Where to purchase home in Broward thats commutable to Miami? (Hollywood: real estate, apartments)

[tobusy4]

Greetings,

Been thinking about accepting a new job within my company and transfering to Miami and letting me keep my salary from the north. Building is located on Brickell ave in Miami. Not a big fan of Miami dade county for living (but not that familiar with it) so was Looking for a nice, safe, surburban like area, that is no more than a 25-45 minute commute to the building in Miami during both rush hours. Also would like to be no more than 10-25 minutes from beaches and downtown night life stuff. Can someone recommend a town? Looking for a 3/2/2 or 4/2/3 home in the $290K-$425K range thats very central to everything and safe (prefer a foreclosure in a nice area thats beatup as I can fix anything). Been considering Pembroke Pines, Cooper City, and Hollywood. Is Miramar ok as the reviews I hear are very mixed? Does someone have a better recommendation? How far north can I go till the commute is beyond 45 minutes to Miami? Not interested in apartments and condos and townhouses right now.

Thanks for any replies...

[jhlcomp]

Try Hollywood, Weston (a bit far vis a vis commute time), Miramar, Pembroke Pines, downtown Ft. Lauderdale.

[tobusy4]

How long of a commute is pembroke pines or cooper city?

[adam.g.harpool]

One general piece of advice: live close to the Turnpike, if possible, if you plan on commuting to Miami-Dade every day. Not only is the western part of Broward more suburban and safer (sounds like what you're looking for), the Turnpike is MUCH faster traffic-wise. In my experience commuting occasionally from Plantation to downtown Miami, traffic generally flowed at 50 - 65 mph on the Turnpike up until you hit the Golden Glades (the merger point with 95), even in the morning and evening rush hours. 95 anywhere south of Jupiter is an absolute mess in the mornings and evenings.

On a typical day, a Pembroke Pines - downtown Miami commute during rush hour will probably run between 30 - 45 minutes, depending on where exactly you live. Cooper City is a bit further north, so add a tad extra (maybe 5-10 minutes) for that. Assuming you're willing to pay, you'll soon have the option of using the HOT lanes on 95 to save some extra time on that trip. As far as the 45 minute threshold, when I lived in Plantation just north of I-595, a rush hour commute to downtown Miami would typically run between 40 and 50 minutes. Don't plan on living in a place like Coral Springs, Pompano Beach (wouldn't recommend anyhow!), or Coconut Creek and being able to stay under that threshold. Just north of I-595 might be a good cut-off point.

[vvolin]

East Hollywood, which is the nice part of it, used not to offer much in that price range. But I may be surprised by the current prices.. You may trry the Oakridge area in Hollywood, just west of I95, but it is very family oriented and I do not know how much you care for that. I have not lived int he other more western towns but I was always sure of one thing: I would have rather had a smaller home but on the coast (very much on the coast, that is.).

[Nolefan34]

I question the whole 45 minute commute thing from anywhere in Broward. With NO traffic it takes about 20-25 minutes to get from downtown Miami to Pembroke Pines on I-95 to the Turnpike. So when you add in the rush hour conditions, I would bet it takes over an hour each way most days. That is because I-95 between downtown and the Turnpike is gridlocked every weekday during rush hours. And taking the Turnpike extension swings you way out west, only to have to utilize the 836 eastbound which is the WORST road in terms of congestion during rush hour.

If you want the quickest commute time, I would recommend east Hollywood because you can take US1 to downtown and it is not gridlocked like I-95 is. Another option is to take 441 down to NW62nd St and then cut over to Miami Avenue. That tends to go quicker than I-95.

[tobusy4]

East Hollywood is pretty much beachside right? Would imagine thats pretty expensive real estate...

[fauve]

In this market you should be able to find a home in the upper range of your price bracket.

[Tungsten_Udder]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

That is because I-95 between downtown and the Turnpike is gridlocked every weekday during rush hours.

[fauve]

^^^^

There is no conspiracy on this board Tungsten. 95 between downtown and the Turnpike is gridlocked everyday during rush hour. That you picked 2 miraculous times to commute this stretch at the speed limit is an outlier, not the rule. I do hear though that 2 sunpass lanes are being opened up which will run you around $6 to go the speed limit for this distance. perhaps you drove during the period they were opened at no charge.