Gay couple with kids - Miami/Ft Laud advice (Miami Beach: apartments, condominiums)

[slopecouple]

Hi everyone.. we are a gay couple in our late 30s with twin babies. We currently live in Brooklyn NY but are exploring the possibility of relocating somewhere warmer. I grew up in Oakland Park and still have family there and in Plantation, so I'm pretty familiar with the lay of the land down here (Broward more so than MiamiDade).

We're exploring options and would love any advice on neighborhoods that meet as many of the following criteria as possible:

Safe
Good public school options
Gay friendly / liberal
Walkable with local shops, groceries, cafes

The areas we're currently looking at include:

MIAMI:
South Beach
North Beach
Coral Gables (near Miracle Mile)
Coral Gables (nearer the bay)
South Miami
Design District
Coconut Grove

FT LAUD:
Victoria Park
Cooley Hammock/Las Olas
Poinsettia Heights
Ft Lauderdale Beach

Thanks in advance!

[slopecouple]

forgot to mention... we'd need to keep it under $1m. We're ideally looking for single family (we've done the apartment thing for too long).

[kevinkagy]

Well congratulations, you've picked out all the perfect neighborhoods in Miami, so you're on the right track. South Beach, Midtown, Design District, and North Beach are all really nice, but finding single family homes in these areas is either impossible or really hard. South Beach for example has only one small street with single family homes, but there are plenty of townhomes and apartments. Out of all of these, South Beach has the best public schools. Midtown and the Design District are the least safe of these areas.

Another neighborhood you didn't mention which is nice and a very popular gay neighborhood is the Upper East Side. It runs along Biscayne Blvd north of Midtown and the Design District. It's definitely grungy, but it's gotten a lot better. There's a big neighborhood community feel to the area, but the public schools are probably not good in that area.

South Miami, Coral Gables and the Grove all have good public schools (more elementary and middle schools). You can find really nice single-family homes in all these areas, and are all very safe and clean wholesome areas. In Coral Gables, I'd stick to around Miracle Mile if you want to be somewhere where you can walk around, but quite frankly, nothing fits your criteria better than Coconut Grove in my honest opinion.

The Grove is safe (except for the western Grand Av area, but that's changing), it has good public schools, there's a lot to do, there are plenty of beautiful single family homes, big neighborhood community, open-minded area, right on the water, close to Downtown, connections to the Metro, and it has that walkability factor with lots of shops and restaurants. I'd highly recommend you look in the Grove! Best of luck!

One question though, your name is "slopecouple". Do you currently live in Park Slope? How is that neighborhood? I've walked around there and I love it. What's it like to live there though?

[slopecouple]

Hi Kevin - thanks so much for your reply. We do indeed live in Park Slope. Great neighborhood... very diverse, tons of shops and restaurants on 2 main avenues that stretch for over 20 blocks each, Prospect Park (Brooklyn's Central Park) is only 1 block away from our apartment. It's very, very gay with tons of gay families. To be honest, it would be really hard to leave.

That said, I think we're both sick of a number of aspects of NYC. The winter is tops... I'm from Ft Lauderdale and husband is from LA. I love the seasons and the snow, but not for 6 months. Too grey, too bleak.

So, basically we'd love to find Park Slope in South Florida. I know that's a tall/impossible order, but we're trying to see how close we can get.

Where is Midtown? I've never heard of that neighborhood before. Also, what are the approximate boundaries of the Upper East Side (funny name since I'd never want to live in NYC's UES)?

It would be so interesting to end up in Coconut Grove... I spent so much time there as a kid on weekends and at the art shows...same thing for Coral Gables/Cutler Ridge at Matheson Hammock and Fairchild Tropical Gardens. I think it's why I have this deep-seated love for Miami... I just love the overgrown, wild sections of those neighborhoods. Having ready access to Fresh Market in Coconut Grove would be a good thing.

If you want any more Park Slope info, just let me know. And thanks again.

[crisp444]

Originally Posted by slopecouple

Hi Kevin - thanks so much for your reply. We do indeed live in Park Slope. Great neighborhood... very diverse, tons of shops and restaurants on 2 main avenues that stretch for over 20 blocks each, Prospect Park (Brooklyn's Central Park) is only 1 block away from our apartment. It's very, very gay with tons of gay families. To be honest, it would be really hard to leave.

That said, I think we're both sick of a number of aspects of NYC. The winter is tops... I'm from Ft Lauderdale and husband is from LA. I love the seasons and the snow, but not for 6 months. Too grey, too bleak.

So, basically we'd love to find Park Slope in South Florida. I know that's a tall/impossible order, but we're trying to see how close we can get.

Where is Midtown? I've never heard of that neighborhood before. Also, what are the approximate boundaries of the Upper East Side (funny name since I'd never want to live in NYC's UES)?

It would be so interesting to end up in Coconut Grove... I spent so much time there as a kid on weekends and at the art shows...same thing for Coral Gables/Cutler Ridge at Matheson Hammock and Fairchild Tropical Gardens. I think it's why I have this deep-seated love for Miami... I just love the overgrown, wild sections of those neighborhoods. Having ready access to Fresh Market in Coconut Grove would be a good thing.

If you want any more Park Slope info, just let me know. And thanks again.

I live in Cobble Hill/Brooklyn Heights but grew up in Miami. The closest neighborhoods in Miami-Dade to Park Slope are:

Coconut Grove (Miami) - quaint, walkable area with shops, restaurants, and entertainment. There are mid-rise apartments/condos on a few of the main streets but older homes with character on lush, tree-lined side streets.

Coral Gables - in my opinion, this is the most pleasant suburb in all of the Southeastern United States. Gorgeous downtown area with plenty of restaurants and shops, and plenty of condominiums on the main streets and older, Spanish/Mediterranean-style homes on the side streets from which to choose. You can buy a gorgeous 1920's-era home with a pool on lushly landscaped street for well under $1 million.

South Beach (Miami Beach) - this is by far the most "urban" neighborhood in Florida. You can walk to theaters, the beach, stores, restaurants, the gym, etc. However, the great majority of the housing is apartments/condominiums and not single-family homes. For a single-family home, you should look into central and northern Miami Beach. That is a nice area too, but it is not very walkable - much more suburban in character.

The above areas should be your absolute top foci, but the following areas could deserve a look:
-Brickell (Miami)
-The Roads/Coral Way (Miami)
-Surfside

I would not personally recommend Miami's Upper East Side. In my opinion, it is far too polarized between west of US1 (much poorer) and east of US1 (much wealthier) and is not a walkable neighborhood. I'm really not a fan of the Midtown Miami/Design District area, either. Though there are some stores/restaurants there that are busy during the day, the area is desolate at night and going west just a few blocks puts you in a sketchy area.

Please let you know if you have any other questions, as I would be glad to help. I was just in Park Slope last week for lunch and will be going down to Miami to visit some family/friends in two weeks!

[Dr_Rico]

Originally Posted by kevinkagy

Another neighborhood you didn't mention which is nice and a very popular gay neighborhood is the Upper East Side. It runs along Biscayne Blvd north of Midtown and the Design District. It's definitely grungy, but it's gotten a lot better. There's a big neighborhood community feel to the area, but the public schools are probably not good in that area.

Totally. Morningside (just south of UES and adjacent to the Design District) has single family homes in a gated community with a great park, ocean access, close to downtown, close to galleries, and very gay friendly. My trio rehearses over there in a studio owned by a gay couple and the enighbors are all very cool.

DR

[slopecouple]

Thanks Rico and Crisp. We're not really interested in a gated community, so I think Morningside would be off our list. Our top priorities are gay-friendliness/gay-borhood and walkability. Good schools would be up there as well, as our kids will be entering pre-school in 2 yrs.

In your opinion(s) which neighborhoods have the highest concentration of gays/lesbians? I know South Beach is heavily gay, but what about Coconut Grove or Coral Gables?

Also, the Roads is interesting... is there anything resembling a commercial street w/in walking distance?

Tks
Erik

[crisp444]

All of the areas I have mentioned are gay friendly, but some of them have more of a gay presence than others. On a scale of 1-10 of gay presence, I would say:

South Beach: 10
Coconut Grove: 7
Coral Gables: 5
Brickell: 5
The Roads: 4
Surfside: 6

Also, The Roads does have Coral Way as a walkable, commercial street with shops and restaurants on it, but the offerings aren't as much as South Beach, Coral Gables, or Coconut Grove. The Roads has a more "streetcar suburb" feel; I wouldn't really classify it as an urban neighborhood because you will need to drive for some things.

Honestly, if you really want walkability, well-regarded schools, and gay presence in one neighborhood, that neighborhood would be Coconut Grove. Coral Gables is walkable and has great schools, but it may not have the gay presence you desire; South Beach is walkable and definitely has the gay presence, but its schools only have a so-so reputation (and you would probably have to live in a condo/apartment rather than a single family home because there aren't many detached homes in South Beach itself).

[kevinkagy]

The area with the most amount of gay people is definitely South Beach followed closely by the Upper East Side, while unknown, has a very large gay community. However, the Upper East Side community is much more grundgier and small community feeling versus South Beach's more upscale, very urban, fast paced city feel.

All the areas that have been listed above by everyone are all gay friendly, especially Coconut Grove. Coconut Grove has access to great private schools and it has good public schools as well. A lot of Miami's best private schools are in the Grove and the homes there are really beautiful. You're basically living in a tropical forest in the Grove, it's amazing. There's also a big community feeling and it's very walkable and safe. The area around Grand Av for example has a ton of shops, restaurants, bars and a very active nightlife and daylife. Not to mention there are many parks in the area and it has access to the Metro.

[Dr_Rico]

Originally Posted by slopecouple

Thanks Rico and Crisp. We're not really interested in a gated community, so I think Morningside would be off our list. Our top priorities are gay-friendliness/gay-borhood and walkability. Good schools would be up there as well, as our kids will be entering pre-school in 2 yrs.

In your opinion(s) which neighborhoods have the highest concentration of gays/lesbians? I know South Beach is heavily gay, but what about Coconut Grove or Coral Gables?

Also, the Roads is interesting... is there anything resembling a commercial street w/in walking distance?

Tks
Erik

Hi Erik,

While Morningside is gated, it is also completely open to the public. There is security at the entrance to take down the license plate number of visitors (residents pass via a card). Honestly, its a regular old neighborhood with very nice homes, a beautiful park (huge!) and the bay. The gates are just to discourage (moderately, gently) entry by people who might cause mischief and to have a record of entry in case mischief occurs. I do not live there, but visit 1-3X a week depending on our rehearsal schedule. Never a problem!

Good luck,

DR