Renting in/near Miami - Safe living for a young woman?? (Hialeah: condos, find a job)

[ShelliF]

Hurricane: Thanks for your help! I definitely agree with your salary/col assessment... It's incredibly disappointing, but my husband is an airline new hire & so will be "on probation" with them for 6mo, which forces us to live near his domicile. He's putting in a bid to transfer to DFW (where we have found MANY spacious, beautiful, affordable apartments) as soon as possible. We've even considered him staying in a Miami crash pad while I live in Dallas & hope it doesn't last long, but I really would like to try to embrace Miami instead of avoiding it based solely on rumor & anxiety.

[ShelliF]

Also, some specific areas in question:

Gladeview/Hialeah/W Little River/Miami Shores
Cutler Bay/S Miami Heights
Miami Gardens/N Miami Glades
U of M Hospital area

Any of these areas particularly desirable or shady?

[Pear Martini]

I can only speak of Miami Gardens because I am not quite familiar with the other spots.

The eastern part of Miami Gardens (east of I-95) is safe, but don't be fooled by the "Gardens" aspect of the name. This area is quite bare bones, nothing fancy yet nothing alarmingly ghetto either.

West of I-95 is not that desirable. Lets just say its hood, also, the worlds biggest dirtiest strip club is located on Miami Gardens Drive. Its called Tootsies Cabaret.

Lets just say this isn't a classy joint, this is more of a brothel than a strip club. But they have great drink specials and I used to go there with my coworkers. The color scheme reminds me of Chucke Cheeses with all the bright red and yellow lights.


There is also the world famous "Queen of Diamonds" which is where all of the rappers go to see nude ladies clap their behinds, I believe thats 1 block east of I-95 on Miami Gardens Drive.




Its also far away from the Miami International Airport.

I would say $1,000 is what you pay for a one bedroom in a nice area, nothing fancy but most likely you will have new appliances. Once you get up past 1,000, say 1,200 you can slip into a nice lux rental.

[xS☺B☺s]

My feeling is without question you should not go to Miami. We quickly get a feeling here about who'll fit and who won't, and I think you won't. Too many negatives right off the bat. Also coming from Dallas - I don't think you'll be able to deal. Your financial expectations are unrealistic to put it modestly. We haven't heard about your Spanish skills.

Let me just revive a few classic threads from our recent Dallas transplant disaster - JMLACYSR. Keep in mind JM came to Miami enthusiastically with an open mind. You're already scared. You need to stay in Dallas.

http://www.city-data.com/forum/miami...iami-read.html

http://www.city-data.com/forum/miami...-dallas-5.html

If you do decide to go to Miami then I strongly strongly suggest you look for real estate east of Route 1. Brickell or on one of the islands.

[roadtrip75]

Originally Posted by ShelliF

We've even considered him staying in a Miami crash pad while I live in Dallas & hope it doesn't last long, but I really would like to try to embrace Miami instead of avoiding it based solely on rumor & anxiety.

You CAN embrace Miami. What you can't under any circumstances do is live somewhere nice for a reasonable price. The cost of insulating yourself from the riff-raff is enormous in Miami. So, your dream of enjoying the good aspects of Miami while paying down your student loans is unrealistic.

My advice is this: If your husband can get transferred after a short while and you know for a fact that your stay in Miami will only be 6-12 months, give up on saving money. Spend a little bit more and live somewhere nice (and English-speaking) and enjoy the tropical paradise. Live the fantasy life for a little while. Then after a year you can move somewhere else and start being responsible.

[perry335654]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

You CAN embrace Miami. What you can't under any circumstances do is live somewhere nice for a reasonable price. The cost of insulating yourself from the riff-raff is enormous in Miami. So, your dream of enjoying the good aspects of Miami while paying down your student loans is unrealistic.

My advice is this: If your husband can get transferred after a short while and you know for a fact that your stay in Miami will only be 6-12 months, give up on saving money. Spend a little bit more and live somewhere nice (and English-speaking) and enjoy the tropical paradise. Live the fantasy life for a little while. Then after a year you can move somewhere else and start being responsible.

I hear Miami is not tropical.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by perry335654

i hear miami is not tropical.

lol

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by ShelliF

Also, some specific areas in question:

Gladeview/Hialeah/W Little River/Miami Shores
Cutler Bay/S Miami Heights
Miami Gardens/N Miami Glades
U of M Hospital area

Any of these areas particularly desirable or shady?

Gladeview -SHADY, avoid
Hialeah - some areas are ok, some are Shady, but its Spanish 24/7
W Little River- Shady, Avoid
MIami Shores - mostly good area but if the rent is cheap, its probably in the shady limit
Cutler Bay - most apts are shady but I heard there are good places East of Franjo St
Miami Gardens Skip it
N Miami Glades, not sure what you mean But probably a shady area
UM hospital area -Shady

Areas I recommend but might be above your budget:
Miami Springs, short commute, good parks
Coral Gable apts, good hopping, good public trasportstion
Kendall

[WINTERFRONT]

Originally Posted by ♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥

No, unless you hire a bodyguard but those are quite expensive and Sometimes take advantage of white people. My boss who is also caucasian like you she buys everything through Amazon, even groceries. For the beach she drives all the way to Cocoa Beach or Naples. She also pays everything online or by mail. She has to wait though until her husband can take her mail to the post office because the first time she went to the post office she was called racial slurs by the clerks, her car was keyed in the parking lot, and when she was getting in her car, she was mugged at gunpoint.

story of my life

[ShelliF]

Originally Posted by roadtrip75

You CAN embrace Miami. What you can't under any circumstances do is live somewhere nice for a reasonable price.

My advice is this: If your husband can get transferred after a short while and you know for a fact that your stay in Miami will only be 6-12 months, give up on saving money. Spend a little bit more and live someplace nice. Then after a year you can move somewhere else and start being responsible.

Thanks for your advice, I appreciate your honesty. I think this is more or less what my husband & I have decided... after 6mo he'll be off probation @ work & we can move anywhere. I love the ocean & would love to experience the blend of Latin cultures, but it's nice to know we have an out if it's not for us.

It disappoints me that people in this forum have been so hostile - I've asked similar questions for several other potential domicile cities & have never had people behave so defensively (or downright rudely). I hope this isn't the "flavor" people are referring to in Miami, b/c here we call that trash.