North East TN and love it even with the money issue.
4 season, polite people, great schools, easy traffic patterns and did I mention the people? The word neighbor has a different meaning than just the people that live around you.

I agree neighbors are important. But we had the same experience in Jupiter, FL. When we moved in about 7-8 people brought food over and introduced themselves. We had lots of friends within a week.

Our friends live in Palm Beach Gardens. Same thing. Amazing neighbors.

So you can good neighbors in Palm Beach County Florida also.

[lauralei2]

I don't hate Miami, but if I could move somewhere, #1 - It would be Maggie Valley, NC. Friendly people, the Smokey Mountains, and Ashville is nearby, too. #2 - It would be a two story home in Plantation Key, overlooking Florida Bay. Now, if I could have both....THAT would be really incredible.

[tpitner]

I would borrow TallRick's time machine and go back to Seattle pre-1990. Everything seemed to go to pot in Seattle with the whole grunge/Silicon Forest thing. IMO, it lost its original PNW flavor and became just another big city that everyone wanted to move to.

It's still home though.

[Think (Freedom)]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

I would move to live in Carmel or Newport Beach California if money wasn't an issue.

They have great temperatures all year round, nice and cool. I could exercise outdoors year round without over heating. Because it is cooler there, there are many more things that I could do. I could go to outdoor cafes and actually sit outside without sweating. Sitting next to the ocean and watching the beauty of the ocean with the kelp swaying in the water is far superior to any of the beaches in Florida, IMO. Traffic wouldn't be an issue. I love that I could be at the beach in morning and skiing at night.

I could drive to great cities instead of flying always. It doesn't take you 6 hours to just get out of the state like it does in Florida, so I could drive to great cities within a few hours like San Fran, San Diego, Santa Barbara or LA. There are many great winerys close by. Carmel and Newport have that small town feeling yet have many great restaurants, shops and entertainment that larger cities have. Whale, seal and sealion watching love it!

I am sure I forgot things. If I think of something else I will add it later.

Ok you've pretty much said everything I'd say

Definitely California for me.. probably Newport Beach over Carmel, only because I've never been to Carmel, though I hear it is amazing. But then California as a whole is amazing, not only because of the reasons listed above, I could go on and on...

[chisoxfan]

I'm not a Miami/South Florida hater, but my answers are:

For a non-major metro area, I'd live in western North Carolina. We own land near Waynesville that could be used someday for a summer/retirement home, so we've already established something there. April through October is cooler with a change of seasons, there's much less congestion and crime, and the people are nice. The only fear with places like western N.C. and east Tennessee is that too many Floridians will move there and turn the areas into mini-South Floridas with zero lot lines and strip malls; these are starting to become issues in the Asheville area.

For a big city (and again, if money isn't a factor), I'd probably pick San Diego. The weather is perfect and all the big-city amenities are there, and it's just a matter of being able to afford the housing prices. Chicago, where I'm from, is a good choice for a big city, too, but the weather is a drawback.