Canadian Thinking Of Moving To Miami, Advice Plz? (Fort Lauderdale, South Beach: rent, house)

[soda_pop51645]

hey all, i am a 24 year old half jamaican half trinidadnian (born in canada) male, went to college for multimedia (webdesign, sound engineering, music production, video production) who enjoys the night life and things of that sort. im trying to start my own media business, mainly doing websites and sound engineering, currently i live in the province of ontario,in the GTA (greater toronto area mega city) i guess you americans refer to it as a county, we dont have "countys" here as you know em, but anyway. enough on demographics..

i HATEEEEEEEEEEEE cold weather, i cannot take it anymore and im sure i get winter depression, so for my own well being and satisficaction it would be prudent for me to move to a warm climbate, 1st in mind is miami but as i read in this forum all i see is bad news on miami, is it really that bad? and what about the greater area around miami? dade county where are the good areas that a guy like me can thrive and be successfull? i want to be in an area with a good night life but not in a place thats poor

also what would be average rent for a decent place? like not a RICHH place but a decent place that dosent have gun fire all day n night.

please let me know

PS i already have an american residence card

[soda_pop51645]

oh and i forgot to add, the place i live now is probably one of the most multicultural places in the world, so im used to diversity, where i am now there is no segrigation and minimal discrimination, even from the cops. here it is a normal thing to see inter-racial dating and all that good stuff, so i dont want to be in a area with allot of racisim or discrimination or no cultural diversity. and forsure i dont want to be in an area where i am being harassed by police, and profileing and stuff

[Wild Style]

Information on demographics

link

For a one bedroom in South florida you are looking at 800 to 1000 a month. Maybe more, I am not sure. If you know php, java script, cold fusion, flash then you can get some really decent paying jobs down here.

South Florida has its pluses and minuses just like any where else on the planet. Anyone trying to tell you its utopia is telling you their opinion and for them it might be the truth. For the next man it might be pure hell, everyone has their likes and dislikes.

I think you should come and visit, but don't look at it from a tourist's eyes, look at it as "can I do this day in and day out". I will say the cost of living here is very high compared to the pay you get. There are exceptions, but if you look through this forum you will find actual figures on median house hold income (two or more people in the house). You will also find average pay per individual posted as well.

Night life is good if your into going out and clubbing. They have tons on South beach and a great club for house music (if you are into house) downtown Miami.

Also the west indian community here is rather large so you will have that as well.

Best of luck on your search.

[soda_pop51645]

hmm yes i think im going to have to visit before i decide, thanx for the info.

anymore opinions/advice still welcome, i will keep checking back to see if anyone else has more to add

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by aftrmath313maximus

oh and i forgot to add, the place i live now is probably one of the most multicultural places in the world, so im used to diversity, where i am now there is no segrigation and minimal discrimination, even from the cops. here it is a normal thing to see inter-racial dating and all that good stuff, so i dont want to be in a area with allot of racisim or discrimination or no cultural diversity. and forsure i dont want to be in an area where i am being harassed by police, and profileing and stuff

Broward (Fort Lauderdale area) is quite a bit better than Dade in this respect, although having been to Toronto a couple of times, I would say no place in the U.S compares in that regard, actually FTL is as close as you are going to get in my experiences in terms of less "segregation", but it's no utopia (go check out wild styles post about hate as a practicing Muslim) and at times the mix can turn into clash which is something that doesn't usually happen up there. I would say that other than that the other poster pretty much said what needs to say.

[305guy]

I'd say for sure come and visit for a good week and check out South Beach/Coconut Grove as they have nightlife.

I would take all the venting here with a grain of salt. Alot of posters use these pages to vent. Miami is a pretty open-minded area - especially on the Beach where there is alot of partying and young people. Cops are too busy fighting criminals here so don't worry about profiling unless you're somewhere you're not supposed to be doing something you're not. As I write the weather is about 70 degrees and it was 80 and sunny today.

The County has problems just like any other large metro area in this country but it's not all doom and gloom. I've lived here forever and I like it just fine.

You should definitely visit so you can make an educated opinion. Just my 2 cents buddy - Good luck with the search!

[soda_pop51645]

Originally Posted by 305guy

I'd say for sure come and visit for a good week and check out South Beach/Coconut Grove as they have nightlife.

I would take all the venting here with a grain of salt. Alot of posters use these pages to vent. Miami is a pretty open-minded area - especially on the Beach where there is alot of partying and young people. Cops are too busy fighting criminals here so don't worry about profiling unless you're somewhere you're not supposed to be doing something you're not. As I write the weather is about 70 degrees and it was 80 and sunny today.

The County has problems just like any other large metro area in this country but it's not all doom and gloom. I've lived here forever and I like it just fine.

You should definitely visit so you can make an educated opinion. Just my 2 cents buddy - Good luck with the search!

now that sounds good to me, sounds kind of like here, just warmer, pretty much what im looking for, a sort of clone of civilization but in a better climbate and that beach strip sounds right up my alley way xpecially if the ppl are level headed, ive seen allot of bad in the USA where cultural diversity is concerned and thats a crucial thing for me. but from what you are saying it sounds like its pretty good there. i most definately have to take a road trip down there n stay for a while to check it out