Heyas,
As a native South Floridian, my $0.02 is that the others are right on. The whole area from MIA to PBI really has run into the ground.
When I was growing up, there was kind still some old school Florida thing going on, sort of the charming part of red-neck without all the inbreeding.
These days, Miami has become nothing short of a free-fire zone.
The local schools suck A$$. If you move down here, plan on paying for private school for the kids.
The local government is incompetent AND corrupt. I know we tend to say that about everywhere, but this is the only place I've seen that gives New Orleans a run for it's money.
Speaking of Louisiana, I thought they had the market on POS beaters on the road. Nope, there are more rolling sh!t boxes on the roads down here than you can believe, and all driving is done at absolute top speed when there isn't gridlock. If you are so unfortunate to get in an accident, chances are pretty good that the other driver has neither a license or insurance. Speaking of which, plan on paying twice the national average for insurance.
Rampant over-development has sucked up what little affordable housing there was. Every little postage stamp property is blossoming either a highrise or a two/three story duplex that runs right up to the property line. Forget affordable housing, let alone anything on/near the water. Lots on a stinky backwater of the New River start at 1 million +. If you are of moderate means, forget having a boat/airplane.
Retarded property tax laws result in you being locked into your house. You can't even downsize without paying a LOT more in taxes.
Who's moving down here? Obnoxious nouveau riche northerners trying to act Mafia, driving around in their leased SL500s. Their wives/girlfriends have a fashion sense that would make Liberace wince and probably have their overweight a$$ crack hanging out.
If, by some remote possibility, you have money left over to eat out, plan on eating at 4:30 with the old timers, otherwise it's crowd city.
Every "local" I know has cashed out of their real estate and headed north to Ocala, Okeechobee, Gainsville, Tallahassee or points north. The only good part is if you had a nice 3-4 bedroom home in SoFL, chances are you have enough equity to buy into a nice 2-3 acre airstrip home and had $$ left over for an airplane.
Nu
