Late 20s, single, female ISO safe areas to live (Miami: apartment complexes, rentals)

[Palm16]

I'll be visiting the FLL area in December. I've only been to FLL once in my life at the age of 13 to board a cruise, so I know nada about the area.

I'm actually trying to fulfill a dream of mine. I'll be attending a career fair Carnival is hosting in hopes of getting face-to-face time with recruiters. I've told family and friends my dream job would be to work corporate for a cruise line but was too scared to leave SC and family behind. However, I'm ready to go after my dreams. Some may think this is a crazy dream but cruising is an obsession of mine and I couldn't even imagine how happy I would be to work for a company that deals with that industry.

Anyways, I'm making this trip a weekend getaway so if everything goes great and I get a job, I will have scoped out places to live. Carnival is based out of Miramar and I have seen the apartment prices. It's sad to say that I'm not too shocked by the pricing as if I didn't move to FL, I was moving to Charleston, which has very similar COL.

Can anyone suggest very safe places to live in close proximity to Miramar (no more than 30 min out)? Areas to stay away from? Any other advice?

TIA

[danielsard]

Weston and Davie are great areas. Safe as they can be for the most part... not as sure with miramar itself, also west pembroke Pines is a good area

[Nolefan34]

Carnival's headquarters are located in Doral, FL down in Miami Dade County. Miramar is located about 20 minutes north of Doral in SW Broward County. Its a pretty easy commute from Miramar to Doral down the FL Turnpike Ext., although traffic gets heavy in morning rush hour on the TPK and on the streets of Doral.

I'm not crazy about Miramar as a place to live for a young person in their 20's. There's not much going on there in terms of nightlife or shopping. Miramar also has some very sketchy/rough areas especially the eastern half of the city. The western half is much nicer, but basically a boring housing suburb. The biggest advantage of Miramar would be its location right off the Turnpike Ext. and its proximity to Doral for commuting. You would probably like the suburbs of Sunrise, Pembroke Pines, or further east in Davie or Plantation better. There is much more going on in those parts.

I'm just curious how you determined Charleston is a similar COL to South FL? SE FL is known as being the highest COL in the Southeastern U.S. I admit I do not know much about Charleston COL having only visited there a few times. I think you will find rents and car insurance to be very costly here. Everything else isn't too bad. There's no state income tax in FL so that helps a young, single person starting out.

[Palm16]

I compared the COL of CHS to FLL since many "safe" 1BRs start at $1000/month. In the very reputable suburb of Mt Pleasant, studios in newer apartment complexes start at $1100. Charleston is not like the rest of SC. That area and Hilton Head are the most expensive areas to live in SC.

The career expo I'll be attending is for a position based in Miramar. My main expectations I'm looking for in the area I want to live is for it to be safe (obviously), close to shopping, grocery stores, entertainment, and it would be a plus if it was closer to the beach than more inland.

[vigo]

You can't get much more inland than Carnival's Miramar offices. It's closer to the Everglades than it is to the beach. Have you looked at it on a map?

You have to decide whether you want to live close to work or close to the ocean. You can't have both.

[Palm16]

Originally Posted by vigo

You can't get much more inland than Carnival's Miramar offices. It's closer to the Everglades than it is to the beach. Have you looked at it on a map?

You have to decide whether you want to live close to work or close to the ocean. You can't have both.

I'm not willing to pay for Miramar's apartment prices though. I don't mind a 20-minute or so commute. I need to pay attention to the miles on the car (lease so I can only put on 12k miles a year). Ideally I'd like to stay under $900. I will have just sold my house and will get a huge check from the equity that's in it, so I'm not tight on funds, but I don't want to waste it on rent. I saw some apartments in Sunrise I liked. There was also Progresso Point in FLL I liked. However, I don't know if these places are in safe areas. I will probably do the apartment thing the first year or two and then go with a private rental.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Palm16

I'm not willing to pay for Miramar's apartment prices though. I don't mind a 20-minute or so commute. I need to pay attention to the miles on the car (lease so I can only put on 12k miles a year). Ideally I'd like to stay under $900. I will have just sold my house and will get a huge check from the equity that's in it, so I'm not tight on funds, but I don't want to waste it on rent. I saw some apartments in Sunrise I liked. There was also Progresso Point in FLL I liked. However, I don't know if these places are in safe areas. I will probably do the apartment thing the first year or two and then go with a private rental.

You will definitely blow the 12K lease mile limit if you commute from FLL to Miramar (I commute from Weston to FLL and rack up 15K+ miles per year)

Here is a Google Street View for the area around Progresso Point. Judge for yourself (turns out, as a realtor, I am not supposed to be making comments here about quality of neighborhoods)
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Pr...439413!6m1!1e1

Now where in Sunrise did you look?

[wizrap]

My suggestions --

1. Check the neighborhood sticky in this forum that rates neighborhood desirability. It should be the second topic. It was done a few years ago, so it's not entirely accurate, but accurate enough. You are going to be targeting areas colored light to dark green -- those are among the safest. Compare the addresses of where you're looking to the colors on the map. Progressive Point is located in an orange area. Due west for several blocks is red-- due east for several blocks is orange, then yellow, then light green. This is just a guide.

2. Are you looking for income restricted housing? Progressive Point is a brand-new income restricted apartment complex; there are others if you are interested -- they are listed on the Broward County Housing Authority website under Housing Options.

3. Have you mapped the distance between east Broward (near the beach) and west Broward (Miramar?) My estimate is that it's a 40 mile round trip. Working 5 days a week, that will put close to 11,000 miles on you car. How much do you expect to drive in a weekend? And are you using this car to drive down to South Florida? I also feel you will go over your limit--even if you live in Miramar, closer to work, you will still want to explore the beaches and excitement out east. And if you live out east, you still have to drive to Miramar for work and back. Many of us average 20,000 miles a year driving.

4. Your $900 a month budget is too low for a non-income restricted apartment in South Florida, IMHO. If I were you I'd up my budget to $1500 a month. Income-restricted is another matter though--I don't know what the limits are to qualify but the Broward Housing Authority should have the information on its website.

[Mr. Lee]

Not too far from Miramar and $800
Home for Rent - 7841 Johnson St Ste 123, Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 - realtor.com®

[Palm16]

Originally Posted by wizrap

My suggestions --

1. Check the neighborhood sticky in this forum that rates neighborhood desirability. It should be the second topic. It was done a few years ago, so it's not entirely accurate, but accurate enough. You are going to be targeting areas colored light to dark green -- those are among the safest. Compare the addresses of where you're looking to the colors on the map. Progressive Point is located in an orange area. Due west for several blocks is red-- due east for several blocks is orange, then yellow, then light green. This is just a guide.

2. Are you looking for income restricted housing? Progressive Point is a brand-new income restricted apartment complex; there are others if you are interested -- they are listed on the Broward County Housing Authority website under Housing Options.

3. Have you mapped the distance between east Broward (near the beach) and west Broward (Miramar?) My estimate is that it's a 40 mile round trip. Working 5 days a week, that will put close to 11,000 miles on you car. How much do you expect to drive in a weekend? And are you using this car to drive down to South Florida? I also feel you will go over your limit--even if you live in Miramar, closer to work, you will still want to explore the beaches and excitement out east. And if you live out east, you still have to drive to Miramar for work and back. Many of us average 20,000 miles a year driving.

4. Your $900 a month budget is too low for a non-income restricted apartment in South Florida, IMHO. If I were you I'd up my budget to $1500 a month. Income-restricted is another matter though--I don't know what the limits are to qualify but the Broward Housing Authority should have the information on its website.

Those were very good points, thank you.

No, I'm not looking for income restricted housing (I didn't know Progresso Point was that type of housing). The apartment I saw in Sunrise that looked decent was Golf View Gardens. But now I'm more concerned on the dang miles issue. Where I live now, I'm in the middle of everything and work is about 6 miles away. So I think I have to focus on that issue first and then look at areas I can live. If I go over the 12k a year by a thousand or so, it won't be an issue; I'll just pay the extra mileage fees. As far as getting my car there, I will probably tow it because I can't afford to put miles on it. I may even ask Hyundai if they will let me change the mileage allowance per year.

Are there any property management companies y'all suggest that could show me private rentals?

Finally, is it true to avoid the Miami area? I ask this in case I'm ever offered a job there with a cruise company. There are many folks that have moved from South Florida to SC and they said Miami is a horrible place to live.