New York City vs. Miami (Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines: for rent, day cares, home)

[daburmawolf]

I live in Queens, NY and may relocate to Miami area. Have a job offer in Doral. Still weighing the pros and cons. Me and my spouse don't like the cold, the stress and high cost of living in NY. Also we have two babies at home and think Florida might be better. I seen two books ranking Weston and Coral Spring best places to raise family. Where are the good areas for families? School? Daycares? And are they boring east B.F. nieghborhoods? We're Asian, is there any Asian community down there? All our friends and family in NY, no one over there, are people pretty easy to meet over there? Any info would be helpful.

[Alphaman]

You might want to post this in the Miami thread this one is for hurricane discussion.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by daburmawolf

I live in Queens, NY and may relocate to Miami area. Have a job offer in Doral. Still weighing the pros and cons. Me and my spouse don't like the cold, the stress and high cost of living in NY. Also we have two babies at home and think Florida might be better. I seen two books ranking Weston and Coral Spring best places to raise family. Where are the good areas for families? School? Daycares? And are they boring east B.F. nieghborhoods? We're Asian, is there any Asian community down there? All our friends and family in NY, no one over there, are people pretty easy to meet over there? Any info would be helpful.

I am originally from Brooklyn and live in Fort Lauderdale. Let me have a crack at this.

me and my spouse don't like the cold, the stress and high cost of living in NYC

It isn't cold here but the humidity is very extreme in the summer. Its one extreme to the next you will be going to.

The "stress" is every where. You will have to get up, go to work, fight traffic, deal with rude people and blah blah blah. You will not be escaping that. There is no place that you can escape the daily grind, thats just a part of life.

Where are the good areas for families? School? Daycares?

Plantation, Coral Springs, Weston etc. The suburbs are pretty much equal. At least when it comes to Fort Lauderdale, cant speak for Miami. As for schools, what grades are you kids in? Day cares, umm look into the Montessori schools, those are good. Also, whats your budget for rent, that too will dictate where you may want to look at living. Also, the commute from doral to coral springs isn't something you would want to do on the daily.

We're Asian, is there any Asian community down there?

This is not NYC, so you will not find the high concentration of Asians in certain neighborhoods like you do in the city. You will find high concentrations of Latinos and Caribbean peoples in a given area though.

As far as meeting people, it can be easy if you click with the people you work with. People out on the street are not that friendly though.

Hope that helps

[compelled to reply]

I cosign Wild Stlyes post, but I must add that an east Asian population is settling in west Pembroke Pines and especially west Miramar. A few of the elementary schools out there are pushing 15% Asian, and Asians were the fastest growing ethnic group in Miramar between 2000 and 2005, not Hispanics or Blacks like you would expect. 3.0% to 7.5%. Also, the schools are not equal in the W. Broward communities. I can tell you that most of the schools are terrible in Tamarac, Sunrise, or Plantation past elementary.

[Wild Style]

Compelled I didn't know that about the asian population. Where did you get those stats from?

[osomd1]

Originally Posted by daburmawolf

I live in Queens, NY and may relocate to Miami area. Have a job offer in Doral. Still weighing the pros and cons. Me and my spouse don't like the cold, the stress and high cost of living in NY. Also we have two babies at home and think Florida might be better. I seen two books ranking Weston and Coral Spring best places to raise family. Where are the good areas for families? School? Daycares? And are they boring east B.F. nieghborhoods? We're Asian, is there any Asian community down there? All our friends and family in NY, no one over there, are people pretty easy to meet over there? Any info would be helpful.

Whoever bases a decission about moving to a certain place on this or other forums must be insane, I beleive that most people that frequent them are
social zeros, always unhappy and you bet not very successful!!!, just think
about the nicest place you can imagine, visit the forum for that city and voila!
there they are, whining, complaining, always fantazaising about great, dirt
cheap places, full of white people that only speak and understand english, ha,ha,ha they are just pathetic.
Reality check:
1- Is it a coincidence that all the states with the fastest growing economies have very high percentage of hispanics and other minorities.
2- Have any of these whiners been to a college town in the past 25 years? they are full of asians, hispanics, middle easterners, europeans. They are the driving force of this country, now if you go to a beauty school or a vocational
school, or either police or fireman academy, then you'll find your "average" american, and of course whining their way through trade school.

[d40372]

Osomd1, I would be surprised to learn that anyone here is advocating that people chose whether or not to move to a location based solely on statements made in this website's forums. But, when investigating areas of the country where they otherwise have no contacts, people can get information and perspectives from locals here that they simply cannot obtain elsewhere.

Yes, people on the Miami forum complain. And, the relative anonymity of the internet likely disinhibits people such that they may tend to complain a bit more fervently than they they might when, say, they're gathered around the office water cooler. But, there is a lot to complain about in this part of the country. And, this forum provides a venue for locals to vent with others who experience the same problems day in and day out. It also gives locals the opportunity to warn others who may be lured by the hype of Miami that all is not rosy in paradise.

In my quest to escape this place, I've spent a good deal of time looking through other city's forums. Nowhere have I found this "whining and complaining" to be more pervasive than in the Miami forum. And for good reason...Miami is rife with problems and, consequently, many people here are frustrated. In many other forums, the majority of people seem to be happy overall living where they are. I've gained a great deal of useful information just by reading through others' comments in the various city forums. Your blanket statement simply doesn't seem to apply to this website as a whole.

In contrast to what you've said, based on the content and quality of many posts here, I suspect that a number of the posters in this forum are actually quite successful. Some of the most economically insightful comments I've run across have been right here in this "pathetic" Miami forum.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

Compelled I didn't know that about the asian population. Where did you get those stats from?

I will try and find the newspaper article for you (it's kind of old) but heres some school demographics out there. I couldn't find one that was less than 6% asian which is at least a presence.

Enrollment Counts
Enrollment Counts

Evidently I remember that school demographic incorrectly, but at least a double digit. Most of the schools west of 75 were at least 7%. It's not NYC but it's a presence at least, like almost any other group is present/blended in that area. Certainly enough to not feel out of place. Those two happen to be well rated schools in a nice area as well.

[Momma_bear]

We moved from Westchester to Weston seven years ago. We really like south Florida, but we make enough money to be happy here. The cost of living here is lower than it is in NY, but not as low as many NYers think it will be. If your kids are in a NYC public school you may find the schools here acceptable. If they are in a private school you may not find the public schools very good at all, even in the "nice" areas.

This area is very diverse and there are some Asians here, although they are small in numbers. People here are used to diversity though and don't automatically exclude folks based on appearance. My kids have a very diverse group of friends.

We live in Weston. Doral is pretty far. The traffic is not as bad as NY, but it's bad and there is very little public transportation available to help you avoid traffic.

I think that if you are looking to escape the "rat race" Miami is not the place to choose. It's much to urban and busy to be an escape from urban life. If you want an urban lifestyle that is a little less expensive than NY it might fit the bill.

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

We moved from Westchester to Weston seven years ago. We really like south Florida, but we make enough money to be happy here. The cost of living here is lower than it is in NY, but not as low as many NYers think it will be. If your kids are in a NYC public school you may find the schools here acceptable. If they are in a private school you may not find the public schools very good at all, even in the "nice" areas.

that depends on where in NYC you live

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

I will try and find the newspaper article for you (it's kind of old) but heres some school demographics out there. I couldn't find one that was less than 6% asian which is at least a presence.

Enrollment Counts
Enrollment Counts

Evidently I remember that school demographic incorrectly, but at least a double digit. Most of the schools west of 75 were at least 7%. It's not NYC but it's a presence at least, like almost any other group is present/blended in that area. Certainly enough to not feel out of place. Those two happen to be well rated schools in a nice area as well.

thx man!