Why is Cutler Ridge/Bay so da*n ghetto? (Miami: foreclosures, renting)

[mark9989]

I stand corrected. I always forget to include Cutler Ridge Mall area.

[east215]

Originally Posted by PBCboy

Maybe they'll change the names of the 'Boynton Beach Malls' and 'Palm Beach Malls' then, just because of the bad reputation they have.

Naw, I don't it.

Reminds me of how they changed the name of 'South Central' to 'South Los Angeles'... does a name change really do anything?

Actually, before it was called South Central, the majority of the area was called "Watts", asin the the "Watts Riot".

[kevinkagy]

This is a really interesting thread, thanks guys. I honestly didn't know much about Cutler Bay until now. What are the demographics in this area? Is it mostly poor whites or just a mix of all types of people, or what? Is there a lot of suburban construction here, or is it mostly just farms and forests? Is Cutler Bay more like Hialeah, or is it more like Liberty City?

[EnjoyTheSilence]

Originally Posted by kevinkagy

This is a really interesting thread, thanks guys. I honestly didn't know much about Cutler Bay until now. What are the demographics in this area? Is it mostly poor whites or just a mix of all types of people, or what? Is there a lot of suburban construction here, or is it mostly just farms and forests? Is Cutler Bay more like Hialeah, or is it more like Liberty City?

Cutler Ridge is nowhere near as disgusting as Hell-a-leah...in fact, nowhere in Miami is as bad as that.

[crisp444]

Originally Posted by kevinkagy

This is a really interesting thread, thanks guys. I honestly didn't know much about Cutler Bay until now. What are the demographics in this area? Is it mostly poor whites or just a mix of all types of people, or what? Is there a lot of suburban construction here, or is it mostly just farms and forests? Is Cutler Bay more like Hialeah, or is it more like Liberty City?

Cutler Bay is a middle-ring suburb; not really dense like Hialeah but not pseudo-rural like parts of Homestead/Redlands either. The roughest sections are west of the Turnpike and the nicer sections are around Lake Whispering Pines and the northeast section of the city bordering Palmetto Bay. There is some new construction east of Old Cutler Road. No farms and forests in Cutler Bay proper. Honestly, it is like neither Hialeah nor Liberty City. It has its own feel, really.

The demographics are about 40% non-Hispanic white, 40% Hispanic of any race, 20% non-Hispanic black. The population is diverse, but it is definitely much "blacker" on the west side of the Turnpike. The area around Lake Whispering Pines and NE to the border of Palmetto is very white (Anglo and Cuban/Cuban-American). The new construction east of Old Cutler is pretty diverse with several Hispanic groups in all colors represented, Anglos, and some blacks. Another diverse area is between the Turnpike and Franjo Road... I can't say what the demographics are exactly but it appears to be a good mix of everyone in a solidly middle class area.

Kevin, check out the ultimate Miami map thread a page or two back; I had twiggers map and rate several areas of Miami-Dade County and Cutler Bay is one of them. Let me know what you think!

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by kevinkagy

This is a really interesting thread, thanks guys. I honestly didn't know much about Cutler Bay until now. What are the demographics in this area? Is it mostly poor whites or just a mix of all types of people, or what? Is there a lot of suburban construction here, or is it mostly just farms and forests? Is Cutler Bay more like Hialeah, or is it more like Liberty City?

Cutler Bay Boundaries Are all East of US1 (tiny piece just west of US1) from 184 Street south to 232 Street for the most part. This link has a map that shows the boundaries http://www.cutlerbay-fl.gov/library/town_charter.pdf

The demographics, just by sight is pretty mixed. I would say mostly lower middle class to poor black and hispanic (there is a small population of upper middle class hispanics) with an even smaller white mixed upper middle class and lower middle class white population. It used to be a mostly lower middle class white area, but not anymore IMO many whites have left Miami. Its mostly homes, not much farm land left in that area, if any. You need to go further south and west for farm land. Cutler Bay isn't really like either Liberty City or Hialeah, as both those place are really disgusting in my opinion. Cutler Bay at least looks much nicer. Now just west of US1 where it gets even more sketchy.

[muscleman305]

I read in the paper today that 4 masked men touting handguns and a shotgun barged into a pool bar in Cutler Ridge the other night and robbed patrons of their personal belongings. If that's not ghetto, than what is?

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by muscleman305

I read in the paper today that 4 masked men touting handguns and a shotgun barged into a pool bar in Cutler Ridge the other night and robbed patrons of their personal belongings. If that's not ghetto, than what is?

A local news station did a story on this one. Could you imagine, you go to a pool hall on US1 I believe it was, have a few drinks to have a good time while playing pool, and 4 brasin men come in with guns.

I have been saying it for almost 2 years now, something really has changed and Miami-Dade crime is up, places that weren't that bad are getting rougher and rougher. I don't know if the people moving into that area are getting worse or what. All I know its not getting better.

[cuba libre]

Originally Posted by crisp444

Cutler Bay is a middle-ring suburb; not really dense like Hialeah but not pseudo-rural like parts of Homestead/Redlands either. The roughest sections are west of the Turnpike and the nicer sections are around Lake Whispering Pines and the northeast section of the city bordering Palmetto Bay. There is some new construction east of Old Cutler Road. No farms and forests in Cutler Bay proper. Honestly, it is like neither Hialeah nor Liberty City. It has its own feel, really.

The demographics are about 40% non-Hispanic white, 40% Hispanic of any race, 20% non-Hispanic black. The population is diverse, but it is definitely much "blacker" on the west side of the Turnpike. The area around Lake Whispering Pines and NE to the border of Palmetto is very white (Anglo and Cuban/Cuban-American). The new construction east of Old Cutler is pretty diverse with several Hispanic groups in all colors represented, Anglos, and some blacks. Another diverse area is between the Turnpike and Franjo Road... I can't say what the demographics are exactly but it appears to be a good mix of everyone in a solidly middle class area.

Kevin, check out the ultimate Miami map thread a page or two back; I had twiggers map and rate several areas of Miami-Dade County and Cutler Bay is one of them. Let me know what you think!

A lot has changed since 2000. The census figures you quote are a decade old. The town has probably doubled in population since then, most of the newcomers to that area seem to be non-white Caribs. From what I can tell, the brand new sidewalk-less townhome communities are mostly being inhabited by minorities who took advantage of the Martin Luther King mortgages forced upon lenders during the mid-2000's. Also, a significant number of whites from the "single family home" areas have probably moved out.

[crisp444]

Although I can tell you that there's no way the population has even close to doubled (new construction since 2000 is maybe 20-25% of the built area), I really can't comment on how much the demographics have changed because I really haven't spent a lot of time there. Though I have heard that some blacks and many "darker" Latins have moved into the single family home section between Franjo and the Turnpike and into the new construction east of Old Cutler, I would be very surprised if the demographics of the nicest part of Cutler Bay (bordering Palmetto Bay) have changed much.

Anecdote: I hadn't been shopping in Cutler Bay for a long time, but last summer when I was on my way from the Keys up to Brickell, my friend asked me to pick up something from Target before going to his house. Since I was on the Turnpike entering Cutler Bay, I exited and went to the Target that's right across from the mall. Well, I must say that I was surprised at how diverse it was and that the great majority of the conversations I heard were in English. Given all that I had heard about the changing demographics, I was expecting that I hear mostly Spanish and not see many Anglos. Based on what I saw though, let's not say that you need a magnifying glass and a treasure map to find Anglos in Cutler Bay! It was nice to see an area where it seemed that there were almost equal amount of Anglos, Hispanics, and blacks shopping. There aren't many areas like that in Miami-Dade County, so although Cutler Bay has a less-than pristine reputation, I must give it some credit for its diversity.