281–290 of 342 posts
I'm now working for a San Jose startup from North Carolina ... and not from RTP, but from a much less tech-focused area. My wife's family lives here and that's great for our daughter. Our house here costs 20% what an equivalent house would have in San Mateo, my bay area home from 1995 to 2013. This place has a nice downtown, a pretty diverse population (a lot of medical research and university action). The food's pre…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The point is that as a non-homeowner, you don't pay property tax so you don't benefit from low property tax rates. Instead you're paying rent that's among the highest in the nation. And your salary, which better be large to deal with the outrageous rent, is being taxed at one one of the highest rates in the country. It's the absolute worst tax situation to be in.
Generally inputs are priced into market price. So as a renter, I suspect I benefit from low property taxes.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Since you're a native, maybe you can address something subtle: the extent to which the business community favors positive-sum vs zero-sum thinking, and innovation over marketing. One of the things I like about Silicon Valley is that people are generally focused on creating value rather than making money. (The difference being that I can make money in ways that transfer money from your pocket to mine, without a net in…
My general impression is that people in south Florida (in business) are looking for easy money. Not easy as in no work, but easy as in huge sums for minimal work. The homesteading act certainly attracts people from outside Florida who believe they could be sued for everything they've got. May be was a combination of the drug money in the 70s & 80s, along with the real estate boom more recently, but they don't seem ve…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was raised in Miami and my family lives there still as well! We should meet up some time and complain about Miami together, haha. I agree with all the points you made. Miami has quite a shallow population. I've also found as time goes on that as I develop new interests, there is poor community around most of them--the little things like rock climbing or playing ping pong. It's even extremely difficult to find a cof…
I rock climb: http://instagram.com/p/fR12xEwWmi/ Check out Panther Coffee in Wynwood or Miami Beach: http://www.panthercoffee.com/ Next time you're in Miami give me a shout: @bunsen
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?
The point would be making more money. Also, perhaps, being more productive, accomplishing more, having great responsibility, and contributing more to society. Of course, the people still making your old salary surely feel terrible that your now-doubled salary is filling you with discussed. If you ask nicely, I bet they'll trade paychecks with you so you feel better.
But if you make 50K your gonna see 38K in your pocket. 12K in taxes is a fair amount as I'm all for taxes for roads and services I use.
Though taking half of what you make each year in the various taxes is insane and again for me makes me think why work harder and smarter. The majority of my rewards will be taken from me!
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 scre…
And I HATE it down here, Sure, the weather is nice (most of the time). And when the beaches aren't sinking (Miami Beach is flooding all the time now) they'll fun. But they get old fast.
Miami is a party town. Period. If you're into it then you're gold.
Traffic is a nightmare. It takes 90 mins to get from the center of Miami to Fort Lauderdale (about 30 miles) in the middle of the week day.
The food.. Fort Lauderdale does have a bit more variety, bit it's basically Cuban, Haitian, and other Latin cuisine. Lucky for me I love it. But I tell ya,. I have yet found a decent Chinese restaurant. I have found decent Thai - and that search took me through 15 different restaurants and over a year.
There is some great American cuisine here. And of course, we have every single fast-food place you know off on EVERY corner.
South Florida is car culture. I mean even in Whole Foods (the closest we can get to decent food shopping) - it's all "nameste" inside but folk will cut your heart out in the parking lot. I've seen fights break out in the Whole Food parking lot. Usually between two perfectly groomed women; their babies sitting in harness hanging off their shoulders.
There a HUGE amount of stress living in Florida. Between the driving, the walled up homes, beaches sinking, the right wing government not giving a shit - which reminds me - if you have kids you best plan on private school. There are REALLY good ones down here (depending on location). Add the school cost into your budget. I'd never send my kid to public school - the state has ripped public schools to shreds.
Oh and one other thing - this is a Stand Your Ground State. So carry a gun. Many do. Most are concealed.
Now about the tech. It's here. It's small. It really depends on which tech. Microsoft is everywhere. Easy to find Meetups and Technets. Also Ruby is well represented here with 3 groups (Boca, Broward (Lauderdale) and Miami) - I know of one small Python group that barely meets - the rest are hit and miss.
Outside of medical, real estate, tourism, and banking there just isn't much else going on. Sure there are a few start-ups. And people are trying. But they are few and far between. And I'm in Telcom (by the way).
Now all this sour news there are some pluses - the Arts. The formal arts (Opera, Theater, Symphonies - are small. But they are jugging along). But We do have a thriving arts festival (Art Basel - https://www.artbasel.com/) which has really transformed the arts scene in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Palm Beaches.
Also Orchids - West Beach is one of the centers for orchid trade in the world (bet you didn't know that). Orchid people are CRAYZ. I love them myself - cause they bring a much need "oddness" to South Florida.
I just moved from SF to Miami Beach a month ago. I loved SF but if you have the ability to work from home as I do, financially it does not make sense to stay. I honestly would have preferred to move to Honolulu over here but the only area I liked (Tantalus/roundtop/pacheights) really didn't (at the time) have any nice houses for sale that were under 5 million. Also, while the cost of living is way down here, so is th…
I did an internship at IBM's Boca Raton site back in '95, where Microsoft used to work with IBM on OS/2 and NT. There used to be a much more vibrant tech scene in that area in the 90s, before everything moved to....Texas.
I was a game beta tester at that IBM site in 96, later called T-REX. $17/hr for a 16yo was way better than anything McDonalds would pay.
I love/hate Miami. Pros: No state income tax. (A HUGE advantage) Lots of business. Some of the nicest people you'll ever meet. Stunning winter weather. Gorgeous beaches/parks/neighborhoods. International culture. Walkable neighborhoods near downtown. Some of the best restaurants I've ever been to. Emerging startup scene. Vibrant arts/design/culture scene. Year round biking/jogging/swimming/etc. Lots of money (includi…
Ed, I still owe you a meal! What are you up to this weekend?
Email me (email in profile) and we'll figure something out.
(Thanks for the great post.)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
funny, it's blows my nyc friends mind to come to the midwest and eat at a real resturant. Non-argentine beef, local cheese and milk, local well yeah. Not as great as what you can get locally west coast but the beef and game are awesome in the midwest.
Ah, there are some good places in the midwest, too. But there's many more independent restaurants here, all doing different things. I don't know what a "real" restaurant is to you, but to me, the biggest city in the united states certainly has more than a few of them. Compare this to where I grew up: the only places to eat closeby were mcdonalds, wendy's, and burger king type places. We didn't even have (and still do…
I'm sorry you choose to live somewhere that only had McDonald's close.