Help Please on which city to pick...Miami, Hollywood, or Fort Lauderdale (Miami Beach: apartment, rent)

[Rock Newman]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

See, that's not a good decision in this market.

Say for instance you get an apartment in FTL because it is cheaper than Miami. You then finally find a job in Miami (Miami's job market is larger and many people that live in FTL work in Miami, even still, the unemployment rate in SoFla is high so this is assuming you even get a job) You're going to have to commute, with traffic both ways, from FTL to Miami every day. That's an additional 3+ hours out of your day, added to your job, is 11 hours each day you spend working and commuting. Add in 8 hours of sleep time and that leaves you a whopping 5 hours of free time a day. That's not enough time to enjoy what SoFla has to offer.

Add in the fact that you'd most likely have to go through it for a year (a year being your lease) and you have a very high chance of becoming miserable in FL like so many before you, and thus blame the area for your self induced problems.

South Florida is a great place, just not when you have to scrape by, work and fight traffic all day and live away from the things that draw people to the area.

My advice is to save some more, study the area for a while, visit like a local, get a job and then make the move.

Actually these are some wise words from Coconut 1 ...

[Mike10693]

Thank you guys very much but I am confused on two things. Rock Newman talks about how if I live in FTL that I can go to Miami on the weekends in under 40 minutes...yet Coconut says it is a 3 hour commute when you combine both ways. Also, if that commute is so bad why do a lot work in Miami? No jobs in FTL or something?

[Mike10693]

I have been studying the South Florida area for awhile. Just kind of hard to get a job there while I live in Maine. Living in the area would make it a lot easier.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by Mike10693

Thank you guys very much but I am confused on two things. Rock Newman talks about how if I live in FTL that I can go to Miami on the weekends in under 40 minutes...yet Coconut says it is a 3 hour commute when you combine both ways. Also, if that commute is so bad why do a lot work in Miami? No jobs in FTL or something?

Traffic. The morning and evening rush is terrible. On the off hours, a person can zoom quickly.

You also have to add in how far off the interstate you live and where in Miami from FTL you are going to go.

Housing is cheaper the further north you go. So some people feel it is worth the drive just to have a better place for the money, it really depends on your priorities. Some had a job, lost it, and got another one in some other location, but feel it is not worth the effort/cost to move.

I work with some people who commute from as far as Boca and Delray into Brickell, but they have way nicer houses up there than they could ever get here in Miami for the price.

[boxus]

Originally Posted by Mike10693

I have been studying the South Florida area for awhile. Just kind of hard to get a job there while I live in Maine. Living in the area would make it a lot easier.

For a local low wage job, yes. For a serious job then no, any serious company that has its act together will recruit and hire a person no matter where they are. I would never use my own money to fly for an interview, if the company was serious about me, they will pay my costs for the trip, until then, the telephone and/or video conference will do just fine.

[boxus]

I still say if you still want to move here, get some dirt cheap apartment up in PBC and then make the move after you find your way better. You can always break the lease, for a cheap apartment that will not cost you near as much as forking over for higher rent somewhere else.

[Mike10693]

All great thoughts Boxus...much appreciated. Think I can get something decent in PBC for $800 a month?

[Rock Newman]

Originally Posted by Mike10693

Thank you guys very much but I am confused on two things. Rock Newman talks about how if I live in FTL that I can go to Miami on the weekends in under 40 minutes...yet Coconut says it is a 3 hour commute when you combine both ways. Also, if that commute is so bad why do a lot work in Miami? No jobs in FTL or something?

Weekday commute could be well over one hour each way .. longer if there are any accidents ... weekends are different , less traffic on I-95 which is what you would take down to Miami Beach .

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by Mike10693

Thank you guys very much but I am confused on two things. Rock Newman talks about how if I live in FTL that I can go to Miami on the weekends in under 40 minutes...yet Coconut says it is a 3 hour commute when you combine both ways. Also, if that commute is so bad why do a lot work in Miami? No jobs in FTL or something?

As others have said, traffic at rush hour. Plan on 1.5 hours each way.

There are jobs in FTL, but there are many more white collar jobs in Miami. There is a very large number of banking institutions as well as other companies that make their company HQ in Miami, or their Latin America HQ in Miami. Additionally, there's more bang for the buck in Broward.

Most people would rather take a $50K job in Miami and commute as opposed to a $35-40K job in FTL with no commute.

If you're set on coming, I at least suggest a short term corporate rental... there are buildings in Miami that offer this, Club at Brickell Bay, Opera Tower, and others. This will give you an opportunity to get on your feet here without getting locked in a lease.

[Mike10693]

Thanks for the friendly advice Coconut. How long are the corporate rentals?