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Old 09-12-2012, 11:42 AM
 
21 posts, read 24,364 times
Reputation: 10

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Just to give a little background I am a 27 y.o. male considering a move to the Miami area from Chicago with my girlfriend. I have lived in Chicago my whole life, with the last 9 years being in busy neighborhoods of the north side, mostly Lakeview. The move coincides with my girlfriend getting her PHD and she would be attending University of Miami.

I would be planning on having around a 10k nest egg while i look for a job and she will be receiving a stipend from the University estimated to be around 24k a year and may look for part time work. I have worked in the service industry for the last 6 years with some management experience and have a communications degree. I would most likely be looking for a sales, service (bartending/serving) or hotel job in the area, and I am willing to work 2 jobs if possible. Also just to note we are both working on learning Spanish, currently intermediate.

We will have 1 car for sure and a 2nd car will be considered later on in the process. We want to live within walking distance (4 blocks) of the beach and dont require much out of the apartment aside from it being atleast a 1 bedroom. Rental budget im going with is guna be around 1500 a month. We're leaning towards Miami Beach but would consider other places near the water.

Without a job lined up, will around 10k savings be good enough for 2 people while i look? (Assuming it can take up to 4 months).

How is the job market in Miami Beach for the service industry?

What can you find in Miami Beach for that budget?

Any other nice areas within 45 min drive from Coral Gables to consider?

Is the cost of living in Miami much different than cost of living in Chicago?

Thank you in advance
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Old 09-12-2012, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Miami
6,853 posts, read 22,415,276 times
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South Beach sounds like a good place for you guys. Other areas you could consider closer to UM would be Coral Gables and South Miami. The jobs on Miami Beach in the service industry are season driven, meaning during high season hotels and restaurants will hire people more so then in the low season during the summer months through the fall. Other parts of Miami like Coral Gables and South Miami are less season tourist driven then on the beach, so you might consider living and working in those areas as well. Yet you will be further from the beach.

You will find that rents will be cheaper than Chicago most likely, but the cost of living such as car insurance, rental insurance, etc will be higher than in Chicago.
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Old 09-16-2012, 10:45 PM
 
21 posts, read 24,364 times
Reputation: 10
Thanks doggiebus :-D
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Old 09-17-2012, 11:39 AM
 
104 posts, read 228,569 times
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I concur on south beach. Finding a waiter/bartender job is easy in south Florida in general, but very competitive in trendy areas, which of course south beach is. If you have a very outgoing personality and are very attractive, you will find something quickly. If you're not so much of either, better off looking in mid beach/north beach.

Since you have a car, you may want to look into working at AT&T. Their main service center for sofla is in Miami, the pay is decent, and commissions can be very good. They also have retail stores, but you will need fluent Spanish. Either way, you would make enough with your friend's stipend to only have to have one job, and if you can make the grade (It's tough there), you can advance.
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Old 09-18-2012, 07:47 PM
 
40 posts, read 84,607 times
Reputation: 22
I have worked in the hotel industry and it has really helped keep me afloat. Hospitality and tourism is Miami's biggest industry. There are all types of hotels in different areas, different crowds, and different levels. "Luxury" high end hotels are ridiculously competitive and overrated. They honestly don't pay much more than a run of the mill hotel. Also keep in mind that it is not uncommon for hotels on the beach or downtown to NOT provide parking to their employees. This an run you about $70 a month on the beach and $90 a month in downtown. But obviously it's not a problem if you don't have a car. If you are willing to work overnight, 99% of hotels will pay about $1 more per hour. Hotels are very flexible and easy to get into. The hours are typically 7am to 3pm, 3pm to 11pm, and 11pm to 7am. Sometimes there's swing or mid shifts. It is very common in hotels to have part time or rotating schedules. Typically hotel workers are college students and they work around you're schedule. Also, this flexibility gives you the ability to have a second job [or go to school].

I graduated from school and for what I studied and the career I want to get into, I was only to get a low-paying entry level job part time. I need at least 2-3 years of experience to get into my field, so this part time job is going to help me get experience.
But since I get paid very little and it's during office hours, I need something that will pay the bills, so I work overnight.

Also there are not only hotel front desk agents but condo front desk agents as well.

I've also heard many instances of bartenders and bar backs making pretty good money. Sometimes bartenders make more than professional people with degrees [who in some places are underpaid].
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Old 09-20-2012, 10:51 PM
 
Location: Lakes by the Bay, FL (for now)
984 posts, read 4,304,491 times
Reputation: 585
Quote:
Originally Posted by BigSmooth56 View Post
Just to give a little background I am a 27 y.o. male considering a move to the Miami area from Chicago with my girlfriend. I have lived in Chicago my whole life, with the last 9 years being in busy neighborhoods of the north side, mostly Lakeview. The move coincides with my girlfriend getting her PHD and she would be attending University of Miami.

I would be planning on having around a 10k nest egg while i look for a job and she will be receiving a stipend from the University estimated to be around 24k a year and may look for part time work. I have worked in the service industry for the last 6 years with some management experience and have a communications degree. I would most likely be looking for a sales, service (bartending/serving) or hotel job in the area, and I am willing to work 2 jobs if possible. Also just to note we are both working on learning Spanish, currently intermediate.

We will have 1 car for sure and a 2nd car will be considered later on in the process. We want to live within walking distance (4 blocks) of the beach and dont require much out of the apartment aside from it being atleast a 1 bedroom. Rental budget im going with is guna be around 1500 a month. We're leaning towards Miami Beach but would consider other places near the water.

Without a job lined up, will around 10k savings be good enough for 2 people while i look? (Assuming it can take up to 4 months).

How is the job market in Miami Beach for the service industry?

What can you find in Miami Beach for that budget?

Any other nice areas within 45 min drive from Coral Gables to consider?

Is the cost of living in Miami much different than cost of living in Chicago?

Thank you in advance
10k plus the UM stipend would be reasonable for a few months, although it's expensive to live here, but you just need to be thrifty and you'll be ok. And there's a lot of jobs here on the service/hospitality industry, I personally have always been able to get jobs within 1-1.5 months here when in between different jobs.

You'll be able to rent a nice 1 bedroom in Miami Beach in that price range. I would personally recommend the Mid-beach area (that's around 41st Street and Collins), as it's safer and it has less traffic than South Beach (but overall that would be another good option - I would look on the back streets near the Bay, as it tends to be a bit less noisy and slightly cheaper - and it's still just within a few blocks from the beach). Surfside could be another alternative as well.

And public transport in the beach is pretty good, you don't even really need a car if you live, work and do everything there.
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Old 09-30-2012, 09:20 PM
 
21 posts, read 24,364 times
Reputation: 10
Very helpful everyone thank you so much
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