Best Places to Eat in Miami Beach Florida

Even if you've found the Best Place to Live in Florida you'll want to get out and explore the wonderful culinary delights all over the state!


The Miami coast has almost limitless opportunities to fulfill an appetite. Visiting restaurants along Miami Beach gives the diner the chance to experience some of the most interesting dining in the United States. Not only that but you enjoy beautiful ocean views while indulging in the vast selection of international cuisine. Many people even find a celebrity owned restaurant keeps them coming back for more.

Emerils Miami Beach

Emeril Lagasse, the Food Network celeb owns Emerils Miami Beach. This Cajun style restaurant provides an elegant dining and is located in the Loews Hotel. With a pleasing ambiance and a high class look, you'll comfortable and invited as soon as you enter. Emerils menu boasts some of the most popular southern dishes that will keep you coming back for more.

Joes Stone Crab Shack

All up and down the Atlantic Ocean beaches Stone Crab is an abundant and delectable treat for those who enjoy seafood. The Crab season in Florida goes from mid-October to mid-May. Joe's Stone Crab offers a selection of seafood dishes including crab as it's obvious specialty. ut you'll also find the perennial American favorites of steak, ribs and chicken on the menu. In fact Joes is known for some of the best crab and best seafood dishes in the entire Miami Beach area. Quick dining tip - avoid the sometimes long lines by ordering to go - Joe's offers take out so you can grab your Joe to Go and enjoy it right there in the beach!

The News Cafe

You'll find The News Cafe right on the ocean front walkway across the street from Miami beach. The popular menu includes all-day-breakfast and menu items that are not hard on your wallet. Grab your favorite magazine or newspaper from the newsstand and wander into the News Cafe for the best place to sit, relax in the warm weather with a spectacular view of the beach all while enjoying good food..

Capital Grille Miami

Got a craving for steak but your companion wants seafood? Have no worry the Capital Grille will completely satisfy. This popular Miami spot is recognized time and again for excellent steak, seafood and a number of other specialty dishes. The Capital Grille has an intimate atmosphere which is perfect for a romantic evening on Miami Beach.

Azul

Not quite sure of what your taste buds are longing for, but one thing you know they want for starters is a great glass of wine? Azul is your place. Azul is known for having one of the Best wine lists in all of Miami. With more than 700 labels Azul has won the Wine Spectator Award of Excellence three times in a row. Another wonderful spot to enjoy a romantic evening with amazing views of Biscayne Bay all the while sipping on award winning wines.

Tobacco Road

Take in local culture and flare while in Miami at the Tobacco Road. The oldest bar on Miami beach this is the best place for uncovering and discovering Miami history. Tobacco Road has specialty food nights which are always a hit with locales and vistors alike. Many go here simply for the great beer, excellent pub grub and wonderful live entertainment.

Whether you've found the best place to retire by the beach or you're just visiting, its hard to find a restaurant on Miami Beach that doesn't have a great view and diverse cuisine is offered everywhere you look. Whether you're looking for a breakfast place to sit and read; a lively bar with excellent entertainment, or some of the Best Seafood Places in America, Miami has it all.

Best Cities To Live In USA; Unemployment

The United States was ranked the Best Country to Live in 2010. But lets face it the U.S. is one big and vast country! There are a lot of internal factors one needs to consider when choosing the best cities to live in the U.S. In trying to find the best cities to live in USA one definitely needs to consider the employment rate or as it is more often defined by the opposite, the unemployment rate. As of January the unemployment rate for the United States as a whole was 9.8%. There are many factors that go into the figuring of that rate and it is often argued as to how accurate it really is but the rate does serve to accurately rank different areas since the same formula is applied to each locations.

First let’s take a look at the ten best ranking cities for unemployment in the USA:

Lowest Rates of Unemployment in the USA in January 2011
1	Lincoln, NE	4.1
2	Fargo, ND-MN	4.6
3	Bismarck, ND	4.8
4	Ames, IA	4.9
4	Iowa City, IA	4.9
6	Grand Forks, ND-MN	5
6	Midland, TX	5
8	Burlington-South Burlington, VT	5.2
9	Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA	5.3
9	Portsmouth, NH-ME	5.3
9	Sioux Falls, SD	5.3

Following on the heels of this chart it is interesting to note also the ten worst U.S. cities for unemployment in the USA:

Highest Rates of Unemployment in the USA in January 2011
363	Ocean City, NJ	17.6
364	Visalia-Porterville, CA	18
365	Fresno, CA	18.2
365	Modesto, CA	18.2
367	Hanford-Corcoran, CA	18.3
368	Stockton, CA	18.5
369	Yuba City, CA	21
370	Merced, CA	21.2
371	Yuma, AZ	23.2
372	El Centro, CA	25.1

It would take a doctorate dissertation to truly discover or at least theorize as to why these areas have such a wide difference in employment but there are some things that standout when you look at them and make some surface pronouncements about why they weathered the recession contrary to one another and might give you a good idea of what could be a best place to retire in USA a location but that will be a whole other where to retire post all together.

For the purposes of this post let’s just look at one city that might be a good place to retire. Lincoln, NE and see what they may have going for them to insulate them from this and other downturns in the economy. And just in case you are thinking this is a fluke that they survived this recession unscathed, their unemployment has never been above 5% since unemployment statistics have been kept. They apparently are doing something right.

Lincoln is the place where several large companies house their national and regional headquarters and in that research it was determined by some to be the best place to retire. In it can also be found a major research university. Plus the entire region is encircled by farms that export all over the world. These things bring a disproportionate amount to national and international jobs and income to the relatively small region.

Additionally there are about 24,000 university students that attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Lincoln is the home to the state capital and all the government jobs that brings and as pointed out earlier the surrounding farm enterprise provides many stable jobs.

One other thing that may have led to the stable economy is the fact that the housing boom just seemed to pass right over Lincoln. It may be the conservative nature of the people that live there and taking speculative risk just isn’t in the makeup of the residents, the businesses or their lenders, so there was no real estate bubble to recover from.

On the other end of the spectrum, let’s look at #7 on our worst cities for unemployment, Merced, CA. It, like Lincoln is surrounded by farm land but unlike Lincoln this was a poor farming community before the housing boom of the 2000s. It was attractive for the cheap land (by California standards) and easy credit so the building industry skyrocketed. Unfortunately many of those jobs have disappeared and subsequently those people that moved here with the dream of reasonable housing and jobs are now out of both.

To add fuel to the speculation fire, in 2005 the state built the Merced campus of the University of California with a projected enrollment of 25,000 but as of now there are only about 3,500 students. The builders translated the school into even more reason to be confident about the future and speculation went wild in anticipation of filling those units with the people attracted by the University. It all fell apart and the local economy is devastated with a unemployment rate consistently more than 20%. With no industry or manufacturing here of any significance and because of the collapse of the construction industry it only leaves the farms and some service industry jobs that generally don’t pay much or provide anything in way of income taxes for the state and local government.

It is not hard to ascertain from just these two little snapshots into these very different communities as to why the unemployment is different. Hopefully this will give you some insight into how to pick what might be the best cities to live in the USA, or just the cheapest places to live as you go about your quest for your perfect spot where ever it might be.

Best Places to Live in Florida

Yesterday my brother and I were having that conversion that comes up from time to time - where to live when we get older. I asked, 'Do you think you'll stay in this house forever? Had any thoughts on where you might want to live when you retire?' His response didn't really surprise and it reminded me that the more things change the more they stay the same. He said at first he was worried the kids might be upset if he sold the house but after discovering they really didn't care it got him thinking he might just make a move one day. Where to Live? Florida - he said the idea of living somewhere that the weather is nice would always be important to him but what really attracted him to Florida was the warm gulf waters. Now that makes sense to me and it got me thinking,

Where are the Best Places to Live in Florida?

Here's what I learned - every American knows that Florida is a world famous southeastern state . That infamy comes from a lot of different places - surely world famous Disney World is one but also the unique features of this place have attracted people long before Disney was around. Did you know the Atlantic coastline on the east side of Florida is over 1,200 miles long? Of course like my brother the warm water of the gulf is matched only by the attractiveness of the sunny warm climate. It's called the Sunshine State for a good reason. Oh and did I mention the beautiful beaches? Florida also has a low crime rate, its a great place to be active and sports lovers are drawn to the sate for everything from Golf to Baseball to Fishing. Yes, there's a lot to love about Florida and I'm sure it will remain one of the best states to live in. Now there there are numerous places which could be considered the "best places to live in Florida" but like anywhere it is up to individual tastes and interests. For examples people with kids need family friendly spots where by the retiree may want something completely different. Lets' look at the short list for what most would consider the best.






Tampa and the Tampa Bay Area

Tampa Bay is on the West coast in central Florida . It's known as the largest open water estuary in the states and covers more than 1031 sq kilometers. As a naturally protected harbor Tampa is safe and one of the best places for families to live. The port of Tampa Bay is an important commercial hub while the beaches and downtown area attracts many visitors as it's considered one of the Florida Hot Spots for entertainment and fun. This area offers plenty of lifestyle and community activities with festivals and events held throughout the year. Stores, restaurants, and the longest continuous running sidewalk meanders along the bay, perfect for walking, riding and roller blading. There are numerous condominium complexes that typically have great swimming pools and activity centers making this Florida place one of the best places to live for singles and families alike.




Jacksonville - northeast Florida

Jacksonville is another large and well known Florida city. The metro parts of this city are best for the young hip single crowd including students fresh business people and those who are looking for good business work opportunities. The ultra friendly people of this city really create the atmosphere and make Jacksonville one of the best places to live in Florida. Move out of the downtown and into the burbs and you'll find excellent neighborhoods for young families. Jacksonville is located on the northeast coast of Florida. One interesting fact many people are unaware of is that it is the largest city in relation to total land area in the United States.

Miami - Southern Florida East Coast

Miami is located on the Atlantic ocean - the east coast of southern Florida. Truly a city that is all international, Miami is  known as 'The Gateway to the Americas'. There are numerous corporate headquarters, TV studios, educational institutes - media, music, fashion, film and performing arts abundantly spread all over Miami creating a colorful impact on life and living in this, best in Florida place. Miami is home to a very busy port with cargo and passenger shifts on a continuous move. Miami is a good consideration for younger people, students, singles, multinational executives, art-lovers... well it could be consider one of the best cities to live for just about anyone who is into the hip urban scene.




Fort Lauderdale - Southern Florida East Coast

Over the decades Fort Lauderdale has constructed an elaborate maze of internal canals earning it the nickname - The Venice of America. Although this tropical paradise looks nothing like Venice and there are no signs of the famous Italian gondolas it's true the canal system offers transportation via water taxis and a dock at almost every back door. This famous Florida city is the perennial popular Florida tourist destination. It's known for excellent dining and nigh life at numerous restaurants and clubs. Tourism is the main industry of Ft Lauderdale so those looking to live and work here are best to have education and background in the hotel, hospitality and tourism field. It's also known as a major manufacturing and maintenance port for expensive yachts and of course a major cruise ship port is located here.




Pompano Beach - Southern Florida East Coast

Pompano Beach is another beach city found north of Fort Lauderdale. Broward county is known to include a number of desirable spots to live. including Pompano. Because these beach communities are being redeveloped from mainly tourist to more residential they are considered some of the best places to live in Florida. Once only the bastion of retirees now working singles and families co-habitat these beach communities of Florida. Here people of all walks of life enjoy the ocean scenery and the multitude of active pursuits it brings. Real Estate is still comparatively expensive in Pompano Beach due the publicity surrounding it as one of the country's top vacation home markets.

Tallahassee - Northeast Florida Coast

This is the capital city for the state of Florida. Tallahasse has been an anchor with history and stability since Florida became a popular destination. It's known for having good educational facilities including several universities and colleges. Florida State U; Florida A&M are both world class and world famous. Tallahassee could be considered one of the best places to live in Florida for professionals who are looking for career opportunities in education and research. Florida schools alos have a reputation for low teacher to student ratios - this contributes to a graduate base that  is bright and quickly employable. They also offer affordable education in some of the best facilities in the country.




Panama City Beach - north Florida Coast (The Panhandle)

In the later part of the last decade the student 'Spring Break' scene was pushed out of the Ft. Lauderdale area and soon found a new home in Panama City Beach. Young working adults as well as students enjoy Panama City as it's become a Mecca for socializing. If your looking for fun in the sun and work in the hospitality industry that caters to the young party crowd than Panama City Beach is for you!

Although a number of Florida cities and communities may appear to be geared toward the young it still has some of the Best US Cities for Retirees - namely Sarasota and Ft. Myers - both in the 2011 top ten list of US places to retiree.   For retirees many like to live in places which are a little laid back. Calm and quiet are keywords and most love Florida for just those qualities. Since people first entered the work force the dream retirement spot has always included a warm climate, beautiful beaches, cheap real estate and low taxes - things Florida has and continues to be known for. Those who retire also want to consider health-care options including proximity to quality medical care. Almost any city in Florida offers retired folks all these things plus time and opportunity for intellectual and cultural pursuits.  And for those in the middle - a little old for the party  scene - too young to retire Florida still offers some great places to live for working singles and those who are married. For example, if you're in a business which means you  need to travel internationally metropolitan areas like  Tallahassee, Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa also offer excellent transportation hubs. The central location of Florida makes it ideal as gateway to all points North, South, East and West.





Juan Ponce de Leon, the European explorer, was the first to visit Florida way back in 1513. He named this magical place 'Florida'  which means 'feast of flowers'. Since those days millions upon millions of modern day explorers have ventured to Florida on vacation always mindful and always commenting about how the locals are so lucky to have settled in Florida. It's true Florida offers something for everyone - from beautiful white sand Beaches to hopping  bars and night clubs; from world class  universities to natural parks and hiking trails; from golf courses to museums to international corporate offices - yes Florida does in fact have it all!  When it comes to discovering the best place to live in Florida it will certainly vary from person to person but in the end there is sure to be a best place for everyone who wants to call Florida home.

Cheap Places To Go On Vacation

If your vacation budget is not quite as big as it has been in years past you are probably thinking about cheap places to go on vacation and we are here to offer a few suggestions in the next few posts.

Vacations are one of the first places most think about cutting when money gets tight but there are still ways to make it happen for your family even when it has be a bargain. Cheap vacations are within the reach of most. One can even determine the cheapest time to go to Vegas if that is your thing but unless you live in the western US that is not what this post is about. This post is about finding a place not far from home that you can take the entire family.

There are three main categories of expense while on vacation. First is transportation, second is food and shelter and third is entertainment. There are ways to save on all three of these with a little advanced planning and a willingness to do things differently than what is considered normal.

One of the primary things that has to happen in order to take advantage of the cheapest places to go on vacation is that one’s mind must change about what has to be in order to experience ‘a vacation’. The $200 per day (tickets etc.) to go to Disney World in Florida is out. The 4 star dinners ever night are out. Premier hotels are out. What has to be the primary aim has to become something along the lines of having an enjoyable time with those you love, in a place that takes you away from your ordinary life. However you may define that. Most people would agree if they made that target the focus of the vacation, their vacation would be a success.

If you can accept this presumption then it opens up a world of possibility on a very limited vacation budget. So let’s look at each of the three areas of expense and see what can be done to minimize the dollars spent on this week or two doing some really fun stuff.

First let’s look at transportation. Flying is probably out for most people that are on a budget as that alone can add at least $200 per person to the cost of the vacation and that pretty much leaves driving the family car. In order to not consume a lot of vacation time with travel you will probably want to limit the distance to about a day’s drive each way. In actuality this amount of time would be spent flying anyway so the time spent is about the same. It is just the distance that is limited. I have found that 4-5 hundred miles is about as far as I want to try to travel in a day with a family so that would have to be the maximum distance for me to reach my cheap spots to go on vacation.

Most people would be surprised at what locations are within 500 miles of your home. Depending on where you live of course, this varies but no doubt there are many places to visit within that range. You will need to get an atlas out and do some research at this point and figure out what falls within your maximum distance you are willing to travel for your cheap place go vacation. There is a handy tool at this website that will allow you to say how far you want to draw a radius around a given point on a Google map and then it will show you on a map how big that circle is. Although this tool draws a circle as a straight line around the point on the map, it will give you a good idea how far you can go on your days drive. You may want to decrease the distance you are willing to travel by perhaps 10% in order to accommodate driving distance opposed to the map’s radius distance.

When you have identified your cheap locations to go on vacation you will then need to figure out how to eat and sleep within your budget. Of course depending on the time of year and if you have the proper equipment you can camp. For most people this would be the cheapest accommodations other than staying with friends or family but that is not always desirable. Other than camping, there are plenty of less expensive hotels and motels. Unfortunately you may need to do some legwork in the local area to find the best bargain. This will mean you roll the dice at least for the first night and dedicate at least a part of your first day at the vacation destination to finding great less expensive accommodations or a better equipped/higher quality place to stay. You might drop off each adult at a different hotel / motel and let they take the time to properly access the property (take digital pictures) and then go back and pick them up for the group comparison. This takes leg work but can be a sort of adventure and really pay off in a great value for the rest of the trip and more so if you plan to return to your new found choice of discount spots to go on vacation.

Next you need to figure out a way to eat as cheaply as possible while on this frugal family vacation. The first and most obvious choice for the majority of meals is to buy groceries and eat in the room wherever you are staying. This can be done quite easily for breakfast and lunch or even the evening meal although sometimes you might be able to afford one meal a day out and the evening meal might be your choice. You can save on eating out too if you check for local specials and have appetizers and drinks in the room before you leave for dinner. Another thing you can do is to buy a cake or pie and share it in a public place like the park or at the beach. It can be a lot of fun to just do something different.

Another twist on the evening meal is to grill out at a public place like the above mentioned park or beach just don't go over board and spend too much doing this. Make sure it stays simple so you don't kill the budget on the BBQ. Use common sense and try your best to buy things that can be used again and again all during the vacation. Use the KISS system and don't make the home meals complicated and this should help a lot with cost.

Finally we are left with entertainment for the week and a way to do it without spending a fortune. Of course, this is extremely dependent on where you are but usually most activities outside can be nearly free. Things like fishing and hiking, sightseeing, visiting museums and even old churches. Most areas have tourist information that will give you a list of what is in the area as well as you can research before you leave via the Internet. You might even plan your trip around festivals that can offer days of entertainment for next to no cost except for what you choose to spend.

If you have read this far you know a lot more about cheap places to go on vacation. We have covered transportation, shelter, food and entertainment for the family and how to make saving money fun if you plan your activities and do them as a family. There are cheap places to live and there are cheap places to vacation and sometimes you can find both not very far from home.

Best City To Live In USA Series; Housing

The second in our series of best city to live in USA takes us into the housing markets of each of the 10 best places to live in America. Just in way of reminder, the cities that we are using in our series are the top 10 small towns to live in according to Money. These towns are not really that small but are between 50,000 and 300,000 in population. In our last post we gave some statistics about the results of the education system in each and here we are going to show what current median housing prices are in each. These are not necessarily the cheapest place to live USA but some of them are on the lower end of the scale.

Another aspect of this to consider is that the best state to live in may be closely tied to the real estate prices because taxes can have a significant effect on the overall price of real estate over the long term. Unfortunately this is outside the scope of this post and may be expounded upon at a later time. Without further explanation here is the graph that shows the median housing prices in what has been classified as the best city to live in America but ultimately that decision will have to be made once you have more information.

City	Median home price
Rogers, AR	$111,287
McKinney, TX	$133,569
Fishers, IN	$155,000
Overland Park, KS	$161,465
Fort Collins, CO	$210,000
Plymouth, MN	$213,500
Ames, IA	$234,325
Eden Prairie, MN	$257,575
Columbia, MD	$315,000
Bellevue, WA	$429,000
Newton, MA	$592,000

You can see the cities that are the cheapest places to live are arranged from lowest to highest price and the order of the list is significantly different than yesterday’s lists of the highest rated for education and this is the reason that each step, or each criterion, is so important. To one person, the education ranking may make it an awesome choice but the housing prices may make it the worst city to live in America.

One way that a person might begin to sort this information out and rate the cities no matter where the data is coming from is to weight each of the criteria. For instance, you may give a score of 1 to 10 with the lowest unemployment being a 10 and then you give each criteria a weight of 1-5 so if employment were very important to you, then you might give it a 4 or 5 weight. In the chart above then the least expensive area might get a weighted score of either 40 or 50 instead of a ten making it carry more weight in the total when you are through rating all cities in all areas that matter to you.

You will have to play around with the numbers and you may want to adjust the weight range you give each criteria or you may want to come up with your own system but whatever you do, you need to make it your own system that works for you. As we have stated over and over on this site the decision for the best place to retire, the cheapest place to live or even the best city to live in USA is extremely subjective.

Best City To Live In USA Series; Education

In the economy that we now live in, finding the best city to live in USA can seem like a impossible task but thanks to the folks over at Money even in this strapped environment there are pockets of hope and prosperity that still shine. These results are from towns between 50,000 and 300,000 in population from the top ten out of their top 100 list. Beyond that, this post specifically focuses on one thing to find the best city to live in America; education. In the following you will see how those cities stack up against one another using this one matrix. That matrix is how those students scored against their state averages or more accurately how many of them scored higher than the state average in both math and reading.

The best place to live in America is certainly more than this one matrix but it is meant to give a glimpse into the education system in each city and help you nail down part of what it would take to make the best place to live in USA. These are not necessarily the best state to live in either but it will give you a little piece of the puzzle as you start on your journey to find the best city to live in the United States. Here are the stats I promised you for each of the top 10 small towns live in, sorted by the average:

Test scores (% above state average)	reading	Math	AVG
Newton, MA	62.00%	89.00%	76%
Fishers, IN	44.80%	39.40%	42%
Plymouth, MN	37.70%	40.00%	39%
Eden Prairie, MN	41.50%	31.70%	37%
Bellevue, WA	18.70%	37.10%	28%
Fort Collins, CO	22.40%	24.90%	24%
Ames, IA	25.90%	19.50%	23%
Rogers, AR	21.60%	21.10%	21%
Overland Park, KS	15.30%	15.30%	15%
Columbia/Ellicott City, MD	10.10%	11.50%	11%
McKinney, TX	6.30%	7.10%	7%

There are many more things that you will want to consider as you go down this path to find your best place to live. Some of those you might want to consider are:

cheapest place to live USA	cities with the best home prices
safest place to live USA	best place to retire USA
cities with the best jobs	best state to live in USA
cities with the best entertainment	best city to live in the world
cities with the best weather	greatest city to live in america

Hopefully this series will open your eyes to the possibilities that are available to you in the United States and even the ones that may be available to you all over the world to find your best city, your cheapest places to live or even the best places to retire.