To all the Miami-haters on this forum... (Fort Lauderdale, Weston: rent, condos)

[aqua21az]

I agree. Miami Dade county is horrible. Too much traffic, roads are old and in worse condition, people are not as polite and they expect you to speak two languages. On top of that, they have the worse schools and pre-schools. When you hit Broward county, you notice a big difference in everything! Its much better to live there, especially if you have a family.

Miami is a good place to work b/c they pay more compared to Broward county, but I would not reccomend living there.

[cleoclaus]

It's a terrible shame, but unless you came and settled here in Miami 20 years ago and are established in your home with your grandfathered tax rate, it is hard to enjoy the benefits of living here. I wish you luck and better living in the next place you call home.

[chisoxfan]

Originally Posted by cleoclaus

It's a shame, but unless you moved here 20 years ago and bought your home at an affordable price with a manageable tax rate, you will not be able to enjoy the benefits of living in Miami. Good luck to you in the next place you call home.

That's one of the biggest keys to making it here. If you bought a home pre-2000, before real estate went crazy, your mortgage is probably affordable and you're enjoying the tax breaks of Save Our Homes. No way I could live in the house we're in now (purchased in 1997) at today's prices.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by chisoxfan

That's one of the biggest keys to making it here. If you bought a home pre-2000, before real estate went crazy, your mortgage is probably affordable and you're enjoying the tax breaks of Save Our Homes. No way I could live in the house we're in now (purchased in 1997) at today's prices.

It also seems to divide people into "haves" and "have nots" more clearly. This also encourages selfishness for the long-time homeowners versus native and migrated more recent buyers. While this affects the whole state, Miami is the worst example of it. Instead of justifying the current system, we need to work to break it and hold Government accountable. Otherwise our educated youth will all exit the state to raise their families elsewhere, leaving us with an abundance of low paid slave labor and a select group of the elite to deal with the poor economic environment.

[rogerbacon]

Originally Posted by tallrick

It also seems to divide people into "haves" and "have nots" more clearly. This also encourages selfishness for the long-time homeowners versus native and migrated more recent buyers. While this affects the whole state, Miami is the worst example of it. Instead of justifying the current system, we need to work to break it and hold Government accountable. Otherwise our educated youth will all exit the state to raise their families elsewhere, leaving us with an abundance of low paid slave labor and a select group of the elite to deal with the poor economic environment.

Yes. If (when?) SOH is abolished then we will see taht 2% property tax rate go down. That's what they do in other states when the poeple can't afford to pay the taxes... they lower the rate. What a concept. If your taxes go from 1,600 to 8,000 then we should cut the 2% rate to 1% or even less.

[charlottere]

I lived in Miami for 13 years, we relocated to Charlotte,NC about a year ago, we love to be here, there is only very few things that I miss from SoFl.
Although our income has been reduced we are enjoying a much better quality of lifes.
We just wonder why took us so long to do it.
I wish you the best luck with your relocation

[Evaldez65]

I am winded after reading this thread. Ive spent 2 years getting all A's in pre-med classes out here in pennsylvania to be able to start and complete medical school in miami. I have friends in miami who go to college and have lived there for 2+ years, they dont complain at all about the area, only about the high traffic volume on the beach during the heavy tourist months.

I was planning on coming next month to check out apartments in sunny isles. I really need to see what these big downfalls of miami are. Everyone who I know that lives there does not complain, and the only people who I see complaining are the people who dont go to school and work small retail jobs.

I cant believe miami is this bad..

[kevinkagy]

I've lived in Miami all my life and still love living here. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely the place I've called home as well as all my friends and family who like living here. Traffic may be bad sometimes, but where is it not? There's always something to do and I think that things have gotten better in Miami overall (in terms of things to do, urbanization, cultural venues, etc.) with the exception of housing prices, which is a problem throughout the U.S.

Overall, I would recommend it to anyone to come live in Miami. And like any place, I'd say to come visit for a while first a couple times, make your own decision of the place, and then decide what's best. The worst is to make a hasty decision and then regret. Or you can love Miami like we do. It all depends on the person. Best of luck!

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by Evaldez65

I am winded after reading this thread. Ive spent 2 years getting all A's in pre-med classes out here in pennsylvania to be able to start and complete medical school in miami. I have friends in miami who go to college and have lived there for 2+ years, they dont complain at all about the area, only about the high traffic volume on the beach during the heavy tourist months.

I was planning on coming next month to check out apartments in sunny isles. I really need to see what these big downfalls of miami are. Everyone who I know that lives there does not complain, and the only people who I see complaining are the people who dont go to school and work small retail jobs.

I cant believe miami is this bad..

Contradictory sentence no? No one you know complains so who are these "retail job" people? By the way I hate Miami with a passion and I am a network admin

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by Evaldez65

Everyone who I know that lives there does not complain, and the only people who I see complaining are the people who dont go to school and work small retail jobs.

I cant believe miami is this bad..

It really doesn't matter what you do for a living, if you are student, waiter, CEO or retired, you will be able to find people in all stages of life, all financial levels (wealthy to poor) that like it or hate it here. I have a love/hate view of Miami. There are things that I like, but the things I dislike out weigh the good, sadly.

I can say this that, I know a few people that have moved to Miami in the last few years and all have left Miami already. Most lasted 3 years on average. The problem is, just visiting Miami you will not see the real problems of Miami. Now that saying goes for any city.

I think Miami is a great place to goto school, or live for a few years after graduating college as a young person (I wouldn't raise a family in South Florida), many people use Miami as a jumping board to better jobs in other parts of the country. So those that are good at what they do usually don't stay long in Miami. Come on down and check it out, you are young, you can still leave.