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Hi everyone I just joined this new forum and I am assuming its the Best/Largest Forum on the web about U.S. cities can anyone verify that?
Anyways I am about to graduate from Coastal Carolina University with business manangement degree this summer after I finish summer 1 session. I have lived here in Myrtle for 5 years and overall I have a real blast living here(I can tell you all you want to know about coastal and MBeach if anyone is interested) but I am still young (24 male) and want to move to a major metro city area. It's time for me to leave the myrtle beach vortex lol as I call it.
I am really suprised to to see how many people I see people bitching about south florida on this forum. Everyone I meet in person that has lived or visited the area says they enjoy the area and many love it. Most of the negative comments such as crime, drugs, traffic seem to be bad problems with any city. Aside from common city problems i always read people bitching about a main one is the weather. Well i love hot weather because i'm always enjoying water sports and beach (such as boating jetskiing). Yes Miami and fortlauderdale are the most likely place to get hit by a hurricane but I know it sounds crazy but I am a weather geek and am fascinated by hurricanes and will just evacuate if a dangerous category 3 or higher makes a direct hit.and absolutey hate cold(temps lower than 60)with a passion. The only time I like cold is when it snows and that gets old real quick. I'd rather just take a vacation to a ski resort every few years in live somewhere tropical warm. A main proplem with MBeach is its still gets cold very often like 30's and even sometime teens in the winter.
I also considered LA or Sandiego and I personally think those places are highly overated. I visited and was not impressed. The Traffic/pollution were the worst I've ever seen in a U.S. city. (in L.A.) San diego was much better but I still wasn't impressed. Its too dry and dull looking. And the cost of living/housing was absurd in both these cities. Eveyone talks about how great the weather is but to me its not warm enough based on visit in march and reading up on climatology data. Also the beaches water was freezing cold.
I have some family in Weston and a few friends living in fort lauderdale so to me thats a big plus as opposed to moving to a city were I have 0 connections.
So my main concern is finding a job. I already have a house to live there( I know I'm fortunate) and well probabaly be looking to buy a house there soon ( although I don't know where is best for a young newly grad). My 3 favorite areas in business are Real estate, anything to do with selling cars, and bars/nightlife. To me when I visit the area seems to me these 3 areas are good to find a job in south florida.
I'm sure if people reply to this people with disagree with me but hey that what make this world a great place to live in... everyones different.
So in the area Real estate, Bars/nightlife, and cars do you think i will be able to find a job easily in south florida???
Another main question besides jobs in south florida is this... Besides South florida where else in the U.S. is there a place tropical in both temperatures and foliage??? Excluding hawaii (nice to visit only In my opinion) where else is there a tropical place to live? Only place I can think of is Tampa or Maybey extreme south texas like corpus christi or Brownsville TX. but even those places aren't as warm or tropical looking as south florida. I mean where is there? or is there no where in the U.S. that can beat carribean/tropical look?
First of all, there is no other place in the country that is in any way similar to South FL in landscape, weather, foliage, etc. It is very unique in that regard. The closest thing would be Tampa, but that is in central FL and the foliage and weather patterns differ from south fl in many regards. Also, South FL is a bigger overall metro area than Tampa/St. Pete although both are sizable.
As for weather, S. FL is the only place in the U.S. where people go to the beach during the winter. You can go on X-mas and the beaches are packed unless the weather is cool and overcast which happens only on a rare off-year. But Tampa is much colder in the winter than S. FL. The weather really changes as you get up towards central FL. Tampa is also way more laid back than S. FL. Its a sleepier area, although its not that boring. But S. FL is very lively.
If you are trying to chose between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, I'd say stick with Fort Lauderdale at first. You can always move to Miami later, but unless you are Hispanic, Miami can be a very harsh place for someone from SC to move to having never lived down here. Fort Lauderdale area is close by to Miami (25-30 miles away) and is about half as congested. We don't have as many crazy suicidal drivers on the roads cutting you off and the crime is a little better here. There is a far more diverse population in Fort Lauderdale/Broward County consisting of a good mix of whites, blacks, and Hispanics. In Miami, Hispanics make about about 70%+ and non-Hispanic whites consist of a much smaller minority. The demographics changed drastically over the years as Miami was much different back in the day. But my point is that someone from SC who has never lived down here would fit in much better in Fort Lauderdale than in Miami.
Now crime is worse here than what you're used to in SC. The stats don't tell the whole story about South FL. The drugs are the big thing here, as drug-related crimes are rampant. Also, you will find a generally rude and disrespectful youth populous around here. This shouldn't be enough to deter you from moving here though. It might deter a middle-aged person with a family who is thinking of moving here, but for someone in their 20's it shouldn't even be an issue. The amount of great nightlife here and recreation is a 20-30 yo's paridise.
As for the negative posters, they are mostly middle-aged people who either experienced a recent forclosure or who lost their job due to the economy and are looking to get out of S. FL to seek greener pastures financially. Remember that S. FL has been hit really hard by the economic recession, far worse than most areas of the country. Now, The main thing people complain about here is the cost-of-living or income-expense ratio. It is very expensive to live in S. FL relative to most other parts of the country, and the wages here aren't much higher than they are in rural Georgia or Alabama. So you have a large population of people who moved down here when things were cheap only about 20 years ago and they've seen the cost of living skyrocket as the population exploded in recent decades. Now with the current economic recession, you will here more people than ever complaining since there is high unemployment and high forclosures. Real estate market is very despressed compared to a few years ago. Those are the main reasons people ***** on here. If you already have a stable housing situation lined up then you should be fine.
Now of the 3 areas of employment you are consider, only 1 of them is viable right now. The bartending business. Sad to say but real estate is in the toilet and will take a while to bounce back. Car dealerships are going south quickly since GM and Chrysler plan to close many dealerships from what I've heard. So I wouldn't count on employment in those two areas, although I could see real estate slowly creeping back in the near future.
Last edited by Nolefan34; 05-05-2009 at 04:40 PM..
First of all, there is no other place in the country that is in any way similar to South FL in landscape, weather, foliage, etc. It is very unique in that regard. The closest thing would be Tampa, but that is in central FL and the foliage and weather patterns differ from south fl in many regards. Also, South FL is a bigger overall metro area than Tampa/St. Pete although both are sizable.
As for weather, S. FL is the only place in the U.S. where people go to the beach during the winter. You can go on X-mas and the beaches are packed unless the weather is cool and overcast which happens only on a rare off-year. But Tampa is much colder in the winter than S. FL. The weather really changes as you get up towards central FL. Tampa is also way more laid back than S. FL. Its a sleepier area, although its not that boring. But S. FL is very lively.
If you are trying to chose between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, I'd say stick with Fort Lauderdale at first. You can always move to Miami later, but unless you are Hispanic, Miami can be a very harsh place for someone from SC to move to having never lived down here. Fort Lauderdale area is close by to Miami (25-30 miles away) and is about half as congested. We don't have as many crazy suicidal drivers on the roads cutting you off and the crime is a little better here. There is a far more diverse population in Fort Lauderdale/Broward County consisting of a good mix of whites, blacks, and Hispanics. In Miami, Hispanics make about about 70%+ and non-Hispanic whites consist of a much smaller minority. The demographics changed drastically over the years as Miami was much different back in the day. But my point is that someone from SC who has never lived down here would fit in much better in Fort Lauderdale than in Miami.
Now crime is worse here than what you're used to in SC. The stats don't tell the whole story about South FL. The drugs are the big thing here, as drug-related crimes are rampant. Also, you will find a generally rude and disrespectful youth populous around here. This shouldn't be enough to deter you from moving here though. It might deter a middle-aged person with a family who is thinking of moving here, but for someone in their 20's it shouldn't even be an issue. The amount of great nightlife here and recreation is a 20-30 yo's paridise.
As for the negative posters, they are mostly middle-aged people who either experienced a recent forclosure or who lost their job due to the economy and are looking to get out of S. FL to seek greener pastures financially. Remember that S. FL has been hit really hard by the economic recession, far worse than most areas of the country. Now, The main thing people complain about here is the cost-of-living or income-expense ratio. It is very expensive to live in S. FL relative to most other parts of the country, and the wages here aren't much higher than they are in rural Georgia or Alabama. So you have a large population of people who moved down here when things were cheap only about 20 years ago and they've seen the cost of living skyrocket as the population exploded in recent decades. Now with the current economic recession, you will here more people than ever complaining since there is high unemployment and high forclosures. Real estate market is very despressed compared to a few years ago. Those are the main reasons people ***** on here. If you already have a stable housing situation lined up then you should be fine.
Now of the 3 areas of employment you are consider, only 1 of them is viable right now. The bartending business. Sad to say but real estate is in the toilet and will take a while to bounce back. Car dealerships are going south quickly since GM and Chrysler plan to close many dealerships from what I've heard. So I wouldn't count on employment in those two areas, although I could see real estate slowly creeping back in the near future.
Great post on most points, but have to disagree with you on crime. Myrtle Beach is one of the most dangerous cities in the country and is consisently ranked as such per various rankings and indices. I think if the OP is able to live and thrive in MB, he'll be fine in So Fla from that perspective.
Myrtle Bch has higher crime than average due to all the wild parties and people that flock there on Spring Break and so forth. Similar to Miami/Ft Lauderdale.
As far as the driving like Nolesfan34 mentioned, he/she is right. Terrible drivers, very aggressive, pretty much most of South Fl really. You will be in for a big shock when it comes to driving.
First of all, there is no other place in the country that is in any way similar to South FL in landscape, weather, foliage, etc. It is very unique in that regard. The closest thing would be Tampa, but that is in central FL and the foliage and weather patterns differ from south fl in many regards. Also, South FL is a bigger overall metro area than Tampa/St. Pete although both are sizable.
As for weather, S. FL is the only place in the U.S. where people go to the beach during the winter. You can go on X-mas and the beaches are packed unless the weather is cool and overcast which happens only on a rare off-year. But Tampa is much colder in the winter than S. FL. The weather really changes as you get up towards central FL. Tampa is also way more laid back than S. FL. Its a sleepier area, although its not that boring. But S. FL is very lively.
If you are trying to chose between Fort Lauderdale and Miami, I'd say stick with Fort Lauderdale at first. You can always move to Miami later, but unless you are Hispanic, Miami can be a very harsh place for someone from SC to move to having never lived down here. Fort Lauderdale area is close by to Miami (25-30 miles away) and is about half as congested. We don't have as many crazy suicidal drivers on the roads cutting you off and the crime is a little better here. There is a far more diverse population in Fort Lauderdale/Broward County consisting of a good mix of whites, blacks, and Hispanics. In Miami, Hispanics make about about 70%+ and non-Hispanic whites consist of a much smaller minority. The demographics changed drastically over the years as Miami was much different back in the day. But my point is that someone from SC who has never lived down here would fit in much better in Fort Lauderdale than in Miami.
Now crime is worse here than what you're used to in SC. The stats don't tell the whole story about South FL. The drugs are the big thing here, as drug-related crimes are rampant. Also, you will find a generally rude and disrespectful youth populous around here. This shouldn't be enough to deter you from moving here though. It might deter a middle-aged person with a family who is thinking of moving here, but for someone in their 20's it shouldn't even be an issue. The amount of great nightlife here and recreation is a 20-30 yo's paridise.
As for the negative posters, they are mostly middle-aged people who either experienced a recent forclosure or who lost their job due to the economy and are looking to get out of S. FL to seek greener pastures financially. Remember that S. FL has been hit really hard by the economic recession, far worse than most areas of the country. Now, The main thing people complain about here is the cost-of-living or income-expense ratio. It is very expensive to live in S. FL relative to most other parts of the country, and the wages here aren't much higher than they are in rural Georgia or Alabama. So you have a large population of people who moved down here when things were cheap only about 20 years ago and they've seen the cost of living skyrocket as the population exploded in recent decades. Now with the current economic recession, you will here more people than ever complaining since there is high unemployment and high forclosures. Real estate market is very despressed compared to a few years ago. Those are the main reasons people ***** on here. If you already have a stable housing situation lined up then you should be fine.
Now of the 3 areas of employment you are consider, only 1 of them is viable right now. The bartending business. Sad to say but real estate is in the toilet and will take a while to bounce back. Car dealerships are going south quickly since GM and Chrysler plan to close many dealerships from what I've heard. So I wouldn't count on employment in those two areas, although I could see real estate slowly creeping back in the near future.
Thank you for your advice/info. Makes sense to me. Yes as several others have mentioned crime is very bad here in Myrtle especially during bike weeks that we have here (they have had to call the national guard before I heard).
Crime should not be a deciding factor since both areas are bad apparently. I think South FL has a lot of drug-related crimes since Miami is the capital port of entry for drugs into the country. Fort Lauderdale has a lot of similar problems. But if you are young in your 20's, then things like crime and traffic shouldn't be huge deciding factors since most younger people are tolerant to that stuff. For younger people, living in an area that has so much to do far outweighs the negatives of crime and traffic.
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