Commuting Concerns -- Moving to Miami (Jacksonville, Orlando: apartments, rentals, car insurance)

[fatboyhiggins]

My wife and I are moving to Miami in a couple weeks, and I will be working in the area around Jacksonville Memorial Hospital (near NW 14th Ave and NW 14th St).
My wife is looking for a job in downtown Ft Lauderdale.

Ideally, we are looking for a place that is centrally located within Miami proper, with a reasonable commute to Fort Lauderdale (30-45 min?). We are interested in pedestrian, cosmopolitan areas with good restaurants/culture/entertainment, etc. Our price range for rentals is around $1000-1200 per month.

We've heard about a couple cool areas, e.g., the Design District and Brickell. I was told that a commute from Brickell to Fort Lauderdale is not too bad. I'd also note that my wife would be heading north in the morning and south in the evening (possibly heading in the opposite direction of the rush hour traffic?)

I would really appreciate any advice on ideal places as well anticipated commute times to Ft Lauderdale.

Thanks!

[doggiebus]

South Beach seems to fit your requirements. The Design District and Brickell does have some of what you are looking for. Your wife will be going against the traffic, so her commute will not be to bad.

[fatboyhiggins]

Thanks for your quick response. I've been google-mapping apartments in the area and they all seem to suggest a 35 minute commute. Considering that she would be going against the traffic, does that sound like a reasonable estimate?

Thanks again!

[MiamiRob]

fatboyhiggins it is Jackson Memorial Hospital not Jacksonville! Anyways if you rent in the Brickell area you can catch the Metrorail to the Civic center area ( that's where Jackson is located) so you won't even need a car to get to work just train fare. I would suggest a monthly Metrorail pass.
As for your wife she will be doing a reverse commute to Ft. Lauderdale since rush hour traffic is all pouring into the central areas of Miami while she is headed in the opposite direction. That is of course if it's a regular 9 AM-5 PM job.
Also you gave us your budget for a rental but how many bedrooms/baths do you need?
I currently live in Orlando & I'm a Realtor but I can recommend my former broker in Miami to help you find a place and there is no fee to you (owner pays commission). So if interested drop me a private message.
PS: Where are you coming from?

[SFLrunner]

You could probably find a loft or a 1/1 in Brickell for around $1,200, but I don't think you will find a 2/2. it depends on what part of Lauderdale you are going but i would plan on 45 min............especially if it's raining. Using the express lane up to Lauderdale would help as well

[fatboyhiggins]

Thanks SFLrunner, more specifically it would be downtown Ft Lauderdale. I heard about the express lane, so is the system basically if you have a sunpass you can use the HOV lane? or do you need to have more than 2 people in the car?

(@miamirob, yep I meant Jackson Memorial hospital. just messaged you)

[MiamiRob]

^ as far as I know you just need Sunpass now but maybe others can fill you in. If you choose Brickell you can use the Brickell Metromover (it's free) to connect with the Brickell Metrorail station and you should be in the Civic center area within 15 minutes or so.
Another thing to consider is that car insurance rates are high in south Florida so if you use mass transit to commute you will probably get a break on your insurance rates.

[SFLrunner]

yeah you just need a Sunpass to use the express lane.........and yes your car insurance will probably double............mine did when I moved here from JAX in May.......

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by fatboyhiggins

Thanks for your quick response. I've been google-mapping apartments in the area and they all seem to suggest a 35 minute commute. Considering that she would be going against the traffic, does that sound like a reasonable estimate?

Thanks again!

Downtown area or Miami Beach you should make it from there to Ft. lauderdale most of the days in 35min no problem. It is going against traffic and if you have access to the express lanes you can easily make the trip at 70mph at least where I think google maps uses the speed limit for ETA which is 55mph. Going against traffic no one is doing under 70mph in the express lanes. And the commute to the Jackson Hospital area will take no more then 15-20 mins from Miami Beach, or from Downtown its a short metrorail ride away