ft lauderdale????

[seeker41]

just got a resume request from a co. in ft lauderdale
i was looking in melbourne area but.....
any info on the ft lauderdale area would be appreciated!!!!! pm the info if necessary.

 

[Smudge]

For living?

I lived in Miami for 36 years, so I know South Florida pretty well.

Broward, lets see, cost of living is pretty high (taxes, etc.), traffic is a pain in the backside.

On the plus side, the beaches are great as is the nightlife. The restaurants are first rate.

Lots of folks work in Miami and live in Broward, so rush hour is no fun.

It is very very different from Melbourne.

Rent on a decent apartment will probably run you in the $800 and up range.

Car insurance is really high.

What else would you like to know?

 

[digum smacks]

i was born and raised in miami. what he^ said!

 

[JackInFlorida]

I was born and raised in Miami too. Lived there for 28 years and was really happy to move out. The place is now just like New York, everyone wants to kill, hurt, rob or scam everyone else.

Tu necesita habla espanol tambien.

Better brush up on your spanish.

Jack

 

[seeker41]

thanks guys! yep, your replys were as i expected. i knew the cost of living was high, bad traffic, high crime rate etc: guess i was trying to rationalize moving there. dont need the nitelife or expensive restaraunts either(got a wife and two boys 11 and 6) you might be surprised what you can afford in melbourne cocoa beach area excellent schools!!!
hmmmmmm.......

 

[JP]

I was born and raised in Miami too. Lived there for 28 years and was really happy to move out. The place is now just like New York, everyone wants to kill, hurt, rob or scam everyone else.
Tu necesita habla espanol tambien.
Better brush up on your spanish.
Jack

I love the signs on the stores that say "we speak English too."
My favorite memory of Miami was back in 1984 when my dad took my brother and I down to the Keys. We stopped at a gas station. The shocking point about the gas station was the guy that came out to pump the gas had a .45 in his waist band. My dad said that when he went in to pay, the cashier had a shotgun next to him. I believe the area was called Chrome Avenue or something like that.

 

[BareBones]

Well I was born, raised and still live in Miami, 3rd generation.

The area you mentioned is Krome Ave or what was also US 27 back then, the road had a period of name additions. It's not really an area but just a road; Krome Ave starts at the cross road of US 27 and US 41 also known as the Tamiami Trail or US 41 and runs all the way south to Florida City and merges with US1 just before the 18 mile stretch heading to Key Largo. The intersection of Krome Ave and the Tamiami Trail has a one gas station on the SE corner called Dade Corners and probably back in 1984 Johny Dollar still owned the place and is what you are probably thinking of. It was more of a truck stop / hunting supply / gas station back then as it is today, but you would not even recognize it today, regrettably it's much more civilized. I think in 1984 it was still a single wide mobile home for the store. Today it is as modern filling station as you would see off I95. But back then it was a colorful cross roads and just about everyone packed iron.

Just down the road to the east was a bar called Gator Kicks. One of my all time favorite places, but it's long gone. You can't even tell there was ever a building standing there now, it burned down many years ago. If you ever saw the movie Smokey and the Bandit III where they stop at a small biker bar and get into a fight, that was the place. Gator Kicks used to be called Betty and Johny's, they were a couple who started the establishment in the 1940's. Gator Kicks got some national notoriety when Donna Rice posed topless for a poster for the bar. I wish I still had one of those posters.

Anyway, if there is anything you want to know about South Florida, I'm glad to help.

 

[urdaboss]

look into the gun laws here in fl.
everyone has the right to carry a gun in their car.
some get a carry permit to have a gun on our person.
its like American express card, never leave home without it!

 

[JP]

Barebones,

Thank you for the information. Those were the cool times in my life. I will pass the info on to my dad. I know there was a necessity for what they were packing.

****************

I'm right now in San Salvador. Almost all the gas stations have armed guards. Those that don't get robbed. The argument against guns isn't valid because those that don't have them get robbed. A few months ago they robbed an ESSO (Exxon) and killed the people inside with knives.

 

[lacey333]

I Agree!
I have lived in Broward county for the better part of 18 years and I've been carrying concealed for the last 10! weapon of choice, Kimber custom CDP II .45 auto! Never bring a knife to a gun fight! LOL

look into the gun laws here in fl.
everyone has the right to carry a gun in their car.
some get a carry permit to have a gun on our person.
its like American express card, never leave home without it!

 

[theseeker]

thanks guys! yep, your replys were as i expected. i knew the cost of living was high, bad traffic, high crime rate etc: guess i was trying to rationalize moving there. dont need the nitelife or expensive restaraunts either(got a wife and two boys 11 and 6) you might be surprised what you can afford in melbourne cocoa beach area excellent schools!!!
hmmmmmm.......

Seeker41, lived in the Melbourne area beachside for several years. Great place, surf town. And there's treasure on them thar beaches!! AAARRRRGH!

 

[Slugrusher]

he place is now just like New York, everyone wants to kill, hurt, rob or scam everyone else.

Tu necesita habla espanol tambien.

Better brush up on your spanish.

Jack

Creole too. Haitians are all over.

Rush hour starts around 4 going north out of Miami. South isnt too bad. Lauderdale eeeeh, pass.

Melbourne is a different world. Once you leave South Florida (eg Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties), you'll find the people of Florida are actually nice. I live in Palm Beach and Cannot wait to get out of here. Congestion, rude people and you'll never really know your neighbors down here.

 

[BareBones]

My mother and great aunt now live in Melbourne, Palm Bay to be precise. It's a totally different area and way of life compared to Miami, but the area just like the rest of the state had a growth spurt during the real estate boom.

Coming from Ohio, the Melbourne area would be less of a culture shock for you and you actually won't have to worry about speaking Spanish.

 

[diggummup]

Choice between Melbourne and Ft. Lauderdale? It's such a no brainer, i'm not even gonna answer it (everyone else already has anyway).And $800.00 a month will get you a 1 bedroom apt. or a studio in a not so good part of town.
Unfortunately, the "good ole days" of S.FL. are gone for good, I think the caption on my avatar says it all.

 

[seeker41]

yea i know!!!! like i said before, was trying to rationalize/justify ft lauderdale. we decided on the melbourne area a long time ago and we will stick with that!!! already getting cold here! thanks for all your replys!

 

[wildman4910]

Melbourne/Cocoa area is nice, good beaches great fishing, good hunting, 60min from Orlando's big parks.

Not much in the way of "old" left to hunt tho, mostly built over or off limits.

There are a bunch of older house's, just gotta get permission.

Lots of tot lots, lots of public beach access and Sebastian Inlet/Wabaaso is only a 40 min drive south.

Housing market has come back down to reality, so it's now a buyers market.

 

[fladiverdown]

Raised in central Florida. Been in Broward since 78. Great times had here. Easy access to Bahamas and Caribbean. Still some decent fishing. Lots of crime, traffic, rude people and concrete. If not for family that won't move and the half a year I spend in the mountains of North Carolina (very therapeutic), I would be outa here!!! Spend a lot of time in St Augustine, Fernandina Beach and the atmosphere is a lot better up that way. Melbourne, Cocoa and New Smyrna are great beach towns with treasure still being found although most is covered by condos or off limits. Good Luck.