I left Miami to Texas, now I'm wanting to go back...to Broward? (Tampa: appointed, apartments)

[UrbaneAspects]

UGH! I think i made a mistake; AGAIN! UGH! I moved from Miami to Dallas, TX like a month ago and now I am very disappointed at the fact that I'm here now.

I was having my share of disappointments in Miami as well with several issues such as the apartments, the insurance rates in my area (33137 zip) and the fact of me not 100% fluent in spanish made things difficult for me.

Now I am feeling like maybe I should have gave lauderdale a try. I have gone and partied there and visited friends here and there; but thats about it. I havent actually lived or worked there and feel like I didnt give broward a fair shake.

Now my question is; Is there anyone here who couldnt stand Miami but found a spot in Lauderdale?

I am so angry right now! I am on the fence as to whether to stay away from the gold coast or to go back.

I want to go back because:

1. good friends and connections are there
2. i still like the beach
3. maybe i needed to leave for a couple months to clear my head and go back
4. I cant stand being here in Texas
5. I'm frustrated at the idea of having to start from scratch in new relationships e.g. friends, networking, the terrain, and i hate not having numbered streets always getting lost
6. My (independent) work was better in Miami than it is here
7. I made more money in my indie work than I do here
8. people there are more open-minded, not hell-bent conservs like here
9. Here you have to drive for hundreds of miles to get anywhere here; South Florida is more dense
10. Its a place I have always wanted to be. Period!

I am leery about going back because:

1. my insurance rate will go up
2. gas is higher there
3. i havent learned spanish 100% yet (i took 2 yrs. in H.S.)
4. apartments are expensive (we dont need $800 for security deposits in apartments here)
5. isnt south florida in a recession or something?
6. Will I loose my apartment again?
7. is finding a job as hard in Lauderdale as in Miami?
8. Many wasted interviews in Miami because i wasnt bi-lingual
9. I dont want to waste my time and go thru the same issues!

OK! I said it. This is just whats going thru my mind and every day I talk with my roomies about this topic they always try to talk me out of Florida and keeping me in Texas and I just dont want to be here anymore. I wanted to be at the beach for Labor day .

[5chevin5]

Yikes....

Take a deep breathe!!!
That is quite a list to tackle....maybe you should make it simpler by just no worrying about things like numbered streets and other things that are not in your control like recessions and gas prices.

You mentioned Spanish? Learn Spanish if it really is that important, nobody is stopping you but you!
I worked in Miami and Puerto Rico...trust me I feel your pain, but I just had to make that effort.

Take a deep breathe and really look at what makes you Urbane, then go pursue it.

I wish you luck and happiness
5

[**NoodLes**]

Well at least your giving it a shot and trying other places instead of like most people just complaining and doing nothing about it. I did almost the same exact thing as you. I lived in Orlando and have a townhome there and now living closer to family in Dallas. I'm also reconsidering a move back, not because of jobs, spanish, etc but because my expenses will be much lower there.

What I can only recommend is you HAVE to network. Moving around constantly you really can't get a feel for a place until you actually get a job and get into a routine. Moving to Dallas I kind of knew what to expect, more conservative, better economy, etc.

I think Florida kind of grows on you even if you don't like it. If I were you and have the energy I would try San Diego (perfect weather, pretty expensive) or try a place in Northern or Central Florida. If you have to learn spanish than only learn it for your particular industry to help you succeed there. It shouldn't be hard. Good luck!!

[Lost in Translation]

You could always try the Carolinas. I've heard life is near perfect there.

[UrbaneAspects]

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

You could always try the Carolinas. I've heard life is near perfect there.

Its the deep south...not a prime choice for me

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Lost in Translation

You could always try the Carolinas. I've heard life is near perfect there.

No rude people either. Actually, please don't go, it's a malcontent dumping ground and a breathtakingly beautiful one at that. It's a shame what happening to it, really.

[UrbaneAspects]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

No rude people either. Actually, please don't go, it's a malcontent dumping ground and a breathtakingly beautiful one at that. It's a shame what happening to it, really.

do you guys think I should re-do this thread because I'm not getting as many reponses as I normally would...someone told me I listed too much?

I just wanted to know if moving to lauderdale based on my questions about rent costs, car insurance, should I revive my spanish before I move there; or wait till I get there? And how different is it from when I lived near downtown areas and In kendall areas. Is fort lauderdale different so much that I should have moved there instead?

I've already asked the people I know down there; but people on the forum seem to know so much more about the details...

[Zebra Pimp]

From what Ive heard from a friend, Fort Lauderdale is more laid-back than Miami, nicer, and you SUPPOSEDLY don't need to know Spanish AS much, due to Fort Lauderdale having a higher percentage of european-white caucasion descented people than Miami. This is all coming from my friend's mouth lol, not minee. Having been there only once, I can sort of agree..

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by UrbaneAspects

do you guys think I should re-do this thread because I'm not getting as many reponses as I normally would...someone told me I listed too much?

I just wanted to know if moving to lauderdale based on my questions about rent costs, car insurance, should I revive my spanish before I move there; or wait till I get there? And how different is it from when I lived near downtown areas and In kendall areas. Is fort lauderdale different so much that I should have moved there instead?

I've already asked the people I know down there; but people on the forum seem to know so much more about the details...

OK, honestly...

No, you don't need to speak Spanish to live in Ft. Lauderdale or surrounding areas, and the only people who think you do are the xenophobic malcontents who can't find jobs, and it's not because they don't speak Spanish.

Car insurance is honestly about the same: to quote from you in the past, ridiculous.

As far as if it's different, it's much different. It's less hectic, more "American" feeling, and generally more suburban than even Kendall. Everything feels more well oiled here. In fact, everything probably feels more well oiled here even compared to Dallas or many places.

Unlike Miami or Palm Beach County, there are only a few "ghettos" (mostly in NW Ft. Lauderdale/ west Pompano and Lauderhill/Lauderdale Lakes, a small one in Deerfield also), but plenty of "sleazy areas" full of pawn shops and porno stores and bland strip malls, kind of like Tampa in a way, although those kind of areas do not make up the majority of Broward County (but probably do make up the majority of Ft. Lauderdale proper and also Oakland Park, Pompano, a solid chunk of Hollywood). You would also be surprised at the amount of industrial areas when you drive along I-95 in comparison to other parts of South Florida. All and all, there is still a dirty feel in a lot of areas, but it's a different kind of dirty from Miami.

The "nice areas" are any area east of US1 (east of Dixie Hwy north of Ft. Lauderdale), or out west the "nice areas" are predominately, but not entirely west of University Drive. The rest of it in between is "pockety" with aforementioned sleaze mixed in with some nice spots but you should be able to score a 1 bedroom in a nice area (ballpark) somewhere in the 900 a month range, although I have seen people do it for as low as 700.

That being said, where do you think you should be, and what else are you looking for? Ft. Lauderdale is a sleepier lifestyle compared to Dade but maybe slightly more fast paced then Dallas, also WAY less superficial than both. Dallas is pretty diverse, but I think Ft. Lauderdale is honestly more diverse then Miami-Dade, however you won't find "ethnic neighborhoods" or obvious signs of it because the population is pretty integrated.

[UrbaneAspects]

Originally Posted by Zebra Pimp

From what Ive heard from a friend, Fort Lauderdale is more laid-back than Miami, nicer, and you SUPPOSEDLY don't need to know Spanish AS much, due to Fort Lauderdale having a higher percentage of european-white caucasion descented people than Miami. This is all coming from my friend's mouth lol, not minee. Having been there only once, I can sort of agree..

I know I have seen the same too...the places I lived were alot different even when I went to check out fort lauderdale like at the stores or whatever. completely different crowds.

I just cant figure out how (if any) it would be different enough for me to come back down again?