Considering moving to Miami- advice please! (Hialeah, Hollywood: environment, relocate, apartments)

[PNW2007]

Originally Posted by Veloire

I used to live in two other US cities before and I could find the same complaining type of people everywhere. They get the most awful services in restaurant, they always knowing others who just left this filthy place; they never find any decent job in the area and they pledge that even the honey produced by the local bees is bitter. The most important is that these people NEVER leave the city they complain about.

I left...........

[RobGar]

Thanks for the information. I am flying to Florida this Friday in order to take a look at the area. I spoke with a realtor and he recommended South Gulf Cove. I will drive from Tampa on Saturday and view Rotonda and South Gulf Cove. Thanks again.

Originally Posted by 2peaches2oranges

I'm considering the purchase of some land in the Cape Haze Peninsula.

I live in Rotonda West. Also, I have been purchasing land on the Cape Haze peninsula since 2003 and before that in the Burnt Store Rd area of Cape Coral. I am in my 30's have kids 4-11 in the public schools here. It is beautiful and growing. It led Charlotte County in building permits in 2006.

Parts of Rotonda (the houses built in the 1970's in Oakland Hills and Pebble Beach, not built to hurricane code) were damaged by Hurricane Charley.

My home lost one tree in the yard and the electricity was out for about 8 hours, other than that, my pool cage and roof did fine (house built in 2000). I live in the newest populated section, PINE VALLEY. Many of the people moving in are families. The school buses are packed. It is not just for older people. We have a new skatepark/water park being built in Englewood, a new YMCA in Englewood, a new library proposed just outside Rotonda on Sunnybrook, a nice playground/park in Rotonda and we have the best schools in Charlotte County (Vineland & Ainger) and the high school is about to be completely renovated.

I live about 5 miles to the beaches on Boca Grande and about 10 miles from Manasota Key. The traffic is not bad, no murders, no car jackings. It is quiet! I got my sister to move here from Seattle, my mom too. They do have drug problems and burglary stories in the crime beat of the paper.

Yes, it is about 10 miles from Starbucks and the mall in Port Charlotte. They are supposedly building a Home Depot and Target right outside Rotonda West in Englewood. But we are 10 minutes from all that!

I moved here from Wellington near West Palm Beach which is a nice family friendly community as well.

If you buy land here, check for elevation, the size of the lot to make sure it is buildable due to set back requirements, check what utilities are available and the location, location, location! Check zoning and the schools the lot serves. The county schools are tightening school borders and many Rotonda lots will not be in the Vineland district anymore.

[vpcats]

What's this elalmoving stuff? Free political announcement?

[fromtxtofl]

In answer to your question of whether of not Miami is a good place to raise children, I absolutely say no. We have one and one on the way and have only lived here 4 months. It is simply shocking and I would definitely recommend reading the other threads on this board, they may seem negative, but very truthful.
Interesting you mentioned quality of life, because that is the overall difference from what we moved from to Miami. I have lived throughout TX and now for the first time am living in Miami. Our quality of life dropped dramatically upon moving. Even our movers (who came from TX) were shocked at how people treated them here. My best description is the moment you leave your home and encounter another person, their behavior is so shocking that you feel like you've done something wrong when you haven't.
It is the first time in my life I have truly experienced discrimination. I shopped at a store in TX, then after moving, in Miami. The store is higher-end maternity. In TX, I was asked if I would like some water, my friend was offered a chair to sit in as I tried on clothes, and the sales lady continually brought me other sizes and was very courteous. NOT HERE. The Cuban women in the store were greeted and tended to. I was glanced at upon entering, not greeted, and never approached. Discrimination is a horrible thing, and now I have more empathy for those who have experienced it. I am learning a lot living here. Funny thing is, my husband & I speak Spanish, but should we HAVE to? No.
I remember when we first moved here, I went to the pharmacy for medication as our child & I were sick. Not only did the technician not speak English or understand what I was saying, the pharmacist didn't either! I am pregnant and wanted consultation, so I was on my own to read the label & move on.
It is assumed you speak Spanish here, if you check out at the grovery store, the clerk will speak to you in Spanish, if you reply in English, it is frowned upon and it seems to aggrivate there already disgusted attitude.
The safety is another concern greatly communicated on these boards.
It is just not a family environment rich in community, a sense of belonging, or being among others with similar morals & values. It is hard to find others with similar characteristics to create a support system and begin friendships that will last. Each individual seems to be interested in themselves, not others.
It is cold (not the weather), many of the immigrants are angry, don't smile, but do make sure to look you up & down to judge you.
If you have children and want to protect them from what they see, or learn, it is very challenging. Just going to the drug store, there was a homeless person, drunk, right in front of the door, shouting obscenities. I am holding our child's hand, simply trying to walk in. This is common. If you don't want your children to see women exposing the chests and dressing in the middle of the day as if they were going to a club on South Beach (but you're no where near there), it is impossible to leave the home. For example, my family & I were in an elevator, it stops on a floor & a woman gets on. She is wearing a bra with a net-shirt over it. It is completely see-through. I had never encountered this in anywhere in the middle of the day. It is simply a different culture with exptremely different values (or lack of), attitudes, concern (or lack thereof) for others, and a sense of happiness (or lack of).
It is an adjustment that I hope to never adjust to. I hope to leave!! I do not want our children to think it's okay to be rude, angry, and thoughtless to others.
Wait, did I mention the driving? The drivers here drive slowly and recklessly, a strange combination. It is very aggrivating to drive around here, especially on US1. I stay away from it at all costs. Add a cell phone call, and you really are in danger behind that driver! It seems to be difficult for the immigrants to concentrate on more than one thing at a time, so driving is a big challenge! You just can't imagine it until you're here.
My recommendation to anyone considering moving here: Live here, shop here, do the errands you normally would here, for AT LEAST 2 weeks before you decide. Sure, it may cost you in hotel, etc. BUT IT WOULD BE WELL WORTH IT!!
My thoughts are with those considering to move here.

[CiXeL]

"My best description is the moment you leave your home and encounter another person, their behavior is so shocking that you feel like you've done something wrong when you haven't."

yep. know that feeling all too well. just wait till you see how people try to ********* in deals too.

what i really hate though is how you cant find anyone knowledgable in anything. good luck finding that part youre looking for at home depot.

when my parents were out here they went to a clothing store and my mom went over to talk to a woman working there about the clothes and she walked off in mid sentance. totally blew her away how bad the customer service was and that was in miami beach.

"Discrimination is a horrible thing, and now I have more empathy for those who have experienced it."

yeah i feel REALLY bad for black people now. african americans, haitians or otherwise. especially haitians because most ive met have been really nice but sh-t upon constantly by the latin population here.

"I am pregnant and wanted consultation"

im scared to death over if anything bad were to happen to me where id need surgery. ive heard of people being given thorazine (an anti-psychotic) for a bad case of hiccups that wouldnt go away at homestead baptist hospital.
this is one of those places where someone would forget a pair of surgical scissors in you. i told my gf if anything bad were to happen to me we would fly back to california to have it done where there are reprocussions for screwing up.

where do you live fromtxtofl? we're down in homestead - exit 5
my gf and i are trying to collect friends of normal people not from florida. we have a small batch at work. maybe we could do lunch sometime. pm me if youre interested.

[doggiebus]

fromtxtofl - I am sorry that you have had to experience this, but it wasn't this way 10 years ago. It has just gotten this way in the last 7-8 years unfortunatly. It is like you have left the US and moved to crazy place. We joke whenever we leave Miami that we are going to enter the US when we travel anywhere else in the country, even if we just to Tampa.

I once went to a WinnDixie and couldn't find anyone that spoke English. So I wrote a letter to WinnDixie, and with in a month I noticed lots of new people, and most seemed to speak English. I was born here and have watched all my friends and their parents leave Miami. They left for many reasons, but two left to give their kids a better/safer lifestyle.

The service in this town, isn't great, but it isn't an anglo/hispanic thing. It is the way you are dresses, the type of purse you are carrying, the jewlery you are wearing, etc. I swear, when I have all the right things on I get great service, but if I go dressed in my gym clothes forget it, it is like I am not standing there. Its sad, but the way this town has become.

Did you visit this forum before you moved? I think there are a few here that tell it like it is, no rose colored glasses.

[fromtxtofl]

doggiebus, thanks for your response, it was hilarious! We're going to steal your saying for when we travel, I love it. Maybe we'll show our passports at the airport here for domestic flights!
Well, I agree that class is something that is judged here greatly but I think it's two parts: first I feel I'm judged on my race, then class. I find if I respond in Spanish, I get treated better unfortunately. But, I feel the glares up & down as if they're reading my clothing labels from afar, too!

Thanks for the great laugh!

[lisalisa4444]

Hi All-

We have taken your thoughts into deep consideration and have decided once again that Miami may not be the best place for us

I do believe the majority of Miami is just bad news no matter how much you "caccoon" yourself. Question is where to move? We have our eyes on Colorado...Cost of living wayyyyyyyyyy low, nice people, tons to do outside and A+ schools. Yes, you will deal with the cold but apparently a dry cold that does not seem as severe.
Any thoughts?

[vpcats]

LisaLisa.
I've heard parts of Colorado are beautiful and great to live in. Then again, did you see how much snow they've had this year? If you like snow and your bones can still deal with it, you may get a kick out of a few seasons.
I believe CO has the highest foreclosure rate in the country now so may be a good time to pick up some property.
There are a few people on the Florida forum from that area, looking to come down here instead.
Good luck to you. I do live in Miami and for me it's fine so far.

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by lisalisa4444

Hi All-

We have taken your thoughts into deep consideration and have decided once again that Miami may not be the best place for us

I do believe the majority of Miami is just bad news no matter how much you "caccoon" yourself. Question is where to move? We have our eyes on Colorado...Cost of living wayyyyyyyyyy low, nice people, tons to do outside and A+ schools. Yes, you will deal with the cold but apparently a dry cold that does not seem as severe.
Any thoughts?

I think you made a wise choice. Colorado, is where we are looking at moving too, Denver area to be exact. Like the post before said they do have foreclosures but they are in certain areas, not all over. For instance sounds like a lot have happened in the NorthEast of Denver, but the rest of Denver is fine. So don't be scared. There are two people that post in the overall Florida forums, cil and marylou that have lived in Colorado. I have PM'd Marylou and have gotten some great info, she is actually moving back to Denver soon, she just gotten a job there. I would find them and PM them for your questions, also go to the Colorado sight, you can find them there too. The only thing I am worried about moving there is the lack of trees or lack of lots of greenery. But the mountains right there might make up for anything, they are just amazing... I am not worried about the snow or ice as they don't get as much as the midwest or northeast. And they don't have a huge problem with ice like the south seems to have from what everyone says. And the low humidity, oh my hair everytime we go, looks the best out there. Denver has everything you will need, top shopping like Miami has (I was surprised about that), many dining options just like Miami has, 4 seasons, etc. They say it can snow in October through May. We were there in early November, when we were in the mountains we had whiteout conditions but Denver had nothing. Oh and the second day we were in Denver it was hotter than Miami, 90 degrees and we were able to sit outside and have lunch in my flip flops, but didn't feel the same, they said it was because of the low humidity, why I wasn't sweating. 90 degrees in Miami I could never sit outside and have a nice lunch. Great choice.