Offered to work in Miami for 3-6 months (Hollywood, Miami Beach: apartments, rental)

[Crisko]

Hi folks,

Just wondering if I could get some advice on whether to take up a proposal from work that I got earlier.

I'm a 23 year old male from Ireland and I was offered to go work in the US division of our company for 3-6 months to help them cope with some of the workload they have and also train up one of their new employees on our products. Although I was planning on leaving the company, I've always wanted to live in the US for a while and this offer is enough to make me want to put my other plans on hiatus so I can do this.

The company is located in Ives Estates but I'm not sure where the company are going to decide to locate me - hopefully not too far away from there. How easy an area is this to get to and if I were to be given accommodation here, what sort of area is it like? Are there any really dodgy areas to avoid?

I'm guessing a car in Miami is a very strong recommendation? I've seen it mentioned elsewhere.

Although this is not going to be a picnic, in terms of the work involved for those months (in fact, I'm not looking forward to some aspects of it ), I'm still hoping to get to experience the nightlife and the famous beaches along there.

Any advice on anything else I may not have thought of and any information about the above would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks in advance!

[doggiebus]

If you ever have wanted to live in the US for awhile this is the time to do it then. You are young so no ties, nothing to keep you from doing it. You will need a car, see if you can get the company to pay for a rental for three months.

[xS☺B☺s]

Go for it dude. Get a place on South Beach. Ives is 17.8 miles from South Beach, but it will be worth the drive to enjoy the South Beach lifestyle for 6 months. You could alternatively live in someplace just as pretty, a bit more convenient, but far more boring such as Sunny Isles but why come all the way across the globe and miss the world famous neighborhood by 10 miles? It would be like coming all the way to NYC and living on Staten Island.

Go live in South Beach - you'll go home with a lifetime of memories you'll never regret. Hint: get a motorcycle. Great girl magnet!

[heydade]

Ives estates sounds like something out of Miami Gardens (yikes !) And yes, you definitely need a car...this is not Europe. Definitely come though...it will be an eye opener.

[Edu983]

Originally Posted by Crisko

Hi folks,

Just wondering if I could get some advice on whether to take up a proposal from work that I got earlier.

I'm a 23 year old male from Ireland and I was offered to go work in the US division of our company for 3-6 months to help them cope with some of the workload they have and also train up one of their new employees on our products. Although I was planning on leaving the company, I've always wanted to live in the US for a while and this offer is enough to make me want to put my other plans on hiatus so I can do this.

The company is located in Ives Estates but I'm not sure where the company are going to decide to locate me - hopefully not too far away from there. How easy an area is this to get to and if I were to be given accommodation here, what sort of area is it like? Are there any really dodgy areas to avoid?

I'm guessing a car in Miami is a very strong recommendation? I've seen it mentioned elsewhere.

Although this is not going to be a picnic, in terms of the work involved for those months (in fact, I'm not looking forward to some aspects of it ), I'm still hoping to get to experience the nightlife and the famous beaches along there.

Any advice on anything else I may not have thought of and any information about the above would be greatly appreciated?

Thanks in advance!

Worst case scenario in Ireland:
Minimum wage: 1499 Euros >> 1933 USD (before taxes) >> I am almost sure that minimum wage workers don`t have any deductions.
No car needed (walkable cities)
Universal healthcare
Unemployment rate: 13.4% (CSO - Statistics: Seasonally Adjusted Standardised Unemployment Rates (http://www.cso.ie/statistics/sasunemprates.htm - broken link))


Worst case scenario in Miami:
Minimum wage: 7.25$ (before deductions) 7.25*8 hours*22days= $1276 USD > $1050 USD (after deductions..more or less).
A car is a must ($199 car payment + $200 Gas + 75$ insurance)
No Universal healthcare
Cheapest 1 bedroom apartment you could get: $700
Unemployment rate: %12 (Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, FL Economy at a Glance)

I think your safety net is better in Ireland.

[Schrodinger's Kittens]

Do it! 3 - 6 months is a perfect amount of time--you will see the fun stuff and have a good time but not be here long enough for the sucky stuff to start grinding on you. The Ives Estates subdivision is in North Miami Beach and not a bad neighborhood. It's in the north end of the county, close to the Broward county line.

It's not near South Beach or Key Biscayne but you can get on the highway and be at either of those beaches very easily. The closest beach to where you'd be based is Oleta River State Park, which is "wilder" and has canoes, kayaks, bikes etc. for rent--nice if you want to get out in nature. The beaches in Broward are OK too, Hollywood beach has a nice vibe.

As others have said, you definitely need a car in Miami. As for places to stay out of, keep out of Liberty City, Northside, and Opa-Locka. Oh--and keep out of the part of Coconut Grove that's west of US1. And if somebody tries to flag you down for help/directions, don't stop. But whatever your business is, you probably wouldn't have any reason to go to those neighborhoods anyway. So do it, take the chance. It'll be unforgettable, we can promise you that.

[Crisko]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm very positive about going to Miami, I think it'll be a great experience. I just need to get my company to clarify a few things for me before I go because ultimately I will be giving up my plans I had for September so they need to realize that. Regarding accommodation, I'm not sure how much say I have over that. I'll keep in mind those really dodgy spots that were mentioned and I can tell them not to put me there!

Thanks again!

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Crisko

Thanks for all the replies. I'm very positive about going to Miami, I think it'll be a great experience. I just need to get my company to clarify a few things for me before I go because ultimately I will be giving up my plans I had for September so they need to realize that. Regarding accommodation, I'm not sure how much say I have over that. I'll keep in mind those really dodgy spots that were mentioned and I can tell them not to put me there!

Thanks again!

Ives Estates is in a middle - upper middle class part of Miami/Dade County. It is pretty much "Anglo" with a reasonable Jewish community (my dentist from Miami lives in the area). It's pretty suburban - probably pretty boring for a young guy (unless you're looking for a nice Jewish girl ) and perhaps 20 miles away from the "sexy" areas of town. Were you to live in someplace like south Beach - I don't know how long the drive would take (it would be counterflow to normal rush hour traffic - but I reckon it would take 45-60 minutes or so).

Do you play golf? If so - give a holler. We live in NE Florida - and a lot of Irish golfers come here to play . Robyn

[Crisko]

Originally Posted by Robyn55

Ives Estates is in a middle - upper middle class part of Miami/Dade County. It is pretty much "Anglo" with a reasonable Jewish community (my dentist from Miami lives in the area). It's pretty suburban - probably pretty boring for a young guy (unless you're looking for a nice Jewish girl ) and perhaps 20 miles away from the "sexy" areas of town. Were you to live in someplace like south Beach - I don't know how long the drive would take (it would be counterflow to normal rush hour traffic - but I reckon it would take 45-60 minutes or so).

Do you play golf? If so - give a holler. We live in NE Florida - and a lot of Irish golfers come here to play . Robyn

Hi Robyn,

There's going to be a lot of work to do when I go over, so I would probably prefer to be closer to the office as I'm going to be there Monday-Friday. I don't mind driving 20-30 miles to the "sexy" areas of town at the weekend, granted in means I'll not be able to drink much. I'm not going to have very much input on this anyway, so I'm really at the mercy of my employer. I just want to find out a few dodgy areas to avoid.

As for golf - the height of my experience is going to the driving range 3-4 times in my life. I'm pretty crap...but thanks for the offer.

Just out of curiosity, I take it that air conditioning is practically standard in most apartments/homes in Florida? I'm only used to 70F summers over here - humid 90+ days are going to be a bit uncomfortable without air conditioning!

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Crisko

Hi Robyn,

There's going to be a lot of work to do when I go over, so I would probably prefer to be closer to the office as I'm going to be there Monday-Friday. I don't mind driving 20-30 miles to the "sexy" areas of town at the weekend, granted in means I'll not be able to drink much. I'm not going to have very much input on this anyway, so I'm really at the mercy of my employer. I just want to find out a few dodgy areas to avoid.

As for golf - the height of my experience is going to the driving range 3-4 times in my life. I'm pretty crap...but thanks for the offer.

Just out of curiosity, I take it that air conditioning is practically standard in most apartments/homes in Florida? I'm only used to 70F summers over here - humid 90+ days are going to be a bit uncomfortable without air conditioning!

Almost all of the residential areas near where you'll be working should be fine.

FWIW - lots of younger people where I live in NE Florida will get together and hire a car with driver (not necessarily an expensive limo) for a "night on the town". You don't have to worry about parking - or drinking and driving. It is very inexpensive insurance if you do it with a group of friends.

Your summers are *very* different than ours. I once took a look at the Four Seasons Dublin for a golf vacation. And the average summer high was only about 60! I doubt you will find many (if any) places in the Ives Estates area without A/C (and - if you do - avoid them - you can't live in Florida without A/C). Curiously - you'll need heat as well. After a while here in Florida - 50 outside feels cold. Robyn