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Where do you suggest? I live in West Kendall. I don't consider this a bad neighborhood. That's just how dog owners are here. If there's grass they don't see a problem with their dog sh!tting in it. Fertilizer? I think it's gross and irresponsible even if it is "natural." Where do you live btw that you see people cleaning up after their dogs every day? I might want to take a drive out there to see this novelty.
I live in the North Shore section of Miami Beach. Of course, we have signs all over that warn of a $250 fine for not picking up after your dog(s) and we also have waste bag stations and trash cans all over the place. But even when walking my dog in my parents' neighborhood in West Miami I see others picking up after their dogs. Now granted, in that neighborhood I sometimes come across dog waste on the ground, so not everyone is picking up there, but that's still quite a difference from your experience in West Kendall.
I live in the North Shore section of Miami Beach. Of course, we have signs all over that warn of a $250 fine for not picking up after your dog(s) and we also have waste bag stations and trash cans all over the place. But even when walking my dog in my parents' neighborhood in West Miami I see others picking up after their dogs. Now granted, in that neighborhood I sometimes come across dog waste on the ground, so not everyone is picking up there, but that's still quite a difference from your experience in West Kendall.
Wow - that's awesome about the trash cans and waste bag stations and signs. There is zero of that here. I'm not a dog owner but I just feel like it's common sense to take a bag with me if I'm going to take my dog for a walk and it might "go" somewhere. I'm weird that way and I also feel it's common sense not to throw trash out your car window. Somehow I've been lucky and I've made it to a trash can before the trash exploded and killed me, but I guess others just don't want to take any chances.
Can anyone shut this thread down already? Dude you're boring and your posts are too long!
Rather than asking to have the thread locked, wouldn't it be easier for you yourself to simply not read it anymore? Or are you saying that you need a mod to lock it because you lack the self-discipline to keep from clicking on it if it remains open?
Even in the downtown area? And besides, I want to avoid those places anyway, but from what other posters have said, it seems like I need to make at least $60K a year to get a nice place that isn't run-down...
That's probably for the best of course. I just need to figure out when and how I'm going to do that...
What's a good ratio then, and what numbers in particular would we be looking at? "Cost of living" is a very broad concept. I would just like this to be broken down into easy-to-understand parts that concretely shows how Miami's quality of life is lower than other places.
Agreed. What other cities do you think I should check out?
I mean, what do you want me to do? How do you want me to make it more entertaining? And it's not even about that, I'm genuinely trying to figure out if I should move to Miami or not and if it is right for me. I came here for advice because I could not find any other suitable forum to discuss this.
That definitely makes me reconsider my position. Do you think it's even worth seeing if I can get a job in Miami without being bilingual?
Yeah, like I said, during the SUMMER. The rest of the year, Miami's weather is warmer and blows SC's weather out of the water!
I don't remember experiencing anything that extreme, but that's really not that bad to me.
But don't you get it? I'm trying to get out of the (cultural) South and experience a new culture. I hate it here!
You can get out of the South. Both of my stepdaughters (both USC grads) headed to NYC after college, lived there five years and loved it. Now one is in Seattle and the other is in Charlotte.
Downtown, I'm assuming you mean Brickell is South American. If you aren't, you will not fit in and it is very expensive and cliquish. A one bedroom will run you around $2000 a month.
Sure, I would apply for jobs. You never know unless you try.
Don't underestimate the weather here, it is hot as hell and it rains a lot from May to October. It's not light rain, it's heavy thunderstorms that leave you soaking wet in less than 1 minute.
I think you might like Broward better, or Palm Beach, less culture shock and more job opportunities. We do have better public transportation in Miami-Dade but it still sucks. You will need a car, no matter what. If you want walkable you need to move to NYC or Chicago.
You can get out of the South. Both of my stepdaughters (both USC grads) headed to NYC after college, lived there five years and loved it. Now one is in Seattle and the other is in Charlotte.
Downtown, I'm assuming you mean Brickell is South American. If you aren't, you will not fit in and it is very expensive and cliquish. A one bedroom will run you around $2000 a month.
Sure, I would apply for jobs. You never know unless you try.
I would look at Chicago and Boston.
Chicago and Boston don't have the weather he's looking for. I guess he needs to decide what's more important - walkable or year round warm weather? I don't see both of those in Miami.
Chicago and Boston don't have the weather he's looking for. I guess he needs to decide what's more important - walkable or year round warm weather? I don't see both of those in Miami.
He already has his pre-conceived opinions about those places. He's convinced Miami is the right place for him, despite never visiting here.
No ones posted "The" video yet, so I will.
Too cold. Have any other suggestions with warmer weather?
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Originally Posted by Sugah Ray
Don't underestimate the weather here, it is hot as hell and it rains a lot from May to October. It's not light rain, it's heavy thunderstorms that leave you soaking wet in less than 1 minute.
You're right, those heavy thunderstorms DO make me think twice... how often does it rain like that?
Quote:
I think you might like Broward better, or Palm Beach, less culture shock and more job opportunities. We do have better public transportation in Miami-Dade but it still sucks. You will need a car, no matter what. If you want walkable you need to move to NYC or Chicago.
Everyone keeps talking about "culture shock", but that's really one of the least of my concerns. In fact, I WANT to go to a big urban city and experience a culture and lifestyle that I'm not used to. I'm tired of the Southern way of life here. I mentioned going to a mega-city like Houston, Philly, NYC, LA, Chicago, etc. might be too much of a culture shock, but I'd honestly rather live in a hugely populated city than a rural one. And with Broward county, I've thought about it, but I simply don't think Ft. Lauderdale is big and urban enough for what I'm looking for. I live in Columbia, SC, the state's capital, which has 130,000 people living here, and I'm from Knoxville TN, the third-largest city in TN with a population of 180,000, and both of these cities are not nearly big enough. And I don't think Ft. Lauderdale being a slightly bigger city with a somewhat larger, more dense population is that big of a difference. I want to live somewhere AT LEAST twice as big as Columbia. And it's not just the population either, I'm just tired of the rural countryside, small towns/cities, and suburbs; I want to experience URBAN living.
Additionally, I can't imagine the walkability is any better than Miami's there (and it may be even less walkable). Of course, if I'm wrong, please feel free to let me know. And NYC and Chicago are too cold.
With all that being said, I may get to experience Ft. Lauderdale myself before settling down because I was strongly considering going to Nova Southeastern University in Davie, and then if I do that, I could kill two birds with one stone by seeing if I enjoyed living there AND possibly visiting Miami and seeing if I like it there (although that's not the same as living there, I know).
Quote:
Originally Posted by valicky
Chicago and Boston don't have the weather he's looking for. I guess he needs to decide what's more important - walkable or year round warm weather? I don't see both of those in Miami.
Is there really no way I can have both? Because to me, why on Earth would I find walking in near or below freezing weather for half the year to be enjoyable or desirable in any way, shape, or form? It just seems to defeat the purpose to me. So yeah, I would probably say the weather is more important, BUT I still really want to be somewhere walkable. It's more convenient, it saves money, it's environmentally-friendly, it feels nice, and it gives me daily exercise.
Also, I really need to clarify something here. When I say I want the city to be "walkable", I don't mean I need the ENTIRE city to be walkable and that I don't need a car to do anything. That's nonsense to expect any city other than NYC to be that pedestrian-friendly. I just mean walkable to the point that I can accomplish most day-to-day tasks and errands on foot, including walking to and from work, and not having to use my car everyday.
I have an uncle who lives in downtown Knoxville who owns his own bar, and he sometimes doesn't use his car for weeks at a time. He has an apartment that is a 2-minute walk away from his bar. Of course, the rent is probably over $2,500/month, but he can easily afford it, as he makes around $100K/year or more (I'm not entirely sure what his salary is; I'm just going off of what I've heard in the past).
But from you guys are telling me, it seems like if I really want to live somewhere that is warm and walkable, then it's not going to be cheap and I'm going to need to make more money. It's almost like you can have any of the 2 for 3 combinations (warm & walkable, warm & cheap, and cheap & walkable), but not all three.
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Originally Posted by blueherons
Downtown Houston maybe?
Southern California?
Don't really know a whole lot about Houston other than I've heard there's a lot of crime (then again, what big city doesn't?) and it's pretty spread out.
And even though I'm not entirely sure I'll like the culture of SoCal and I would HATE the inevitable traffic I'd have to face, it does seem like my second best option. Though I'm not sure how walkable the LA/San Diego areas are and if I'd even be able to afford them. It seems like it'd be even more expensive to live in a walkable area there than Miami.
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Originally Posted by unquiltom
He already has his pre-conceived opinions about those places.
But I told you guys to disprove my perceptions of California and tell me more about it. I'm not entirely opposed to living in California.
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He's convinced Miami is the right place for him, despite never visiting here.
No ones posted "The" video yet, so I will.
No, I don't. I've said multiple times that you guys have made me reconsider and that I'm still trying to decide because my mind isn't made up yet. That's why I'm still on this thread.
It may just seem that way, but that's only because I'm not sure what better options there are for what I'm looking for, and no one is really seeming to put a lot of effort into suggesting other cities that fit my criteria.
Here, let me throw this out there to see if it it will encourage any more discussion:
I said in the OP that "South Florida" seemed to mostly fit what I'm looking for, especially Miami, but if you don't count the Miami area, I was mostly talking about the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Those two cities were my second option. I've heard a lot of good things about that area and that it's cheaper, but I've also heard it's harder to find a job there and it seems to me that it's even less walkable than Miami, though I could be wrong. The other thing is that it seems more like a family-oriented town rather than a lively place for single young people.
But I don't know as much about Tampa frankly, so maybe someone could tell me more about that or other possible alternatives.
The thing is, most of Florida is so new, and post 1950 that the auto mentality remains the dominant form of mobility throughout most of the state. That being said, I don't know enough about Tampa to give you advice because I only went there once but I can say that Orlando is the kind of place people drive from one end of a shopping center to another instead of walking, if that gives you a feel of the areas walkability. Now, for Miami, I think the reason many ppl on here seem frustrated with your responses is because the same things you insist you want, walkability, affordabability, avoiding traffic etc are things ppl here have been wanting forever! So many of ppl here,especially young ppl, want that urban walkable lifestyle but in this city they get priced out. There are several reasons for this, but among them we have an extreme rental apartment shortage, especially close to the urban core. That means that old, shoddier apartments worth 1k and up for a 1/1 are hardly ever in supply or getting more and more expensive. In their place, developers have been building near exclusively luxury apartments which easily go from 1500k to more than 2000k and up for a 1/1, and the closer you get to Brickell, the rents shoot up. I would love to say look, here's a dense, safe, walkable area with maas transit options that is less than $1000 a month but there is none. I live in a semi urban spot I'm south Miami. I walk a lot because there are so many amenities around me and I am 5 minutes walking from the metrorail. But I still have to drive to places, work, beaches, to other malls, meet up with friends etc. And if you want to date a girl, and she finds out you don't own a car? In this city? She'll think you're some weird broke guy whose going to use her for her car and chauffeur you around. I'm not being mean I'm being honest. You said weather takes preference, then ok. Florida may be your best bet but with the amount of money you make, and the fact that you'll be living alone, you need to drive everywhere. Period. If you accept that fact, people on this board would probably become more open - or at least that's my opinion. You seem level headed and not hostile on here, that's a good virtue. But you're also stubborn! :-) and I just don't see a scenario where you can have your cake and eat it too so to speak. Yes a car will mean you'll drive everywhere, and hate it, and you will face traffic (but being smart to where you move in Miami can cut down on that - especially since you're not Hispanophobic so unlike some ppl you have a lot more options for cheaper places to live) and I can guarantee you the traffic will suck. But, you will experience a hell of a lot more new sights and experiences than you are right now @ columbia.
Tldr: drop the walkability, Miamians have been wanting this forever and we still don't have it so you won't get what you want for $$$/supply reasons. If you accept driving, though traffic sucks and it itself may suck, you can enjoy everything else so fla has to offer and possibily do so within your budget.
PS. I wanted to clarify something you may have not been clear about. We have a "downtown" but its not a real downtown, not like other US mega cities. Up until 15 years ago...it was half empty grassy lots, old government buildings, about ZERO residential units, drug infested, homeless full, just awful - growing up here we were all told and knew downtown was some empty sad place where there was nothing but trouble. That being said, its beginnong to change but its still...empty and rough looking. When you look at walkability and maps and all that, they include downtown but its so empty... There really isn't much to do except maybe step in homeless poop. What you want, and you're looking up probably, is Brickell, literally just south of downtown and a whole hell of a lot nicer. But Brickell is only so big, and being the only true urban neighborhood in Miami that actually has enough living amenities and is safe, it is ground zero prime real estate. I can imagine you look on a map and see "urbanized" midtown/wynwood all the way to Brickell but there are no mass transit options past downtown and everything North of Brickell until Midtown isn't very walking friendly apart from also being gentrified atm and therefore half empty.
But good luck though! If you end up here or in Tampa or wherever (I was also thinking NOLA but I think you discarded that one).
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I live in West Kendall. I don't consider this a bad neighborhood. That's just how dog owners are here. If there's grass they don't see a problem with their dog sh!tting in it. Fertilizer? I think it's gross and irresponsible even if it is "natural."
Where do you live btw that you see people cleaning up after their dogs every day? I might want to take a drive out there to see this novelty. 
