commuting to key largo? (Miami, Pembroke Pines: to rent, houses, buying)

[gemmagirl]

Hi, I am new here. I may be getting a job in miami-u.s. govt.
I cannot live in dade county due to the pitbull ban there. I am not giving up my dog.
I was looking at broward county areas, like pembroke pines.
It just looks sorta suburbia dull for me. I'm single and have no kids.
Then I checked out Key Largo. There are houses I'm crazy about (on realtor.com) that I could afford. The commute would be around 54 miles to work. Is this common? Do people work in Miami and then retreat down to KL?
I wonder if a longer drive time, going home to a secluded paradise would be better than a shorter drive home to dullsville?

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

I doubt a lot of people would do that commute to the keys. The roads to the keys are very unreliable & dangerous (closures due to constructions, 2 way traffic road) I live way South (closer to the keys than to Pembroke Pines) and I would hate to do that commute to Key Largo myself everyday.

Pembroke pines would be a better choice. You can just go to the keys during the weekends. Even where I live right now I would rather commute to Pembroke Pines than to the keys because the roads are better. I can take the turnpike and get there faster than if I drive to Key Largo.

[doggiebus]

I wouldn't do that commute. I am sure there are some people that do that commute. But I for one have learned that sitting in traffic for 1+ hours each way isn't a way I want spend my life. I did that for a few years, then got a job closer to home, and loved it, now I work from home, even shorter commute.

Now on the pitbull thing, the police have plenty of other things to do then worry about locating all the pitbulls in the county. That said however, you will find it hard to rent with one in Miami-Dade most likely. Maybe even in Broward or Monroe county too.

[mikealialex]

I lived at MM 52 in Marathon, and regularly had to drive to Key Largo (about 45 miles). I hated the drive, mainly due to road closures, bridges going up, and slow moving camper homes. I definitely would not do the drive the other way from KL to Miami. Sorry.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by gemmagirl

I was looking at broward county areas, like pembroke pines.
It just looks sorta suburbia dull for me. I'm single and have no kids.

Check out Weston. The physical appearance of this area is as suburbia dull as anywhere (maybe even more than anywhere), but the ethnic (predominantly South American but there is an Asian influence moving in too) influence and the central location are enough to prevent me from going into a completely drone-like existence. I'm am also single with no kids. The best thing about this area (vs Pembroke Pines) is that on the weekend, you can just hop on 595 or 75 and be anywhere you want in 30 minutes or less, and within city limits you at least have a few upscale restaurants and bars, even a few clubs in Town Center. Pembroke Pines is more isolated and basically a mess of strip malls.

Pembroke Pines is also very diverse, acutally a bit more so than Weston, but the feel there is homogenized. I don't know what it is, but it just feels even more bland.

[crisp444]

Don't commute from Key Largo to downtown Miami. The commute is not very fun as there is a lot of construction going on in the road that leads from the Keys to Miami-Dade County. Even without construction, it is a long drive and can have a lot of traffic. Your commute will be much more pleasant and short coming from Pembroke Pines. I have driven between Miami and the Keys well over a hundred times (just did it this afternoon) and it is NOT something I would want to do on a daily basis!

[doom1001]

Going to Key Largo from Downtown Miami on a typical afternoon drive must be like close to 2 hours.There's also that 18 mile stretch of road between Florida City and Key Largo where once a trailer from a car going northbound got loose and headed straight for us going southbound and with only 2 lanes we were lucky we were able to avoid it,avoiding that stretch of road on a daily basis is enough to make me avoid commuting to Key largo.Also nothing against Key Largo but I would prefer living in western Broward than down there.

[kevinkagy]

I would never do that commute. That's too far. The Keys are far from Miami, let alone Broward County.

[MoverandShaker2004]

That commute would steal your life. Even economically, that would be like a half tank of gas a day, maybe more. But hey, maybe money isn't an issue. Look at the new '09 Tahoe Hybrid, it won green car's coveted "best hybrid" of the year award. And it's a 6,000# badass SUV.

[gemmagirl]

Thanks for the info everyone. Without being there, it's hard to know, thanks for your insight. I am planning on buying, but even so, I would not want to risk disobeying the ban and somehow losing my dog.