Sidonia Ave or SW 82nd Street? Which is the better choice? (Miami: apartments, renting)

[dsvalpo]

Hi,
I'm renting a short term apartment sight unseen and need some advice. One apartment is located at 15 Sidonia Ave, which is a few blocks south of SW 8th Street/Tamiami Trail. It is between S Douglas road and Ponce de Leon Blvd. The realtor is claiming this is part of Coral Gables, but it seems to be too far north. Also, with this apartment, we will have to park on the street. Will it be a huge issue?

The other apartment is located extremely close to Dadeland mall (7340 SW 82nd Street).

I know it is tough to gauge from just an address, but is one of these apartments in a significantly safer/better area? Will parking be an issue for the Sidonia apartment? It will only be for 2 months, but I have to decide in the next day or so.

Thanks. Any information would be appreciated.

[Marlin331]

Originally Posted by dsvalpo

Hi,
I'm renting a short term apartment sight unseen and need some advice. One apartment is located at 15 Sidonia Ave, which is a few blocks south of SW 8th Street/Tamiami Trail. It is between S Douglas road and Ponce de Leon Blvd. The realtor is claiming this is part of Coral Gables, but it seems to be too far north. Also, with this apartment, we will have to park on the street. Will it be a huge issue?

The other apartment is located extremely close to Dadeland mall (7340 SW 82nd Street).

I know it is tough to gauge from just an address, but is one of these apartments in a significantly safer/better area? Will parking be an issue for the Sidonia apartment? It will only be for 2 months, but I have to decide in the next day or so.

Thanks. Any information would be appreciated.

Sidonia Avenue is far north Coral Gables. Honestly, parking might be an issue. That street is all apartments and it could get congested. The other apartment is located in the King's Creek area of Kendall/South Miami, and parking won't be a problem at all. Both areas are perfectly safe. Where are you working? If in downtown Miami, the Coral Gables address will be a quicker commute by car. The King's Creek area is right behind Dadeland, though, and you could take the MetroRail downtown in about 15 minutes from there.

[♥♥PRINC3Ss♥♥]

They are both fine, I would probably pick the Dadeland area because the other area is too close to 8th street, and I don't like driving on that street (too congested and ugly by my standards) Dadeland is also close to the expressway & US1. Dadeland is more residential though.

[dsvalpo]

Thanks for the quick replies. Will be at Miami Childrens, so the commutes look fairly similar, according to the landlords

I guess the cheaper one in Dadeland is the better bet. Having the option of the Metro to see downtown will be better than always having to drive.

Thanks so much!

[intelfan11315]

Yeah it will be nice to have the Metro considering the traffic on both areas suck :P

[feelquiet]

If your commute is going to be irregular hours (like nurses on the day shift typically start at 7 a.m.) then the commutes will be similar.

But if you're going to fight regular rush hour traffic, the Sidonia Ave address is much faster. You would take Douglas to Coral Way, then go west AGAINST rush hour traffic flow -- maybe 10-15 minutes. The Dadeland location you'd probably have to hop on the 826/Palmetto expressway, fighting bumper to bumper traffic from Bird Road to Coral Way, then again fight traffic on Coral Way going east -- 1/2 hour at least.

That said, I would still choose the Dadeland location coz of parking, shopping and metrorail access.

If you have normal