Help Me Build The Ultimate Miami Map (Hialeah, Miami Beach: apartments, condo)

[twiggers]

I am the process of researching where to live in Miami. I already have my areas narrowed down....but I wanted to create something that might help others.

Therefore, I decided to create a personalized Google map. Using people's opinions from this website and others I am blocking off areas of the city based on whether they are good, bad, or so-so neighborhoods to live in.

I am asking for your help to create the ultimate map! For my reference and others. Right now it is a restricted map, but when it's done I'll put it on the Google directory.

Right now I have Coral Gables marked off, the areas to avoid in Coconut Grove and S. Miami, and a blue collar area I was told about.

I am using green to denote a good/safe area. Red to denote "avoid/bad area". Yellow is a caution...meaning this area is likely working class. Eventually I'll get this even more finely tuned to have multiple shadings of areas.

Seeing as how I am not from Miami, I need your help. Please click on the link below. Find an area that you know a lot about and tell me about it. Please include the following information:

1. North, South, East, West boundaries. Please be clear, with exact street names (don't assume I know where it is).

2. Provide me with the name of the neighborhood.

3. In your opinion, is this a green, red, or yellow neighborhood.

4. Most importantly, why did you give it the color classification you did. Do you have experience in this neighborhood, etc.

5. If you disagree with the color coding of an area, please let me know ASAP.

Please click on the following link:

Google Maps

Note: This will be a long work in progress and won't be done overnight (I'm working on a dissertation, but this is a nice distraction and helps me become familiar with the city too!).

Please limit your suggestions to one per post, so that I can keep track of everything

[Jarndyce]

"Working class" is a "caution" area? Blue collar area is bad? Your stated value judgments are disgusting. You must be Marie Antoinette reincarnated.

[crisp444]

This is going to be a BIIGGGGG project... But as I posted in another thread, start with this:

Coconut Grove (Miami): 5 *but note the "bad" area in your other map*
The Roads (Miami): 4
Shenandoah (Miami): 3
Coral Way (Miami): 3
Flagami (Miami): 2
Little Havana (Miami): 2
Brickell (Miami): 5 *though far west Brickell is a 3*
Downtown (Miami): 3
Overtown (Miami): 1
Wynwood/Edgewater (Miami): 2 *stark east/west divide, with east being much nicer than west*
Allapatah (Miami): 1
Little Haiti (Miami): 1
Upper East Side (Miami): 3 *stark east/west divide, with east being much nicer than west*
Coral Gables: 5
South Miami: 5 *but note the "bad" area in your other map*
Pinecrest: 5
Palmetto Bay: 5
Kendall (east): 5
Falls: 5
The Crossings: 4
Kendale Lakes/Kendall (west): 3
The Hammocks: 4
Three Lakes: 4
Country Walk: 4
Lindgren: 4
Cutler Bay (west): 2
Cutler Bay (central/east): 3
Saga Bay/Lakes by the Bay: 3
Coral Terrace: 3
Westchester: 3
Olympia Heights: 3
University Park: 5
Westwood Lakes: 3
Sunset/Glenvar Heights: 5
Horse Country: 5
West Miami: 3
Sweetwater: 2
Tamiami: 3
Doral: 4
Miami Springs: 4
Hialeah: 2
Hialeah (north): 3
Hialeah Gardens: 3
Miami Lakes: 5
Palm Springs North: 4
Country Club: 3
Miami Gardens: 2
Carol City: 2
Opa Locka: 1
Ojus: 3
Aventura: 5
Golden Beach: 5
Sunny Isles Beach: 5
North Miami Beach: 3
North Miami: 2
Miami Shores: 4
El Portal: 2
South Beach (Miami Beach): 4 *This could be done block-by-block... there are some very nice areas and some so-so areas that are very close together*
Miami Beach (central and islands): 5
Millionaire's Row (Miami Beach): 5
North Beach (Miami Beach): 4 *Though there is an small area that I would rate a 2 or 3 made up of old, run-down apartments*
Surfside: 5
Bal Harbour: 5
Bay Harbor Islands: 4
North Bay Village: 4
Key Biscayne: 5
Redlands: 4
Homestead (east): 3
Homestead (west): 2
Florida City: 1
Goulds: 2
Naranja: 2
Richmond Heights: 2
South Miami Heights: 2

[FlyMIA]

Bay Point/ Mourning Side. East of US 1 North of NE39th street South of NE62nd Street. Very nice area. Upper class. High Police presence. Is realtively close to a high crime area but do to high police presence and gated areas crime is very low. Best place to live in Miami, great location right in the city.

[twiggers]

Originally Posted by Jarndyce

"Working class" is a "caution" area? Blue collar area is bad? Your stated value judgments are disgusting. You must be Marie Antoinette reincarnated.

PErhaps the choice of wording was not the best. Caution is denoted as an area between the really nice and the really bad. It's just so-so. Nothing wrong with blue collar working class neighborhoods....I grew up in one!

Also, as stated, I am hoping to eventually create more than 3 "colors" and provide detailed descriptions. Perhaps a 5* system moving from dark green = 5* to red = 1*. I'd love to eventually provide more information regarding school quality, etc.

[twiggers]

Crisp....wowsa, that is an amazing list! Perhaps I can start from the top and move down and get all the boundaries, etc.?

Fly MIA: Thank you very much. I will update the map right now and post an updated link momentarily.

[twiggers]

Here is the updated map: Google Maps

Question for Coconut Grove & Coral Gables:

I currently have Coconut Grove ending at Kennedy Park. My city map does not have a clear boundary of when Coconut Grove ends. Can someone provide me with a street that denotes the boundary of Coconut Grove?
My red area of Coconut Grove....using a 5* rating system, what would you give that area?

I currently have Coral Gables with a southern boundary of 'Sunset Dr.' My city map shows the Gables basically extending down as far as Chapman Field Park. S/E of US 1 what would the appropriate boundaries for Coral Gables be?

[Dr_Rico]

Twiggers, I need more instruction about what is being evaluated. Safety? Beauty? Neighborliness? Access to mass transit? Bike-friendiness? Noise? Construction mayhem? Landscape? Language accessible (note common languages)? Waterfront? Convenient shopping? Parks? Good for kids? Nightlife? Lots of young/middle/older people to hang with (specify)? Galleries? Music venues? Cafes?

Etc.

The biggest problem I see is that each of us have different needs/desires/expectations so the numbers are likley to be somewhat meaniningless unless you develop a way to parse all the info.

A neighborhod that is good for me (high urban density, access to park/ocean/bay, bike-friendly, groceries within walking distance, cafes, quiet, safe, friendly neighbors that speak English and Spanish, biking distance to my university) may be horrible for somebody with a big dog and three kids and no knowledge of Spanish or somebody twenty years younger than me in search of hook-ups, active nightlife, and condo above 40 floors.

Please advise.

DR

[iamanewcomer]

Let's use both numbers ,

1 to 5

& colours,

dark green = the best
light green,
yellow, I propose to consider it neutral,neither "good",nor "bad"...
orange,
red = ghetto

The criteria may be

income
home value
crime
cleaness
traffic
noise
pollution
natural beauty,
architecture & age of buildings
& a subjective "feeling "

[twiggers]

Originally Posted by Dr_Rico

Twiggers, I need more instruction about what is being evaluated. Safety? Beauty? Neighborliness? Access to mass transit? Bike-friendiness? Noise? Construction mayhem? Landscape? Language accessible (note common languages)? Waterfront? Convenient shopping? Parks? Good for kids? Nightlife? Lots of young/middle/older people to hang with (specify)? Galleries? Music venues? Cafes?

Etc.

The biggest problem I see is that each of us have different needs/desires/expectations so the numbers are likley to be somewhat meaniningless unless you develop a way to parse all the info.

A neighborhod that is good for me (high urban density, access to park/ocean/bay, bike-friendly, groceries within walking distance, cafes, quiet, safe, friendly neighbors that speak English and Spanish, biking distance to my university) may be horrible for somebody with a big dog and three kids and no knowledge of Spanish or somebody twenty years younger than me in search of hook-ups, active nightlife, and condo above 40 floors.

Please advise.

DR

Dr.,

Thank you for responding. I am primarily thinking of this as an answer to the question that most people seem to ask: What are the safe areas to live?

The majority of people accessing the forums and relocating to Miami aren't asking "Where can I live so I can fear for my life everyday". If that makes sense!

Therefore, primary focus is on safety. I would eventually like to supplement the areas with information about that neighborhood (i.e. schools, family-friendly, urban, suburban, ethnic concentration, etc.).

IDK, I think it helps people (I know it would help me) to have the areas where I know I should avoid! Or if someone says "Kendall is a great area, look around X Street" I can quickly look and find Kendall and know the boundaries, etc. Right now I struggle with looking for a place to live because I don't know all the boundaries....and I feel so bad constantly bugging people!

I hope this all makes sense Dr. :-)