moving to south florida but need to know some things first?

Question

what is it like to live in south florida? what are the homes like..are they nice? how is the pay in the medical field? me and my wife are both in the medical field..so would we make good pay and would we be able to live in a decent neighborhood and home? i was thinkin more like west palm beach to miami areas like boca raton, deerfield beach, fort lauderdale ect. how many hurricanes come each year? and are the beaches and everything clean? me and my wife are also fluent in spanish...we took it in collage..soo hopefully that helps..also wwe are planning on having a family there to so tell me what the schools are like..just give me goods and bads about south florida and try to make it very detailed..thank you..

Answer 1

I've lived here for 12 years and I love the weather (even the hot, humid months May to October). It's a good time to buy a home now since the market is slow. Miami is spotty: it will take more money to live in a fine neighborhood there. Property taxes are high, like about 2% of the purchase price, but no state income tax. Salaries are on the low end, but with 2 in the medical field you should be all right. Distances and commutes are awful, so you should try to live near your work. The prettiest beaches are Hollywood down to Miami Beach. Ft. Lauderdale Beach has been seriously eroded in recent years, but it's still nice and clean. Palm Beach has very limited access, since much is private. Boca Raton is ritzy. Ft. Laud. and Hollywood are nice options with a variety of activities and you can live in a good neighborhood. In general, the closer you are to the coast, the nicer the weather, the higher the costs, and the more vulnerable to hurricanes. I wouldn't worry about hurricanes. Other places have tornadoes, wildfires, earthquakes, blizzards, etc. I got hit by a category 3 and lots of tree limbs to clean up, but the house was o.k. 3 weeks without electricity, and it was a drag, but that was only once in 12 years (Wilma). You do get a warning with hurricanes and can evacuate. Don't live in a mobile home or a flood zone.
If you want a more family atmosphere and still live near the beach, Deerfield Beach is an option. Many families move out to the western suburbs, but I like the beach so wouldn't consider it. Traffic gets bad in winter all over, but Miami traffic is always bad.
Check out the real estate on this website:
http://www.homes4now.com
As for schools, they are underfunded and overcrowded, NOT the strong point of So.Fla. Nearly all private schools are religious.
Good luck.

Answer 2

Ok ! I have lived in Florida since I was a child. Raised my children here and now my childrens children are being raised here.

We are a TOURIST state , so a lot of money goes to having beautiful beaches. We have beautiful homes here and some areas not so beautiful. So it is important to buy in the right area.

We are a retirement state, so seniors are prevelant here and the Medical Industry is probably second only to tourism.

Because we are a tourist state we have NO STATE INCOME TAXES.

An Huge amount of Florida is SPANISH speaking, Cuban and Mexican, so your language skills will be an enormous benefit to you.

Our Public schools are fair to medium, but we do have private schools everywhere, so education should not be a problem.

Of course the Miami area and north to the middle of the state is considered TROPICAL. The coldest in the winter might get down to the forties and 80's in the day time.

Summer will be 80's at night and 90's in the day time.
Everything is air conditioned here, of course buying on the water will give you ocean breezes (horribly expensive).

I will say prices are falling like a stone just now because of the Mortgage Mess, you should be able to buy a nice house for less that $500,000.00 . With the salaries that doctors make that should be about right. Two years ago that same house would have been $750,000.00. We have been the hardest hit state in the country because the the mortage mess. But for a buyer that will be great. If you are not Doctors there are all types of Medical jobs and subdivisions for everyone.

Once you get to the central part of the state (driving ) it is nearly level. The Highest point in the state is about 350 to 400 feet. We Have diciduous trees (they shed their leaves) But lots of palms in the south, flowers all year long. And lots of sunshine. People retire here to avoid those winters like this year.

We do have a rainy season from June 21st to about November. Two or three years ago three or 4 Hurricanes did hit the state. That is like a slow moving tornado with rain. But the last two years we didn't even get enough rain to keep the acquifers full and no hurricanes. We have a fabulous weather service that handles the oncoming hurricanes. We know about them as much as a week in advance.

So during the summer we just pay attention to the weather and keep your hurricane preparations made. That means cases of water and canned food, flashlights and a battery radio. The things you would need if the power goes out.

In the summer I do not keep my freezer full of expensive meat, just in case of power outages. Three years ago we lost about two hundred dollars in meat. Ouch!

We do have some water rationing during the driest times. Watering lawns only once a week. Our dryest time is from November to June.

I hope I have given you some good information, if not ask another Florida question and I will try to answer it then.

Good Luck on your move.

Answer 3

There are definetly the sturdy issues and the undesirable issues approximately residing in S. florida. the a number of sturdy issues are the seashores, and nightlife. There are additionally a lot of jobs accessible and you're close to to the Caribbean islands. The undesirable issues incorporate hurricanes. Reparing your place ought to be costly, and you haven't any longer any electrical energy. the climate is actual effective nonetheless interior the wintry climate and spring. Broward County is a effective place to stay. there are a number of effective cities/cities, and the ft. Lauderdale airport is way less irritating and crowded then miami airport.