“What should I do to prepare myself against South Florida’s extreme weather?”

That’s the question we’re tackling this week as part of our video series exploring the SoFlo home buying experience.  

New Tropic readers (hey, that’s you!) and industry experts shared their advice with us:

• Don’t forget about hurricane insurance. When first-time homebuyers use online calculators, they often forget to factor it into their monthly payments. Depending on your home value, this can add hundreds – if not thousands – in monthly homeownership costs.

• Does your potential home have a septic tank? Consider testing the groundwater levels before you buy. Thanks to heavy rains and rising sea levels, your new home could end up with a brown liquid bubbling up from your kitchen sink. No, really.  

• “Location, location, location” is the usual real estate mantra. For one New Tropic reader it’s, “Check the elevation certificate, check the elevation certificate, check the elevation certificate.” Mario Ariza recommends going to Coastal Risk Consulting and paying $150 for a LIDAR map to see how sea level rise and storm surge could affect that property.

Check out this video for more pro tips and to see why it’s important to educate yourself before investing in a home.

PRODUCED BY THE NEW TROPIC CREATIVE STUDIO WITH CANVAS MIAMI

#votelikeyoulivehere The special election runoff for the District 5 county commission seat is just days away, and this weekend is your last chance to vote early. (Election Day is Tuesday.) Still on the fence about whether to vote for Eileen Higgins or Zoraida Barreiro? There’s our voter guide (which includes deets on finding your polling station), and there’s the Miami Herald breakdown of the two candidates, who rep two totally different political camps in the 305. (The New Tropic, Miami Herald, Twitter)

Stress test. Investigators are inching toward a definitive answer of what caused the FIU pedestrian bridge collapse in March that killed six. The latest finding is that the unconventional design had a serious weakness that designers never noticed – a ton of stress placed on a single diagonal bridge support that wasn’t build to stand that kind of weight and pressure. That’s where cracks began appearing, even before the bridge was moved into place above Tamiami Trail. (Miami Herald)

No bueno. The average tech salary in SoFlo – $78,932 – is 55 percent higher than the average overall salary, but that doesn’t mean we’re killing it in the tech wages department. Palm Bay, Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Lakeland, and Sarasota all have higher average tech salaries and significantly lower costs of living. Ouch. (SFBJ)

Definitely not Dairy Queen. Leave it to Miami to make even the simple goodness of ice cream bougie AF. The 10 ice cream shops on this list from Indulge are churning out boozy spirit-infused scoops and intricate flavors like blueberry bronze fennel sorbet, often topped with things like gold flakes and edible flowers. On a quest for a basic chocolate milk shake? Maybe our rundown of Miami’s ice cream scene will be more your speed. (Indulge, The New Tropic)

Ouch. As if they weren’t bad enough, South Florida housing costs are expected to go up again – this time because of the United States’ trade war. The latest tariffs on imported steel and aluminum are expected to drive up construction costs – already rising because of a labor shortage – and those costs will probably be passed on to buyers and renters. Woof. (Miami Herald)

One step forward. County Commissioner Rebeca Sosa has an idea for reducing a tragic outcome when police have to deal with a mentally ill person: a voluntary registry of mentally ill and disabled Miamians. The idea is that if an officer responds to a situation involving someone on the registry, they’ll be aware of all the things that might prevent a person from properly responding to their requests – and that could keep things from spiraling out of control. Other cities across the U.S. have already launched similar databases. (Miami New Times)

Treat pops right. Sunday is Father’s Day. It’s basically the law that you have to put up with #dadjokes this weekend, but if you bring him to one of these restaurants or breweries, maybe you’ll get a break. And if you hit any of these spots, it better be your treat. (Miami.com, Miami New Times)

ONE MORE THING

We’ve got two job openings with our parent company, WhereBy.Us. They’re looking for a storytelling editor and video editor to help out with The New Tropic and our sister publications — Bridgeliner in Portland, The Evergrey in Seattle, and Pulptown in Orlando. Deadlines are coming right up, so check ‘em out ASAP if you’re interested.

That’s all for the week. We’ll catch you on Monday. 👋

– The New Tropic