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Here is the deal. I took a job in Brickell and need to find a place to live in Dade Co. for our family. I have read enough negative things about Miami in general, but the truth is, I need to move there regardless of everything bad I have read. My situation is as follows:
Moving from Atlanta
Family: Husband and three kids (1 1/2, 3 1/2 and 5 1/2).
Oldest is going to attend school
Middle has autism and we need a daycare for him and his younger brother (typical).
We are leaving a top ranking school district here and want to find something of great quality (let's not forget that we are still in GA education system here).
What we want:
Live closer to work (brickell)
Prefer a home, but will settle for condo
Looking to rent for 1/2 or first year
Want safe (I know, I know I am asking for too much in Miami.
COMMUTING IS NOT AN OPTION. I am ok with living south of MIA, but I don't want to go all the way to Broward. In ATL, I have a 1 1/2 hour commute and with little ones, that doesn't work.
Thanks for anyone who can help me. Please, no negative comments about Miami. I have read all of them and my reality still unchanged.
You didn't specify prices, so I will recommend what meets what you did specify: rent a home on Key Biscayne, in Coconut Grove, the Roads or Coral Gables. You can go the private school route...and commuting will be the best you can hope for...in any of these places. Renting a home in these communities will vary, bbut don't expect to find anything under 2K a month, nothing included.
If you don't want to commute then you'd have to live in the Brickell area, which is mostly condos, I think. There are also some nearby single-family home neighborhoods, like in Coconut Grove near the Miami Science Museum/Viscaya (expensive), and also along the east Coral Way area (not sure what that neighborhood is like). You should look into those areas.
Aside from your commuting criteria, I can also only recommend Miami Springs because I know it's a great place to raise kids. Small-town, cozy, and minutes away from downtown/Brickell, but I don't know what the traffic situation would be like with your work schedule. The public elementary schools have been A+ for years and have some fantastic enrichment programs. You also have several relatively affordable private schools to choose from. Best of all, there's an autism center right in the Springs itself associated with the Methodist church. I don't know everything about it, but I know they have a local outreach program called "Faith's Place" and they work with a corporation called Ismile, who provides behavioral therapists. Miami Springs is also the first city in the country to certify swimming instructors to teach autistic kids how to swim. We have our own community pool and they will team up with Faith's Place, Ismile, and the Dan Marino foundation to teach autistic kids how to swim. This is a new program. Miami Springs also has little league baseball, football, soccer, basketball, etc. It's also a relatively safe place to live in Miami-Dade County. It's a very quiet community. I could go on and on about the amenities of Miami Springs, but it's best if you see it for yourself. And no, I'm not a realtor. I just can relate to your situation and hope you end up in the best place for your kids and family, wherever that may be.
ASHABANG -- We have two kids, the oldest, now 8, has autism. We moved to South Florda when he was 4 so he could get therapy at the Dan Marino Center in Weston. We moved to Miami once our money ran out and my wife had to go back to work. She is an architect, found a job downtown, and has never been comfortable driving on the expressways here. So we moved to an area not far from the downtown/Brickell area so that here commute would be easy.
If you can afford Key Biscayne, I would recommend there. The ESE teacher our son has had most recently suggested we try and enroll him there if possble. Your middle child is too young now for the school, but it would still be a great school for your oldest.
There are several schools and programs for Autistic Children (Carrie Brazier center, Victory school, Baudhuin School, etc.) but they may not be appropriate for your son -- depends on his specific needs and at 3 1/2 it would probably still be difficult at this point to know what would be best for him when he is a little older.
I am not personally familiar with the Miami Springs area that nicsma2002 mentioned but it definitely sounds worth checking out.
chelito23 and I actually live in the same neighborhood of Shenandoah. Our family is moving to Denver next month; but I like Miami more than most that post here.
You can check out real estate searches for 33149 (key biscayne), 33129 (the Roads) 33145 (Shenandoah) -- as chelito said your budget will be critical to all this.
Feel free to PM me if you want any other info. Good Luck... Oh by the way definitely register with CARD -- Center for Autism and Related Disorders. They have offices, presentations, support groups etc. statewide. Locally their center is at the University of Miami... They can provide a ton of info and help:
Try South Miami Avenue which runs adjacent to Brickell Ave. South Miami Avenue zip code is 33129, look into the area of 25th Road to 15th Road
and South Miami Avenue. This area is a really nice historical area, nice established homes and many new ones which have been recently built there. I lived on the Avenue for several years and it is a beautiful Avenue. Not many kids playing around though. I would have to schedule play dates for my kids because there are no kids playing in the neighborhood.
The Roads area is nice and close also same zip code 33129, you may find many houses available to lease there. Try anywhere between 31st Road and 18th Road (Southwest) and 1st through 9th Avenue. That area is considered or called "The Roads" area. Also Coconut Grove is close in proximety as well, zip code there 33133, still you don't find too many kids playing in the streets there either.
Key Biscayne is really nice, you may find more kids playing there. It's beautiful there and the city has it's own police department. It is pricey though but maybe within your price range. To get to Key Biscayne you need to go through a toll and a bridge which connects you and there is a bit of driving, but the drive is beautiful, there is ocean on both sides and if you like the ocean you will love the drive. There are beaches within Key Biscayne that you can enjoy if you are a beach lover.
I have a close friend who has a son with autism. I know there are various schools to choose from. I just don't know which is the best or better one. I know there is one in or close to Miami Beach which her son attended, If you wish, I could ask her and get you more details regarding the name of the schools.
If you need any further information or have any questions, you can pm me. I lived in Miami for 37 years and am quite familiar with all areas.
oh, Coral Gables is a great area as well, but you will have a commute not too much though, it's a bit further than Coconut Grove zip code there 33146.
All these neighborhoods are the nicest ones within a close proximaty of Brickell.
Here is the deal. I took a job in Brickell and need to find a place to live in Dade Co. for our family. I have read enough negative things about Miami in general, but the truth is, I need to move there regardless of everything bad I have read. My situation is as follows:
Moving from Atlanta
Family: Husband and three kids (1 1/2, 3 1/2 and 5 1/2).
Oldest is going to attend school
Middle has autism and we need a daycare for him and his younger brother (typical).
We are leaving a top ranking school district here and want to find something of great quality (let's not forget that we are still in GA education system here).
What we want:
Live closer to work (brickell)
Prefer a home, but will settle for condo
Looking to rent for 1/2 or first year
Want safe (I know, I know I am asking for too much in Miami.
COMMUTING IS NOT AN OPTION. I am ok with living south of MIA, but I don't want to go all the way to Broward. In ATL, I have a 1 1/2 hour commute and with little ones, that doesn't work.
Thanks for anyone who can help me. Please, no negative comments about Miami. I have read all of them and my reality still unchanged.
I moved to Miami from NYC 4 years ago with an 11 year old and a 14 year old. Take my advice.....find a good school FIRST!!! Your commute, no matter how long it is will be worth it if your children are happy and well adjusted in their new school. My 14 year old did not attend high school here. We opted for an independent boarding school in the northeast. I will not share my reasons why since you don't want any negativity given the necessity of your move. But I cannot emphasize the importance of your children being happy in school enough. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself on Florida's curriculum and potential schools. You did not specify whether you were looking at public or private schools. For public schools, visit the Florida Dept of Education website, Florida Department of Education . You can get school report cards, statistics and all the other information you need to make an informed choice. If you are looking for private schools, they are quite pricey and only three are members of NAIS. You can visit NAIS - National Association of Independent Schools or SAIS. Good Luck!
Here is the deal. I took a job in Brickell and need to find a place to live in Dade Co. for our family. I have read enough negative things about Miami in general, but the truth is, I need to move there regardless of everything bad I have read. My situation is as follows:
Moving from Atlanta
Family: Husband and three kids (1 1/2, 3 1/2 and 5 1/2).
Oldest is going to attend school
Middle has autism and we need a daycare for him and his younger brother (typical).
We are leaving a top ranking school district here and want to find something of great quality (let's not forget that we are still in GA education system here).
What we want:
Live closer to work (brickell)
Prefer a home, but will settle for condo
Looking to rent for 1/2 or first year
Want safe (I know, I know I am asking for too much in Miami.
COMMUTING IS NOT AN OPTION. I am ok with living south of MIA, but I don't want to go all the way to Broward. In ATL, I have a 1 1/2 hour commute and with little ones, that doesn't work.
Thanks for anyone who can help me. Please, no negative comments about Miami. I have read all of them and my reality still unchanged.
Ashabang, if you want to live near Brickell, I would suggest you look into a Miami neighborhood known as The Roads. It is directly west of Brickell Avenue (on the other side of I-95), and it is mostly a single-family district with some apartments and condominiums. Now, of course, as you'd imagine, the houses are very expensive because they date from the 30s or so, so they have some Art Deco detailing, etc. Actually, even the condos I'm sure are pretty expensive b/c that's a very desirable close-in location.
As far as schools go, if you want to live near Brickell, you're probably going to end up having to put your kids into a private or parochial school because I don't think the public schools are high-performers in that area. Of course, you could look them up on the Miami-Dade Public Schools website. If you need the names of some of the public schools, I might be able to find out some of them for you. I don't know if you're Catholic, but Sts. Peter and Paul School is in The Roads, and I think that's a good one.
Please let me know if you need any further help; I'd be glad to try! Welcome to Miami.
I think the Miami Springs recommendation is great, but it will involve a commute. Not a very long one, though.
That's right, a small commute. I also want to second the Roads and South Miami Avenue recommendations. South Miami Ave is what I was thinking about when I mentioned the Vizcaya/Science Museum area in my previous post. Really nice-looking area if you can afford it. And definitely start with CARD at UM like someone else mentioned. They will evaluate your child and point you in the right direction. I went through CARD with my son who had PDD-NOS and I was very impressed with their program.
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