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smoke · 08-08-2009, 04:41 PM

I would say neither. I'm originally from the bay area, lived there for over 30 years. Finally left because its just to expensive and crowded. You cant escape the rat race in California, real estate is overpriced even right now during the housing slump, taxes are high and only going to get higher. In a nut shell California is a real mess from top to bottom and I only see it getting worse.

When I left I actually moved to Miami, Florida so I might be able to shed some light for you. Florida is a fun place to vacation but as a long term living solution? I have a lot of family in the south Florida area, visited frequently all my life and loved every minute of it which is why I made the move. But after living here a while to be honest its gotten pretty old. There simply isn't enough to do here on a day in day out basis. Sure if you have millions, own a boat or two and live on one of the islands I can see the possibilities. But if you're a normal middle class/upper middle class person this wont be happening.

Rent is high, real estate is overpriced - much like California and there's a hell of a lot of unreliable people here. Much like Southern California in that regard. Crime is rampant but no more so than California, to tell you the truth the worst areas of South Florida don't hold a candle to the ghettos in California. Florida kind of reminds me of Southern California in the sense that it's kind of like a giant valley with no cities. There are cities obviously but not anywhere near what I'm used to. I've travelled the entire state and looked at every town/city looking for a place to possibly relocate to and frankly its all crap.

I prefer the Atlantic Coast to the Gulf. The Gulf Coast appears to be pretty honky tonk in my experiences and Tampa which I guess is probably the biggest Metro on the Gulf is pretty lack luster. I know a lot of people live there and seem to like it, I guess I'm spoiled being from San Francisco because I just don't see why. The Atlantic in my experience is more North Easterners which is probably why I like it better. But that doesn't make it great by my standard. There are some nice suburbs - Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Boca Raton and that area. But there really aren't any cities. I think Ft Lauderdale is way over rated. Actually I think its pretty damn ugly, there is a very small stretch of beach that's nice but it's small and no reason to live there. There's also more crime in Broward than Dade County. At least that's what they show on the news. In my opinion Miami/Miami Beach are the most livable places in Florida but it gets old quick. At least for me, I'm a city kid at heart and love diversity, not just in people but things to see and do. Florida has diversity in culture but not activities.

Anyways sorry to be negative. Just trying to be honest. I like Miami and will come back to visit like I always have, maybe I'll even own a vacation home here someday but for everyday living it's not for me. Which is why I'm moving to Atlanta. Now here's a livable city. I got extremely lucky and flipped my condo, didn't make a profit but was able to get out and buy a foreclosure in a nice Atlanta suburb. If you're buying take a look at Atlanta, you can get an extremely nice home for very good prices right now. And rent is ridiculously cheap. I was able to get a 5 bedroom home in a gated community for the same price that my 2 bedroom condo in Miami cost.

Anyways good luck!

08-08-2009, 04:41 PM
smoke Confirmed User Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 449	I would say neither. I'm originally from the bay area, lived there for over 30 years. Finally left because its just to expensive and crowded. You cant escape the rat race in California, real estate is overpriced even right now during the housing slump, taxes are high and only going to get higher. In a nut shell California is a real mess from top to bottom and I only see it getting worse. When I left I actually moved to Miami, Florida so I might be able to shed some light for you. Florida is a fun place to vacation but as a long term living solution? I have a lot of family in the south Florida area, visited frequently all my life and loved every minute of it which is why I made the move. But after living here a while to be honest its gotten pretty old. There simply isn't enough to do here on a day in day out basis. Sure if you have millions, own a boat or two and live on one of the islands I can see the possibilities. But if you're a normal middle class/upper middle class person this wont be happening. Rent is high, real estate is overpriced - much like California and there's a hell of a lot of unreliable people here. Much like Southern California in that regard. Crime is rampant but no more so than California, to tell you the truth the worst areas of South Florida don't hold a candle to the ghettos in California. Florida kind of reminds me of Southern California in the sense that it's kind of like a giant valley with no cities. There are cities obviously but not anywhere near what I'm used to. I've travelled the entire state and looked at every town/city looking for a place to possibly relocate to and frankly its all crap. I prefer the Atlantic Coast to the Gulf. The Gulf Coast appears to be pretty honky tonk in my experiences and Tampa which I guess is probably the biggest Metro on the Gulf is pretty lack luster. I know a lot of people live there and seem to like it, I guess I'm spoiled being from San Francisco because I just don't see why. The Atlantic in my experience is more North Easterners which is probably why I like it better. But that doesn't make it great by my standard. There are some nice suburbs - Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Boca Raton and that area. But there really aren't any cities. I think Ft Lauderdale is way over rated. Actually I think its pretty damn ugly, there is a very small stretch of beach that's nice but it's small and no reason to live there. There's also more crime in Broward than Dade County. At least that's what they show on the news. In my opinion Miami/Miami Beach are the most livable places in Florida but it gets old quick. At least for me, I'm a city kid at heart and love diversity, not just in people but things to see and do. Florida has diversity in culture but not activities. Anyways sorry to be negative. Just trying to be honest. I like Miami and will come back to visit like I always have, maybe I'll even own a vacation home here someday but for everyday living it's not for me. Which is why I'm moving to Atlanta. Now here's a livable city. I got extremely lucky and flipped my condo, didn't make a profit but was able to get out and buy a foreclosure in a nice Atlanta suburb. If you're buying take a look at Atlanta, you can get an extremely nice home for very good prices right now. And rent is ridiculously cheap. I was able to get a 5 bedroom home in a gated community for the same price that my 2 bedroom condo in Miami cost. Anyways good luck!