Thinking of moving to Fort Lauderdale (Jacksonville, Miami: real estate, car insurance, crime rates)

[mcgib]

I am in my mid 20s just graduated with my bachelors in music industry/marketing and have been trying to find work in the NYC area for a year now, and it's not working out. It's a little too hectic up here, and I was thinking about a new career maybe in real estate or something. Recently I have been seriously looking into moving and finding work in Florida, and more specifically in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. At this point I don't really care what job I can get, I just need to get away from the NYC mentality.
I was wondering if anyone had some pros and cons for me.
Thanks in advance

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by mcgib

I am in my mid 20s just graduated with my bachelors in music industry/marketing and have been trying to find work in the NYC area for a year now, and it's not working out. It's a little too hectic up here, and I was thinking about a new career maybe in real estate or something. Recently I have been seriously looking into moving and finding work in Florida, and more specifically in the Fort Lauderdale/Miami area. At this point I don't really care what job I can get, I just need to get away from the NYC mentality.
I was wondering if anyone had some pros and cons for me.
Thanks in advance

Jobs are hard to come by even for seasoned professionals, so regardless of where you go, its going to be tuff right now (recession and all).

I would suggest you figure out what you want to do and start looking on monster.com and other job sites to see if Miami/Fort Lauderdae has a abundance of those types of jobs.

As for pros and cons.

1. Its very humid here, if you can put up with that then no problem
2. You will need a car
3. Pay is low in comparison to the cost of living here.
4. Unemployment is high and climbing.

Oh and scratch real estate off your list of fields to go into. I have four friends who are real estate agents here. Two of the four made high six figure salaries during the bubble years. Now they have zero income and they are living on savings.The other two who did well for themselves are also pretty much unemployed right now.

best of luck.

[UrbaneAspects]

I love New Yorkers; not enough of them in Dallas.

[Nolefan34]

Pro's:
1. South Florida is the only part of the southeastern US where you will find New Yorkers in large numbers.
2. Its a great place to live if your in your 20's. There are lots of younger people in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
3. The entertainment scene is really good. There are plenty of bars, clubs, lounges, etc.
4. The beaches- The water is warm most of the year, even in December.
5. The weather- Its hot/warm outside about 11 out of 12 months per year. You can wear shorts and t-shirt all year round.
6. The area is vibrant and fast-paced compared to the rest of FL. Not as fast-paced as NY, and maybe even tame compared to there. But it depends on where you live in South Fla.

Cons:
1. Jobs- Not always the case here, but right now the job market is terrible. And real-estate right now, forget it.
2. Traffic- this doesn't phase most New Yorker types, but to individuals from other parts of the country this is a major con.
3. Crime- The crime is pretty bad in both Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Its basically out of control at times. Every day there are stories of police officers being murdered, and poverty is rampant.
4. Cost of living- Wages suck and expenses are high here. It used to be the opposite, but once everyone moved down here and a bunch of hurricanes hit, things like insurance, property taxes, and the prices of homes all skyrocketed. Prices of homes have fallen since the real-estate bubble, but they are still too high. Also, car insurance is very expensive here relative to most areas of the country thanks to all of the nut drivers we have.
5. Lack of public transportation- This is a problem in Broward. In Miami-Dade you've got the Metrorail, but you'll find that its a dump and it doesn't go to the beach.
6. Schools- May not be an issue to you if you don't have kids, but the schools here are some of the nation's worst.
7. Weather- This could be pro or con depending on your personal taste, but it is really hot and humid here most of the year. The humidity factor is worse than anywhere in the nation, and some people cannot take it. In the summer months, you can walk from your house to your car at midnight and get drenched in sweat. Also, in recent years there has been an increase in the number of hurricanes and tropical storms hitting FL. Most years we will get multiple scares from these storms and people have to board up, evacuate in some instances, and it basically puts your entire life in hold for a few days. Worst case scenario, you get a direct hit and your house gets destroyed or you get flooding which you'll need insurance for if you are a homeowner in a lower-laying neighborhood.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

Every day there are stories of police officers being murdered

I think you should delete some of those WSVN reruns from last year off of your DVR. There havent't been any cops killed in Broward this year (unless you want to count the plainclothes customs agent who got himself into a road rage incident) and last year was really, really exceptional and rare. I guess I always have to find something to disagree with you, because the rest of your post is excellent .

[Nolefan34]

compelled to reply>

About a month or two ago, a Miami-Dade police officer was shot to death near an I-95 underpass sitting at a stoplight. Then there were those 2 Broward Sheriff officers who were killed before that. I'm not exactly sure how long ago that was, but I think it was earlier this year. I'm not trying to start an argument with you. Thanks for complimenting my post by the way. But I don't think you'll find many people who doubt that the crime is really bad here. Its worse in Miami than in Fort Lauderdale, but both areas consistently rank as some of the worst crime rates in the US. In fact, all major FL cities can be found on that list including Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville, and West Palm. But overall, I would say Miami is the worst.

[compelled to reply]

Actually, the Ft. Lauderdale AREA ranks safer then any of the major areas in the state. In 2009, it was the 129th most dangerous metropolitan area in the country, which is not amazingly safe but nothing to really shiver over, especially considering the size and socioeconomic diversity of the area. I believe theft and robbery are above the national average, other crimes such as burglary, auto theft, and even murder (even in 2007 which like I said was a bad year) were below national average. Can't say the same for Miami-Dade or other cities in Florida though.

I used to have links, but I lost them with my firefox upgrade...(grr....)

See, I don't look at Dade and Broward as being the same place, even though we are all in it together.

However, from a psychological standpoint from being surrounded by two exceptionally high crime areas (Dade County and Palm Beach County), crowded feel and particularly sensational media, nobody can doubt that the perception is sky high crime, even if they have never been and never will be a victim.