Working near JMH- Gimme shelter - Wife + young (non-school age) kid... low budget. Help! (Miami: to rent)

[iShotFirst]

I am moving to Miami with my wife and a child 1 year old. My total income for the month will be around $2700. I am going to be working near Jackson Memorial Hospital. The size of Miami and the different neighborhoods + safety, etc are just blowing my mind. I am hoping that someone can point me in a good direction for housing.

I need it to be a safe area, goes without saying. Im white, my wife is Indonesian, we lived in Malaysia and other not-super-safe places so I'm not a super fearful individual when it comes to safety... but a minimal level of safety is a necessity with a young kid. Also it would be nice to live somewhere where we can walk at night, close to a park or two, some shops, etc. Close to Metrorail.

I need 2 bedrooms. And my budget (on 2700 net a month) is low. This may be but $1000 is my goal. I don't mind to take public transport, commute up to 45 mins one way. Drive if necessary, but highly undesirable. (my work is just a few minutes walk from Civic Center Metrorail).

I even have looked at staying north of the city and coming in on TriRail/Metrorail to find a good place.

I dont care about schools etc since it will be a few years before that becomes a concern.

Any opinions?

[Coconut1]

Honestly I would look at South Miami or Dadeland, but in order to meet your budget you're going to have to look at a 1 bedroom or studio unit.

With your child being one, I wouldn't worry too much about getting a two bedroom right away. You're much better off renting in a better area and paying more for less than renting in a bad area and paying less for more. It's true in all places, but especially in Miami that location, location, location will dictate your quality of life.

Being in either Dadeland or South Miami will give you access to Metrorail like you want and it will also put you right next to shopping/malls, restaurants, supermarkets, etc. Both areas are also very safe.

To divide the place up to give you child their own space I would look at Ikea for a partition (they have tons of ideas for making use of small spaces for multiple people) or build one yourself.

[n2da2nd]

Yeah, I used to rent an 2/1 800-square-ft, gated apt for less than $900/month, water included in South Miami. It was a good place, near school, supermarket, restaurants, malls, etc. The only drawback is the commute from South Miami to your work place. You can take the bus to Metrorail in order to get to JMH, but you have to wake up at least 2 hours prior to your shift to get there on time. Traffic in the morning is nightmare.

[iShotFirst]

Thanks for the replies I'll look into South Miami and Dadeland as well.