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As the title says we will soon moving to the United States and we are facing a tough decision.
We are currently living south of Barcelona (Spain/Europe) and the company I work for will be opening business in the States early on 2013; In order to set things in motion my company wants me and a co-worker to move to there for about 3 years.
We have been looking into places to start our offices, and due direct flights (from BCN airport) we have chosen two options:
Harrison (close to Newark and NYC) in the New Jersey State. (This choice was made thanks to a previous post some time ago)
Lauderdale Lakes (in Ft Lauderdale close to Miami) in the Florida State.
As you might already thought those might not be the best places in those areas, but is the best we've come across doing some research of out own:
We have been looking for:
Quiet place, residential.
Good connection with the airport and major city.
Safe
Close commodities: tennis court, gym, shopping mall...
Now, we understand that comparing this 2 cities might be a non-sense but we hope to find someone that was from Miami/Ft Lauderdale that now lives in North New Jersey and can tell us the differences between both places and the choice he / she would make based on his / her personal experience.
We will also take any advice in life cost / rental prices / transportation / hospitals / universities....
Sorry for the double posting, but I could not think a better way to ask about this.
I don't know much about Florida and honestly not too familiar with Harrison NJ. I did live in the Maplewood/SO area which I loved. Great community, close to the airport, on the train line to NYC and as quiet as you can get near the airport.
Yes they were enough.... That's why we choose to look into Harrison.
Picture is different now though; that's why I stated I'm looking forward to find some one that lived near both places, and can provide some experiences.
We have lived in both. I would pick NJ all over South Florida, but our situation was different. Schools in FL, even in the wealthier areas, don't measure up to NJ, and we have 3 kids. +1 for NJ.
The weather in So. FL is hot, almost all the time. No change of seasons. If you like the heat you may prefer it to snow and cold. FL beaches are beautiful. Some of the NJ beaches are too, but most charge, and traffic getting to them on summer weekends is tough. Florida gets the edge on beaches.
NJ, due it's proximity to NY, has far more to do in the way of culture and entertainment.
Both area are expensive to live in. Our car insurance actually rose when we moved from NJ to FL. Homeowners, wind insurance, sometimes flood insurance etc contribute to the high cost of rents in FL, because they are passed on the the renters. Property taxes in NJ are among the highest in the nation, and also get passed on in rental costs.
NJ has a huge edge on public transportation, but driving is easier in FL.
South Florida is heavily Hispanic. You will not find that difficult coming from Spain, but it took us a while to get used to navigating a world where English was frequently the 2nd language.
If you are young, like the beach, and clubbing, dressing up to go out, etc, you may very well love So. Florida.
Great intput, thanks Mattie, that's the kind of feedback I was hoping to get;
Another interesting data for us would be price of daily-life, is there a noticeable drop / rise in prices?
I would assume that South Florida could be more expensive due this common clubbing / going out / beach tourism, am I wrong?
Do you want to share your home with giant, flying cockroaches?
If the answer is yes, then Florida is the place for you.
Please note that Floridians euphemistically refer to these awful pests as, "Palmetto Bugs".
In reality, they are giant, flying cockroaches, and they infest every building in the warmer areas of Florida.
Do you want to share the roads with very elderly drivers who can't see very well, drive extremely slowly, and are frequently hazards on the roads?
If the answer is yes, then Florida is the place for you.
While Harrison is not my ideal either, I would take it--and its proximity of NYC--over Florida any day.
Omg this thing about flying bugs sounds really disgusting... :S
Quote:
Originally Posted by kjd72
Miami why not? lol we have way more issues up here lol.
What issues do you refer to?
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