Contemplating an offer in Miami (Miami Beach, Coral Gables: to rent, house, income)

[Bishwhat]

Stay in Texas unless you really can't stand living there.

[ace587]

Originally Posted by Wanderer2014

I am currently in Houston and have been given an offer to relocate to Miami. I would be doing this with myself, my girlfriend and 2 - 13 year old kids that are still living with me. The offer is going to be lower than what I am making in Houston, so I am wondering if living in the Miami area is truly an option, or if it would be a bad move.

Current:
Houston
155 k salary + 10% bonus

Miami:
125k salary + 20% bonus

30k decrease off the bat is obvious, but is my quality of life going to suffer? We currently love going to the beach and love to sail. Going out to dinner once a week maybe as I do a lot of cooking plus the occasional sporting event or movie. I don't want to be in a situation where the cost of living increase is so great that I will end up struggling paycheck to paycheck and the only fun we have are occasional trips to the beach because of gas prices.

Thanks in advance for the insight!

I would stay in Houston and explore Galveston even tho its not as nice as Miami

[Fl1150]

I think you would do just fine in Miami on 150k(with bonus) as it is a high end salary so I think you would be able to afford a nice house here in the right areas. Depending on the location Miami Lakes , Miami Shores could be option or you could commute to Dade county from Broward. Honestly if nothing is holding you back in Houston like family, or deep ties to the area I would consider the area. The Cost of living is higher so take that for what it is but generally people on this forum hate Florida but love Texas. Looking at the things I don't think you would be sacrificing a whole lot except maybe going to the beach so often since lot of good schools and cheaper housing tends to be in far flung suburbia.

[Cubanchic]

Op, if on your first year you don't live lavishly and rent first so you can get a better feel you will be fine. Seriously folks here either live in a fantasy world or have very little common sense.

I have a home business that does good when mining is in high demand and does fair to poor when the ecomony in these regions slow down, like it is now. Between my husband and myself we make the low end of what your salary is without bonus on a low year and we are perfectly fine. We also are driving paid off cars, have a modest but comfortable home and we do go out to eat once a week or every two weeks because I cook a lot also.

Car insurance will be higher as well as home insurance so research those quotes first to account all of your expenses.

Not all areas will you encounter Spanish only but you will hear a lot of it with folks talking among themselves.

There are beaches other then Miami beach and you will have traffic a lot more even on the weekends so expect a drive to any of the beaches at least a 30 minute commute.

The main thing to research would be the schools for the children and the areas that have the best. Also a lot of website are not updated on which schools are for what neighborhoods so you have to seek directly with the Miami dade county school board site. Elementary schools are more or less fine, it is the middle and high schools that you should be focusing on for the 13 year old.

Also important to note the location of your new office because commute times can be long.

If it is only a hit for the first year and you can advance from this position I would consider it. Btw I worked in the Houston port area when overseeing some of our big machines being exported and I didn't like that area that much but noticed about that same if not worse humidity levels there so don't let that arugement get to you as a decision making aspect.

[Wanderer2014]

As far as commute, I am okay with up to an hour. My current commute is 45 minutes. I have fun cars to drive, so I enjoy some "me" time on my commute. My office will be in Coral Gables. Traffic should actually be better than the horrible traffic snarls in Houston. (I Hope). I don't mind Houston, it is just that we don't get as much beach time due to the proximity and the fact that even thoh it is close, every single route out of the city is 1-2 hours!

I am not in energy, I am a Network Engineer. So internet is a MUST! =)

[Cubanchic]

Op if in coral gables, then look for palmetto bay area, Downtown dadeland area, sunset place area and some areas in coral gables or even the falls area for a more suburban feel and schools that are not too bad. I live in northern cutler bay and the drive to coral gables when I do go isn't that bad. Though 67 th ave or 57th ave if US1 is backed up, from approximately 184 street to say lejune at the right time it is about a 40 min commute.

I run my company on high speed Comcast broadband, when I needed a few folks working with me the T1 lines worked out fine and it was affordable. You won't have a problem finding a service here.

[Surf&Turf]

Is this the only income in the family or does your girlfriend have a job lined up already? $125K seems like a lot, but for a family of 4 it doesn't stretch very far in Miami, especially because cost of living is much, much higer than Houston and you would have to change your lifestyle dramatically. Again, unless your girlfriend has also a steady income, I wouldn't move as I strongly believe your quality of life would drop. That's what happened to my wife and I and our 2 kids when we moved from Chicago. Plus, don't move because you want to go to the beach: unless you live in a 30 minute radius from the beach, after the first month you will very seldom go, and if you want good school for your kids you will probably be a good hour drive from any beach. Message me in private if you want more details. Good luck.

[logybogy]

$125k is a very, very good salary for Miami area, even for a family. It's top 10% of incomes in the area. The median HOUSEHOLD income is $44,000! You just won't be living it up like a millionaire from Argentina parking his flight capital in a brickell condo.

[sflove]

What type of home do you live in now? How many bedrooms do you want? I would say come visit first but not in a million years would I think someone making 125k would even remotely have a hard time here. If you want to live on the beach I would say try Sunny Isles. Rent for an apartment goes from $1700 up to who knows what depending on whether or not you stay directly on the beach or across A1A and whether or not you want a 2 or 3 bedroom. You can find rent cheaper than that for a house if you want to live more inland in an "average" area. What area of Miami will you be working?

[sflove]

I see you will be in Coral gables... I would stay right there if you can find decent rent. I just looked it up and it seems you can find housing around 3k per month but maybe a bit lower...if you can find a place you like within your budget I would stay there or maybe kendall.