What is Homested, Florida City like? (Homestead: neighborhoods, high school, to live in)

[robcuik]

I LOVE IT! I moved to fl city 4 yrs ago from hialeah hell. I've never been happier. Of course you have parts that aren't so great, as in any city, but overall it's a great place to live. It's now growing 'a-lot', but when it comes down to traffic, people, and the general way of life it's still old country living. You have to check out the redlands; about 5 mins from here; and other prosperous (i.e. rich folks) areas.

[spealex]

What you are going to have in Homestead is, like some previous posters mentioned, some undesireable neighborhoods but also some pockets of promise. Homestead is not just for the poor. My wife and I are proffesionals making well above the average income for South Florida but have chosen to live in Homestead for various reasons. Most important is the fact that when we bought, we would have had ot pay over $600k for a comparible home in Miami. Being young I wanted a bit of financial breathing room to do other things like vacations and recreational activities. We are 30 minutes to Key Largo. We have a new Hospital which just ranked in the top 5 in South Florida by Consumer Reports and restaurants as well as shopping has finally realized the untapped potential of our area. The Longhorn, Olive Garden and soon to be Red Lobster show that people with SOME disposable income do live here, and that should continue. The downside is the real estate BUST. If you were buying in the area, I would come in with basement offers in the nicest subdivisions. The only things selling now are foreclosures and people willing to take a loss. Our loss could be your gain. You will have to put up with unfinished communities for a while but in time they will be completed and this area will be great. Despite what people say, there are some good schools. For now they are charter for the most part but in time, as more affluent families continue to enter the area so will the quality of the schools improve. In my subdivision where homes where selling at over $500k during the peak of the housing boom, we have two charter schools. They BOTH received an "A" rating. We are now getting a new shopping complex with a publix and other stores. Within 5 minutes of my community I will have supermarkets, "A" rated schools, a public marina for boats, a mall, a hospital, a performing arts center and more. This is all coming down the road. The question is how many services do you want right now and how much are you willing to pay for it. Thats the question to ask yourself when considering Homestead vs. Miami.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

What East Homestead needs is people that actually move there. That place is so vacant still, but like the previous poster said a lot of new businesses have opened there like Lowes, Chillis. They will also need to open more lanes on the Turnpike, make a decent Northbound entrance on Campbell Dr and continue investing and extending the service hours of some stores. I don't think it's all lost down there, at least its residents are not treating their properties like garbage cans like in some of other parts of Miami Dade.

[jenniferashley99]

I would never live in Homestead. It is one of the ugliest places in around...depressing comes to mind. Dangerous. Boring. There is NOTHING down there. Oh how many times can one go to the Keys..I bet the schools are rough. No culture at all. Don't move down there..they invest NO money down there..oh a hospital. They needed one because all the poor get sick and all the crime victims need a place. What a depressing place, Homestead is.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Originally Posted by jenniferashley99

No culture at all.

Define culture or more specifically Miami culture. I thought the culture here is going to restaurants and driving to clubs in seedy neighborhoods. They can do that from Homestead too.

[doggiebus]

Topic here is Homestead and Florida City, not Miami.

[spealex]

Originally Posted by jenniferashley99

I would never live in Homestead. It is one of the ugliest places in around...depressing comes to mind. Dangerous. Boring. There is NOTHING down there. Oh how many times can one go to the Keys..I bet the schools are rough. No culture at all. Don't move down there..they invest NO money down there..oh a hospital. They needed one because all the poor get sick and all the crime victims need a place. What a depressing place, Homestead is.

No culture........hospital is for the hurt and poor. You are so right, b/c hospitals go into business for the uninsured and indigent right? If that were the case they would not have invested millions into the area, no matter what people say, things only go up to chase the dollar. And to say there is no money invested down there.....forget the new Mercedes dealership, performing arts center, Homestead Pavilion, hospital, Honda dealership, best buy, restaurants. You are right, no investors down here. All that was built as charity for free with no expectation of profit return. Like I said, to buy now in Homestead takes some vision to what is coming in upcoming years. If you are only in the area for 3 years, stay in Miami, but otherwise, a wise longterm investment would bring you along these ways. Buy a 5 bedroom 2 car garage home for $250k and watch the value grow over the years. Or pay $375 and watch it grow, its up to you what you have to spend now.

[plantlover]

I love Homestead! I have lived here since 1978. I bought a home in the older part of town, the northeast part, in 1993. I got a great deal on a 1950's home and have a nearly 1/2 acre size lot. We are about 20 miles from Everglades National Park, 12 miles or so from Biscayne National Park and the Homestead Bayfront Park, 20 miles from Key Largo; the first of the stretch of the Florida Keys. Nothing to do here??? WRONG! There is great fishing, boating, hiking, camping, lots of festivals at the nearby Fruit & Spice Park. There are u-pic fields where fresh produce and fruit can be picked during our dry season (Nov-April). Parks in town are in the process of renovation, we have a library, artist place (Art South). We have 3 Publix groceries, 2 Home Depots, 1 Lowes, movie theaters, Best Buy, Petco, Bed Bath & Beyond, a great new hospital in the Baptist Health system. Sure there is crime...., but we have our own police department (better than waiting for the county police), our own trash pick-up (weekly), whereas if you live in unincorporated Dade County, you get ONE free trash pick up annually. There are many good things about Homestead!

[noland123]

Originally Posted by jenniferashley99

I would never live in Homestead. It is one of the ugliest places in around...depressing comes to mind. Dangerous. Boring. There is NOTHING down there. Oh how many times can one go to the Keys..I bet the schools are rough. No culture at all. Don't move down there..they invest NO money down there..oh a hospital. They needed one because all the poor get sick and all the crime victims need a place. What a depressing place, Homestead is.

How can a place be dangerous and boring? That statment seems to contradict itself.There seems to be more positive posters than negatives,I am impressed how much has been rebuilt since Hurricane Andrew. Florida City always seem to me to be a small-type country town.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

Some stats on zip code 33035(where Keys Gate is)

Foreign born population: 538 (19.5%)
(57.4% of them are naturalized citizens)

Most common places of birth for the foreign-born residents
* Cuba (43%)
* Colombia (10%)
* Spain (5%)
* Dominican Republic (5%)
* United Kingdom (4%)
* Russia (4%)

Residents with income below the poverty level in 2007:
This zip code: 5.5%
Florida: 12.1%

Estimated median household income in 2007:
This zip code: $56,530
Florida: $47,804