San Diego vs West Palm Beach (place, life, people, school)
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Better Future: Now this is the million dollar question and I feel like a lot of the answer depends on how California recovers from COVID. Florida has practically dismissed COVID (rightly or wrongly). I see the growth here in WPB and South Florida and it’s booming. The housing market is insane (I’m closing on a new construction home in September). San Diego will continue to be a draw, and as long as COVID doesn’t affect its economy, and people are too turned of by its homeless problem, it’ll continue to do well. Tie...but if MSA is included, WPB.
San Diego has and will always have a more resilient economy than South Florida. Real estate isn't exactly a solid economic base.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
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One area where SoFla is gaining a stronger foothold since the advent of Covid is in the financial industry as more hedge funds and bank divisions have relocated their companies, personnel and/or opened satellite offices here. Palm Beach County, not just Miami, has been a beneficiary of such moves. The big prize will be if Goldman Sachs follows through on a rumored relocation of its asset management division to the Palm Beach area.
The entire city of San Diego compared to West Palm Beach? San Diego is so much bigger and covers a much larger land area, so it's not really a fair comparison. That's like comparing Los Angeles to Oceanside.
With that being said, I'd still rather live in West Palm. I find it more desirable for a host of reasons, including but not limited to: better weather, no state income tax, better beaches (warmer water, more swimmable), its in Florida not California (huge plus). West Palm is also part of the Miami metropolitan area, which is massive and offers so much more than SD metro, in particular nightlife. Cali nightlife is horrible. I prefer being on the east coast as well because it offers better access to places like New York, DC, Chicago, Europe and the Caribbean.
Last edited by kingsdl76; 03-08-2021 at 03:27 AM..
THIS! Palm Beach Island has a large concentration of mega wealthy residents. You could throw a rock and literally hit a wealth/asset management firm there. We are indeed poaching financial and hedge fund firms at an unprecedented rate. 360 Rosemary is practically 80% leased already and at a time when you can't give away commercial office space in the Northeast.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elchevere
One area where SoFla is gaining a stronger foothold since the advent of Covid is in the financial industry as more hedge funds and bank divisions have relocated their companies, personnel and/or opened satellite offices here. Palm Beach County, not just Miami, has been a beneficiary of such moves. The big prize will be if Goldman Sachs follows through on a rumored relocation of its asset management division to the Palm Beach area.
Could be one reason why Palm Beach was deemed the hottest real estate market in the nation at the end of last year. Close friend, Securities attorney, got multiple offers/above ask on his 100 year old house (but ideally situated just 50 yards from the beach and 3 blocks over from Worth Avenue) to move into his much larger and more expensive waterfront (both sides) Jupiter Island home that he couldn’t sell because some felt (at 17,000 sq ft) it wasn’t large enough...geez.
Demographically (White non Hispanic) plus hometown ex NY friends, Palm Beach / Boca makes more sense for me but it just doesn’t have the energy level / exotic vibe and walkability of Miami (and I’m attracted to Latinas).
Quote:
Originally Posted by silverct9a
THIS! Palm Beach Island has a large concentration of mega wealthy residents. You could throw a rock and literally hit a wealth/asset management firm there. We are indeed poaching financial and hedge fund firms at an unprecedented rate. 360 Rosemary is practically 80% leased already and at a time when you can't give away commercial office space in the Northeast.
Last edited by elchevere; 03-08-2021 at 10:26 AM..
I would much rather live in San Diego than WPB, in terms of a city comparison. But has much as I love SD, I couldn't live in California. Florida is much more live/let live and doesn't have an oppressive, overreaching state government. So I'd have to go with WPB.
In your case I can definitely understand your decision of choosing Miami - It definitely has the latinas. I’m 37 and married, but frequently go to Miami, especially Wynwood. I recently purchased a home in West Palm, but I totally agree with you about the walkability(mostly Brickell here), bustle, and just general energy aspect. If that is what one is looking for, Miami is the best Florida has to offer.
Side note: The brightline (now Virgin Trains USA) is a welcomed addition - it allows one to enjoy Miami more easily without living there - Although I would like to see a 3 am last ride time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elchevere
And along with the Wall Street crowd, NYC businesses/good restaurants/retailers have followed (all over SoFla).
Could be one reason why Palm Beach was deemed the hottest real estate market in the nation at the end of last year. Close friend, Securities attorney, got multiple offers/above ask on his 100 year old house (but ideally situated just 50 yards from the beach and 3 blocks over from Worth Avenue) to move into his much larger and more expensive waterfront (both sides) Jupiter Island home that he couldn’t sell because some felt (at 17,000 sq ft) it wasn’t large enough...geez.
Demographically (White non Hispanic) plus hometown ex NY friends, Palm Beach / Boca makes more sense for me but it just doesn’t have the energy level / exotic vibe and walkability of Miami (and I’m attracted to Latinas).
I lived in the West Palm Beach metro in the late 70s and early 80s, and the city was pretty dumpy at that time. San Diego, on the other hand, seemed like the best that California had to offer: prosperous, clean, interesting, scenic, yet not overwhelming. So based on my youthful experiences, I'd pick San Diego every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
But that was then, and this is now. West Palm Beach has made amazing strides in the past 20 years or so and it's really an up-and-coming place. San Diego, meanwhile, has been getting more big-city problems. In terms of climate and natural scenery, I'd still pick San Diego in a heartbeat. But in terms of which place has the brighter future, I'd have to give the nod to West Palm.
And even though I'm not really a fan of Florida, there are at least 45 or 46 states that I'd rather live in than California. So there's that to consider.
I lived in the West Palm Beach metro in the late 70s and early 80s, and the city was pretty dumpy at that time. San Diego, on the other hand, seemed like the best that California had to offer: prosperous, clean, interesting, scenic, yet not overwhelming. So based on my youthful experiences, I'd pick San Diego every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
But that was then, and this is now. West Palm Beach has made amazing strides in the past 20 years or so and it's really an up-and-coming place. San Diego, meanwhile, has been getting more big-city problems. In terms of climate and natural scenery, I'd still pick San Diego in a heartbeat. But in terms of which place has the brighter future, I'd have to give the nod to West Palm.
And even though I'm not really a fan of Florida, there are at least 45 or 46 states that I'd rather live in than California. So there's that to consider.
Your youthful experiences aren’t the case today. West Palm and surrounding are stunningly beautiful.
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