I am from India Moving to Miami - suggest Safe/Best place to live with Family (apartment, rental market)

[yampin]

Hi,

I am from india and planning to move to Miami for a project nearby Miami International Airport. I will be moving with my family (wife, 4yrs son, new born baby). I would appreciate if someone can help me in deciding a place to live...i have just mentioned few requirements i have.

- I do not mind driving for 30-40min to office and return, if the place i get to live is pleasant, safe, good schools / shopping / hospitals nearby.

- I would require a minimum two room & hall kitchen apartment with utilities (would prefer a fully equipped house and surrounding play area for kids). pl suggest location / area.

- Need a very safe place as the culture would be very new for me. i would prefer to be away from the rowdy night life and will be happy to find good warm neighbours.

- Also how would be the commute from the suggested place to Miami Int. airport? Traffic / congestion etc.

- DO not really u know, if there is any community representing India...in case you have any knowledge of it...pl mention!! It would be nice to know.

- Also throw some light on the cost of living one should keep in mind:

House rent:
Utility bills:
School fees:
Car Insurance:
Medical insurance:
income tax:
Any other costs:



Also pl share an unbiased view on Miami as a place to live with family, how safe is to be out in the night??, safety of women and children etc??....FEW OF THE REVIEWS ON THIS SITE...REALLY VERY SCARY AND DEMOTIVATING....!!

I would really appreciate a prompt answer.

[boxus]

I am new here and can not give you any useful information...but...

regarding this comment by you "FEW OF THE REVIEWS ON THIS SITE...REALLY VERY SCARY AND DEMOTIVATING....!!"

I use to live in India, and believe me, Miami is not even comparable to 99.9% of India in terms of your concerns. You will get here and laugh at the concerns people have about Miami when you compare it to India.

[doggiebus]

OP do you have a price range for rent that you are looking at? This would give us a better idea of what areas to suggest.

[yampin]

... well... all i can ask is which part of india were u in ??? and what all problems did u face....!!

[yampin]

I think i can spend about $1000 to 1200. work place will be near to Miami int airport. Do not mind a trouble free drive of 40min.

[r_k]

Miami traffic is pretty bad compared to most places. I would not advise a 40 minute commute esp if you are coming directly from a foreign country. The exception is if you're able to take puiblic transport. So try to stay as close to work as reasonable, within your other criteria.

[yampin]

ok....as i understand from your post....that there could be traffic jams / congestions that can really be horrible......and the travel time expected as per the distance can be very different....so what would be the right place that will suit my budget / choice and proximity to miami airport.

Also throw some light on public transport available....

[r_k]

Here's a map that may help you. It was created by a senior member from this site named Cris with help of some others, and I am posting the link without permission because it so useful:

http://tinyurl.com/2btpcf2 (broken link)

It shows the various neighborhoods by quality and safety ranking. Of course there can be some variation within that so use as a rough guide only. You can zoom and pan, and the left side has more pages if you scroll down.

I am not very familiar with the rental market in the area so perhaps someone will give you more specific advice in your price range. You should be able to get a 2-br with $1200, I hope. Overall you'll find Miami a much nicer place than most of India (which part of India are you in these days?) as boxus also mentioned, but there is more violent crime. Still, if you stay in the better areas and use common sense there is nothing to worry about. There are some very bad drivers in Miami, but not as many as in India. At the same time traffic is more and much faster, so accidents tend to be more serious.

[yampin]

i must say...the site is very informative and beautifully done..thanks for help....well i never ment to offend anyone....but there is always a fear of security and safety when u move with with family to an unknown place.

can you help me with the cost of living so that i can work out my busget accordingly:

Utilitiy bills:
Pre-school fees:
Avg. Health insurance:
car insurance:
Income taxc rate:
Any other taxes:

[doggiebus]

State of Florida doesn't have an income tax.

Car Insurance varies depending on many factors (what type of car, ones driving record, age of the driver, etc.), it can range from $1000 a year and up. You will need to call and get quotes. FYI, Miami-Dade has some of the highest car insurance rates in the country.

You will want to get renter insurance, which insures your property if something like a hurricane hits. This too varies in pricing depending on many factors.

Health insurance ranges in pricing depending on many factors, the best thing is to call some of the providers to get the best pricing.

Utilities also vary through out the year, the summer will be more expensive than the winters, mine usually is half in the winter than what I spend in the summer. Pricing for that all depends on the house and how much you use electricity, I pay roughly $300 - $350 in the summer each month. If you get a larger house then your bills will be higher if you get a smaller house your utilities will be less. Many factors go into your utility costs.

The best thing to get really pricing on Pre-schools, health insurance, car insurance rates is to make a few phones calls to those companies and give them your information.