Considering a move to Palm Beach County (Miami, Tampa: college, salaries)

[br09]

I am 31, married, no kids and currently run a company that I founded in Miami in 08. We are growing and I would like to relocate to another area before I make any long term investments. The main reason is that I do not like the Miami culture (I have lived here for about 3 years) and had moved here only because I had a job in Dade County in 2007 before I started my company.

I want to network with young entrepreneurs and would like to be in a dynamic environment, especially in a city with more educated people and polite drivers. I have had problems interacting with the Latins in Miami since I do not find the intellectual stimulation that I am looking for. I am planning on moving to West Palm Beach. An ideal city for me would be New York, but it is very had to give up the South Florida weather.

Is West Palm a good option? I will be visiting there for some events organized by the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce just to get a feel.

[skylinet]

Are you going to the YPOP event?
The Gardens area would probably be a good fit for you. Lots of young professionals.
West Palm is good if you want a little more of an urban, downtown feel. Nothing like a big city though.

[mayorhaggar]

Young people tend to like cities. The WPB area feels old to me.

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by br09

I am 31, married, no kids and currently run a company that I founded in Miami in 08. We are growing and I would like to relocate to another area before I make any long term investments. The main reason is that I do not like the Miami culture (I have lived here for about 3 years) and had moved here only because I had a job in Dade County in 2007 before I started my company.

I want to network with young entrepreneurs and would like to be in a dynamic environment, especially in a city with more educated people and polite drivers. I have had problems interacting with the Latins in Miami since I do not find the intellectual stimulation that I am looking for. I am planning on moving to West Palm Beach. An ideal city for me would be New York, but it is very had to give up the South Florida weather.

Is West Palm a good option? I will be visiting there for some events organized by the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce just to get a feel.

You would be amazed how in the past 10 years how Miami-Dade and Broward have been creeping northward. I really don't think you will avoid what your trying to get away from in the not too distant future.

Driving in Miami is not a fun task, I agree but I don't think drivers in Palm Beach County are any better. Nobody uses turn signals in South Florida.

Not sure on what your line of work is, but I would make sure to get a head start on it before moving here to make sure it will fit the area.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by THX 1138

Driving in Miami is not a fun task, I agree but I don't think drivers in Palm Beach County are any better. Nobody uses turn signals in South Florida.

Still, it is night and day between PBC and Miami, especially once you get north of about Lake Worth. When I travel to Miami for work, it's like putting my life at risk. My blood pressure rises, the cars get closer, the traffic gets heavier and the drivers a LOT less patient!

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Still, it is night and day between PBC and Miami, especially once you get north of about Lake Worth. When I travel to Miami for work, it's like putting my life at risk. My blood pressure rises, the cars get closer, the traffic gets heavier and the drivers a LOT less patient!

I agree with you, going to Miami is never a joy when it comes to driving. Does not seem to matter if it's 95 or the Turnpike. I had some bad experiences leaving the Stadium in Miami Gardens and that's not too far south of the Broward line.

I really feel though that things/element are slowly creeping northward. I don't think residents in PBC will be totally immune of it in the future, if population estimates are correct.

[br09]

Thanks for the feedback.Our line of work is not dependent of the location of our operations. As such, I do have an option to relocate to any area that I may consider suitable. I also checked out Orlando, but it was too country.That is certainly not an option after living in South Florida. West Palm is not a big city but it is certainly better than Miami in all regards.

[mayorhaggar]

We don't know what your company does and you're just asking vague questions about "a dynamic environment" and so on.

Honestly PBC has never really had a very vibrant economy and is very centered on tourism and various services that people need anywhere like accounting and doctors and restaurants. Lots of people work in retail and scrape by. There's no industry and there aren't a lot of independent firms. The average age is pretty old, not just because of all the retirees and snowbirds but because young people tend to move out when they go to college then they stay up north to start their careers somewhere where there are more entry-level jobs.

I find Orlando and Tampa to be more urban and they definitely have younger populations. They're not great cities but they do have more industry and private firms located in the area than PBC has. If you want to be in a vibrant economy and interact with entrepreneurs (since that is all I can go by from your vague talking points) then I would say look elsewhere than PBC. But who knows, maybe you could start PBC's business renaissance. There's a lot of potential there, it's just not that vibrant economically.

[br09]

By dynamic environment, I mean networking opportunities with other educated young entrepreneurs and the availability of resources that are required for start-ups. As I mentioned before, our line of work is not dependent on the local business environment. We are a National firm with clients in the 50 states. The firm will handle all its operations from its corporate headquarters. Right now the operations are based in Miami. We are not dependent on local business. You might be correct on some points but Orlando and Tampa have their own problems. I did live in Tampa for a while and the traffic was horrible, the same goes for Orlando. No city is perfect though. All I need is a decent city with a good standard of living and enough networking opportunities and resources that would help small businesses grow. Even Miami has resources as is true of any big city, but I highly doubt that the city has good quality of life (to raise a family eventually) unless you are from S. America.

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Honestly PBC has never really had a very vibrant economy and is very centered on tourism and various services that people need anywhere like accounting and doctors and restaurants. Lots of people work in retail and scrape by. There's no industry and there aren't a lot of independent firms. The average age is pretty old, not just because of all the retirees and snowbirds but because young people tend to move out when they go to college then they stay up north to start their careers somewhere where there are more entry-level jobs.

I find Orlando and Tampa to be more urban and they definitely have younger populations. They're not great cities but they do have more industry and private firms located in the area than PBC has. If you want to be in a vibrant economy and interact with entrepreneurs (since that is all I can go by from your vague talking points) then I would say look elsewhere than PBC. But who knows, maybe you could start PBC's business renaissance. There's a lot of potential there, it's just not that vibrant economically.

I don't know about that. While I agree the economy here is focused on tourism and seasonal visitors it's no-where near as bad as Naples in comparison. I also don't see a lot of people scraping by working retail, lot's of people driving to work in the morning dressed for office work in nice expensive cars, people I work with and know that don't fit any of the examples you mentioned are doing good here and living a good life. Go down to Clematis and see 30 somethings sipping on $15 martinis..

Industry is lacking but they still have Pratt, Sikorsky and a lot of spin-offs doing Jet Engine and Power Generation Turbine work here, Office Depot in Boca and a lot of HQ in Boca. The sad thing is, a lot of the tech industry is gone or on a smaller scale now. They say PBC's future will be small business, no more big companies. I tend to agree on that.

Average age in PBC is around 41, that's about on par with San Fransisco. By area go to Boynton or Delray and that changes for sure.

This is not a good area for a lot of people based on their occupation as well the salaries are not lucrative in relation to the high cost of living with some companies, that goes for much of Florida where salaries can even get worse in some locations. However...if your in the Healthcare or Medical field, you will be doing good for yourself for a longtime.