Public transportation in Miami (Kendall, Coral Gables: rent, crime, transferring to)

[girlintn]

What is your opinion of the Metrorail and Metrobus systems? I've been reading the posts on how bad the traffic is down in Miami and I will be moving there in a few months. Is it worth looking for a place within walking distance to a Metrorail station for the daily commute to work? Safety? Reliability? General grievances or comments?

[tallrick]

Let's put it this way, Metrorail is only 20% useful. The part that gets the most riders is that which goes from Dadeland to downtown. The remaining line goes through a "no man's land" of crime and decay. Years ago I gave it a try. Let's say you live in Kendall, it will take longer to drive to the Metrorail station that the ride downtown. Unlike the past they charge plenty to park in the Metroral garage, while the surrounding area has always been free. Parking used to be free on weekends, but greedy Miami-Dade county made sure that ended. As for safety, it seems to be OK, you have some unsavory characters riding Metro-Dade transit, but most are just mentally ill and not a serious threat.

If you have to transfer from bus/rail you will spend longer in traffic than driving. Estimate 2 minutes of bus time for 1 minute of drive time. Buses run on Miami time so if they come late, it's normal. Early? That's very rare. If you live in an affluent bus route expect a fast ride, in a poor area- they stop every time there is a bus stop. So add the wait time to bus time.

If you will live in Miami, live close to your job. Unless you will be earning over 100,000 a year, better to stay where you are.

Don't even THINK about Tri-Rail..LOL!

[bale002]

Tallrick's response is perfect.

I would only add that if you are coming to Miami and, assuming you have no savings goals and/or, as he mentioned, you are making somewhere around $100k, then it is definitely worthwhile to spend extra on rent to live within walking distance of the Metrorail (do not buy in Miami, under current conditions, it is an unroyal rip-off).

Going from downtown southwards, this means Brickell, Roads (Vizcaya), Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, South Miami, and Dadeland.

I am sure by now that you have consulted the Metrorail map, so you know exactly where these stations are.

Good luck!

[miamiblue]

Where will you be working? The metro rail, for the most part, doesn't go anywhere other than downtown and takes you down to the South Miami area along useless 1 (US-1). You generally won't be able to get to places like grocery stores, beach, etc. without transferring to a bus. If you are going to be working downtown, then yes, try to find someplace in the South Miami area, for example, that you can walk to the rail and take that to work, a friend of mine did this for a while. However, there are going to be some vagrants and such riding the rail pretty much all the time, so keep your guard up, and I wouldn't ride alone at night.

The bus system is generally going to take you forever to get anywhere, especially during the rush-four-hours (ie. evening rush "hour" starts at 2:30pm and goes until about 7pm). Yes, the traffic is bad, but a bus in traffic is worse, due to all the stops. There was a bus I would sometimes get stuck behind on the way to work that stopped about every 1/10 mile on a certain road. How many stops do they really need in the span of a half mile?

Anyway, you will definitely still need a car to live in Miami.

Best of luck!

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Let's put it this way, Metrorail is only 20% useful. The part that gets the most riders is that which goes from Dadeland to downtown. The remaining line goes through a "no man's land" of crime and decay. Years ago I gave it a try. Let's say you live in Kendall, it will take longer to drive to the Metrorail station that the ride downtown. Unlike the past they charge plenty to park in the Metroral garage, while the surrounding area has always been free. Parking used to be free on weekends, but greedy Miami-Dade county made sure that ended. As for safety, it seems to be OK, you have some unsavory characters riding Metro-Dade transit, but most are just mentally ill and not a serious threat.

If you have to transfer from bus/rail you will spend longer in traffic than driving. Estimate 2 minutes of bus time for 1 minute of drive time. Buses run on Miami time so if they come late, it's normal. Early? That's very rare. If you live in an affluent bus route expect a fast ride, in a poor area- they stop every time there is a bus stop. So add the wait time to bus time.

If you will live in Miami, live close to your job. Unless you will be earning over 100,000 a year, better to stay where you are.

Don't even THINK about Tri-Rail..LOL!

Absolutely true.

[girlintn]

Thanks for all of your help! It'll definately be taken into consideration when I find a place.

[HGONZ001]

I rode Metro-Rail for about a year from its northern stations to downtown. It would take around 1hr and 15 minutes for a 15 miles ride. I would need to drive around 17 minutes to the station. The people that take MR in its northern half are not very nice.....I always kept an eye open and my biggest fear was to get a gun shot through the back of my head. After endless delays, missing connections and waiting another 10 minutes for the next ride, sweaty walks to the station and scary people, I decided to give up the MR idea. Now I drive again and it takes me only 40 minutes to get to work.

[Weston_in_the_Pines]

NYC it aint!