Coral Gables, FL or San Diego, CA? (Miami, Aventura: sales, credit card)

[HoneyRyder]

People are pretty negative here...I'd rank Coral Gables as one of the best places to live! Anyway, I would most likely choose Coral Gables. There's a lot of good neighborhoods there, and if you are really worried about safety you can live in a gated community.

[boonelsewhere]

i don't think you can easy seperate CG from Miami. No way that you can live in CG with out enjoy what Metro of Miami has to offer.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by illini84

Meaning--no matter where you live, you can't get away from some of the bad things. On the plus side though, you won't have to worry about your home getting broken into

I didn't know Coral Gables OR San Diego were immune to burglars. You could live in a town that has one break in per year, but that's irrelevant if you were the one who was burglarized. BTW Gables has a lot of break-ins and thefts because of what it's surrounded by. Some of the barrio-ish areas around it to the west are probably less likely to be burglarized. Take Sweetwater as the best example. Not a chance in hell that I would live there, but easily one of the safest areas in Dade County despite the third world motif.

[MalaK]

We're not negative, we're just stating facts. I actually feel sorry
for Miami because it is a city with a lot of potential, too bad
it has so much people that don't care for it but still live in it
and make it a very bad place to live.

Originally Posted by HoneyRyder

People are pretty negative here...I'd rank Coral Gables as one of the best places to live! Anyway, I would most likely choose Coral Gables. There's a lot of good neighborhoods there, and if you are really worried about safety you can live in a gated community.

[TannerMan]

What a shocker, a fact telling realist. I stayed off this website for a couple of days, was extremely busy with family visiting, I was out enjoying the city and now just doing everyday things and its been great. But then I read these posts and its just depressing, its like people are living in another city and frankly its getting old, I agree with kevinkagy. I would sugest to people now to probaly visit instead of asking strangers online that alot of the time don't give the best responses, some peoples opinion on a city won't be what you might gather after moving. Personally some posters previous postings of before I asked questions about Hialeah scared the **** out of me, and today almost a year since I moved I couldnt disagree more with alot of them. Its just not really sensible, especially with a website that brings out the not so happy people out of every city not just Miami, every city is third world, every city is rude, every city is dangerous, and every city is just god awful, every city is changing for the worse. Dont make decisions of of what strangers say on the computer. Im out of here.

[Miami305Kid]

Originally Posted by socrates

"Most people speak Spanish and refuse to speak English"

I think this is a bit over exagerated. I mean its accurate for places like little Havana but cg? seriously?

Coral Gables is definitley one of the more classy/beautiful towns in Miami-Dade County but Latinos still make up around 50% of Coral Gables and Spanish is spoken by 51% of its residents while 43% speak English. Also, I don't get why you think spanish is only spoken in the Miam area. San Diego is bound to have Spanish speakers considering it shares a boreder with Mexico. But the spanish language aside I would chose San Diego. Although Coral Gables would be among my first choices if I was looking in the Miami area San Diego is the most beautiful part of California and I hear their downtown keeps growing.

[Sun&Sea]

Thank you all!! Great posts!

RonneyRyder and Tannerman: don't worry, I take every post on this forum with ONE HUNDRED grains of salt, if YKWIM... ;-) But a lot of them do provide very helpful info. But rest assure that our final decision will come only after we have visited both places, and will be based on our own perception of these two places. Thanks again!

[copacetic]

sun&sea, just an observation, you mentioned property taxes as a disadvantage in miami. but you didn't mention income taxes as a disadvantage of san diego. just something to keep in mind. california is a socialist regime--your total tax liability there will likely be much higher than florida. california income tax hovers around 10%.

[Wilshire81182]

I do not think SD is more urban either. I think it feels very small for a big city. I think LA is one big urban amenity in that part of CA. Miami is much more urban than SD. I have been to both and I prefer the LA area much more over San Diego, possibly Orange County areas. In the Miami area, I would look into areas around Fort Lauderdale to Boca Raton over the heart of Miami.

[doggiebus]

To the OP - I have grown up in Miami, moved away for college, came back, now trying to move away again. I have visited San Diego a few times, loved it there. I would highly suggest that you visit both Coral Gables and San Diego one time, if you haven't already planned on doing so. You really need too see and experience them both. When you plan a trip to Miami come in August or September the hottest times and during hurricane season. Also come here in January when the kids are in school and the snow birds are down, things are slightly different compared to summer. Like others have said, these forums really can't give you the right answer, as each person is different, I personally would suggest you move to San Diego, but there are people that love it here and will tell you Miami. But you are the only person that knows what is right for you and your family.

I have a friend that has lived in many places such as NYC, Chicago, Miami (Coconut Grove), San Diego (La Jolla), etc. He would move back to La Jolla (San Diego), if the prices out there were lower, in a heart beat he says. He moved out of Miami last year to the Carolinas. You really need to visit both and decide for yourself. As there are people on here that move here and love and there are people that move there and hate it. I have to say most of the people that I have met that have moved here have already moved away. Best of luck!