Safe Areas in Miami Metro (Hialeah, Coral Gables: statistics, deals, county)

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by Bitto

I may be moving from Salt Lake City, UT to the Miami, FL area near the end of 2009. I have read some of the comments in this section, and most of them are from 2007 or so. I will be working in Miami for a few months before I move the family. I am trying to find a safe, affordable area with good schools in the Miami area. Both of my kids are in elementary school. In the beginning, we would most likely rent, but ideally we would buy a home after I sell some real estate in Salt Lake. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Nice! I grew up here and went to school in SLC. VERY different places, probably more of a culture shock coming back to Miami than leaving.

Safe, affordable, with good schools will be hard, especially with a family. Though house prices have come down a lot, renting now is not that much cheaper than before the recession. I would trust realtor.com more than Craigslist these days for rates. Make sure the place you are looking to rent is preferably less than 25% of gross income (I wouldn't rely on 33% as insurance, health care, utilities are much more expensive than SLC.) Desirable areas near downtown would be Shenandoah, Coconut Grove, Miami Shores, Miami Beach, and a bit further out Coral Gables, South Miami, Pinecrest, and Aventura/Sunny Isles to the north (virtually no single family homes there, though). All the above are pretty expensive though. I guess the next best alternatives would be Kendall, Palmetto Bay, Killian, North Miami Beach ( Miami Gardens Drive north to the county line (sky lake area), or east of Biscayne Blvd), or Pembroke Pines in Broward. The Sky Lake area or Pines have better access to downtown, IMO. I have heard often that Pines has the better schools, but I think schools near Killian (the Falls area) are pretty good also. Anything priced lower than these areas is probably in a undesirable area. And trust me, the undesirable areas in Miami are on a whole different level of undesirableness than those in Salt Lake.

[kek1993]

I live in Pinecrest, take the train to work downtown, the schools are excellent, where I live is gated. I like this area. Hey, I used to live in SLC too! Sure is different here.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Originally Posted by kek1993

I live in Pinecrest, take the train to work downtown, the schools are excellent, where I live is gated. I like this area. Hey, I used to live in SLC too! Sure is different here.

OK, I guess in terms of public trans. to downtown, Pinecrest beats the northern suburbs by a mile. Unfortunately...where I work on Virginia Key would be 20-30 minutes on an unreliable bus from Brickell Station. I used to do it (from the busway in Palmetto Bay), and it got old really quick.

I don't know about you, but I sure do miss having the mountains 10 minutes away. I used to live in east downtown/university area in SLC.

[kek1993]

That is true, SLC did not have areas like Miami, that is for sure. Even West Valley City does not come close to what I have seen in Miami. I used to live in Holladay. I keep getting lost here, and have not been able to figure out the intersections with 6 streets that converge, all at off-set angles. SLC spoiled me in regards to orientation.

[gareegee]

There are no safe places in Dade County, don't kid yourself. I left (native Dade Countian) after my house was robbed 2 times in one year, my parents house was robbed that year, my car was broken into for the second time in Coconut Grove, my friend's wife was raped in the bathroom at Jackson Memorial Hospital, another friend was injured in a setup auto crash on the Palmetto when the driver in front slammed on his breaks to cause the crash, and most sadly, when my good , long-time friends from high school were both murdered in Pinecrest in their driveway waiting for the garage door to open (shot in the head so the robbers could ransack their home.... oh yes, I forgot about a girlfriend's mom in Coral Gables who had a knife put to her neck in her bedroom when the scumbag walked in to rob her and she lived only because she had some 'mad money' in her drawer to give the robber. You know, it's only my impression and opinion, but after traveling the world (5 of the 7 seas)... I have come to a sparkling generality which of course has exceptions, Moderator cut: Flaming you will be unsafe, the rule of law is questionable and you are open to mayhem anytime, for any or no reason. It's just the way it is.

When we called the police (Kendall) after the second robbery, an officer came the third day later. He gave us a list of pawn shops in D County to go to. He said they averaged 60,000 home robberies a year and they barely had the manpower to make a report. Notice the bars on the windows? They ain't there for architectural decoration.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

I have no complains about the Police down here. In fact I think they are doing an excellent job. I called the police a few months ago, and not only the came in less than 15 minutes, they stayed on the line with me, until the officers arrived My other neighbors had a fire in their kitchen and we had our full block full of emergency trucks and police cars.

[cjs08]

Originally Posted by gareegee

There are no safe places in Dade County, don't kid yourself. I left (native Dade Countian) after my house was robbed 2 times in one year, my parents house was robbed that year, my car was broken into for the second time in Coconut Grove, my friend's wife was raped in the bathroom at Jackson Memorial Hospital, another friend was injured in a setup auto crash on the Palmetto when the driver in front slammed on his breaks to cause the crash, and most sadly, when my good , long-time friends from high school were both murdered in Pinecrest in their driveway waiting for the garage door to open (shot in the head so the robbers could ransack their home.... oh yes, I forgot about a girlfriend's mom in Coral Gables who had a knife put to her neck in her bedroom when the scumbag walked in to rob her and she lived only because she had some 'mad money' in her drawer to give the robber. You know, it's only my impression and opinion, but after traveling the world (5 of the 7 seas)... I have come to a sparkling generality which of course has exceptions, Moderator cut: Flaming you will be unsafe, the rule of law is questionable and you are open to mayhem anytime, for any or no reason. It's just the way it is.

When we called the police (Kendall) after the second robbery, an officer came the third day later. He gave us a list of pawn shops in D County to go to. He said they averaged 60,000 home robberies a year and they barely had the manpower to make a report. Notice the bars on the windows? They ain't there for architectural decoration.

While I would never want to make light of an individual's unfortunate experiences, but I would say that the above description is not only full of generalizations, but gross exaggeration.

Do these things happen here in Miami, and all around the world? Yes, they do. However, I grew up here, and I've been here for 25 years. In all that time, my family was the victim of 1 home invasion and 3 car burglaries. Both of those were in the 1990's. I also had two friends who were killed, one by a jealous ex-boyfriend, and another by suspicious "accidental" gunshot. Both of those happened about 6 years ago.

The notion that all Spanish-speaking communities is inherently unsafe is foolhardy. The entire world is open to mayhem at any point, for any reason, due to a complete range of crime, war, natural disaster, and meteors streaming in from the heavens.

Additionally, I agree with Princess that I've always had a good response time from the police. Departments down here are characterized by a wide range of individuals as are most organizations...there are some excellent cops, some average cops, some bad cops...Who you get on any given day is a luck of the draw.

[Carlitosway]

I live in West Kendall. My neighborhood is crowded but relatively safe. Traffic can be hectic, specially in the morning, but I can take the 252 Coral Reef Max, transfer to Metro at South Dadeland Station, and be in Downtown Miami in about an hour, without the hassle of fighting traffic. Good luck.

[doggiebus]

I too have called the cops a few times, and I have to say they do come out with in 15 minutes or less. I live in East Kendall and from what I heard they arrested 20+ people this past summer for burglary in the area, they doing a pretty good job considering. Miami isn't perfect, it has many faults that is for sure, and its not for everyone.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by gareegee

He said they averaged 60,000 home robberies a year and they barely .

Don't believe everything you hear. First of all, the term "home robbery" is an oxymoron, because you can't "rob" a home. You can only rob a person. Basic law. A home can be burglarized and offenses can be committed inside of it, and if Kendall averaged 60 thousand burglaries each year, that would mean that literally every single home in Kendall is burglarized, every single year, with some being broken into more than once a year. I'm sorry, but even in the favelas of Brazil, at least one house on the block will be spared of a burglar. Six hundred sounds more reasonable, though.