Lots of good advice in this thread. If you're going to be working in Miramar, then plan on living in Plantation or Weston, north of Miramar, in Broward County. That should keep the commute down to a half hour. Cooper City, north of Pembroke Pines, is pricey but nice.

You'll be working and living out west, far from the beaches (15 miles) but close to the Everglades. The climate is very conducive to bugs so hire a pest control company and be careful with your cleanliness. I once left a little pinwheel mint hard candy, wrapped (the kind restaurants give out) on the nighttable at a Florida motel overnight while I slept, and when I awoke, an army of sugar ants had sliced off a large chunk and were marching off with it! Despite that, I moved here anyway. I've never had a roach problem where I live, just occasional ants. Lizards are great--they eat lots of bugs and insects. I have three that lurk outside my front door and are the best pest control I could ask for.

If you buy a $400,000 house, your property taxes will be about $8,000 a year. Sales tax is 6 percent (7 percent in Miami-Dade County). There is no state income tax at all.

As for climate, in summer we have highs of 91 and lows of 77, meaning it could be 83 outside at midnight. It's humid, rainy, and stormy from May to October. The rest of the year is nice. Our "coldest" day of the year is January 4, when the normal high is 76 and the normal low is 59. Not too tough to take!

In addition to property taxes being high in South Florida, and elsewhere, you will find your home owners insurance and car insurance to be HIGH as well. Along the coast it could even be hard to get. But on the bright side, no state income tax. No winter heating bill, but the A/C runs almost year round.