Moving to Miami- need the locals' opinions (Pembroke Pines, Miami Beach: condo, townhouse)

[living on a prayer]

I live in southwest Miami Dade the unincorporated part, Heres my opinion

Schools- Its no secret that Miami Dade public schools aren't that great. Though i would not jump to sending your children to private schools either. Private school education is sometimes better than public school, but sometimes its worse and just a waste of money. Charter schools are ok, Similar to public schools but don't have to worry as much as you would with public schools about the environment.

Housing- As for "Gated Communities" I personally don't like them, Yes they are nice but why pay extra cash to have a gate that most of the time is broken. There is no reason to feel safer in there either. Someone can easily jump the fence or follow in after another car etc.

General Area- As we all know Miami is influenced a lot by the Spanish culture so if you speak Spanish great and if not i wouldn't worry about it.

[unixpilot]

Coral Reef Senior High School

According to Newsweek's List of the 1,000 Top U.S. Schools (2007), the school is ranked at 20th in the nation, making it 7th in the state of Florida. In 2006 and 2005, it had ranked 29th and 13th, respectively.

[Davachka]

so many differing opinions
of course thats to be expected, thanks for the advice, we'll check out the areas mentioned
Someone said they would never live around Goulds, but why? Anyway this area is a few miles away, and where we live now, the "bad areas" are just a few miles from the "good ones" Isnt it usually that way in cities?!

[BDBX]

Can anyone tell me about Miami, Biscayne Blvd & San Souci Blvd area? What's the crime like in that part of the city? My job requires me to move to Miami and I'm looking for a decent area. Having spent most of my life in The Bronx, I have no delusions of moving to Florida to "escape crime" or the NYC costs of living. I've visited the area before briefly for business, not enough to get a feel for the area, so any opinions and input is appreciated.....Thanks

[Miami Vice]

Originally Posted by BDBX

Can anyone tell me about Miami, Biscayne Blvd & San Souci Blvd area? What's the crime like in that part of the city? My job requires me to move to Miami and I'm looking for a decent area. Having spent most of my life in The Bronx, I have no delusions of moving to Florida to "escape crime" or the NYC costs of living. I've visited the area before briefly for business, not enough to get a feel for the area, so any opinions and input is appreciated.....Thanks

Do you have the address or general area of where your job will be? You will get tons of mixed opinions on here as you could see. You just have to read their other posts and see who is giving good information and who is just plain miserable.

[BDBX]

The general area are Biscayne Shore Park, San Souci Estates and Keystone Islands.

[Davachka]

Any opinions on cutler bay? I've found some nice homes there and was wondering that this was a fairly safe area?

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by faina00

so many differing opinions
of course thats to be expected, thanks for the advice, we'll check out the areas mentioned
Someone said they would never live around Goulds, but why? Anyway this area is a few miles away, and where we live now, the "bad areas" are just a few miles from the "good ones" Isnt it usually that way in cities?!

Goulds is a poor black area. As far as Cutler Bay it is better than Goulds. It is a lower middle class neighborhood for the most part. Not sure what the crime rate is in that area. I wouldn't live there either, just my opinion. There are people on here that think Cutler Bay is nice. My parents think it is really nice (but they also think Outback Steakhouse is fancy) So you see it is all in who you ask.

[BUBBAboyTM]

I don't agree with doggiebus. I live in Cutler Bay and I think its a nice middle class neighborhood. Is it fancy like Coral Gables or chichi like Doral? Well, no. But are we looking for tea parties and regattas or good old fashioned safety and a family atmosphere? To me, Cutler Bay is very safe and family oriented. East of US 1 (Town of Cutler Bay) has larger homes and the neighborhood is a little nicer than west of US 1 (Cutler Ridge). Also, you are right next to US 1 and the turnpike, so access to other places is easy. I get on the turnpike and I am in the center of Miami in about 20 minutes.

[doggiebus]

Bubba, you are a great example of why I said in my post "There are people on here that think Cutler Bay is Nice...So you see it is all who you ask."

What one person sees as nice, another may see as not so nice. Its all in who you ask.