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Hello, I have recently received orders to Homestead ARB. We will be there this summer and leave summer of 2011. I have a spouse and 3 kids (elementary and middle school). Income is at 100k a year and looking for a single family home w/4 bedrooms. We are leaving Hawaii after living there 6 years. Before Hawaii, we lived in Japan for 3 years.
Most important to me is safety of my children/good schools. If I have to commute an hour each way, no problem.
I have read through most of the posts on this forum and have come away with Palmetto Bay, Pinecrest, and Weston as the best options.
So, my questions are:
-Most affordable 4 bedroom homes in these areas are going for 300-350k right now. Think they will continue to drop in price?
-How open are the roads when commuting the opposite direction of rush hour? Moving along at or near speed limit?
-How are English only speaking white/Caucasian kids accepted within the public school system? **please do not respond with hateful or otherwise inappropriate responses. I ask this question only after experiencing this as an issue in Hawaii.
Palmetto Bay- Not too bad of a commute. Somewhere in the 30 minute range commute. Good for Dade schools and crime rate not too bad.
Pinecrest- Same as above but ritzier.
Weston- NO! Too FAR!!!! Not necessarily a bad commute as you can head down the turnpike and you pretty much have an open road 70 MPH type commute, but accidents can snarl the Turnpike and 75 and the distance is very long. It would take about an hour.
-Most affordable 4 bedroom homes in these areas are going for 300-350k right now. Think they will continue to drop in price?- Yes.
-How open are the roads when commuting the opposite direction of rush hour? Moving along at or near speed limit?- Pretty open heading your direction. I would say at the speed limit until you get past the Turnpike extension then 5-10 MPH above.
-How are english only speaking white/caucasion kids accepted within the public school system? **please do not respond with hatefull or otherwise inappropriate responses. I ask this question only after expeirincing this as an issue in Hawaii.- It can be a problem in some of the schools in the more insular immigrant enclaves but I wouldn't worry about it in Pinecrest or Palmetto Bay.
Defnitely Weston NOT, Weston is way too far of a commute! Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest are both very nice areas, safe, good schools, and Pinecrest is as compelled said, the more upscale neighborhood.
I was in your shoes 20+ years ago (pre Hurricane Andrew days), when I came to Homestead, although from NYC. I agree with the replies so far, stick with Pinecrest of Palmetto Bay (the latter definitely more affordable), both are very nice. I would definitely stay away from Weston because the commute will be very long.
As far as schools, from experience I would say to go with private schools if you can. Not so much because of racial issues, but rather because the quality of education in Miami is not where it should be and in all schools you will find a ghettoish attitude becoming more prevalent. That's my personal opinion.
I do tend to agree with mommytwice here. I honestly would not put my kids in the Miami-Dade school system, in particular Miami-Dade high schools (just my opinion). The elementary and middle schools in the area you are looking at are really quite decent however and I would send my kids there (despite a certain high profile incident at Southwoods Middle).
I would agree move to Pinecrest or Palmetto Bay as long as you can swing the prices starting around 650k in Pinecrest and a little less in Palmetto Bay 500k. If you move to Pinecrest the public schools there are good to great, you don't need to put them in to private schools. I am not sure what schools the Palmetto Bay children attend.
I would also add look at The City of South Miami and parts of the Gables that are east of US1 (near Pinecrest and South Miami). If you want something a little less than these areas look west of US1 around The Falls Mall and Killian High School prices in this area are 400k up past a million.
Traffic wise, you will be fine don't worry, you will be going against traffic.
If you are looking in the 300k - 350 range, you will need to live further south of Pinecrest or in West Kendall (to stay in a safe clean area in that price range). In that price range you could look at Cutler Bay off of Old Cutler Road I think they may have some new homes or townhomes in that price range. Or Homestead near the base has alot of new homes, look at Keys Gate or the surrounding new homes. But in these last two areas (Cutler Bay and Homestead) I would highly suggest putting your children in Private Schools, unless you can get them into one of the magnet schools near by. The Redlands west of US1 not to far from the base might be another thought.
As far as Weston, if it were me, I wouldn't commute that far stay in South West Miami-Dade County.
Last edited by doggiebus; 04-29-2008 at 11:06 AM..
My father has worked at Homestead ARB for over a decade and commutes from East Kendall. He takes the Turnpike and his commute is not too bad. I grew up in the neighborhood he still currently commutes from, and it is still a fairly nice area, between The Falls shopping center and Killian High School (my alma mater). Personally, this area is a little more convenient than Palmetto Bay and Pinecrest because there is easier access to the Turnpike via SW 120th St without having to get on US-1. Keep in mind that the Turnpike is a toll road. I am not sure what my father is paying in tolls now with Sunpass, but I paid about $4-$5 round trip when I worked at the base for a summer in college, commuting from the same neighborhood.
I would definitely not consider Weston when the other neighborhoods you mentioned are nice enough and offer a much better commute, which in my opinion contributes to a better overall quality of life.
All in all, East Kendall, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay are probably some of the nicest neighborhoods in the area. Public schools are some of the better ones serving these districts (Palmetto High, Killian High, Southwood Middle, Palmetto Middle, Leewood Elementary, etc.) and just like anywhere, parental involvement is a big factor in how well your children will do in MDCPS. While it has been longer than I'd like to admit, I attended public schools in this area as did my younger sister. We both attended Leewood Elementary. I went to FC Martin Elementary for 6th grade because Leewood was only K-5, and Arvida Middle (but I think boundaries have been adjusted since then), then Killian High. Sister went to RR Moton Elementary (a magnet school) for 6th grade, Southwood Middle (magnet), and Coral Reef High (magnet). We both got into one of the state's best universities on Bright Futures Scholarships, so we are living proof that a coupla white, non-hispanic girls can make it through MDPS system and do very well, at that. We both had very diverse groups of friends, and that is something I am very thankful for. Things didn't get weird until high school, but high school is just weird in general anyway.
I know you didn't specifically ask about this, but I am wondering if purchasing a house in the South Florida market right now for only a 3 year period of time is going to be a wise financial decision. There is a very real chance that you will end up upside down if you were to turn around and sell the house in just 3 years' time. Not to mention that I am sure the rental market is in favor of tenants right now, flooded by people trying to rent their houses who couldn't sell them. I'm guessing that rental stock is up, meaning that rents would be much more reasonable than they have been in recent years. I'm not trying to tell you what to do, but I was thinking about your situation and what I would do if I were in the same situation.
Thank you everyone for the extremely detailed and informative replies. I genuinely appreciate it.
I am in fact trying to decide to rent or buy. I hate renting as I feel I am just throwing my money away. However, I also understand the very real threat of buying too soon and risk becoming upside down on my mortgage. I just don’t know yet.
Thank you again everyone, the responses have been outstanding and very helpful.
I second most of the recommendations here. However I would like to add some areas that will be an easy commute down to Homestead.
Pinecrest - too expensive for what you want.
Palmetto Bay - cheaper than Pinecrest and decent commute to Homestead. Good schools. All the Palmetto Bay elementary schools are well-regarded, Southwood Middle School is well-regarded as well. Commute will probably be easiest on the FL Turnpike; you would enter it at either SW 152nd Street (Coral Reef Drive) or SW 184th Street (Eureka Drive).
The Crossings / Central-West Kendall - well-regarded elementary and middle schools. One thing I do know about this area is that Devon Aire Elementary/Middle School is K-8. If you live within its boundaries, your children can go to the same school. Calusa Elementary (gets a 10/10 rating on greatschools.net) serves that area as well, and is in a great neighborhood around the Calusa Country Club. Very nice area with easy access to the FL Turnpike at SW 88th Street (Kendall Drive).
Kendale Lakes / West Kendall - pretty nice area that is more affordable than the others mentioned so far. I don't know much about the elementary and middle schools but they appear to have decent ratings on greatschools.net. Since this is a nice, middle class area that is close to no ghetto at all, I doubt that you'll run into any serious problems with the schools there. You would commute to work via the Turnpike and get on at SW 88th Street (Kendall Drive) or potentially SW 40th Street (Bird Road) if you live in the northern reaches of this area.
Central-East Kendall - this is where Miamiblue grew up. Good schools (look at what she said about the schools there), but finding a house for under $350,000 will be a challenge but not an impossible one. You would commute via Turnpike and enter at SW 88th Street (Kendall Drive) or SW 152nd Street (Coral Reef Drive).
(Eastern) Cutler Bay - more affordable area and the closest one I've mentioned to the Homestead AFB. The elementary schools there are generally well-regarded but I don't know much about the middle schools. I know that Centennial Middle School serves the area and it isn't supposed to be great; however, that doesn't mean that your child can't get a good education there.
Homestead - I'd generally say no to living there. However, the Keys Gate Charter School is K-8 and is located in by far the nicest area of the city. I'm sure your kids would be able to get a decent education in some of the schools down in Homestead, but I will not lie: I hear so many bad things about both Homestead and the schools there that I would generally avoid it UNLESS you lived in Keys Gate and your kids could go to school there. Commute would be easy as pie - 5 minutes.
Don't be worried about your children being a "minority" in their schools. In most of these areas I have mentioned there is a large presence of both Anglos / non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics. Also, most Hispanics in these areas are of European origin (white). I would be confident that your kids will not receive racial harassment because regardless of ethnic origin, most kids at the schools serving these neighborhood are white. You will run into NOTHING like what some European-origin children in Hawaii experience when the "locals" make fun of them for being "haole" (foreigner, or more precisely, "white" used in Hawaii). The only place your children will really feel like a "minority" out of the places I have listed is at many of the Homestead schools, many of which are heavily black (African-American) and non-white Hispanic. Also, virtually all children in Miami-Dade County speak English, regardless of their ethnic or racial origin. Language is a non-issue in these areas. Do NOT worry about sending your children to private schools, and more importantly, good luck!
Here is the Miami-Dade County school boundary map: Dadeschools.net
And here is GreatSchools.net, a wonderful site with information about schools and also a function where you can put in an address and find the closest elementary and middle schools: GreatSchools.net
I second most of the recommendations here. However I would like to add some areas that will be an easy commute down to Homestead.
Pinecrest - too expensive for what you want.
Palmetto Bay - cheaper than Pinecrest and decent commute to Homestead. Good schools. All the Palmetto Bay elementary schools are well-regarded, Southwood Middle School is well-regarded as well. Commute will probably be easiest on the FL Turnpike; you would enter it at either SW 152nd Street (Coral Reef Drive) or SW 184th Street (Eureka Drive).
The Crossings / Central-West Kendall - well-regarded elementary and middle schools. One thing I do know about this area is that Devon Aire Elementary/Middle School is K-8. If you live within its boundaries, your children can go to the same school. Calusa Elementary (gets a 10/10 rating on greatschools.net) serves that area as well, and is in a great neighborhood around the Calusa Country Club. Very nice area with easy access to the FL Turnpike at SW 88th Street (Kendall Drive).
Kendale Lakes / West Kendall - pretty nice area that is more affordable than the others mentioned so far. I don't know much about the elementary and middle schools but they appear to have decent ratings on greatschools.net. Since this is a nice, middle class area that is close to no ghetto at all, I doubt that you'll run into any serious problems with the schools there. You would commute to work via the Turnpike and get on at SW 88th Street (Kendall Drive) or potentially SW 40th Street (Bird Road) if you live in the northern reaches of this area.
Central-East Kendall - this is where Miamiblue grew up. Good schools (look at what she said about the schools there), but finding a house for under $350,000 will be a challenge but not an impossible one. You would commute via Turnpike and enter at SW 88th Street (Kendall Drive) or SW 152nd Street (Coral Reef Drive).
(Eastern) Cutler Bay - more affordable area and the closest one I've mentioned to the Homestead AFB. The elementary schools there are generally well-regarded but I don't know much about the middle schools. I know that Centennial Middle School serves the area and it isn't supposed to be great; however, that doesn't mean that your child can't get a good education there.
Homestead - I'd generally say no to living there. However, the Keys Gate Charter School is K-8 and is located in by far the nicest area of the city. I'm sure your kids would be able to get a decent education in some of the schools down in Homestead, but I will not lie: I hear so many bad things about both Homestead and the schools there that I would generally avoid it UNLESS you lived in Keys Gate and your kids could go to school there. Commute would be easy as pie - 5 minutes.
Don't be worried about your children being a "minority" in their schools. In most of these areas I have mentioned there is a large presence of both Anglos / non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics. Also, most Hispanics in these areas are of European origin (white). I would be confident that your kids will not receive racial harassment because regardless of ethnic origin, most kids at the schools serving these neighborhood are white. You will run into NOTHING like what some European-origin children in Hawaii experience when the "locals" make fun of them for being "haole" (foreigner, or more precisely, "white" used in Hawaii). The only place your children will really feel like a "minority" out of the places I have listed is at many of the Homestead schools, many of which are heavily black (African-American) and non-white Hispanic. Also, virtually all children in Miami-Dade County speak English, regardless of their ethnic or racial origin. Language is a non-issue in these areas. Do NOT worry about sending your children to private schools, and more importantly, good luck!
Here is the Miami-Dade County school boundary map: Dadeschools.net
And here is GreatSchools.net, a wonderful site with information about schools and also a function where you can put in an address and find the closest elementary and middle schools: GreatSchools.net
Wow, great post!
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was in your shoes, only 20 years ago
