west palm beach to move or not to move??? (Miami: fit in, apartments)

[jenopink]

Hi, I'm looking to move to West Palm Beach towards the end of August and had some questions if anyone ca answer. First i now reside in denver colorado and do not have a car.I live in the city and do not need one. However i know i will need one if i move but am wondering if i should buy one here in colorado before i leave or wait. Can i manage without a car there for a couple weeks to a month? i am just looking for the cheapest rout. Second I'm 25, attractive, and am in the serving/ bar tending business can i rely on finding a job fast? Third I have never been to this area before I'm young and single how is the night life?

[Reedsmit]

You definately need a car. Whether you buy it here or there really is going to depend on how much you have to move. If your belongings are modest and would fit in a car. I would say buy it there.

In Jan. my daughter moved from FL to MT. We looked at all the options; driving, 2600 miles -5 days on the road, hotel, fuel and meals. We would have had to bought snow tires, a block heater and changed all the fluids to the climate of MT. Shipping the car would have cost $1000 plus we still would have had to bought the tires- etc for the car - also no guarantee the car would be there when we arrived. So we opted for buying the car there - the car was new - so we drove cars here than found a dealer there. Signed all the papers via FedEx - the salesmen offered to pick us up at the airport. We shipped 14 boxes of personal belonging UPS to a UPS Store - they charged $1 per box to receive them and $1 a day to store them. So we timed it so the boxes arrived the day we did.

As far as where to live; Palm Beach Gardens or City Place in West Palm Beach. You would be close to a lot of Restaurants / Bars / Clubs that would be looking for a bartender. There are also apartments close by as well as grocery stores.

[TriMT7]

Palm Beach County has a number of "commerical downtown like" centers, including:

Downtown West Palm Beach/Cityplace
Palm Beach Gardens near the Gardens Mall
Downtown Lake Worth
Downtown Delray Beach
Downtown Boca/Mizner Park

I lived in downtown West Palm/Cityplace. You could live without a car for sure in downtown, but you'd be at the mercy of Palm Tran (bus) if you wanted to leave the downtown core for any reason. You could probably get away with a Vespa instead of a car though, as everything you need (as long as you don't want Wal-Mart and things like that) can be found within about a three mile radius.

Nightlife is pretty good in West Palm Beach. Plus, if you want to nab a rich guy, try to work at or hang out at one of the bars or clubs on Palm Beach Island (just over the bridge from downtown WPB), lol.

[skylinet]

The night life is decent, and it's pretty easy to find a bartending job (especially if your female)
I'd agree with Reed as far as City Place in West Palm or the Gardens area. In downtown WPB you could probably live without a car if you had too. There's a bunch of restaurants, a grocery store, and City Place is an outdoor mall so plenty of shopping.
They are both smaller cities though...

[THX 1138]

Well since you never been here before, I would highly suggest you visit first. Season is over soon so service jobs will thin out and competition is already pretty tough. Are you aware of the high cost of living here, can you survive on a server/bartender's salary? Have you looked into living arrangements?

You can probably get buy without a car for a little while, downtown WPB is not that big and it's a small city you will soon want to explore and relying on mass transit might not be the best solution.

[ckummer]

You seem very uneducated about Florida in general. You surely haven't been here and have probably just "heard" of it. Whatever that entails...Then again life is adventure, so what the hell do I know really?

Denver is a lot different in that there is less variance in the spread of people when talking about class. Denver is set up more like a traditional city. "West Palm" not so much. I put it in quotations because the area is more akin to being spread out than being concentrated. Yes, there is a "downtown" which is just more of a place to eat, see the arts, and encounter mainstream entertainment. Then there is the island where the BUCCO rich dwell. Locating a job in this area is directly correspondent to just how attractive you are and whether you know somebody. There's bartenders well into their gray years.

It'd be more beneficial for people here to know your intentions. Do you thrive in the hospitality business and see that as a desired future? If yes, then Florida is pretty good for that. You could even land a job on yacht traversing the globe. I actually know a girl who is doing this. Do you want an education? Florida isn't necessarily the best when it comes to that, although it is cheap and you could land a solid heathcare job (lots of old farts) If you just want to escape the weather. I'd move to California since the weather is better than hot and humid Florida. The scenery is what you are accustomed to. Sometimes when I look at the clouds here I try to pretend they are mountains since everything here is FLAT. The highest elevation in Florida is something like 350 ft. Plus Cali is closer to home after you realized you f'ed up.

The nightlife is good but is more correlated to how much cash you have and in your case to how many older gentleman or yuppies you choose to court. I'm a recent transplant after living in a college town which I liked better. If you want party party check out Miami Beach. I'd think there'd be more opportunity for you there if you wanted to go straight into bartending.

This all coming from a 24 y/o, attractive male. (at least according to my mom)

[jenopink]

Well thanks for the reply..... i've been to florida and like it for the most part. I've been to cali as well, several times, i like it but it's too close to home. I'm only looking to move for a year anyway and honestly i really don't care where at this point as long as its on the other side of the country with beaches and nice weather. I'm an attractive female and am not worried about finding a serving job. I do want to go to school but only if i decide i want to live there for the next 3 years. I'm just looking to get away for a while, live in a new city, meet new people, and miss winter because i am tired of snow!!!

[Reedsmit]

Also keep in mind we get Hurricanes - and that season starts in 2 months

[ckummer]

Gotcha, that helps. You should be alright, but to fully enjoy the area I'd say you need a car. We should trade spots. You come live here for a year, I'll go there for a year. I'm sick of the heat and could get some more use out of my snowboard!

[dharmagypsy7]

Have you looked into South Beach, Miami? That's one place you can live without a car. I lived there in my early 20's for two years with only a beach cruiser for transportation. Everything is walking distance and/or they have a .25 bus that takes you all over South Beach. You can walk to the beach, your job, grocery store... everything is in walking distance.

I think that South Beach is a great place for someone in their early 20's and the hospitality industry is lucrative in season. The hospitality jobs are seasonal but if you can get into a boutique or chain hotel; then it won't affect you as much year around. I know servers that made $800-1000 a day at hotels like the Delano/Setai/Shore Club. I know couple more hotels like the W are there now too, and because of International tourists year around; it seems to be thriving despite the economy in US.

If you are set on West Palm Beach, I would recommend City Place. It has a good vibe, plenty of restaurant/lounge for you to work in and you could probably go without a car for awhile. Although it is small so you would probably need one eventually just to get out and see rest of the area. Delray Beach is also nice and you can get by without a car for awhile there too if you live in or near downtown.