hubby to work in Pompano; me in Miami~where to live??

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by Broward resident

Wow. That's a monster commute. What's better in WPB? Just curious.

Well, some of the factors were that the family is there, we got a lot bigger house on a larger piece of property for a very good price (and no HOA ), we're right across the street from a wildlife refuge that is tens of thousands of acres, we're very close to a lot of other hiking locations (we love hiking), we're closer to a lot of places we'll be visiting on weekend trips, and there's just about every kind of store and most restaurants and even nice malls within a relatively short, easy drive.

I wouldn't have minded living right in Miami, but for our price range and our tastes, we were looking mostly at condos, where we would have had a lot of problems fitting--my wife won't do a home where we don't have a guest bedroom (she's from another country, has a large, close, extended family, etc.), and among other things, I'm both a musician/composer and a visual artist, so that would have meant trying to set up a ton of musical equipment, big easels, etc. in the living/family room, plus I'd have to get rid of hundreds of books, DVDs, CDs, etc., I would have had to watch noise levels with the music, etc. Also condos typically only give you one parking space, you can't have a canoe, and so on.

Also, when we were driving around Miami this time and seriously thinking about the possibiilty of living there, looking at condos, etc., my wife said the retail district reminded her of Newark, NJ--which wasn't a good thing. I know there are good stores and malls and restaurants in the area (I grew up in Palm Beach County, went to university in Miami, and I love traveling around wherever I can, whenever I can), but they're far more scattered and more of a haul to get to than where we're moving.

Most of the other nearby areas were some combination of too expensive, or the kind of house you could get for the money was WAY smaller, or it was older (my wife is very picky about this), or they were in suburban areas with HOAs (which is something I don't like the idea of), or we don't care for the area aesthetically, or she would have had to commute on the Tri-Rail and buses from there anyway (so just being a 30 minute or so shorter ride on the train isn't that big of a deal) OR we would have had to buy a second car, which we're trying to avoid having to do right away (and my wife doesn't like driving near as much as I do anyway). My wife is also much more picky than I am about the demographic make-up of where she lives. I'd live just about anywhere--I've lived in ghettos, even, and I'm fine there. My wife would never do that.

To get a comparable house to what we are getting for our money (although not a comparable piece of land from my memory) it was looking like we'd have to go to Homestead or Florida City. While there were a couple things I liked about that idea (like being closer to the national parks and the keys in general), the negatives outweighed them--that area is not very close to my wife's work, either (remember that she's north of 79th and Biscayne for work), plus there's no train there, so you'd HAVE to have a second car, plus it's a lot longer drive to anywhere in the central to northern parts of the state. We like to go sightseeing, and we're going to be going to Disney a lot (when I last lived in Florida, I was going to Disney every 2-3 weeks--I've literally been there hundreds of times in my life, had friends and relatives who worked there, etc.).

I really prefer either being right in the middle of a large city or being very rural (which my wife isn't so excited about though, as she likes shopping, etc.). I guess I like the extremes. We couldn't quite get either one in Florida--the former was a problem because we couldn't afford the kind of place we'd want, and the latter because there just aren't that many rural areas close by that would have a doable commute and that would be somewhere that my wife would live. Where we're going is kind of a compromise. It's kinda on the rural side of suburban.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by Tungsten_Udder

At least coming from the metro NYC area, I think the "horrible commuting times" in Florida might be a bit exaggerated. My wife is going to be working in Miami and we're actually moving to western Palm Beach County. We tried out the commute a couple times last week during rush hours. It only took me a bit over an hour to get from Northlake Boulevard and I-95 just north of West Palm Beach to 79th Street and Biscayne in Miami (which is very close to where my wife will be working).

Heck, it sometimes takes us over an hour and a half to just get from one side of New York City to the other--even on the subway. It's frequently taken us almost two hours to get home from Mets games on the subway--as it's later at night and the subways are more infrequent. And that's only maybe 14 miles in a straight-line distance. We looked into moving in or closer to Miami, but for a number of reasons, my wife doesn't like it there as much as where we're going, and she's the one who has to do the commute, so . . .

You got lucky. I have driven from the FAU Campus in Boca Raton to Gullver Prep in Pinecrest (about 55 miles) and had it take me 3 hours.

I am also originally from NY. It's not quite as bad as NY but it comes close. Do not underestimate Miami traffic.

[fauve]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

You got lucky. I have driven from the FAU Campus in Boca Raton to Gullver Prep in Pinecrest (about 55 miles) and had it take me 3 hours.

I am also originally from NY. It's not quite as bad as NY but it comes close. Do not underestimate Miami traffic.

Ditto. I'm considering starting (actually re-starting - I worked there for many years, many years ago) a job at the Civic Center in Miami. I live in Davie, 4 blocks from the turnpike - maybe 20 miles away tops, and I *know* my commute will be about an hour - just to get north from I195 to Golden Glades on 95 easily can take 45 minutes during the evening rush hour.

Your wife is contemplating an impossible and expensive commute.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by fauve

Your wife is contemplating an impossible and expensive commute.

It will be neither impossible nor expensive to us. We'll have the drive from our home, in a semi-rural area (the house we've got under contract is on a dirt road), to the Tri-Rail station. That's about 12 miles. There's traffic, but we did the commute a number of times (and my dad did a much longer commute on the same roads in that part of Palm Beach County every day for five years up until last year), and the traffic isn't heavy there, even during rush hour, although we'll be there shortly before 7:00 a.m., so traffic is lighter then. Then there's the Tri-Rail ride, then a few miles with a bus down 79th Street from the Tri-Rail station to Biscayne, and a bus or walk up Biscayne to the office (it's only just over a mile up Biscayne). Monthly Tri-Rail passes are only $70; it looked like you can get bus transfers too, although we're not sure about that. The places where we were last seriously considering buying homes in New Jersey and New York (because there were homes we could afford, we love those areas, etc.) would have meant a two-hour commute to Manhattan (so a two-hour commute back, too) with monthly Metro-North passes at almost $400, and that does not include the monthly New York City subway passes. Lots of people do similar commutes to Manhattan.

[fauve]

I'll have a straight ride from my semi-rural home - 2 1/2 acre plant nursery in Davie - by car to the t'pike 4 blocks away, south 20 miles to Civic Ctr which is located just off 95 & 836 - no waiting for buses or trains - no exposure to the torrential rain, heat and humidity, listening to books on cd for an hour in stop and go traffic. This is about as bad as any commute should be. By what you describe, your wife will arrive at work feeling like she just ran a triathalon and will have to turn around and do it again in the evening 5 days a week. She won't have time to be enjoying her home or her community, so I hope she really likes her job.

Do you plan on having kids? Factor that in too.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by fauve

I'll have a straight ride from my semi-rural home - 2 1/2 acre plant nursery in Davie - by car to the t'pike 4 blocks away, south 20 miles to Civic Ctr which is located just off 95 & 836 - no waiting for buses or trains - no exposure to the torrential rain, heat and humidity, listening to books on cd for an hour in stop and go traffic. This is about as bad as any commute should be. By what you describe, your wife will arrive at work feeling like she just ran a triathalon and will have to turn around and do it again in the evening 5 days a week. She won't have time to be enjoying her home or her community, so I hope she really likes her job.

Do you plan on having kids? Factor that in too.

And I'll put it this way: I wouldn't recommend the commute for you.

I'm really not looking for advice on any of this, just explaining it since you're mentioning it. I agree that not everyone is happy with the same things, the same situations. That you wouldn't like something doesn't mean that someone else will dislike it. I'm sure I also like many things that you would dislike, and probably vice versa.

You also seemed to not read an early post very closely, which explained that she will not be at the office five days per week. She works at home often. She's going to be doing the same exact job she's doing now, and has been doing for four years. She's simply transferring to another office.

[fauve]

Ok, I hear you - best of life to you both.