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Why I moved to Miami

abunsen.ruhoh.com

291–300 of 342 posts

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#291
post #243

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Fascinating. I didn't know that bit about homesteading. That explains quite a bit. And I had forgotten that the governor apparently made his money partly via a giant medicare fraud, which definitely says something about the business culture there.

And he still won the election. After spending several hunred million dollars. Of course, it's helped that his democrate opponent was a complete boob. But still.

His popularity is in the signal digits now too, of course. Luckily our governor really has little power. All the power rest in the legislature.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not if they're vehement about it

That's just asinine. Think about it. "Not eating is a style of cuisine, just like Ethiopian or Italian, because those darn anorexics are just so vehement about it."

I did think about it. And not eating is a style of cuisine. The flavors of your body slowly eating itself are euphoric to some. There are plenty of annoying atheists who are trying to convince people they are right. It's the same as the Mormons showing up on your front step.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#293
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LA has a lot of good food, SF only has good burritos.

I presume this is just trolling, but in case you actually think that, for New York, Michelin lists 7 three-star restaurants, 9 two-star, and 46 one-star. San Francisco's numbers are 2, 6, and 39. [1] So not as high, but given that the SF Metro area has a third the population of New York, we do ok. (For those unfamiliar, Michelin stars are sort of like the Academy Awards of food. Even a 1-star restaurant is an extraor…

They also tend to like really pretentious bullshit in their restaurants. So you have to watch out.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#294

Earlier quoted context omitted.

by snow I mean snow in the mountains, the type that is fun, not snow in town, the type that causes other fun but not as useful

I'm sure you were just trying to scare off the Californians. Seattle Cascade snow is wet and icky; it's not the dry soft powder they get in Utah or other places in the Rockies. There are way better places for snow than Seattle.

And it's great snow the day it falls and isnt wet until it gets close to thaw temps. We also get a lot more snow a year over all at lower altitudes than anywhere else. Sure ours not always champagne powder, but with several hundred days skiing/boarding in co and ut, I feel I can make a comparison. Even heavy powder is still a shit ton of fun.

Also because it snows more you are less likely to have tracked out conditions any day of the week.

If you're ever up here check out Crystal or baker.

Just keep telling your California friends it sucks up here in the Woods and I'll keep telling mine about how bad the Mormons are in utah and we'll both be safe.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#295
post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

> 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 Only 65k taxes on 1 million in income? In California? I'll pay you to do my taxes.

You dont pay state income tax on money you pay to the federal gov. Surprised how few people know that.

So on 1m you will pay ~350k to the fed gov- That leaves you with 650k 'net' remaining. CA taxes you on this amount. Hence the 65k for Cali.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#296

I worked for a VoIP startup an hour north of Miami. They got bought for $300M. I got to live in one of the owner's mansions, by myself. It had nine bathrooms. Oddly enough, you hear a lot of French there. From the Haitian taxi drivers to the Snow Birds from Quebec. You can buy good Quebecois beer at some stores. Miami itself is pretty nice. Reminds me of Vancouver and San Diego. Not a big fan of Cuban food, but the n…

Your description is good, and I've lived in South Florida for most of my life so I'll add to it.

SF Bay Area vs South Florida

Food: I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Cuban food is awesome and it's the best South FL has to offer. Everything else is on the meh side. Almost every other metro is better with SF, LA, and NY being a lot better.

Weather: unless it's the late fall or early winter, it's really hot and humid, even at night. Yes parts of the Bay Area get hot, but it's not paired with humidity. Heavy humidity makes breathing feel heavier, as well as making you sweat a lot from just walking for 10 minutes outside. I still remember seeing some steam leaving our heads after some pickup basketball games. To make things worse, in some seasons mosquitos will be carrying some awful diseases like encephalitis so you'll need to wear long sleeves at night. In south Fl, prepare to have electric bills over 200-300 or even more depending on the size of your house. Not using air conditioning will make you miserable. Really the only place enjoyable outside is on the water.

Bay Area weather on the other hand is like having air conditioning outside. My relatives from FL always marvel at it whenever they visit.On the bright side you have more time to prepare for a hurricane than you do for an earthquake.

Outdoor Leisure: The ocean is where South FL and Miami really shine. Unlike the cold murky waters of the Bay Area, in South FL the ocean waters are crystal clear. Any watersport like surfing or scuba diving is way better. (On that note watch out for sharks. Due to damage to the environment, shark attacks in south fl has risen dramatically over the years with surfers being injured the most) However, due to erosion most of South FL's beaches are really just crushed rock and concrete which sucks. For real sand, you need access to either a private beach, an unpopular park to the north, or an island park reachable only by boat. Fishing in the ocean is great.

Everything else outdoorsy in South FL really sucks due to the humidity. Biking, camping, and hiking are just not as enjoyable as the Bay Area or even New York. There's no Tahoe nearby either. Though Disney World is way better than Disney Land. It also doesn't help that insects and spiders are a really big problem in south FL. Even indoors it's much worse than any other place in the US that I'm aware of (imagine an ant infestation within 5-10 minutes of dropping a few crumbs of food... Fl is also the spider capital of the world.)

Intellectual Community: South FL and Miami have a virtually non-existent one, as opposed to the Bay Area or NY. If you want that in the Southern US, you'll have to go to either Austin or the Atlanta metro instead. Conversation just isn't as good here compared to other major metros.

Nightlife: Miami beats the Bay Area hands down in this department in both quantity and quality. Though it gets old when you're not single.

General Stuff to do: I've always felt that there's a lot more going on in the Bay Area, Ny, and LA. Conversely there's not as much to do in south fl or Miami which is one reason people start families at a much younger age there.

Crime: Even though the stats are similar I always felt that crime is Miami is worse for one reason: really horrible crime can happen almost anywhere and at anytime (or at least that was my impression).

Cost of Living: South FL and Miami are significantly cheaper than the Bay Area even without factoring in the lack of state income tax. Of course you have also have to factor in the major business and job opportunities as well. Even though the startup scene is much better now, I still feel the biggest opportunities in South FL are real estate, food, and health / medical. As for the cost of real estate, you have to factor in the "snow birds" from the north east buying seasonal homes, so it's not as cheap as it should be though still a lot cheaper than the Bay Area

Misc: Although not required, it's wise to be fluent in Spanish in Miami. You also need a car for Miami and south FL. It's too inconvenient otherwise.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#297

I worked for a VoIP startup an hour north of Miami. They got bought for $300M. I got to live in one of the owner's mansions, by myself. It had nine bathrooms. Oddly enough, you hear a lot of French there. From the Haitian taxi drivers to the Snow Birds from Quebec. You can buy good Quebecois beer at some stores. Miami itself is pretty nice. Reminds me of Vancouver and San Diego. Not a big fan of Cuban food, but the n…

Your description is good, and I've lived in South Florida for most of my life so I'll add to it. SF Bay Area vs South Florida Food: I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Cuban food is awesome and it's the best South FL has to offer. Everything else is on the meh side. Almost every other metro is better with SF, LA, and NY being a lot better. Weather: unless it's the late fall or early winter, it's really hot a…

Crystal clear is a bit of an overstatement for the water in South Florida. Did you know Miami Beach closes for a day or two every year because the level of fecal matter in the water is too high? It's still kind of murky in South Florida, though The Keys are a bit better. You are a boat ride away from the Bahamas though, and there you'll find very clear water.

Definitely true on the Spanish. More than twice as many people speak Spanish at home than English. (though a lot of the Spanish speakers are bilingual, it's the dominant language in the county)

http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/...

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#298

I worked for a VoIP startup an hour north of Miami. They got bought for $300M. I got to live in one of the owner's mansions, by myself. It had nine bathrooms. Oddly enough, you hear a lot of French there. From the Haitian taxi drivers to the Snow Birds from Quebec. You can buy good Quebecois beer at some stores. Miami itself is pretty nice. Reminds me of Vancouver and San Diego. Not a big fan of Cuban food, but the n…

West Palm Beach used to be a lovely working and middle class area (I lived there a half century ago), but it is now the destination for many of the region's Haitian immigrants. They've unfortunately brought many of the same problems that plague Haiti, including poverty and serious gang violence.

I stayed in West Palm Beach for one night recently and my rental car (a brand new Chrysler 300C) was "keyed" on every single body panel while parked overnight at a hotel.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#299
post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your description is good, and I've lived in South Florida for most of my life so I'll add to it. SF Bay Area vs South Florida Food: I'm going to have to disagree with you here. Cuban food is awesome and it's the best South FL has to offer. Everything else is on the meh side. Almost every other metro is better with SF, LA, and NY being a lot better. Weather: unless it's the late fall or early winter, it's really hot a…

Crystal clear is a bit of an overstatement for the water in South Florida. Did you know Miami Beach closes for a day or two every year because the level of fecal matter in the water is too high? It's still kind of murky in South Florida, though The Keys are a bit better. You are a boat ride away from the Bahamas though, and there you'll find very clear water. Definitely true on the Spanish. More than twice as many pe…

Good point, I forgot about that about Miami. Well with a speed boat it doesn't take long to get to those crystal clear parts... And it's pretty easy to get access to one. Speaking of pollution, I forgot to tell people about "sea lice". Microscopic jelly fish that burrow into your skin to give you a horrible rash... Do not wear a wet suit in the ocean and if you do rinse off and shower like crazy right away. Hmm when I think about it same goes for anything you wear. The difference is that the spread is much less with a bathing suit. I forget why but the rash never seems to hit the bare parts of your body.

Re: Why I moved to Miami

#300

I'm not sure if others have experienced this, but my brain doesn't function very well in tropical heat and humidity. It just seems to slow down, and mental games don't seem as interesting. It may be that I've been conditioned by many episodes of tropical vacations growing up, but whatever the reason, I can't (and indeed, don't really want to) code below about 30 degrees latitude.

Do you find the opposite happens? Are you more calculated in snowy environs?

I don't think it's cold indoors, in cold locations. Of course you can't go to sit in a park with a laptop when it's cold.
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