Moving to Hialeah (Miami, Orlando: crime rates, neighborhoods, to buy)

[TannerMan]

Bakklight not when I went to the Mcdonalds infront of the Publix by I-75, spoke to me in English, but anyways thanks for your info. Singlemomof3 thanks for your info as well youve been alot of help

[blackklight]

the mcdonalds i'm talking about is on 4th ave

[singlemomof3]

Hey Blacklight those wrong turns will take you where to East Hialeah? Ooh yeah I'm really scared of those drivebys. What crime? Are you talking about Liberty City, Overtown? Every major city has its areas were there is alot of crime. Hialeah Gardens is nowhere near the inner city.

[blackklight]

i'm not sure what part of hialeah he lives in but i already live in east hialeah and if i take a few turns around i'll end up in liberty city. in my opinion you're taking an offensive as if i'm trying to scare him whereas i just want him to take care of himself.

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by TannerMan

Bakklight not when I went to the Mcdonalds infront of the Publix by I-75, spoke to me in English, but anyways thanks for your info. Singlemomof3 thanks for your info as well youve been alot of help

Is that the Country Club Plaza one?

[stat3man]

TannerMan,

Welcome to Miami!

Can I ask you specifically what part of Hialeah you're moving to? Hialeah is rather large, and there are even areas outside of the city limits that might be referred to as Hialeah, but they are not. The actual City of Hialeah is about 95% Hispanic, and I'd say about 85-90% of those are Cuban. The areas outside Hialeah, though still about 75% Hispanic, have a much more diverse representation of Latin American origins.

I myself grew up in the area, and have lived there on and off for many, many years. My high school and college jobs were in Hialeah, and I attended local public schools there. The city is really very self-contained. You won't have to leave for much of anything, except for fine dining, beaches, and cultural events. Unfortunately, there's not much to do, I think. Miami Lakes is nearby, and there are some shops and restaurants you might want to check out there.

Regarding the commute, it all depends on where you are in Hialeah, and where your job in Doral is specifically. Either way, your wife won't have any problem commuting to Miramar. It's a hop, skip, and a jump north from Hialeah, and she'll be traveling against traffic flow. Doral is another story. Doral is very congested, and getting there from Hialeah without taking the disastrous Palmetto is a bit tricky. Still, I've got some insider tips should you need them.

Best of luck!

[stat3man]

On another note, I see the issue of Spanish came up. Yes, Spanish can be of great help in Hialeah. However, contrary to what others try to say, you can get by speaking only English in Hialeah. Of course, there will be some places where people won't be able to communicate with you. But there is always someone nearby who does speak English, and employees do speak English in all the major chain outlets. Believe me. Yes, it is overwhelmingly Spanish oriented, but you'll find tons of English-speakers. I've been going lately to a new Home Depot and a new Lowe's in Hialeah, and I have not had to resort to Spanish at all.

Rich.

[ricklauder]

Originally Posted by TannerMan

I speak very, very rough Spanish since I grew up in LA. Is it a complete neccesity?

Like someone already mentioned, speaking Spanish is not a complete necessity, but it does help and can only enrich your life and your job prospects in the area. This would be a perfect time to take some Spanish lessons!

One thing though... Cuban Spanish is WAY different from Mexican Spanish, so you might have to re-learn some words or phrases. But you'll be fine...

Welcome to South Florida!

[Chelito23]

Personally I don't care for Hialeah, I have worked there and I used to date someone from there, and I went to the gym there as well. It is not my cup of tea, as it embodies everything that I dislike about South Florida (poor planning, corruption, overpricing, ME syndrome, general and pervasive rudeness, lack of community feeling and atocious traffic in a virtually treeless environment. oh, FLOODING too). With that said, if I did have to live there, I would choose the area you are moving to. It is newer and nicer, but it still has the same problems as the rest of "Hialeuh", as the majority of the gangster wannabe youth say (I taught in a HS and MS there). There are some (2) decent schools there, but they feed into very poor middle and high schools. I do not think this is a good community to raise children in, and most would tend to agree, people congregate here because it is an enclave immigrant area, and tend to move to greener pastures when they have leanred the system and earn more. I recommend you watch your children extra closely, *attempt* to be an involved parent at the school and pass by the Police Departments to see what goes on....because I think you are comparing apples to oranges by comparing Orlando crime stats to Hialeah, this is not Mayberry.

Good Luck.

[TannerMan]

Thanks for all your information guys and gals. We'll now be making the move in early September probaly the 9th. The main reason we picked Hialeah was because it felt more like a city, than the other area we were looking at which was Pembroke Pines and Miramar, I really dont like the cookie cutter development and HOA everywhere, its not my cup of tea. Then we began looking a little more south to be right inbetween miramar and doral, so then hialeah looked really pleasing, it was more affordable and it seemed to me more diverse. The one week we were there in a Hotel we never used spanish and the staff at the Hotel talked to us about Hialeah having alot of cubans and alot of hispanics and blacks, we ate almost everyday in a chinese restaurant in a massive shopping center next to the hotel, in the same shopping center there were diffrent restaurants from other countries. Just what I quickly observed while down there, our neighbors are Columbian and our other next door neighbors are Korean, havent met other neighbors yet.
Again thanks for everyones input, cant wait now to move.