Safe, clean, inexpensive place to live~ Coconut Grove area? (Boca Raton: mattress, to buy)

[MsMinne]

Hello again!

eufo: Thanks for the lead on Parkland... will google it and see what I find.

happimedium: You are a wealth of valuable information! Thanks you so much for sharing your experiences, and I appreciate your well-wishes! Best of luck to you also!

harry chickpea: Enjoyed the humor, and interesting name, by the way.

Goodnight, all!

[Miami Vice]

Originally Posted by MsMinne

How can I find a nice, inexpensive place to live in Florida? I am interested in relocating to the Coconut Grove area, but am completely unfamiliar with the area, and have no idea where to begin. A brief overview of myself: I am a single, responsible, 26-year old female from a small town in the Midwest. I have always been very fortunate in regards to my living situations, which I am very grateful for. (I am extremely obsessive about the cleanliness of the place where I live, and couldn't imagine living in an apartment where I'd be afraid to touch the kitchen counter, or use the bathroom, or walk on the carpet, etc... even after cleaning them. Yes~ I'm really like that, no kidding.) I'm also very health-conscious and wouln't want to be exposed to any of the various chemicals used by many places for pest-control. (Now don't judge me, we all have our quirks, and these are mine.) Finances are an issue, as I have only a high school education and work regular jobs. The ideal situation would be to find a nice, trustworthy couple or family with an extra bedroom and bathroom, who would be willing to rent it out for some extra income. (My background is clean, my credit is good, I always pay my bills, and I pay them on time.) This would be a possibility in the area where I'm from (mostly through church connections, I suppose), but is this just naive thinking and crazy-talk for a big, urban area like Florida? Would love to hear your thoughts... be kind.

Not to rain on your parade, but I must ask why you chose Miami. Coconut Grove has a small area which is nice, but is surrounded by scum. If you are into cleanliness, I don't think that you would like this city. Like I have always said, there are nice areas and nice people here. With that said, there are also many scum bags and crime infested areas. This place is very congested and the average person struggles to survive based on the high cost of living. It's great that you have an open mind and realize that there are many people who don't speak english here. Many are hard working, good people. Others are dirt bags just like any race. I think that it would be too drastic a change, and you will only be as miserable as some of these people that are on the Miami forum. For some reason, they think that this place is one day going to change back into what it was 20 years ago. The reality is that it will never happen. Instead of breaking their lease, packing a U-haul truck and leaving, they whine and cry everyday and complain about the problems here. Also keep in mind, that half of these people don't even live in Miami, yet they hate latins so much that they feel the need to continually post on here to be able to spead their little racist comments. They talk about how bad things are, but they are also contributing to the problem. If I was so bitter and miserable in a place, I would pack up and leave before spending hours complaining on this forum. The great thing is that there is an ignore feature, so I no longer have to read their posts. When I am unhappy at something, I change it. If you want to move to Florida, I would look into Jupiter or Parkland as others have suggested. I think that Florida Power and Light's headquarters are based out of Jupiter somewhere as many other large companies. Just my $.02. I wish you lots of luck. If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

[derek10rr]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

Well, a clean place is hard to find in Miami, especially is you are looking to find a cheap place. In the grove, there aren't any safe, cheap and clean (3 for 3). For cheap, you will have crime, scary neighbors and filth. If you pay 1,000, you will have a liveable place in the area you are considering.

In Miami there is an overabundance of unskilled labor with no training or college. Te crap jobs here that they can't fill in the rest of the country are actually competitive! Who would have known there were multiple applicants to work at BK?? Well there are, and those jobs tend o go to the most disturbed, jaded and uneducated people. Here, a manager will look at you and size you up by seeing you aren't from the area, you appear very nice and that just doesn't cut it here.

The only way I would recommend you to come to Miami would be with a job and housing lined up already, in addition to a healthy income.

Now, going against my advice, you could rent a room in a house on Little Havana. Ads appear in Spanish LAS AMERICAS newspaper bought on street. You will need to know Spanish...and the house apartments would be on a case by case basis, you visit a few and see which ones are the best. There are some liveable places out there like that. But, it is not Coconut Grove, and you would need a car, and there is the cultural and language issues.

Good Luck.

What would be considered a healthy income for a household annually in miami?

100k?

[bale002]

Originally Posted by derek10rr

What would be considered a healthy income for a household annually in miami?

100k?

The answer depends on source of income, if that is before or after taxes, what kind of benefits, if any, and also equity position and wealth.

For example, if you have a small business, earn 100k gross, have a small family, have to pay taxes and your own health insurance, have no equity in a house and no other major source of wealth, then $100k may not be enough.

If you are an employee of a large company that pays you 100K in salary plus health insurance (increasingly rare nowadays, and will become rarer going forward) and have equity in a home, plus maybe some other sources of wealth (cash savings, investments, etc.) then 100k is probably quite enough to live comfortably in Miami, or most anywhere else, unless you're a spendthrift or hyperinflation kicks in (not out of the question).

[Parkland1]

Hi! Just wanted to respond to the whole Coconut Grove moving deal. First of all not to put a damper on your move but South Florida in general is incredibly expensive, so I would definitely have a plan in place before moving here. My husband and I actually live in Parkland which is mentioned as an option. Parkland is a pretty expensive area to move to. We pay 1460 a month for our apartment (2 bedroom, 2 bath) and the one bed, one baths run from about 1100+. If you can find a roommate its doable, but otherwise it can get pricy. Boca is the same. You obviously have great taste in moving locations but the prices can be steep. It was a shock to us when we moved here last year. We are from St. Louis and were paying 700 a month for a HUGE apartment there. So good luck and kjeep on looking. Also just to let you know some rental communities basically insist you have a job before they will rent to you so that they can make sure you will have the appropriate income. Good luck!

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Parkland1

Hi! Just wanted to respond to the whole Coconut Grove moving deal. First of all not to put a damper on your move but South Florida in general is incredibly expensive, so I would definitely have a plan in place before moving here. My husband and I actually live in Parkland which is mentioned as an option. Parkland is a pretty expensive area to move to. We pay 1460 a month for our apartment (2 bedroom, 2 bath) and the one bed, one baths run from about 1100+. If you can find a roommate its doable, but otherwise it can get pricy. Boca is the same. You obviously have great taste in moving locations but the prices can be steep. It was a shock to us when we moved here last year. We are from St. Louis and were paying 700 a month for a HUGE apartment there. So good luck and kjeep on looking. Also just to let you know some rental communities basically insist you have a job before they will rent to you so that they can make sure you will have the appropriate income. Good luck!

This is an old thread, but I do hope she picked Broward. It was a bit irrelevant if she was looking to move into Miami though!

[Hero]

MsMinne, I found a place in the exact location at the exact price range I wanted. Craigslist is good but U can spend weeks sorting through it for the right price/location...

So I used this website, it combines craigslist and google maps! You can also change the price ranges to match your needs. By far my favorite website for the year.

HousingMaps

[miamiblue]

I would not recommend Coconut Grove given your requirements. My boyfriend lived there for about six months, sharing a 2br on Day Ave in a gated "commune" of about four to six villas. The place had been renovated and was nice, but not exactly clean. He was paying $1200 for a 2/2, but that was 4 years ago, and probably more like what the 1/1's are going for now. He lived around the corner from $800k villas, however, just around the other corner was a very poor and crime ridden area. The first night he stayed at his apartment, someone broke into his truck. He also had a bike stolen that had been chained to his terrace. Most places in your price range are going to be very small and dirty, which in FL means lots of bugs - not a good thing if you don't like using pesticides.

I lived in South Miami and liked the area. It's still not going to be pristine cleanliness for the price you're looking at. I shared a 2br apartment in a quad built in 1947. It was not pristine, but cleaner that most other places I looked at and clean enough for my needs - I don't think a clean freak would be happy there, though. My financial situation was that I had a college degree and a decent paying job with benefits, and I still had to have a roommate to survive. For the types of positions you seem to be looking at, you will be required to speak Spanish fluently.

If you really need to be in a larger city in FL, I think the Tampa area might be a better option for you. However, if you insist on trying out Miami, check out Off-Campus Housing | University of Miami (http://www.sa.miami.edu/off-campus-services/off-campus-housing/frmSearch.aspx - broken link) - I would stick to the Coral Gables and South Miami areas.

[MJ1996]

I concur with others here. The "Grove" is a far different place then many of the others mentioned. When I first moved here we lived in a small (read 1100sf) 2/2 we rented in the Gables for $1600 per month. While locationally it was fantastic to work, we got tired of tripping over each other and bought a house in Pembroke Pines which we loved. The commute stinks, but it was very nice being able to sit on my back patio, looking over the lake at the sunset while sipping a beer.
You have be be VERY rich to get a good place in the Grove. A buddy of mine rents a 1800sf house for like 2500 a month in the Grove and he asked the owner how much--$750,000. This is after real estate has started to come down.
The Grove has a lot of neat things to do and you are close to Miracle Mile in the Gables and decent drive from Brickell or SoBe.
You might want to test the waters in one of the northern communities first. If you don't like it you can always find someone to share a room with down south if you desire the party/college lifestyle.

Hope this helps!

[EricJ71]

i visited last month to have a look around for my move next month. Your best bet is to stay EAST of I95, SOUTH of the design district and NO FARTHER SOUTH than brickell. everythomg else is too far from the fun and you have to deal with traffic. morningside is good now and the island for the beaches. rent will be 1000 or more to live alone in a real 1br, and anywhere from 500 to ?? to share someone's place. i'm in the process of finding a place to stay now and i've decided to rent a room in someone's apt and give myself a month or so to find a good deal in a good area.