LA to Miami with a 200k salary (Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale: to rent, condos)

[doggiebus]

Chelito nicely said.

[King0fthehill]

Originally Posted by Chelito23

.Regarding prices, 600K won't go as far as you think if you want an upper-class, safe, clean area with good schools (much less a 4 bedroom). I think you could find houses on the small and old side which need work in truely nice areas, like Morningside, The Roads, West Miami in that price range...but the schools are not great and they most likely would not have 4 bedrooms. You will have to go the private route...

Also, there are some decent pockets near North Miami Avenue between 103St all the way up to North Miami Beach, and there are many Caribbean Black families in the area (you mentioned Bahamian roots). The area overall isn't the best, but if you pick a nice pocket, it could be a great place (thinking Biscayne Gardens, Miami Shores or El Portal).

Thanks for the reply, Chelito23, very deatailed. I talked it over with my mom and she mentioned that she would spend more money on a house as I told her that 600k won't cut it. Apparently, she thought 600k would go very far in Miami

About the stress, Miami is more stressful in her opinion because it is near the Caribbean (interests in D.R and Bahamas, namely) and it isn't as fast pace as Los Angeles (not bashing Miami).

Thanks for the information about diversity, my dad is moving to Coral Gables or Boca Raton (parents are seperated; my father is moving new year's). BTW how is Coconut Grove?

[doggiebus]

I like Coconut Grove, just be aware that there is a bad section of the grove that has crime drugs, etc it is in west side of coconut grove so stay away from that area and you should be fine. The city is working to buy up properties in the that part in turn pushing out the poorer people. There are some nice restaurants and shops and a great park that has a dog area.

FYI, Coconut Grove isn't cheap townhomes 3/2 start in the high 600k to 750k(I know that isn't what you are looking for but to give you an idea of prices) tiny one bedroom apartments start at around 300,000 for a one bedroom. Also the closer you get to the bad section the prices come down a little, but not enough IMO to make up for it. So just be aware that if you see something listed online that is pretty cheap listed in Coconut Grove there is a reason for it being so cheap either it needs major work, close to that bad area, or is a tiny place.

[King0fthehill]

^^^Thanks for the heads up! Any more commentary???

[Tjam]

if you do a search on realtor.com by zip code you'll see some numbers for the different areas. coconut grove/ coral gables/ kendall ( 33133 33134 33146, 33114 33124 33133 33134 33143 33144 33145 33146, 33158 33173 33176 33183). coral gables and coconut grove are mostly up above 1mil with a couple well below that. Kendall is lower.
you can find more zips here for those areas:
USPS - ZIP Code Lookup - Search By City

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

Friends of mine that have lived in Miami and now live in Santa Monica, said Miami is way worse. They would never move back here. So I think it depends who you ask unfortunatly.

doggiebus .... just got home from Cali ... you were right on about Santa Barbara it is beautiful .... man like Palm Beach with mountains and nicer people . I have to question you about Santa Monica though ... remember I was nearby in Marina del Rey and I thought Santa Monica was a dump in many areas ...looked like a combination of some seedy parts of Dania Beach and Hollywood in Broward . It was very dirty and seedy in many areas especially off Lincoln Avenue and at the Pier ..... grafitti and garbage everywhere , high crime I frankly was disappointed . I thought Venice Beach was a dump also ... these are areas still caught up in there past when they were still beautiful ( 60's & 70's ) . It would depend what parts of Miami you are comparing these places too ..... I would put any part of Miami Beach from Sunny Isles south to South Beach up against Santa Monica or Venice Beach any day . Santa Barbara and even Malibu are a different story as Palm Beach or Boca Raton are to Miami ..... Malibu was awesome and I could not get over the laid back attitude and friendliness of the locals . By the way I was able to spend a day and a half in San Diego two hours south and I loved it ... hands down kills South Florida and Los Angeles for that matter .... you should consider the San Diego area .... it is what Miami could have or should have been

One last parting comment So Cal is great .... but do not fool yourself into thinking it is that much better than South Florida ... they share many , many problems .... I heard the word "cesspool" thrown about by many locals when describing what LA has become , funny I have been hearing the same word in Miami for many years now . I was also amazed at the shoddy condition the freeways are in in So Cal ... the 405 is a mass of garbage on the side of the roads and grafitti on most signage .... illegal immigration is a gross problem . Yes the natural beauty is nicer in some areas , smog and all and the weather is better , and the people are a little nicer , but I would not consider a move from Miami to Los Angeles much of an improvement ...... please look into San Diego before making a move to California . Remember there is reason that many native Californians are leaving the state in droves for Arizona , Nevada and Texas .

[ssivy017]

well weston pembroke pines and aventura are good cities but also really bad in traffic too... so the traffic will never change... well cities in south florida are nice you can also look at pine crest area there are some nice homes and the schools are very good... there is south miami the city is also nice. if you are looking more at pembroke pines my best bet is west of pembroke pines if you go east its not as nice as west.... west pembroe pines the schools are new built and its very centric you have everything there at walking distance or just mins away when driving... just remember pembroke pines does have a lot of traffic too... good luck and hope your city hunting turns out good... )

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

Hi, my family is moving to South Florida sometime in the next year (My mom, my brother and I). This is largely due to the fact that Los Angeles isn't cutting it anymore (far too much stress, traffic, etc), and the fact my Dad is moving there is well to persue a business venture, but also to be close to his family as he is a Bahamian-native. It is also due to the fact that we could do alot better in Miami (cost of living is 40% lower than Los Angeles IIRC), and also to sell our home (3beds,2baths in a nice neighborhood, 1mil!).

Basically, I need help finding an above-average preferrebly upper-middle class neighborhood with good schools (I'll be a senior in high school) , good job oppurtunities (especially for a lawyer), low crime (duh!) , nicely upkept (nice trees, landscaping, water, nice roads, parks, etc), proximity to Miami and/or Fort Lauderdale (where the lawyer jobs are) also plays a role.. Diversity also plays a small factor in this move.

I've done a bit of researching myself and a few neighborhoods I've kept an eye on are Weston, Pembroke Pines and Aventura. To my luck, my mom criticized Weston (she claims it is too far), so can you guys help me with a good neighborhood?

If it helps, an ideal house is a 4bed,3bath home for 3,000sq.ft. for under $600,000.

Thanks in advance

Regards

I think Weston is great .... but it can be too far west for some . Look into Aventura as doggiebus suggested and also look into Miami Shores which has some beautiful neighborhoods and is close to both Aventura and Ft.Lauderdale also look at Victoria Park in Ft.Lauderdale . $ 200 K will get you a nice life style in South Florida and will go farther than in So Cal .

[ssivy017]

just a quick reminder too... make sure the city or area doesnt flood too much while it rains... some areas tend to flood and then it becomes really humid... good luck

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by King0fthehill

Thanks for the reply, Chelito23, very deatailed. I talked it over with my mom and she mentioned that she would spend more money on a house as I told her that 600k won't cut it. Apparently, she thought 600k would go very far in Miami

About the stress, Miami is more stressful in her opinion because it is near the Caribbean (interests in D.R and Bahamas, namely) and it isn't as fast pace as Los Angeles (not bashing Miami).

Thanks for the information about diversity, my dad is moving to Coral Gables or Boca Raton (parents are seperated; my father is moving new year's). BTW how is Coconut Grove?

Go with Chelito's advice and check out Miami Shores ... it may have just what you are looking for .