Moving to Hialeah (Miami, Orlando, Miramar: house, work, private schools)

[TannerMan]

I'm gonna fully move in a couple of weeks, can't completely move just yet because my wife but I was down there last week and bought a house, its in a nice, quiet, clean neigborhood, walking distance from an "A" school and a park, so the issue isn't if I'm gonna move I just want a little more information, I wanted to know the commute time from Hialeah to the Doral area and for my wife the Miramar area. I also wanted to know more of the general stuff about Hialeah, I know it has a large Cuban community, from what I could tell it was diverse because my neighbors are Columbian and Korean, the family I bought the house from was brazilian and they live a couple of blocks from house. What are some stuff close by or other things to do. And even though the school by the house is "A", me coming from Florida I know that always doesn't mean a whole lot, is going private a better road to take? My sons are 9 and 10 years old. That's about it, we might move in early or late September not completely sure yet. Oh and were coming from Orlando after 4 years, before that I had grown up in LA and moved to Orlando but now were ready for Miami.

[THASPECIAL]

What area of Hialeah are you moving to? Is it more near the Opa-Locka Airport or by the Westland Mall.....or near Miami Springs?

[blackklight]

i live in hialeah and i'm a student of hialeah high school, which is an f. if you have any questions ask.

[TannerMan]

Well its right off the I-75 exit o Hialeah Gardens blvd, right in between "Ernest R Graham Elementary" and "Roberto Casas Park". Thats as much as I know, I really dont know where Opa-locka airport, Westland Mall, or Miami Springs are located. It is very Close to a smaller city called Hialeah Gardens.
And blackklight I already asked many questions on the first post.

[singlemomof3]

Hi Tanner, Welcome
WE actually consider that Hialeah Gardens not Hialeah. I know the exact area, you'll be right by the Publix. There is no need for private schools. Ernest Graham is an excellent school my son went there. Hes in Middle School now. There afterschool program is also very good. I also work in the Doral and on a really bad day my commute will be 30 minutes. Where in the Doral You guys picked a wonderful area you are close to everything. Do you speak spanish? As for your wife all she has to do is jump on I75 pass one exit and then she'll be at work assuming its on Miramar Parkway. She'll be going against traffic so I would say definetely less than 30 min

[blackklight]

well if crime is your question then heres the city-data for it

Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
Murders 10 8 9 9 13 12 8
per 100,000 4.7 3.6 3.9 3.8 5.6 5.2 3.5
Rapes 49 48 40 48 31 46 38
per 100,000 22.9 21.4 17.2 20.3 13.3 19.9 16.6
Robberies 530 499 461 431 427 385 387
per 100,000 247.5 222.0 198.5 182.0 183.8 166.4 168.6
Assaults 1,203 1,114 1,059 1,012 958 911 915
per 100,000 561.7 495.6 455.9 427.4 412.4 393.6 398.5
Burglaries 2,200 1,865 1,596 1,609 1,804 1,699 1,542
per 100,000 1027.3 829.6 687.1 679.6 776.5 734.1 671.6
Thefts 8,132 7,636 6,513 7,029 7,141 6,314 5,698
per 100,000 3797.2 3396.8 2803.9 2968.7 3073.7 2728.2 2481.8
Auto thefts 2,798 2,776 2,570 2,079 1,861 1,821 1,532
per 100,000 1306.5 1234.9 1106.4 878.1 801.0 786.8 667.3
Arson 52 52 63 44 33 36 31
per 100,000 24.3 23.1 27.1 18.6 14.2 15.6 13.5
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 325.2) 542.6 482.6 421.0 400.5 400.9 378.4 350.2

expect attitude from drivers and a lot of it. you can go to south beach which is full of clubs and nightlife. as for your kids, there is a park called amelia earheart which has a few activities in there. i don't know about the other schools in the area but avoid hialeah middle/senior high school, your kids will thank you.

[TannerMan]

Thanks singlemomof3, great to hear, I speak very, very rough Spanish since I grew up in LA. Is it a complete neccesity? And do you know whats the best choice for a middle school? My Brother is also moving from LA in a couple of months and his older kid is starting middle school. I now know not to go to Hialeah middle.

And with crime i guess those stats are good considering Hialeah is such a large city, I come from Orlando (which is similar in population) where crime is worse than anything Miami has to offer. And good to see crime has been going down in recent years. Thanks for all your help.

[PBCboy]

Yes, it is almost essential to speak Spanish in Hialeah.

[blackklight]

Originally Posted by TannerMan

Thanks singlemomof3, great to hear, I speak very, very rough Spanish since I grew up in LA. Is it a complete neccesity? And do you know whats the best choice for a middle school? My Brother is also moving from LA in a couple of months and his older kid is starting middle school. I now know not to go to Hialeah middle.

And with crime i guess those stats are good considering Hialeah is such a large city, I come from Orlando (which is similar in population) where crime is worse than anything Miami has to offer. And good to see crime has been going down in recent years. Thanks for all your help.

do not kid yourself, a few wrong turns and you're in another world, crime wise.

and yes - spanish is probably necessary. in mcdonalds you go to the window and they say "hola."

[singlemomof3]

I have many friends that don't speak spanish and they get along great. There will be certain places where employees won't speak english. If you can say cafe con leche you'll probably be fine. Schools are zoned to where you live. There is a new middle school that is being built down the road to where you are from. My son goes to Miami Lakes Middle its pretty diverse. Crime is pretty much a non issue for your neck of the woods, I don't ever worry about it. The city of Hialeah Gardens has really grown in the past 5 years, the mayor is wonderful and there is wonderful community involvement. I think you'll be happy.