Miramar (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: real estate, apartment, to rent) - Florida (FL) -Broward County - City-Data Forum

daisey · 07-18-2006, 08:15 PM

Hi there, I am new to the forum, but am looking for any information possible.... I currently live in Ontario Canada, and will be relocating to florida in the fall to late fall.. We will be relocating to Miramar for work purposes... Does anyone know of any information regarding this area? I have found some info but not a whole lot.. Cost of living, good neighbourhoods, size, crime, driving conditions, alligators? hurricanes? i know there is a lot mentioned, but any info would be extremely helpful or leads on to where to get this info.

as well in the near furture we will be travelling to miami for a brief holiday, are the certain spots we should be aware of? places where we "should not get lost in" or run out of gas??????? any info would be greatly appreciated..

thanks soooo much

ready2move · 07-19-2006, 06:34 AM

daisey,

where in Miramar? East or West? Hopefully west. Even then, not the best area of South Florida. East is lower income, west is lots of gated communities with spanish speaking hispanics. Property taxes and homeowner's insurance are very high, and the houses are not cheap.

If you are coming to Miami, there are certain areas that you do not want to get off on I-95 down south.

Good Luck!

rkumar3 · 07-19-2006, 07:10 AM

Miramar is in western suburb of Broward county (Fort Lauderdale area). It is actually very close to the county line so you will be very easily accessible to Miami and Fort Lauderdale. The city has been growing beyond leaps and has been on the top 10 growing cities in the nation for the last couple of years. Ready2move is right about the fact that you will find a lot gated communities and hispanic popluation there but that is not a bad thing. Taxes are higher everywhere..... insurance will be cheaper than living east since you are away from the beach. Same for hurricanes... not being close to the ocean means less chances of getting hit with hurricanes. I know people who live closer to beach and move to their friends and relatives in Western suburbs (like Miramar) for a day or two when we are under hurricane warning.

I have family and friends who live there so please feel free to ask any questions about the area or Real Estate prices and I will try to help.

milano · 07-19-2006, 10:47 AM

I honestly have to tell you that where you are planning to move is a absolut horrible area, you will be in the middle of a giant cesspool called South-Florida! The traffic will kill you, the prices of housing will eat you up, crime is bad, but not as bad as Miami, and the congestion of over population will make you think you are in the middle of Los Angeles! I hope you have NO Children!! And God help you with your trip to "sin city" MIAMI...

Catrick · 07-19-2006, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daisey

Hi there, I am new to the forum, but am looking for any information possible.... I currently live in Ontario Canada, and will be relocating to florida in the fall to late fall.. We will be relocating to Miramar for work purposes... Does anyone know of any information regarding this area? I have found some info but not a whole lot.. Cost of living, good neighbourhoods, size, crime, driving conditions, alligators? hurricanes? i know there is a lot mentioned, but any info would be extremely helpful or leads on to where to get this info.

as well in the near furture we will be travelling to miami for a brief holiday, are
the certain spots we should be aware of? places where we "should not get lost in" or run out of gas??????? any info would be greatly appreciated..

thanks soooo much

I agree you should stay in west Miramar. But my suggestion would be to rent first and once you get the feel for the area then purchase a home. If you are using a real estate agent to sell your home perhaps they could put you in touch with one here locally that would be able to help you find a rental. I would also stay in Broward County. Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Davie, and Cooper City are nice areas also. There is alot of traffic here but depending on where you live and work, you can always find back or alternate ways to get around.

In the 35 years I have lived here, we were (in Broward County), hit by two storms. Katrina and Wilma last year. Wilma was bad, but the key is to be prepared with canned food and water and other essentials. All the TV stations put out hurricane handbooks that are a great help. At least with hurricanes, you have time to prepare.

Home prices are high as are auto and home owners insurance. Food prices are okay and everyone always has sales.

Any water area, aside from the ocean, can have alligators. There are many canals and lakes here. It is just good common sense to always be aware of your surroundings when you are close to a canal or waterway and don't swim in any of them.

As with any area there are bad places. You just get to know them after awhile. Again that is why I would suggest renting first and getting the help of a real estate agent. And no I am not one.

To be honest, my husband and I are looking to leave the area. We are in our 50's and as retirement looms we are looking for a more affordable area. As I said, home costs and insurance rates are high. And yes it is over crowded. But it is not a cesspool. If it was, why are so many people here? And the ones leaving are mostly young families looking for more affordable housing. There are many great things here and it is a great place to live. Good luck on your move.

daisey · 07-22-2006, 09:52 AM

thanks for the info so far..... ready2move, you mentioned that there were some places not to get off of the I95, but you never mentioned any.... I am pretty sure we will be renting first scope out the area, etc.... what about pembroke pines??? is that quite a distance from miramar? is it any better than miramar?? my main concern about living outside of miramar is having to commute back and forth, and i can just imagine the traffic..... I have a hard time dealing with rush hour in toronto, i can just imagine what it is going to be like in South florida.

as well, one question, why do people give out warnings about areas where hispanics live??? maybe i am just ignorant to the things that go on down in the southern states (as i am canadian) but i keep reading this on many different sites....

so suggestions to live on the west side of miramar, should we look for a gated community or not??????

as well i have seen some pictures of these massive spiders that apparently eat cockroaches, should i expect to run into these in my condo/apartment???

How long on an average day would it take to drive from miramar to miami?? i know it is about 20 or so miles, but approximately how long would it take...

thank you so much again for all info....

ready2move · 07-23-2006, 07:23 AM

Daisey,

Most places off I-95 are safe, but you mentioned a trip into Miami. I know there are areas say from 79th street to the Downtown exits that I would probably avoid. I could be wrong, but I don't go into Dade County at all anymore.

Pembroke Pines is right next to Miramar and not much different than Miramar in terms of housing, etc.

The reason that I and many other people mention the hispanic population is that they are a BIG part of the population. Most, but not all, will speak spanish too you, around you in front of you, etc. Because I only speak english, and was born and raised in the USA, I personally have a problem with people speaking spanish all around me. If I went to France, I would certainly would learn French.....

Gated communities are entirely up to you...You will pay more HOA dues, but may have more amendities. I live in a no HOA and love it. Some people feel more secure in a gated commmunity, but if you read the papers, many crimes are commited w/in those communities. Not high crimes, but car stolen, vandalized, etc.

Traffic is bad, if you live West either in Pembroke Pines or Miramar, and working in Miami, it depends where in Miami you will be working. Remember, Miami is huge.

Hope this helps and good luck!

daisey · 07-24-2006, 02:31 PM

thanks for the info..

we will be working in miramar, and since south florida is big and busy i would prefer to live and work in the same place....so ultimately we are looking at miramar for residency.. however if there are other areas around miramar that would take about 30 min max to get to that would be great. I am pretty sure that it is the west side of miramar where employment is situated.

yes we will be taking a trip to miami and to miramar in the near future, thank you for the advice on some areas to avoid.... cant be too safe considering we will be tourists!!!

ready2move · 07-24-2006, 03:22 PM

If you are working in Miramar, that kind of changes everything. There are tons of places that you can live with living right in Miramar that will take less than 30 minutes to get to. It all depends on what you are looking for in a home, how much you want to spend and so on......

daisey · 07-24-2006, 08:38 PM

ya, working in miramar, west side, do not want to commute too far, we are looking to rent first a nice apartment/condo about 2/3 bedrooms, probably between 1200-1500 or so a month...... i would think 1700 to be max. any little towns you can recommend? or bigger towns... as well, do you pay your electricity bill per month /two months? and what would the average bill be? a couple hundred dollars?? we have no idea when it comes to utility bills in florida, however all i know is i wont be paying high bills for heat like i do here!!! thanks...