For those of you who live in Florida. I have a few questions. (Miami: for sale, real estate)

[Dan el Capitan]

I have always wanted to visit and possibly live in Florida, more specifically the Miam-Dade area. I have a few questions for those of you who live there or have lived there.

Please answer as many questions for me as possible:

I was wondering what is it like? What do you like or dislike about it? How is the nightlife and how are the parties? Is Florida a good state to live in? What are the best parts and why? How are the people? How are the jobs in Florida? Is Florida more expensive or inexpensive than Cali?

I will leave it at that because I have so many more questions before I go there.

[FlyMIA]

OKay well I love Miami its a great international and diverse city but is NOT for everyone. You need to somewhat like the Latin culture are Miami runs on it. I think a good job that pays decent is a must Miami is an expensive place to live. The nightlife is one of the best in the world not many cities compete and only NYC could be said to have better night life then Miami in the US. I love Miami because it is not exactly living in the US. It feels different it is like its own country. I like how Miami is not huge like LA or PHX it is a thin city with two beautiful borders the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Everglades. I love how there is nature all around you I have seen pariots in downtown, alligators off the highway etc.. Some people dont like that part like all the insects snakes etc..

Florida is a fine state to live in as long as you have a job. There is no state income tax but property taxes and home insurance is high. I find the people to be fine, sure there are the mean people but every city has some bad people in it. Again it all has to do with the latin culture thing. I love how diverse the city is you hear different langauges every where you go. 50% of the population was born outside the US highest percentage in the world. The beaches are great you can swim in them year round and the water on most days is crystal clear like you see in the Bahamas or Fiji.

There are two things I do not like about Miami: The traffic which really is not that bad: NYC, Chicago, DC LA are all worse. And the horrible public transportation. If Miami only had good public transport it would really classify as one of the top cities in the world IMO. But having almost no public transport really hurts a area of 5,000,000.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

[harrycrat]

Nothing to dislike,apart from lack of high paying jobs & lack of "bargains " in real estate ( while for instance, in Houston,u find bargain homes,apts,lots,land )...

Mia is lucky not to have...socialised (mass) transport...

All the "negatives " u may read about here,are exaggerated...

If u don't mind,then they don't matter...

[Dan el Capitan]

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

OKay well I love Miami its a great international and diverse city but is NOT for everyone. You need to somewhat like the Latin culture are Miami runs on it. I think a good job that pays decent is a must Miami is an expensive place to live. The nightlife is one of the best in the world not many cities compete and only NYC could be said to have better night life then Miami in the US. I love Miami because it is not exactly living in the US. It feels different it is like its own country. I like how Miami is not huge like LA or PHX it is a thin city with two beautiful borders the Atlantic Ocean and Florida Everglades. I love how there is nature all around you I have seen pariots in downtown, alligators off the highway etc.. Some people dont like that part like all the insects snakes etc..

Florida is a fine state to live in as long as you have a job. There is no state income tax but property taxes and home insurance is high. I find the people to be fine, sure there are the mean people but every city has some bad people in it. Again it all has to do with the latin culture thing. I love how diverse the city is you hear different langauges every where you go. 50% of the population was born outside the US highest percentage in the world. The beaches are great you can swim in them year round and the water on most days is crystal clear like you see in the Bahamas or Fiji.

There are two things I do not like about Miami: The traffic which really is not that bad: NYC, Chicago, DC LA are all worse. And the horrible public transportation. If Miami only had good public transport it would really classify as one of the top cities in the world IMO. But having almost no public transport really hurts a area of 5,000,000.

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

I actually love Latin culture and I can honestly appreciate diversity. I love going to the beach and I like warm, semi-tropical weather. I am already accustomed to the horrible public transportation and traffic of L.A. So I don't think that Miami's traffic would be that big of a deal to me.

How much should one earn monthly or annually in order to be able to make ends meet in MIA?

[xS☺B☺s]

Right now you could pay less than $150K for a brand new condo in Miami.

Miami Condos for Sale | The Madison Downtown Miami Condominium

Figure you got your condo paid for after you sell you shack in LA for $500K. You got $350K to sit on, you could feed yourself for 10 bucks a day if you want. IOW, if you have good equity in a house in LA, you could move to MIA and retire immediately.

[Kamann]

Ok, along the same lines, I am from Chicagoland and want to retire to the Miami area in a few years, but due to a nasty divorce don't have the $ that some folks here do... what about mobile homes in the Miami/Dade area.... ?? any suggestions as far as decent areas.. i.e. Westchester or thereabouts?? I see prices of $45K for single not double wide mobile homes on line...in the Westchester area... is that reasonably close to market value?

[bale002]

Originally Posted by Dan el Capitan

I have always wanted to visit and possibly live in Florida, more specifically the Miam-Dade area. I have a few questions for those of you who live there or have lived there.

Please answer as many questions for me as possible:

How is the nightlife and how are the parties? How are the people?

I was wondering what is it like? What do you like or dislike about it?

Is Florida a good state to live in? What are the best parts and why?


How are the jobs in Florida?

Is Florida more expensive or inexpensive than Cali?

How much should one earn monthly or annually in order to be able to make ends meet in MIA?

So it sounds like you are a young wage-earner from California.

As a general observation, best to have your own business/profession (unless you qualify for a high position in a relatively large company).

From that perspective, the best thing about Florida is that it is a no income tax state.

The second best thing about Florida is, most agree, the pleasant temperatures year-round (the pleasantness of around six months of high humidity is largely subjective), especially in southeastern Florida for which demand is greatest; the east coast also offers Atlantic breezes.

For this reason, southeast Florida is also the most expensive region in the state, but not nearly as expensive as the more desirable areas of California (SD, LA and SF areas, I suppose), maybe by half.

Miami-Dade County is about 10% more expensive than Broward County and Palm Beach County in part because it is more densely populated, again in part because it is the first destination for many immigrants, both rich and poor, from Latin America and it also attracts Europeans with money.

From my perspective, another advantage of southeast Florida is its relative proximity to Latin America and Europe, Miami International Airport in particular offering direct intercontinental flights to useful destinations: many Latin American destinations are closer to Miami than Miami is to Los Angeles, for example.

From my perspective, the worst thing about Florida, and much of the US as a whole, has been the credit/housing policy disaster. Among the consequences, sky-rocketing housing buy prices and property taxes. Florida also suffered back-to-back years of direct-hit hurricanes in 2004-2005, triggering sharp upward spikes in insurance rates.

The best thing to happen to Florida is the housing price crash. Buy prices have come down to more reasonable levels, and so have property taxes. Insurance rates are still very high, however.

From the economic perspective, you can best take advantage of what Florida has to offer by having your own successful business, preferably home-based, and living in relatively modest housing, even a nice condo in a not-so-luxury building could do.

As for wage-earners, there is a common expression in Florida: they pay in sunshine.

In other words, wages are low, especially compared to the much of northeast US, the Chicago area, also much of California, but, more importantly, wages are low compared to the cost of living. High paying jobs are relatively scarce and it is very important to have good connections. But these last two observations - low local wages compared to local cost of living, and the need for good connections - pretty much apply almost anywhere.

If you are simply seeking fun in the sun at this stage of your life, you could probably survive on a low-paying service job for a while, maybe live on South Beach, until you outgrow it (or maybe not).

If you are single, you could probably survive on as little as $18,000-$25,000 a year, but that probably means sharing an apartment. With $35,000-$50,000 per year, you could probably afford your own place, how modern/luxurious would depend on your other spending priorities.

A household with children would need, in my estimation, around $150,000, but others estimate less, even around $70,000-$80,000.

As mentioned, it is very useful in Miami-Dade County to be fluent in Spanish.

Hope this helps.

[Reedsmit]

You don't want to live in a trailer. Remember we get hurricanes in FL and people in trailers are ALWAYS told to leave.

You would be better to rent a condo.

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by Dan el Capitan

I actually love Latin culture and I can honestly appreciate diversity. I love going to the beach and I like warm, semi-tropical weather. I am already accustomed to the horrible public transportation and traffic of L.A. So I don't think that Miami's traffic would be that big of a deal to me.

How much should one earn monthly or annually in order to be able to make ends meet in MIA?

Well then I do not think you should have much trouble in Miami. IMO it is a smaller but better version of LA. As long as you do not mind not having mountains. That is the advantage of LA you can go sking in a few hours or the beach in 30mins. But Miami's beaches are MUCH nicer. But It is not much of semi-tropical Miami does have a tropical climate (minus this crazy cold winter on the east coast this year) So expect hot humid days most of the year and LOTS of rain from May to October. But the winters are just perfect.

If you are single and have a place paid off I dont see a problem with making 40-50,000 a year. You can get some pretty cheap places right in the middle downtown Miami, nice new modern condos.

[miamiblue]

Originally Posted by Kamann

Ok, along the same lines, I am from Chicagoland and want to retire to the Miami area in a few years, but due to a nasty divorce don't have the $ that some folks here do... what about mobile homes in the Miami/Dade area.... ?? any suggestions as far as decent areas.. i.e. Westchester or thereabouts?? I see prices of $45K for single not double wide mobile homes on line...in the Westchester area... is that reasonably close to market value?

Don't do it unless you like the prospect of your home blowing away every 10 years or so. Mobile homes in a hurricane state are a terrible idea. Not to mention, it is hard enough to get affordable homeowner's insurance for a well-built cinderblock house (most houses are constructed this way in the area), I can't imagine what it would be like trying to insure a mobile home.