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Old 08-30-2011, 09:38 PM
 
3 posts, read 4,377 times
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Aloha!,

I am moving from Hawaii to Fort Lauderdale. My best friend has been living there for awhile so I am moving in with them. I have some questions though.

How is the bus system? Pretty effective? If I dont have to buy a car right away, I'm ok with that. Maybe a bike(bicycle).

How is the job market? I'm 27, spent 12 years in restaurants as a cook/waiter, the last year I have been a bar back. 5 years I was an internet car sales manager, one year claims adminstrator for an home insurance company, and also spent the last year working for an international air and ocean freight company doing operation, office admin/exec assistant work. Kind of like the whole Waiter thing though and getting back into bar backing/bartending since my ultimate goal is to open a bar. But I will have my Bachelors in Business Administration by the time I move.

Do you know of any good long term rental companies? I use one here in Hawaii, $288 a month! Great company too. But it was hard to find them, more luck.
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Old 08-30-2011, 10:01 PM
 
3 posts, read 4,377 times
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Also, how is biking in FLL? Can you pretty much just get on your bike and go anywhere? Or is that not recommended? I sometimes find it faster to bike then drive/bus/etc...
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Old 08-31-2011, 12:07 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
328 posts, read 1,390,479 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bkircher1609 View Post
Also, how is biking in FLL? Can you pretty much just get on your bike and go anywhere? Or is that not recommended? I sometimes find it faster to bike then drive/bus/etc...
The bus system here is time consuming and pretty unreliable. I don't know of anyone who uses it. It would be much better, and more effective, to buy a cheap car than to rely on the bus.

People do ride on their bikes here, but in my opinion, it is very dangerous and could be potentially fatal for you. There are a lot of VERY aggressive drivers down here (Fort Lauderdale was recently ranked the worst city to drive in due to the high number of fatal accidents in the area), and bikers should be very aware of their surroundings and of lane changes.

Personally, I have seen the aftermath of someone getting hit on a bike and it was not good. Someone was riding down a street near where I live and a car must not have seen them and hit them head on. The distracted drivers down here are an epidemic (I see people texting and driving on the highway).

My advice would be to buy an inexpensive reliable vehicle. South Florida (with the exception of South Beach) is not setup for mass transportation or bicycles, so unless you only need to ride in specific areas with bike paths you need to be EXTREMELY careful.
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Old 08-31-2011, 02:13 PM
 
Location: Ft Lauderdale
351 posts, read 1,121,874 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bkircher1609 View Post
Aloha!,

I am moving from Hawaii to Fort Lauderdale. My best friend has been living there for awhile so I am moving in with them. I have some questions though.

How is the bus system? Pretty effective? If I dont have to buy a car right away, I'm ok with that. Maybe a bike(bicycle).
The bus system is fine as long as you pick your location based on proximity to the bus. There is a lot of variation between the bus routes and efficiency of certain routes.
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Old 08-31-2011, 02:26 PM
 
7,704 posts, read 12,538,544 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bkircher1609 View Post
Aloha!,

I am moving from Hawaii to Fort Lauderdale. My best friend has been living there for awhile so I am moving in with them. I have some questions though.
NOOOOOO!!!! DON'T DO IT!! Please stop this plan immediately. Don't move here!! It is HELL!! I just moved back to Florida from Texas (I'm a native here) and I can't stand it!! It's extremely hot and humid, creepy crawlies like snakes and others are freakin slithering around in the bushes, roaches, iguanas, and etc. They are nasty as hell. If your not an insect lover, I'd suggest you stay far away from this state! It rains every damn day. Which really isn't that much of a problem but it's the heat + humidity that's included with the rain that makes it all the worse.

Quote:
How is the bus system? Pretty effective? If I dont have to buy a car right away, I'm ok with that. Maybe a bike(bicycle).
Not that effective! I recently had to get a bike myself because I couldn't walk the long roads and I don't have a car. I'm stayin with family. The bus system in Broward County is sufficient but definitely not effective if your planning on getting on time to work or somewhere. The bus system in Palm Beach County (where I used to live without a car) is exactly the same. It's easier to just have a car.

Quote:
How is the job market? I'm 27, spent 12 years in restaurants as a cook/waiter, the last year I have been a bar back. 5 years I was an internet car sales manager, one year claims adminstrator for an home insurance company, and also spent the last year working for an international air and ocean freight company doing operation, office admin/exec assistant work. Kind of like the whole Waiter thing though and getting back into bar backing/bartending since my ultimate goal is to open a bar. But I will have my Bachelors in Business Administration by the time I move.
Job Market is not that good. It's improved but still pretty bad. You stand a chance because of your bachelors but even then, it's going to be hustle.

Quote:
Do you know of any good long term rental companies? I use one here in Hawaii, $288 a month! Great company too. But it was hard to find them, more luck.
Listen, I'm telling you this because I care about you as a person. Don't freakin' move to Florida! Going from Hawaii to Florida is a DOWNGRADE on ALL levels. Not only do you have to deal with the weather, the animals, and the bad job market, but you have to deal with rude ass people on a daily basis. Especially in South Florida. There is no aloha spirit here! And not only the bad attitudes, but no beautiful mountainous scenery and nice weather to make up for it. Not even the palm trees and beaches are enough to make up for all the problems down here in the south. Someone I know has been talking about Hawaii and it's been making me daydream of being in Hawaii ALL THE TIME. I would move there in a heartbeat if I had the money! THAT would be an upgrade. Hawaii may be extremely expensive but the community, the weather, and the scenery make up for all the bad problems most people have there. This is NOT a move you want to do. Most people who moved from Hawaii to Florida hated it. Check any Hawaii-to-Florida thread and the OP's update. FL is just not where it's at! If you move here, no doubt you will regret it!! Especially coming from Hawaii! FL doesn't compare!!

What I'd do if I were you is plan and pay for a 7-day trip to Florida and see how you like it first before coming here. You should get the cheapest flight tickets because LAX has direct one-way flights to Fort Lauderdale Intl. Airport. Test out Florida first, before officially packing up and moving here.
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Old 08-31-2011, 03:54 PM
 
Location: Seattle, WA
2,975 posts, read 4,913,710 times
Reputation: 1222
Quote:
Originally Posted by alwaystraveling25 View Post
My advice would be to buy an inexpensive reliable vehicle.
These do not exist in South Florida, by the time you take into account insurance, fees, and high maintenance costs. Don't do this unless you are able to afford a major repair (over $1k). You will eventually get stuck!
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Old 08-31-2011, 03:55 PM
 
Location: Boca Raton, FL
100 posts, read 327,502 times
Reputation: 134
all of your concerns and problems will be solved by money.....lots and lots of money... good luck
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Old 08-31-2011, 07:19 PM
 
149 posts, read 464,191 times
Reputation: 20
Don't listen to all the negativity. It is humid for a few months, but great 6-7 months. Better than living somewhere that has 4 months of winter for example. A lot of people love South Florida. Don't listen to those overreacting. Beautiful girls, beaches, places to go out. And Maine (where I am from) and Hawaii are actually the two worst states in terms of jobs haha. So South Florida can't be worse. You can also get a decent apartment in the Hollywood area (right near Fort Lauderdale) for $800 a month for a 1 bedroom. If these people say I am wrong then they are wrong...agents in South Florida can find you nice apartments away from the bad areas. However, if you are only willing to pay $600 a month for a 1 bedroom than it could be a bad area.
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Old 08-31-2011, 07:20 PM
 
149 posts, read 464,191 times
Reputation: 20
And honestly, people overrate "bad" areas. My sister lives in beautiful West Hartford, Connecticut and 15 minutes away is downtown Hartford which is awful. Truthfully, stay away from these sites because people will say real bad things about areas just because THEY don't like them. I happen to love South Florida (Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale). Miami is tough in some spots.
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Old 09-01-2011, 12:38 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
328 posts, read 1,390,479 times
Reputation: 176
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike10693 View Post
Don't listen to all the negativity. It is humid for a few months, but great 6-7 months. Better than living somewhere that has 4 months of winter for example. A lot of people love South Florida. Don't listen to those overreacting. Beautiful girls, beaches, places to go out. And Maine (where I am from) and Hawaii are actually the two worst states in terms of jobs haha. So South Florida can't be worse. You can also get a decent apartment in the Hollywood area (right near Fort Lauderdale) for $800 a month for a 1 bedroom. If these people say I am wrong then they are wrong...agents in South Florida can find you nice apartments away from the bad areas. However, if you are only willing to pay $600 a month for a 1 bedroom than it could be a bad area.
I don't think I'm being overly negative regarding the public transportation aspect that he is concerned about. Public Transportation exists down here, but it is sparse and undoable for long distances. People need a car down here. Would you agree with that?
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