Should we move from No-Cal to So-Fla? (Miami, Orlando: condos, houses)

[la1chapina]

We are your typical Northern California couple complete with hippie tendencies, cultural diversity and super liberal thinking. We have to make a big decision whether or not to move to Miami/Ft.Laud/Orlando area but are nervous about being completely foreign. Is there anyone out there that's done the move from No-Cal to So-FLa and been happy about it? To give you an idea, we love the outdoors, shop at health food stores, watch mostly independent and foreign films, voted for Obama, and can stand ignorance or people out to prove themselves! HELP!!

[nicsma2002]

Well, you just pretty much described me and my friends here in Miami. Even one in our group is from your area. We are pretty happy here, even though we live in a conservative, Republican community. Everyone's polite and friendly. We shop at health food stores, do the indie/foreign film thing, practice different causes like going green, recycling, living low-maintenance & simply, etc. I think we are unusual here, but there are pockets of people like you describe. Lots of vegans in Miami/Ft. L who share similar interests; the thing is finding them. It might be challenging to find that "clique" down here, but I guess one way to do it is attend events & organizations where we/they tend to congregate. It ain't no No-Cal down here by any means, but where there's a will, you can make it work. However, personally, I'd rather be where you are! I think that area is one of the most beautiful in the country. Good luck wherever you go.

[illini84]

In all honesty, "hippie tendencies, cultural diversity and super liberal thinking" do not describe Miami in any way. Like the above poster said, there are pockets of these people, but it's certainly not the norm. I'd compare Miami people to LA people--very superficial and status concerned. The typical Miami person drives a Range Rover/BMW/Mercedes with a Starbucks in hand, with a small, trendy dog yapping out the window, while wearing big sunglasses and high-end clothing (even to the grocery store), and couldn't care less about going green or recycling. There isn't much of an independent, artsy scene here, unfortunately. You'll find everything you want that's "mainstream" (Starbucks on every corner, high-end designers galore, very trendy nightclubs, etc.), but there's little that's unique about Miami, in my opinion. Coming from the north (a very liberal, mid-sized city), I was accustomed to anti-Starbucks people, artsy types, independent coffee houses with live, local music artists, and people who refused to drive gas-guzzling vehicles (mass transit or bicycling was the standard). I find Miami to be quite the opposite, and wayyyy more conservative than I expected. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just doesn't suit everybody. I guess it's just what you're used to. Some people fit right in, while others do not. There are a lot of health food stores in Miami though, and even the major grocery store chains (Publix) carry a respectable amount of organic food. You'll also have the beach and all the outdoor activities that go along with that, plus you can be outside year-round.

[runswithscissors]

Minor detail....are you expecting to speak and hear English?

[MalaK]

Nooooooooo way. I'm from Marin county, and I moved to the Coral Gables
area which is nice but in no way compares to anything in California. Miami
is a city of its own. My first few days here were a great learning
experience. Sadly to me Miami doesn't feel like a civilized United States
city. There's a lot of diversity, and I thought for a while that was going
to be a good thing, but it wasn't. People don't speak English, they don't
know how to drive. I thought they were "RUDE" drivers, but I realized
at the beggining that the real problem is that they don't know the laws,
and or know how to properly drive a vehicle. I've gone to really nice
restaurants and to fast food restaurants, and 75% of the time they
have served me the wrong thing. One time it took me 30mins to find
an atm at a local mall because no one knew what it was or what I was
asking for, and I speak fluent Spanish (I'm Hispanic myself). It's a different
world for sure out here, and it sure feels like a 3rd world country. Yes,
you do see the ocassional nice car, and such, but we have that in
California and a lot more. Miami's overall customer service to the public
is HORRENDOUS. Weather is fine most of the time, I still haven't
experience a hurricane season, but I guess I will this year. I've only been
a few months here btw. Finding a job is another problem, it doesn't matter
the level of education you have, or the experience, I guess most of it
is "Who you know", so it is very hard to find a good job, at least from
my experience. Overall I dislike it very much, but hopefully in the future
I will be moving out of here and back to Cali.

[illini84]

That sums it up pretty well, MalaK. Those were my exact thoughts when moving here and I, too, am leaving Miami. Sorry to hear you don't like it though--that's tough. I've always heard San Francisco is very Asian--do people there speak Chinese/Japanese/etc. like people speak Spanish here (overwhelmingly)? I would like to move out there in the future, but don't want to encounter the same problems I've run into here in Miami (language barrier, pretentious people, high cost of living for nothing, etc.). I've heard SF is a wonderful city, but is it really what it's cracked up to be? And worth the money?

[doom1001]

Originally Posted by MalaK

Nooooooooo way. I'm from Marin county, and I moved to the Coral Gables
area which is nice but in no way compares to anything in California. Miami
is a city of its own. My first few days here were a great learning
experience. Sadly to me Miami doesn't feel like a civilized United States
city. There's a lot of diversity, and I thought for a while that was going
to be a good thing, but it wasn't. People don't speak English, they don't
know how to drive. I thought they were "RUDE" drivers, but I realized
at the beggining that the real problem is that they don't know the laws,
and or know how to properly drive a vehicle. I've gone to really nice
restaurants and to fast food restaurants, and 75% of the time they
have served me the wrong thing. One time it took me 30mins to find
an atm at a local mall because no one knew what it was or what I was
asking for, and I speak fluent Spanish (I'm Hispanic myself). It's a different
world for sure out here, and it sure feels like a 3rd world country. Yes,
you do see the ocassional nice car, and such, but we have that in
California and a lot more. Miami's overall customer service to the public
is HORRENDOUS. Weather is fine most of the time, I still haven't
experience a hurricane season, but I guess I will this year. I've only been
a few months here btw. Finding a job is another problem, it doesn't matter
the level of education you have, or the experience, I guess most of it
is "Who you know", so it is very hard to find a good job, at least from
my experience. Overall I dislike it very much, but hopefully in the future
I will be moving out of here and back to Cali.

Wow I totally agree with you and what amazes me is that you haven't even dealt with a full nasty summer with intolerable heat,rain,humidity and hurricanes.After you go through one full summer and god forbid a hurricane,I'm sure you're gonna want to take the first flight back to the bay area.

[MalaK]

The Asians in SF are mostly well educated, most if not all of
them speak English, and some even Spanish (If you go to Chinatown
you will find that). The high cost of living is rewarding with good jobs,
a lot better life quality, and a lot less crime. If you don't like big cities
just move to a city in the surroundings. I'm telling you is nothing like
Miami in the Bay Area.

Originally Posted by illini84

That sums it up pretty well, MalaK. Those were my exact thoughts when moving here and I, too, am leaving Miami. Sorry to hear you don't like it though--that's tough. I've always heard San Francisco is very Asian--do people there speak Chinese/Japanese/etc. like people speak Spanish here (overwhelmingly)? I would like to move out there in the future, but don't want to encounter the same problems I've run into here in Miami (language barrier, pretentious people, high cost of living for nothing, etc.). I've heard SF is a wonderful city, but is it really what it's cracked up to be? And worth the money?

[sergio]

NO!!!! STAY AWAY!!!

So far everyone has replied with the truth here. But soon you will have all the heads buried in the sand telling you how it’s not that bad. And, how it’s just as bad everywhere else. ITS NOT!!!

Miami is a cesspool!!! I couldn’t stress it to you enough!!

My fiancée who is from Arkansas and has travelled frequently, took a trip to Miami with me a year ago and she said she would never live there and can’t imagine how people do. And she is from Arkansas!!!

If you can’t stand ignorance and people out to prove themselves, then Miami is 100% not for you. The levels of ignorance are astronomical down there. And everyone lives on food stamps but wants to wear Gucci and drive Hummers.

As far as culture, forget it. It’s nonexistent and most of these refugees think Scarface was a foreign film.

Miami is nowhere in the class of cities like San Francisco, LA, NY, Chicago, Philly, Boston, etc. It thinks it is, but its not. It tears down all its historical sites, ignores the needs of the people and they think because all the corrupt politicians have taken kickbacks and allowed the skyline to be overrun with cookie cutter condos that Miami is "world-class". It’s a small, yes; I said it, small city with no history, no transportation and no city planning. Its garbage, plain and simple.


a1chapina, take it from a former 37 year Miami resident. Either stay where you are, or find somewhere else to go. If you want to see for yourself, take a trip down in August. See how pretty the 90% humidity is and how great the driving is. Stay for a few days and don’t do all the tourist things like South Beach. No, drive around town. Avoid the bad areas, which are tough because none of it is great, and just see how it would be to live there when you’re not on vacation. And hope you don’t get a hurricane. I have lived through several and don’t live there partly because of it now. After all that, then decide.

Good luck.

[illini84]

Originally Posted by sergio

If you can’t stand ignorance and people out to prove themselves, then Miami is 100% not for you. The levels of ignorance are astronomical down there. And everyone lives on food stamps but wants to wear Gucci and drive Hummers.

As far as culture, forget it. It’s nonexistent and most of these refugees think Scarface was a foreign film.

Ha ha ha--soooooooo true