thinking of locating to the Miami area (Hialeah, Miami Beach: fit in, to rent)

[770shelia]

My husband and I are thinking of relocating to the Miami area. We are about 30 mins outside Atlanta right now. We would be renting at least for the first few years to see how I adjust to being away from my family(my mother refuses to fly).
We have a 3 year old and 2 dogs and hopefully another baby on the way soon. I know Miami itself is not a family place, but we are wanting to know a good surrounding town with no more than a 45 min commute into Miami. I want to be pretty close to the beach, good schools, and low crime. Please help. I am terrified of moving there and making a huge mistake. We also want to rent a home or condo with a rent of no more than $2000 a month as we will still own a home here that we were going put on the market but the housing market is so bad here and our neighborhood is only 20% built so very low chance of selling.

[Marina1686]

Miami's unemployement is way higher than Atlanta's... jobs pay very low here, $10 p/h with a degree the most! Probably you could fit in the Broward or Palm Beach country where's a little bit cheaper and there's more jobs. Also employers requiere Spanish and no English is required, there a huge lack of professionalism in work places, since most of Miami's economy are Mickey Mouse hispanic businesses and drug money

[heydade]

if you are in the beautiful burbs outside of metro Atlanta as you say, then yes...you would be making a big mistake in moving down here. Please trust me. The two cannot be compared.

[JohnLee1]

Originally Posted by Marina1686

Miami's unemployement is way higher than Atlanta's... jobs pay very low here, $10 p/h with a degree the most! Probably you could fit in the Broward or Palm Beach country where's a little bit cheaper and there's more jobs. Also employers requiere Spanish and no English is required, there a huge lack of professionalism in work places, since most of Miami's economy are Mickey Mouse hispanic businesses and drug money

Here we go again. 100% incorrect. Jobs do NOT pay low here. Where do you get $10 per hour with a degree when working a normal 8 hour telemarketing job pays at least $10 an hour (I know people that get paid more, and some don't even call people, they get called! ) Broward and Palm Beach are not cheaper, I don't know what some people that say that are talking about, they are more expensive. And more jobs there??? I have family and friends there and some don't have jobs and can't find ANY type of job and they tell me similar stories of their friends. Here in Miami there's a job for EVERYTHING. You will always find something and even the lowest paying jobs are enought to get by. No English is required? You just lost all type of credibility with that statement. Only Spanish? STOP. Lack of professionalism? Most of Miami's economy are Mickey Mouse hispanic businesses and drug money? STOP!

With that budget you can live anywhere in the Miami area (Miami-Dade County) and have everything you are looking for, wether it's safe, family friendly, what ever it may be. Coral Gables is GREAT! It has everything you are looking for and more and really close to Miami and Miami Beach. Same goes with Pinecrest, take Coral Gables and multiply by 2. Really great area. North Bay Village is also great. Doral, Fontainebleau, Kendall, Dadeland, Kendall Lakes, Miami Springs, West Miami, South Miami, Palmetto Bay, and many more. Really any place in the Miami area with the exception of the few ghettos.

[r_k]

I would suggest that you not worry about areas to live, but instead worry about getting a job first. Then you will know (a) how much you can afford and (b) which areas are closer to work. Traffic here is pretty bad, so long commutes are to be avoided if possible.

[Edu983]

Originally Posted by Marina1686

Miami's unemployement is way higher than Atlanta's... jobs pay very low here, $10 p/h with a degree the most! Probably you could fit in the Broward or Palm Beach country where's a little bit cheaper and there's more jobs. Also employers requiere Spanish and no English is required, there a huge lack of professionalism in work places, since most of Miami's economy are Mickey Mouse hispanic businesses and drug money

The reason is that most of the jobs are related to tourism (malls, restaurants, hotels, etc).

Have you seen fortune 500 companies in Kendall? Westchester? Hialeah? Miami beach? Coral gables? Doral? Such as Coca Cola, Microsoft, Apple, Nike, Sony, Unilever, etc?

There are no strong companies in Miami. The only employer that pays decent wages is the county (MDCPS, the police, firefighters, and the county staff: accountants, MIS analists, etc).

[JohnLee1]

Originally Posted by Edu983

The reason is that most of the jobs are related to tourism (malls, restaurants, hotels, etc).

Have you seen fortune 500 companies in Kendall? Westchester? Hialeah? Miami beach? Coral gables? Doral? Such as Coca Cola, Microsoft, Apple, Nike, Sony, Unilever, etc?

There are no strong companies in Miami. The only employer that pays decent wages is the county (MDCPS, the police, firefighters, and the county staff: accountants, MIS analists, etc).

I have seen Nike and Sony, soooo?

[JohnLee1]

Originally Posted by Edu983

The reason is that most of the jobs are related to tourism (malls, restaurants, hotels, etc).

Have you seen fortune 500 companies in Kendall? Westchester? Hialeah? Miami beach? Coral gables? Doral? Such as Coca Cola, Microsoft, Apple, Nike, Sony, Unilever, etc?

There are no strong companies in Miami. The only employer that pays decent wages is the county (MDCPS, the police, firefighters, and the county staff: accountants, MIS analists, etc).

Oh and I'll name one that I love to say...BURGER KING!

[flyers29]

Not a good family town? I suppose that's subjective. I'd also recommend checking out Broward County. I agree with above posters though, best to secure a job first.

[StilltheSame]

Listen to Heydade and Edu. You will regret not doing so.