Relocating from DC to Fort Lauderdale (spring break, transfer, neighborhoods)

[Nolefan34]

The Route 1 and Las Olas Blvd area is great for your purposes. It is the heart of Fort Lauderdale. You can easily bike or jog to the beach on Las Olas. There is good nightlife on Las Olas, except not as much as D.C. The area is getting very built up with luxury condos and new restaurants and bars. 10 years from now, Route 1 in Fort Lauderdale will look like Biscayne Blvd in Miami at the rate they are building.

Aside from Las Olas and the immediate blocks around it, Fort Lauderdale is not very walkable at all and nothing compared to D.C. The closest thing we have to the D.C. metro is Tri-Rail which is one single line that runs north-south west of I-95. They are building a second line farther east that will parallel Route 1 and go from Miami to Jupiter, but will not be completed until at least 2020. Once completed, this line will greatly enhance public transit since it runs through more convenient areas than the current line. The good news is that efforts are underway to aggressively expand transit in South FL after years of neglect.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

Aside from Las Olas and the immediate blocks around it, Fort Lauderdale is not very walkable at all and nothing compared to D.C. The closest thing we have to the D.C. metro is Tri-Rail which is one single line that runs north-south west of I-95. They are building a second line farther east that will parallel Route 1 and go from Miami to Jupiter, but will not be completed until at least 2020. Once completed, this line will greatly enhance public transit since it runs through more convenient areas than the current line. The good news is that efforts are underway to aggressively expand transit in South FL after years of neglect.

All Aboard Florida is supposed to start service in 2017 with service from Miami to Palm Beach and then will extend to Orlando.

Passenger Train Travel Miami To Orlando FL - Fort Lauderdale & West Palm Beach | All Aboard Florida

The current Tri Rail does not go to downtown Miami which All Aboard Florida will do. Currently you have to transfer to the Metro Rail station to get downtown Miami.

[MrKnight]

Thank you again! Speaking of Miami, how easy is it to get to the happening areas of Miami? Is it common for locals in Fort Lauderdale to make leisurely weekend visits to Miami? And how is the cultural relationship between Fort Lauderdale and Miami?

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by MrKnight

Thank you again! Speaking of Miami, how easy is it to get to the happening areas of Miami? Is it common for locals in Fort Lauderdale to make leisurely weekend visits to Miami? And how is the cultural relationship between Fort Lauderdale and Miami?

Miami and Fort Lauderdale are very different.

Many people call Miami a foreign city. It was/is built, run, and inhabited by foreigners.

It is very easy to head down there and a lot of fun.

We'll often go by boat for a couple of days, head up the Miami River for lunch, then dock the boat at Miami Beach Marina for a couple of days and get a South Beach hotel room and have a lot of fun.

How easy? I'd say Wynwood, Brickell, and always South Beach are the happening spots. It's easy to drive or Uber but they aren't fast or easy to get to.

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by blueherons

All Aboard Florida is supposed to start service in 2017 with service from Miami to Palm Beach and then will extend to Orlando.

Passenger Train Travel Miami To Orlando FL - Fort Lauderdale & West Palm Beach | All Aboard Florida

The current Tri Rail does not go to downtown Miami which All Aboard Florida will do. Currently you have to transfer to the Metro Rail station to get downtown Miami.

Tri-Rail is also adding a new eastern line called "Coastal Link" that will run from downtown Miami to Jupiter on the current FEC tracks that parallel Dixie Hwy and US1. There will be something like 28 stops and it will link up with the other systems. It is expected to be completed in 2020. The All Aboard Florida line you speak of is a separate project, but will link up with the others.

Tri-Rail Coastal Link | Home

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by blueherons

Miami and Fort Lauderdale are very different.

Many people call Miami a foreign city. It was/is built, run, and inhabited by foreigners.

It is very easy to head down there and a lot of fun.

We'll often go by boat for a couple of days, head up the Miami River for lunch, then dock the boat at Miami Beach Marina for a couple of days and get a South Beach hotel room and have a lot of fun.

How easy? I'd say Wynwood, Brickell, and always South Beach are the happening spots. It's easy to drive or Uber but they aren't fast or easy to get to.

I'm pretty sure Flagler and Brickell were Americans. And so were the creators of Miami Vice.

[Papillons2]

Originally Posted by MrKnight

Is it common for locals in Fort Lauderdale to make leisurely weekend visits to Miami? And how is the cultural relationship between Fort Lauderdale and Miami?

Interesting questions. In my opinion (open to debate), the Miami-Dade County (Miami) and Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) relationship is comparable in some ways to Washington-Baltimore as the cities/counties have separate identities, even though they're adjacent. It's a bit like two separate metro areas (or three, if Palm Beach County is included) that happen to form a megalopolis. Miami-Dade's population is approaching 3 million; Broward's is pushing 2 million. Both have their own international airports, performing arts centers, shopping malls, newspapers and urban cores. That assessment doesn't even account for the demographic differences, which could fill a book. One difference from D.C.-Baltimore: Broward doesn't have TV stations of its own; they're all Miami-Fort Lauderdale. South Florida's sports teams draw fans from both counties, as well as Palm Beach County.

As for visiting Miami, we go there for sporting and entertainment events and occasionally just for the heck of it to break up the usual routine, but we generally stick to Fort Lauderdale. Most of the people we know (who admittedly are a middle-aged crowd) are the same way. Everything we need is nearby, and generally there aren't compelling reasons to drive 35 miles to the south on a regular basis.

[Astral_Weeks]

Interesting thread. Good luck with the move OP.

I am a native Californian who lived in DC for 5 years in my 20's. Have considered Miami for a potential relocation in 2016/17 but your description of your future neighborhood in F.L. makes me think I need to take a look at F.L. next time I am in So. Florida.

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

I'm pretty sure Flagler and Brickell were Americans. And so were the creators of Miami Vice.

Downtown was completely built by cocaine money until the feds made money laundering illegal in the mid to late 1980s so the infrastructure was funded and built my South Americans. Hence, no urban planning in Miami.

To this day Brickell is mostly South American.

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by blueherons

Downtown was completely built by cocaine money until the feds made money laundering illegal in the mid to late 1980s so the infrastructure was funded and built my South Americans. Hence, no urban planning in Miami.

To this day Brickell is mostly South American.

The core areas of Miami- Miami Beach, Downtown, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, etc. were built by American citizens and companies at least in their initial growth stages. Many of the buildings existed long before the Cocaine Cowboys arrived. I won't debate you that South Americans and other immigrant groups had lots to do with Miami's later buildup especially from drug money, but to say that it was 100% foreigners is totally false.