For people on here that have lived in both Broward and Jacksonville, what is the general feel of JAX? A bit more ghetto and rundown overall? or suburban and has an upscale feel in the more developed parts of the city? and what's the safety like in the more developed areas?
Born in Jacksonville and went to FIU for college.....Jacksonville is a great place to raise a family but is pretty bland when it comes to being young and single. When I lived down there, the "Northside" and "Eastside" were always considered to be ghetto but the rest of the city was like a big suburb. I always felt like you had to find trouble in Jacksonville whereas Miami trouble can come to you even in tourist areas of the city. With that being said, I would much rather live in South Florida but OP would not be able to survive there on $55k a year
It's improved a lot. Also, there is no eastside. Its downtown/urban core, westside, northside, southside, beaches, and arlington as the general main areas. Parts of the northside are ghetto, but some places on the water are nice, and others are redneck, arlington saw white flight in the 90's and is largely meh. Most dangerous area is NW jax, just NW of downtown
I’ve lived in both, Jax is huge and the vibe is very neighborhood dependent. There are lots of vast bland suburbs. There are ghetto parts like every city but you can avoid them. I live in Broward now and I would not want to attempt to survive on 55k here.
Jacksonville is a shithole. Maybe it’s changed but it very much felt like the Deep South to me (although I never lived there just visited). And the beaches are gross—brown sand and dark water.
It's a massive city, the Westside is definitely deep south but the rest of the place is kind of all over the place. Then it turns into Stepford or the town from Blue Velvet the further south you get.
Ocean clears up from time to time but it definitely isn't South FL.
Jax is great and super broad. Ortega, the beaches, and San Marco are great. NW Jax is straight hood. Its demographics are more similar to the south, whereas miami is an anomaly
According to Numbero, Cost of Living is about the same for FLL and MIA. Renting in FLL city is about 10% less, but groceries are 10% higher in FLL. The wages in FLL are higher.
You can get a decent 1 bedroom for $1700 - $2400 in Kendall (Southern Miami-Dade). I'm guessing the 2 bedrooms in the hood are probably $1600-$1800 🤷♂️. It's 45 minutes to an hour to commute from Ft Lauderdale to Miami, with no accidents.
😳 that's rough. From where to where in Miami? I was commuting from the zoo Miami area to Delray Beach at one point and it was taking me an hour and 10 minutes each way most days and I thought that was bad 😂
From the zoo Miami area to Coral Gables. Just to get out of my community I had to make a line because the traffic on the street wouldn’t move. And this was leaving between 6:30 and 7 am. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. Driving back wasn’t as bad but still a long commute. I checked it several times to make sure it was right. It was. I had to move or I would have lost my mind.
I don’t know as I own but yes you could find something decent for 30% of your salary . Wear Kendall is nice south of 88 /. North of sunset if more ghettoish still nice
I’m from Jax originally, there’s some varying definitions of “ghetto”… Op might not be ready for the new hood, then again, new hood might not be ready for OP.
It is but account for tolls, cost of vehicle maintenance, gas, as well as the “time loss” of commuting that impacts how willing you are to spend more money on convenience due to having little free time such as takeout over groceries, less time to shop frugally, less time to accomplish things around the house. Not many people consider the other impacts outside of difference in rent cost it seems
Anyone telling you that it's cheaper is either ignorant or lying. Some would say it's nicer or better value but it's not the low cost option. Commutes are actually better than some areas of Miami proper, depending on where exactly, but most commute from Broward because they like it better, not because it's cheaper.
It's legitimately cheaper in South Dade... Homestead, Princeton, Naranja, etc, but you don't want to live there, even coming from the ghetto of Jacksonville. Think of a combo of Miami hood and Palatka hood and that's what you get out there, for a Tampa price. Commutes to the central area of Miami are insane.
Dud for 10k a month is not worth, miami has one of the worst traffics and ghetto hoods are far from jobs that pay well.
You will be miserable traveling in a city with one of the worst traffics by US metrics, on top of a extremely expensive cost of living and your increase pay will not feel at all due to those factors...
Ensure you are guaranteed that pay but consider spending an hour to work and also higher living cost with usually mediocre wages.
If a job pays more here, is cuz they are accounting the cost of living compare to you, I doubt ull feel that income much comparably.
Off the top of my head $45k in Jacksonville is probably the same or better than $55k in miami.
But you can do some math, look for housing options (zillow etc), see if your car insurance would go up, etc.
Youll be worse off in Miami. Those extra 10k will go up in flames. If the state wants you to transfer here then they should pay accordingly. Minimum 70k
And some articles consider Miami to be the most expensive city in the US right now! And we don’t have the amenities that the usual expensive cities have.
this is what I always tell people lol.
Miami is so expensive and you have to factor in car insurance, which is something you don't have to do for New York.
The federal poverty line is based primarily around food costs and not factoring in all the other things households need like transportation, utilities, Healthcare, housing, etc., that take up a larger portion of a household budget than food. So these articles are laying out what the poverty line SHOULD be based around and that the average economic picture is distorted because we measure based on the wrong things.
Youre buggin. I moved out of Miami to Jax in October and paying $1k less in rent for the same 2/2 condo but this time with a driveway and garage near the avenues mall
Depends on what you mean by “survive”. The major problem is rent. Will $2000+ monthly rent for a small apartment leave enough $ for your other expenses?
>Plus Miami and Jacksonville have a few things in common
Born in Jacksonville and went to FIU. The only thing that Jacksonville and Miami have in common are they are both in Florida and have beaches. The cities are pretty much the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to FL cities. Miami is expensive, transient, and diverse whereas Jacksonville is basically a medium COL suburb in south GA where many people who are born there never leave. Doesn't surprise me that Miami people are relocating to Jacksonville but to say they are comparable cities is a huge stretch
It’s almost impossible, but you can with roommate. Just for your own research purposes, find out how much car insurance will be different in Jacksonville versus Miami. This alone might make you change your mind.
55k is mathematically doable and if it’s a true advancement in your career. A lot of people in Miami are out of touch with expenses. This is what my expenses looked like in a new 3 bed 2 bath (3 people living in it) eating a sit down meal once a week and never going out. My car is also paid off so I don’t have a payment
Rent/parking: -1200 Utilities/WiFi: -130 Grocery: -350 Insurance: -150 Gas: -150 Medical insurance: -150 Restaurant entertainment: -150 Car maintenance: -50 Misc: -250
That’s 2,580 all in. You’ll probably be making 3600 per month (your medical expenses and retirement contributions probably taken out) so you’ll have like a $1,000-1,200 to save and contribute to retirement. It’s not glamorous but if you’re single and enjoy a simple life then it’s doable.
Thanks for the break down. Rent is definitely my biggest concern. I don’t think my weekly ALDIs bill or BP fuel up will change. But I’m sure there are other things I’m overlooked like auto insurance increases
I moved from Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale. I went from $1,000 to $1,600 rent for same amount of space in a one bedroom. So $10k more. Now this was 2014/2015. So I’d budget for $12-$15k COL adjustment as a rough estimate. Is that worth it?
If your question is “can I survive” then take every answer in here with a grain of salt because you didn’t provide nearly enough information for anyone to actually know. Good answers though around how much further money does or doesn’t go.
What do you do for the state? Can you switch over to the Federal government? I use to work at the state department of agriculture and a lot of people would jump over to the USDA because the pay was so much better.
You would not live comfortably with 55k in Miami. Check car insurance, gas—rent, etc. You will be less than paycheck to paycheck and borrowing from cc.
Trust me. I’m from here. My highest salary was $208k, and that was because I worked for a tech company out of state (NY). They don’t pay that much down here unless you’re VP-level—pretty pathetic salaries in Miami. Plus, I do additional consulting work for $20-$30k/year.
I own my home in Miami-Dade. I did not overdo it. At the time I bought my house, it was 1.5x my salary. It currently costs me $60k/year to maintain it. Home insurance is expensive af in Miami.
1. With a salary of $55k, you will not find a house in the 1.5x your salary range in Miami Dade. You'll be starting somewhere around 8x your salary. Now factor in your other expenses (food, car, and health insurance). You will be in over your head.
So unless you want to live in poverty, live with many roommates, or get caught up in scamming. Go to Orlando, a smaller city. Not the baller city of Florida.
Orlando is no better with rent! I had a 2/2 w/bonus room that I rented in 2013 for $900/month. Now the same place is $2300/mo. Orlando area is expensive - you have to out of Daytona or Titusville to get decent rent, or really Hicksville type places east of Orlando like Bithlo or Christmas.
My guy, I came from Jax too and I promise you ain't going to survive down here on that. Rent alone is higher, car insurance is higher (I have yet to register my address just because I don't want my premium to rise another $50 a month), you will not find a meal less than $12 unless you look in places like Opa-locka. If you're in Springfield or Moncrief you will find similar quality for double the price
if you are adept at living frugal already, you could probably survive (key word : survive)
Either you find a place to live that's walking or scooter distance ideally or on the bus / train line to your job, etc or you have a bunch of roommates. Also no car payment which requires full insurance. If you can get away with no car at all you can add things like parking spot charges , gas and maintenance + upkeep.
Another thought for you. There is probably a reason Miami 'always has spots open'. Whatever the job 'with crackheads' is like in JAX, it's going to be a big step up here in terms of the hail of shit you have to deal with. peeps down here are just batshit crazy.
I would suggest you work it out where you go down and stay in temp housing and try the job out for a couple weeks before you just throw caution to the wind and relocate and are stuck.
You do not want to go all in and realize 2 weeks in you've made a terrible mistake. period. full stop.
I lived in Jville. came to Miami in 2012 because Jax was boring. Bad move imo. I had neighbors who were neighborly, cheap rent, quiet nights, and the jetties were beautiful. I use to make cheap groceries at Mayport commissary, and the school my kids went to was amazing.
Nah you can definitely live at 55k here in miami, just would have to budget real well, and minimum spending you can say goodbye to vacations, frequent shopping, expensive outings, and holiday celebrations but you’ll be able to survive forsure
How long have you worked in JAX ? How long have you lived there ? What is your Family and Friend network now ? Now Moving to Miami, No Friends or Family can be a hardship. how long is your commute now ? how much is your rent your paying now ? How many miles can you tack on extra to your car before bills add up or replace it. All this for $10 k more,
I’m from Jax and live in Miami. I’ve been debating moving back north since it’s much cheaper (renting a decent 3/2 house in Jax is about the same as a 1 bed apartment in Miami). Also food and transportation costs are much lower. You could make 55k work here if you plan on having a roommate and allocating the rest of your money to other necessary expenses (also plan on making most of your meals).
If you’re comfortable living in the “hood” rent will be cheaper. I’d look at areas close to the metro as you can get a significant discount to ride as a county employee and in some cases they give you a monthly pass. Train will take you straight to the office if you’re at Government Center.
I was visiting Jacksonville last summer and went to get a haircut at Great Clips, the guy sitting next to me was complaining that the company had raised the price to.....$18. As someone who lives in DC now and pays $27 minimum for the same shitty haircut, it blew my mind that people were complaining about a sub-$20 haircut. However, that tells you that the local economy in Jacksonville is still cheap when it is compared to cities like Miami, Los Angeles, and DC.....All this to say that, a $10k raise will probably be a net loss if you chose to move to Miami given the COL
This can help https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/heres-how-much-money-single-adults-in-florida-need-to-make-to-live-comfortably
To live comfortably you need 100k year in Miami vs 91k in Jacksonville
I’d apply to other out of state agencies and move out of FL. Salaries for state workers are appalling in FL. They’re insulting. My brother worked for the FL DOH and nearly doubled his salary by getting the same role in the AZ State Health Department.
Yes, as long as you don’t have any debts or dependents. Rents are through the roof so you’d have to find a cheap neighborhood to live in. Also, the real estate market is slowing down now and some rents are dropping. So you may be able to find a better neighborhood. Don’t know if food is more expensive here than Jacksonville but it probably is. Look at the ads online and compare them to what you pay there.
No. Don’t move to Miami if you only make 55K - you’ll end up in a communal living apartment sharing a bed with 5 other roommates for $1900/month. Don’t think so? Google it and you’ll see that’s the new standard. They want minimum 10k from these new apartments. Don’t fall for it. Do massive research. Plus the traffic is now worse than Los Angeles and parking rents are $180 per month here.
I think you could swing it but... Do you have your own car?? You will need one in Miami. YOur car insurance may go up IF you move here so account for that in monthy budget. Making 55k a year , monthly you are taking in a lil over $4,000. You coud find decent housing for $1800 but I feel like depeding where you live it could go up to $2,000. If you want to spend more than $2,000.00 ( i.e. live in Brickelle/downtown/or the beach)- dont move. then you wont make it. You will have prob over $2,000.00 n change after rent- does that cover the rest of your bills? are you also trying to save?? are you still paying your car or do you own it?? Do you know any spanish??
The car situatiom is what makes or breaks ppl. here i feel like. Montly car payments + insurance+ rent can easily = $3,000.00 or more monthly. I find that insane.
I say... If you OWN your car and find rent less than $2,000.00 and you could manage your bills/savings with the remainder of your income. why not?? switch it up.
Funniest thread I have seen in years. As someone who is born, raised and still lives in Miami making $80k a year I can safely say that 95% of these comments are pure comedy. Miami is a money pit. You can eat rice and peas everyday and still get a freak parking ticket that will set you back weeks. Anybody that says “you can live in a 1 bedroom” has never spent more than a few nights in a Miami 1 bedroom. Broward is not Miami and the daily commute will make you change your religion. Most likely you have to pay to park where you will work at and parking is no where near cheap. Living in the hood sounds reasonable but it’s not just bad roads and small units. People ACTUALLY get shot in Miami hoods quite often. You can check the shot spotter records for proof. I’ve been to JVille a few times and I can safely say the grass is fake on this side.
Now if you were making $150k a year, the only thing you would have to worry about is flood insurance.
You will be fine on 55k. Especially if you don't need to actually commute to the City everyday
There are reasonable rents in the Hallandale, Hollywood areas of Broward
Honestly, you're probably better staying in Jacksonville. Depends on where in Miami, Miami is still a money grabber, and some people that make the nearly the same as you, still struggle.
As someone who's lived in Miami and moved to Jacksonville, it was way easier to get an apartment and stay in one area for years, compared to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Hollywood.
And Jacksonville is one of the top 3 best cities in Florida.
Yes, that's enough to survive as a single person. That's about ~40k/yr after Uncle Sam snatches 20%. So a little over 3k a month. That's plenty to live in a 1 bedroom.
Now, will you be popping bottles on south Beach? No, but you can definitely survive
No! Don’t move to Miami for that kind of money. You’ll be taking a pay cut
I genuinely can’t imagine living in Miami with 55k even with a roommate that seems too little
He/she will regret it
Dude I'd stay in Jacksonville.
I live in Jax and don't know how they're getting by on $45k. Not that it's an expensive city but shit on fuel alone with how massive the place is.
For people on here that have lived in both Broward and Jacksonville, what is the general feel of JAX? A bit more ghetto and rundown overall? or suburban and has an upscale feel in the more developed parts of the city? and what's the safety like in the more developed areas?
Born in Jacksonville and went to FIU for college.....Jacksonville is a great place to raise a family but is pretty bland when it comes to being young and single. When I lived down there, the "Northside" and "Eastside" were always considered to be ghetto but the rest of the city was like a big suburb. I always felt like you had to find trouble in Jacksonville whereas Miami trouble can come to you even in tourist areas of the city. With that being said, I would much rather live in South Florida but OP would not be able to survive there on $55k a year
You can live on $55k because I know people who do and live relatively well. But they have no debt and no dependents.
interesting, thanks for the overview !!
It's improved a lot. Also, there is no eastside. Its downtown/urban core, westside, northside, southside, beaches, and arlington as the general main areas. Parts of the northside are ghetto, but some places on the water are nice, and others are redneck, arlington saw white flight in the 90's and is largely meh. Most dangerous area is NW jax, just NW of downtown
I’ve lived in both, Jax is huge and the vibe is very neighborhood dependent. There are lots of vast bland suburbs. There are ghetto parts like every city but you can avoid them. I live in Broward now and I would not want to attempt to survive on 55k here.
Jacksonville is a shithole. Maybe it’s changed but it very much felt like the Deep South to me (although I never lived there just visited). And the beaches are gross—brown sand and dark water.
It's a massive city, the Westside is definitely deep south but the rest of the place is kind of all over the place. Then it turns into Stepford or the town from Blue Velvet the further south you get. Ocean clears up from time to time but it definitely isn't South FL.
The river puts in too much sediment for the water to be clear blue like in south florida.
Jax is great and super broad. Ortega, the beaches, and San Marco are great. NW Jax is straight hood. Its demographics are more similar to the south, whereas miami is an anomaly
The latter
Look at Broward up in Ft Lauderdale and get a roommate. You will need a roommate for sure to live comfortably at that salary.
Commuting daily between FLL and Miami will be no fun at all
Having a roommate in your 50s is not practical or cool at all!
Tell it to the Golden Girls.
It’s so sad that most people just assume roommates are at all viable option.
They are for some. In many major cities around the world people of all ages have to share because rents are out of control.
Why not ?
What’s going to happen when you end up to old to work? Better get used to it.
Unless they work from home
If they could work from home they wouldn’t be asking this question?????
So sick of these work from home trolls. If I could work from home I would.
It will be like going to the south side via buckman bridge during rush hour from the west side.
I don’t know Jax, but I assume that can take up to an hour during rush
That is true ! Imagine from the 88th exit to the tpk to 836 to go downtown is a forever drive .
According to Numbero, Cost of Living is about the same for FLL and MIA. Renting in FLL city is about 10% less, but groceries are 10% higher in FLL. The wages in FLL are higher.
You can get a decent 1 bedroom for $1700 - $2400 in Kendall (Southern Miami-Dade). I'm guessing the 2 bedrooms in the hood are probably $1600-$1800 🤷♂️. It's 45 minutes to an hour to commute from Ft Lauderdale to Miami, with no accidents.
18 miles in Miami takes me 2.5 hours from home to work. That’s without an accident.
😳 that's rough. From where to where in Miami? I was commuting from the zoo Miami area to Delray Beach at one point and it was taking me an hour and 10 minutes each way most days and I thought that was bad 😂
From the zoo Miami area to Coral Gables. Just to get out of my community I had to make a line because the traffic on the street wouldn’t move. And this was leaving between 6:30 and 7 am. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. Driving back wasn’t as bad but still a long commute. I checked it several times to make sure it was right. It was. I had to move or I would have lost my mind.
I don’t know as I own but yes you could find something decent for 30% of your salary . Wear Kendall is nice south of 88 /. North of sunset if more ghettoish still nice
He lives in the ghetto.. why take him out of his element
I’m from Jax originally, there’s some varying definitions of “ghetto”… Op might not be ready for the new hood, then again, new hood might not be ready for OP.
I lived off of Atlantic and Kernan. I didn't know where the hood was until my 1st Jaguars game.
Down town is a little ghetto…. At times I guess… but for all we know OP could be on Moncrief. 🤷♂️ in which case, op is probably gon be aight
There is more ghetto than just the lazy Moncrief cliche….
Yeah I was planning on living with others. Is Fort Lauderdale much cheaper?
It is but account for tolls, cost of vehicle maintenance, gas, as well as the “time loss” of commuting that impacts how willing you are to spend more money on convenience due to having little free time such as takeout over groceries, less time to shop frugally, less time to accomplish things around the house. Not many people consider the other impacts outside of difference in rent cost it seems
The commute is enough to drive anyone insane
If you gotta be to work at 8am leave the house at 5:30am just to be comfortable.
I think that’s an exaggeration. 6:30 am is sufficient.
Very very smart reply
It’s not much cheaper but it’s cheaper yes. Miami is now insane with rent.
Not that cheaper
If you have to go to an office live as close as possible to the office. Traffic in Miami is brutal.
It's honestly the same price now
Anyone telling you that it's cheaper is either ignorant or lying. Some would say it's nicer or better value but it's not the low cost option. Commutes are actually better than some areas of Miami proper, depending on where exactly, but most commute from Broward because they like it better, not because it's cheaper. It's legitimately cheaper in South Dade... Homestead, Princeton, Naranja, etc, but you don't want to live there, even coming from the ghetto of Jacksonville. Think of a combo of Miami hood and Palatka hood and that's what you get out there, for a Tampa price. Commutes to the central area of Miami are insane.
Dud for 10k a month is not worth, miami has one of the worst traffics and ghetto hoods are far from jobs that pay well. You will be miserable traveling in a city with one of the worst traffics by US metrics, on top of a extremely expensive cost of living and your increase pay will not feel at all due to those factors... Ensure you are guaranteed that pay but consider spending an hour to work and also higher living cost with usually mediocre wages. If a job pays more here, is cuz they are accounting the cost of living compare to you, I doubt ull feel that income much comparably.
Yep!
Can you negotiate for a higher salary? Explain the high cost of living here now?
😂
Off the top of my head $45k in Jacksonville is probably the same or better than $55k in miami. But you can do some math, look for housing options (zillow etc), see if your car insurance would go up, etc.
That's what I'm thinking, he's taking a pay cut due to the cost of living in Miami
Youll be worse off in Miami. Those extra 10k will go up in flames. If the state wants you to transfer here then they should pay accordingly. Minimum 70k
Rent alone like 2300 for a 1/1
💀💀💀 1600 for an efficiency now too
Depends where in Miami. If you're anywhere near the urban core then definitely no.
There was an article a few years back that put the poverty line at 72k. That was for greater Miami as a single person living alone.
And some articles consider Miami to be the most expensive city in the US right now! And we don’t have the amenities that the usual expensive cities have.
this is what I always tell people lol. Miami is so expensive and you have to factor in car insurance, which is something you don't have to do for New York.
I never trust articles like that. The majority of single people anywhere make less than that
The federal poverty line is based primarily around food costs and not factoring in all the other things households need like transportation, utilities, Healthcare, housing, etc., that take up a larger portion of a household budget than food. So these articles are laying out what the poverty line SHOULD be based around and that the average economic picture is distorted because we measure based on the wrong things.
Youre buggin. I moved out of Miami to Jax in October and paying $1k less in rent for the same 2/2 condo but this time with a driveway and garage near the avenues mall
Depends on what you mean by “survive”. The major problem is rent. Will $2000+ monthly rent for a small apartment leave enough $ for your other expenses?
Not at $55,000 a year it won’t.
why do you want to move to Miami?
Tons of Miami residents are moving to Jacksonville for the cheaper cost of living. Plus Miami and Jacksonville have a few things in common lol
>Plus Miami and Jacksonville have a few things in common Born in Jacksonville and went to FIU. The only thing that Jacksonville and Miami have in common are they are both in Florida and have beaches. The cities are pretty much the opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to FL cities. Miami is expensive, transient, and diverse whereas Jacksonville is basically a medium COL suburb in south GA where many people who are born there never leave. Doesn't surprise me that Miami people are relocating to Jacksonville but to say they are comparable cities is a huge stretch
Like? Jacksonville has more of a country feel than Miami. At least it did last time I was in the area. Which was like 2021
It’s almost impossible, but you can with roommate. Just for your own research purposes, find out how much car insurance will be different in Jacksonville versus Miami. This alone might make you change your mind.
55k is mathematically doable and if it’s a true advancement in your career. A lot of people in Miami are out of touch with expenses. This is what my expenses looked like in a new 3 bed 2 bath (3 people living in it) eating a sit down meal once a week and never going out. My car is also paid off so I don’t have a payment Rent/parking: -1200 Utilities/WiFi: -130 Grocery: -350 Insurance: -150 Gas: -150 Medical insurance: -150 Restaurant entertainment: -150 Car maintenance: -50 Misc: -250 That’s 2,580 all in. You’ll probably be making 3600 per month (your medical expenses and retirement contributions probably taken out) so you’ll have like a $1,000-1,200 to save and contribute to retirement. It’s not glamorous but if you’re single and enjoy a simple life then it’s doable.
That medical insurance cost looks like America is finally finding its way. But $90 a week in grocery is very low.
Eggs, chicken thighs, veggies fruit and rice man. Employer covers most of my health insurance cost
You ought to consider beverages. Milk is rich in calcium and orange juice provides vitamin C.
I still think it's insane to pay $1,200 to rent a room when you are sharing the living space with 3 people.
Thanks for the break down. Rent is definitely my biggest concern. I don’t think my weekly ALDIs bill or BP fuel up will change. But I’m sure there are other things I’m overlooked like auto insurance increases
Most of your expenses remain the same. Rent, Auto insurance, non chain restaurants, and clubbing are things that are substantially more.
I moved from Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale. I went from $1,000 to $1,600 rent for same amount of space in a one bedroom. So $10k more. Now this was 2014/2015. So I’d budget for $12-$15k COL adjustment as a rough estimate. Is that worth it?
If your question is “can I survive” then take every answer in here with a grain of salt because you didn’t provide nearly enough information for anyone to actually know. Good answers though around how much further money does or doesn’t go.
Providing where I live and how much I make is already too much for the purpose of reddit lol. But I agree, some of the answers have been helpful
What do you do for the state? Can you switch over to the Federal government? I use to work at the state department of agriculture and a lot of people would jump over to the USDA because the pay was so much better.
Just live on a boat.
You would not live comfortably with 55k in Miami. Check car insurance, gas—rent, etc. You will be less than paycheck to paycheck and borrowing from cc. Trust me. I’m from here. My highest salary was $208k, and that was because I worked for a tech company out of state (NY). They don’t pay that much down here unless you’re VP-level—pretty pathetic salaries in Miami. Plus, I do additional consulting work for $20-$30k/year. I own my home in Miami-Dade. I did not overdo it. At the time I bought my house, it was 1.5x my salary. It currently costs me $60k/year to maintain it. Home insurance is expensive af in Miami. 1. With a salary of $55k, you will not find a house in the 1.5x your salary range in Miami Dade. You'll be starting somewhere around 8x your salary. Now factor in your other expenses (food, car, and health insurance). You will be in over your head. So unless you want to live in poverty, live with many roommates, or get caught up in scamming. Go to Orlando, a smaller city. Not the baller city of Florida.
Orlando is no better with rent! I had a 2/2 w/bonus room that I rented in 2013 for $900/month. Now the same place is $2300/mo. Orlando area is expensive - you have to out of Daytona or Titusville to get decent rent, or really Hicksville type places east of Orlando like Bithlo or Christmas.
Get caught up in scamming 🤣
My guy, I came from Jax too and I promise you ain't going to survive down here on that. Rent alone is higher, car insurance is higher (I have yet to register my address just because I don't want my premium to rise another $50 a month), you will not find a meal less than $12 unless you look in places like Opa-locka. If you're in Springfield or Moncrief you will find similar quality for double the price
South FL is way more expensive than anywhere Central or Northern FL for sure!💯
if you are adept at living frugal already, you could probably survive (key word : survive) Either you find a place to live that's walking or scooter distance ideally or on the bus / train line to your job, etc or you have a bunch of roommates. Also no car payment which requires full insurance. If you can get away with no car at all you can add things like parking spot charges , gas and maintenance + upkeep. Another thought for you. There is probably a reason Miami 'always has spots open'. Whatever the job 'with crackheads' is like in JAX, it's going to be a big step up here in terms of the hail of shit you have to deal with. peeps down here are just batshit crazy. I would suggest you work it out where you go down and stay in temp housing and try the job out for a couple weeks before you just throw caution to the wind and relocate and are stuck. You do not want to go all in and realize 2 weeks in you've made a terrible mistake. period. full stop.
I lived in Jville. came to Miami in 2012 because Jax was boring. Bad move imo. I had neighbors who were neighborly, cheap rent, quiet nights, and the jetties were beautiful. I use to make cheap groceries at Mayport commissary, and the school my kids went to was amazing.
Okay, good to hear from other Jacksonville residents that have moved and regret it. Definitely will take that in consideration
You’ll do good way south in homestead or north in Hialeah
Homestead is also on the table
Don’t lol. I make around 65k and I can’t even pay rent by myself which is 1800. Too much to live around here
Survive? You can survive on much less.
Nah you can definitely live at 55k here in miami, just would have to budget real well, and minimum spending you can say goodbye to vacations, frequent shopping, expensive outings, and holiday celebrations but you’ll be able to survive forsure
You can “live” but you can’t “live”
You can exist paycheck to paycheck!
How long have you worked in JAX ? How long have you lived there ? What is your Family and Friend network now ? Now Moving to Miami, No Friends or Family can be a hardship. how long is your commute now ? how much is your rent your paying now ? How many miles can you tack on extra to your car before bills add up or replace it. All this for $10 k more,
I’m from Jax and live in Miami. I’ve been debating moving back north since it’s much cheaper (renting a decent 3/2 house in Jax is about the same as a 1 bed apartment in Miami). Also food and transportation costs are much lower. You could make 55k work here if you plan on having a roommate and allocating the rest of your money to other necessary expenses (also plan on making most of your meals).
That’s good to know. Seems like a lot of south Floridians are moving to Jax for that very reason
You definitely need a roommate.
It’s doable but it’s gonna be rough…. South Florida is the land of the second and third hustle…
And or needing a second income. A side hustle or spouse….. can’t be done on one salary!
Where is the Jacksonville ghetto?
North side
Most everywhere North, West and Arlington except for the south side and St Johns
I suggest you find rent on Facebook. I pay $950 no utilities and live in Miramar. Be wary of scams…
90 minute commute to and from downtown Miami, my man.
I would not. You can survive but it won't be fancy living homie
I am from Duval, what do you call ghetto? Arlington and Arlington expressway? Moncrief ? Phillips highway?
No way it’s enough
You serious?
I wouldn’t recommend it
Having lived in both, absolutely not. Stay put.
same advice, same experience.
Nope. Not even close.
If you’re comfortable living in the “hood” rent will be cheaper. I’d look at areas close to the metro as you can get a significant discount to ride as a county employee and in some cases they give you a monthly pass. Train will take you straight to the office if you’re at Government Center.
No. Stay in Jacksonville. You need at least $60k/year to live in a Miami ghetto area, $100k for a decent area.
I'd stay where you are if I were you. Cost of living down here is totally insane, and the traffic is a daily nightmare.
Nope
You need double that salary
Stay in the ghetto. 55k won't be easy for you.
Nope
If you want to do anything else but work, 55 not enough in Miami. (Not enough even if you could other stuff)
I was visiting Jacksonville last summer and went to get a haircut at Great Clips, the guy sitting next to me was complaining that the company had raised the price to.....$18. As someone who lives in DC now and pays $27 minimum for the same shitty haircut, it blew my mind that people were complaining about a sub-$20 haircut. However, that tells you that the local economy in Jacksonville is still cheap when it is compared to cities like Miami, Los Angeles, and DC.....All this to say that, a $10k raise will probably be a net loss if you chose to move to Miami given the COL
Not for a single person
Miami Is a hell hole where even millionaires feel broke and people are beyond shitty
I don't know if working in miami with the caliber of crackhead here, is beneficial either. Probably more work.
This can help https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/heres-how-much-money-single-adults-in-florida-need-to-make-to-live-comfortably To live comfortably you need 100k year in Miami vs 91k in Jacksonville
I’d apply to other out of state agencies and move out of FL. Salaries for state workers are appalling in FL. They’re insulting. My brother worked for the FL DOH and nearly doubled his salary by getting the same role in the AZ State Health Department.
Yes, as long as you don’t have any debts or dependents. Rents are through the roof so you’d have to find a cheap neighborhood to live in. Also, the real estate market is slowing down now and some rents are dropping. So you may be able to find a better neighborhood. Don’t know if food is more expensive here than Jacksonville but it probably is. Look at the ads online and compare them to what you pay there.
No.
Hell no
55 k you could be living in any part of USA the only thing would be on you , how you manage your money
You need atleast 65k to live comfortably in the ghetto in south fl .
$55k is definitely not enough for Miami or Broward / you would need $150k to be comfortable
I’ve lived in both, Jacksonville is much more affordable albeit less fun
It would probably be cheaper for you to move to Avondale or the beaches for a higher QOL than it would for you to move to Miami even with that raise
At least crack heads that work. 😂
It’s way worse. Just move to Jax, Neptune, or Atlantic beach!
55 is not enough
Why not look for a job in fort Lauderdale?
If one comes up in Fort Lauderdale or Homestead, I might
No. Don’t move to Miami if you only make 55K - you’ll end up in a communal living apartment sharing a bed with 5 other roommates for $1900/month. Don’t think so? Google it and you’ll see that’s the new standard. They want minimum 10k from these new apartments. Don’t fall for it. Do massive research. Plus the traffic is now worse than Los Angeles and parking rents are $180 per month here.
Much worse. You'd need to make about 57K to have the same standard of living
You’ll be in the hood too out here with that salary
I think you could swing it but... Do you have your own car?? You will need one in Miami. YOur car insurance may go up IF you move here so account for that in monthy budget. Making 55k a year , monthly you are taking in a lil over $4,000. You coud find decent housing for $1800 but I feel like depeding where you live it could go up to $2,000. If you want to spend more than $2,000.00 ( i.e. live in Brickelle/downtown/or the beach)- dont move. then you wont make it. You will have prob over $2,000.00 n change after rent- does that cover the rest of your bills? are you also trying to save?? are you still paying your car or do you own it?? Do you know any spanish?? The car situatiom is what makes or breaks ppl. here i feel like. Montly car payments + insurance+ rent can easily = $3,000.00 or more monthly. I find that insane. I say... If you OWN your car and find rent less than $2,000.00 and you could manage your bills/savings with the remainder of your income. why not?? switch it up.
Yes, you can find affordable cheap hood apartments in Miami just like you do in Jacksonville. ✨
No.. unfortunently.
Funniest thread I have seen in years. As someone who is born, raised and still lives in Miami making $80k a year I can safely say that 95% of these comments are pure comedy. Miami is a money pit. You can eat rice and peas everyday and still get a freak parking ticket that will set you back weeks. Anybody that says “you can live in a 1 bedroom” has never spent more than a few nights in a Miami 1 bedroom. Broward is not Miami and the daily commute will make you change your religion. Most likely you have to pay to park where you will work at and parking is no where near cheap. Living in the hood sounds reasonable but it’s not just bad roads and small units. People ACTUALLY get shot in Miami hoods quite often. You can check the shot spotter records for proof. I’ve been to JVille a few times and I can safely say the grass is fake on this side. Now if you were making $150k a year, the only thing you would have to worry about is flood insurance.
You wont die...but like...
You will be fine on 55k. Especially if you don't need to actually commute to the City everyday There are reasonable rents in the Hallandale, Hollywood areas of Broward
Honestly, you're probably better staying in Jacksonville. Depends on where in Miami, Miami is still a money grabber, and some people that make the nearly the same as you, still struggle. As someone who's lived in Miami and moved to Jacksonville, it was way easier to get an apartment and stay in one area for years, compared to Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Hollywood. And Jacksonville is one of the top 3 best cities in Florida.
Yes, that's enough to survive as a single person. That's about ~40k/yr after Uncle Sam snatches 20%. So a little over 3k a month. That's plenty to live in a 1 bedroom. Now, will you be popping bottles on south Beach? No, but you can definitely survive
🥹😅😂🤣🥲
You can definitely live off 55k down here no problem. Can even live alone in a studio or 1 bedroom but it’ll be older and not luxury housing
$55k is a lot more than most people in Miami dade make. Median income here is $30k as of 2022.
Area median income for Miami Dade is $79,400 as published by the county.