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Why I moved to Miami

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Re: Why I moved to Miami

#211

Post by bdesimone »

goatslacker wrote: post #119

I was born and raised in Miami and my family still lives there so I visit quite often. I moved to the Bay Area not too long ago (3 years) for work and IMO it's no comparison. Miami is a great place to live if your priorities are partying. There are excellent night clubs and beautiful men and women everywhere. The Bay Area holds an advantage over almost every point the OP made. Rent is ~$2k for a 2 bedroom 2 bath if y…

I moved from San Diego to Miami two years ago. For anyone seriously thinking of coming to Miami from California, I'd like to reiterate a few points.

* Miami is a great place to live if you prioritize partying. If you don't -- or are past that stage in your life -- you are going to find fewer people with things in common than in any other city I've lived.

* If we are generalizing...people are ruder and quicker to screw you over if the opportunity presents itself. And before you say it, no, it's not just because it's a big city. It's different here. It's worse here.

* South Florida drivers are statistically the worst in the country. Luckily I don't have to commute.

* Food is a push, I agree. I really miss the Asian-fare back home. Thankfully, I've found one really awesome Thai place to keep me sane.

* I don't participate in the tech market, as I work remotely for a CA based company.

* The neighborhoods downtown are not awesome. I live across the street [0] from OP and would not feel comfortable walking even a block east with my wife at night. Miami has

* The weather is really subjective. At first, I struggled with the humidity and heat. But now I love it. That and the water are probably the things I love most about Miami.

[0] : http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdesimone/8761046729/

If you have any questions... ask away.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#212

Post by justanother »

Lower Florida Keys resident here. I still own a place in Orlando which I have only visited once in the 6 years I've been gone. I got tired of hearing gunshots in the middle of the night. Between that and the chaotic (and plentiful) highway drivers, you couldn't possibly pay me to live in most (any?) large cities in mainland Florida. Despite being only 120 miles from Miami, I've still never visited, unless you count traffic jams when trying to get through it.

Once you get away from the urban nightmares, Florida isn't so bad though. Admittedly not everyone likes the climate, but I run a few miles every morning, even in the summer, and getting on a boat helps to cool off. No malls or dance clubs, and almost no big-box stores or fast food. But we do have Amazon Prime and a fishing pole.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#213

Post by bdesimone »

auston wrote: post #80
leif wrote: post #63

It often happens that someone outside new york talks about the amaaaazing food in their city. I used to laugh, or correct them. Nowadays I just feel pity. Nothing compares to the food of new york city. Absolutely nothing. Don't even fucking try. "I live within walking distance of two zagat top 10 rated restaurants." There are sixty restaurants within walking distance of my apartment and they're all better than anythi…

So my NYC experience is Buddakan, Hillstone, LAVO, DINER in Williamsburg, Foodswings in Williamsburg & Lombardi's. They're all pretty great, but I can name very very competitive restaurants for each of them in Miami (Scarpetta, J Alexander, Prime Italia, Gigi in Wynwood & choices in Brickell). I'm not saying the food is better than NYC, you guys win on sheer volume, I'm just saying it's damn good & really easy to fin…

And quality, I'm sad to say. I wish those places were as good.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#214

Post by paul9290 »

paul9290 wrote: post #60

Taxes here in the states are overall disgusting, though you don't realize it until your salary inches upwards. When your making 40K to 55K here in the states the amount of taxes taken seems like a fair share. Though when you almost double that you wonder what's the point of making more money on paper as in your pocket you only make 60 to 65 percent of of your earnings - WTH?

My pay per consulting contract fluctuates. I am fortunate and happy to be doing better then previously.

Though what percentage is a fair share? I was fine with 25 percent tax, but damn after working hard and smart your reward is a little more money in your pocket and a lot more in Uncle Sam's pocket....

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#215

Post by foster1890 »

Local Miami resident here and I'm glad to see the startup community is finally getting some investment. I moved from DC 2 years ago and the only jobs I found were enterprise .NET/Java position about 30-60 min away from Miami in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton. I really enjoy living in Miami, but it's difficult to find a well paying job here, good devs will make about $90K. The reason is there's just not enough demand for the skillset. Hopefully that will change once the startup community here matures. One note about cost of living, compared to other cities the cost of living in Miami (proper or Miami Beach) is on par with any other large metro area (excluding NYC and SF of course). This coupled with the lower salaries makes moving to Miami a tough sell.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#216

Post by hawkharris »

Gainesville, FL, is the best spot for young tech entrepreneurs IMO. Much cheaper than Miami, very little traffic and crime, bike friendly, tons of startups. Gainesville is the Silicon Valley of FL, but with a more laid back and unpretentious atmosphere.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#217

Post by r4vik »

DanBlake wrote: post #109
mp3tricord wrote: post #61

Can someone explain to my why its an advantage to live in a state with zero income tax? Does it really matter how the state makes its money. If it does not come from your paycheck directly they get it other ways. For instance in Florida you pay ~2% property tax on your assessed value and in california you pay ~1% on your purchased value. If you bought property at 500k and its appreciated to 1 million in CA you pay 5k…

The advantage is for high income people, of course. If you make alot of money (or have alot of retirement income coming in) florida kicks ass. As a simple example: If you make 1 million a year and live in a 2 million dollar house. Property tax in Cali : 20k Income tax in Cali : ~65k Property tax in FL : 40k Income tax in FL: Zero So in this example, you are 100% better off being in florida.

I thought USA had low taxes compared to Europe but wtf property taxes

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#218

Post by hellbanTHIS »

justanother wrote: post #212

Lower Florida Keys resident here. I still own a place in Orlando which I have only visited once in the 6 years I've been gone. I got tired of hearing gunshots in the middle of the night. Between that and the chaotic (and plentiful) highway drivers, you couldn't possibly pay me to live in most (any?) large cities in mainland Florida. Despite being only 120 miles from Miami, I've still never visited, unless you count t…

Orlando is horrible, one of my least favorite cities in Florida. Gainesville on the other hand is great.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#220

Post by killahpriest »

hawkharris wrote: post #216

Gainesville, FL, is the best spot for young tech entrepreneurs IMO. Much cheaper than Miami, very little traffic and crime, bike friendly, tons of startups. Gainesville is the Silicon Valley of FL, but with a more laid back and unpretentious atmosphere.

The only thing in Gainesville is students and the ecosystem to serve them. Oh, and trees.
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