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Hi everybody, looking for some help about where to live in Miami!
I am considering moving to Miami soon as I got a scholarship at FIU.
The university has 2 campuses I can choose between for the program I am going in to. One campus is in the university park area (west Miami?), the other is in North Miami (Biscayne Bay). I would like to live within a close drive (10-15 min) to one of those campuses (within biking distance would be even better, if that's even possible)
I'm looking to get a 1-bedroom apartment and my budget is about $1000/month for housing. It doesn't have to be a large apartment but would be nice to have big windows and some natural light coming in and maybe with a somewhat nice view (by that I simply mean that the windows aren't facing another building 10 feet away). Overall it's good if it's quiet, private and safe. I also enjoy walking and hiking, so it would be nice (but not a must) to have the option of doing some car-free shopping or strolling down to a park in the area..
My first question: Can I find something decent for that price? Which of the two areas (west miami or north miami/biscayne bay area) would offer the best housing options?
Now about location.... Just looking at a map of Miami I notice that the Biscayne Bay Campus is close the the beach (North Miami beach?) which (without knowing too much about Miami) I consider a plus, since it means it's easier to get the to beach. It also looks like the area might be more walk-friendly.. But! I've also read tons of posts on this forum saying that North Miami is ghetto, filled with crime, not safe.. To live or not to live in the area?
Can anyone recommend some nice housing options or neighborhoods close to the two areas I listed above?..
what neighborhoods should I steer clear of completely when looking?
Last edited by PeteInTheHouse; 04-20-2013 at 05:23 PM..
Hi everybody, looking for some help about where to live in Miami!
I am considering moving to Miami soon as I got a scholarship at FIU.
The university has 2 campuses I can choose between for the program I am going in to. One campus is in the university park area (west Miami?), the other is in North Miami (Biscayne Bay). I would like to live within a close drive (10-15 min) to one of those campuses (within biking distance would be even better, if that's even possible)
I'm looking to get a 1-bedroom apartment and my budget is about $1000/month for housing. It doesn't have to be a large apartment but would be nice to have big windows and some natural light coming in and maybe with a somewhat nice view (by that I simply mean that the windows aren't facing another building 10 feet away). Overall it's good if it's quiet, private and safe. I also enjoy walking and hiking, so it would be nice (but not a must) to have the option of doing some car-free shopping or strolling down to a park in the area..
My first question: Can I find something decent for that price? Which of the two areas (west miami or north miami/biscayne bay area) would offer the best housing options?
Now about location.... Just looking at a map of Miami I notice that the Biscayne Bay Campus is close the the beach (North Miami beach?) which (without knowing too much about Miami) I consider a plus, since it means it's easier to get the to beach. It also looks like the area might be more walk-friendly.. But! I've also read tons of posts on this forum saying that North Miami is ghetto, filled with crime, not safe.. To live or not to live in the area?
Can anyone recommend some nice housing options or neighborhoods close to the two areas I listed above?..
what neighborhoods should I steer clear of completely when looking?
Okay First thing i have to ask you is how is your spanish? If your Spanish is good than either one is fine, but if not than you should take the Biscayne bay Campus. FIU South is smack in the middle of Cuban town and Spanish there is an absolute must. the plus about FIU South is that it's in a relatively safe area with plenty of authentic Cuban restaurants in the area. Also, Tamami Park is right next Door if want to have a place run bike and swim(the park also has a public pool).The Downsides are is that there is not much in the way of the night life and that it's far away from the beach if u don't have a car. As for north campus I really can't say because I have never lived by there but what I can give you is this map that shows how safe and nice an area is.here's the map http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/p...m/73085728.jpg
It's the Neighborhood-O-Meter of the County that myself with the help of the good people here of City-Data did. Just note that I'll be doing 3 very minor updates late today (the main one is in parts of El Portal, I'll probably open a new light green area, as the blue doesn't reflect the whole area that well).
Now, I'd recommend for you two areas: First, the Dadeland area (although you may have to live in the outskirts of it in East Kendall due to the rental budget (nice area as well), it's safe, walkable (mostly), has two Metrorail stations plus access to several bus lines and the Busway, not to mention the Dadeland Mall, Publix and the Dadeland Station Shopping Complex. Also it's not really far to FIU (main one - University Park) and Downtown/Brickell and also Coconut Grove for nightlife and other things.
And additionally in that budget highly likely you gonna have to live in a low-rise, so only limited/obstructed views.
Second neighborhood would be Bay Harbor Islands, very walkable, quite a few little shops plus a few restaurants/bars, just near the beach and close to FIU Biscayne, plus nice and safe, probably within/near budget (I'd guess $1,050-$1,250 for a regular 1bd/1ba in a basic but good enough low rise bldg./complex).
It's the Neighborhood-O-Meter of the County that myself with the help of the good people here of City-Data did. Just note that I'll be doing 3 very minor updates late today (the main one is in parts of El Portal, I'll probably open a new light green area, as the blue doesn't reflect the whole area that well).
Now, I'd recommend for you two areas: First, the Dadeland area (although you may have to live in the outskirts of it in East Kendall due to the rental budget (nice area as well), it's safe, walkable (mostly), has two Metrorail stations plus access to several bus lines and the Busway, not to mention the Dadeland Mall, Publix and the Dadeland Station Shopping Complex. Also it's not really far to FIU (main one - University Park) and Downtown/Brickell and also Coconut Grove for nightlife and other things.
And additionally in that budget highly likely you gonna have to live in a low-rise, so only limited/obstructed views.
Second neighborhood would be Bay Harbor Islands, very walkable, quite a few little shops plus a few restaurants/bars, just near the beach and close to FIU Biscayne, plus nice and safe, probably within/near budget (I'd guess $1,050-$1,250 for a regular 1bd/1ba in a basic but good enough low rise bldg./complex).
what's wrong with him living on campus? the FIU south campus is nice and the surrounding neighborhood is safe(I think u should have made it light green or make the mobile home park between flagler and 7th street nw and 114th and 110th ave yellow. the 2 areas are not even remotely the same in terms of safety and niceness) I mean I know he would be in an area that's far from any clubs and the beach. but he would be close to dolphin mall and International mall as well as Tamami park. sure it's not a high end neighborhood but on his budget it's certainly a good area.
what's wrong with him living on campus? the FIU south campus is nice and the surrounding neighborhood is safe(I think u should have made it light green or make the mobile home park between flagler and 7th street nw and 114th and 110th ave yellow. the 2 areas are not even remotely the same in terms of safety and niceness) I mean I know he would be in an area that's far from any clubs and the beach. but he would be close to dolphin mall and International mall as well as Tamami park. sure it's not a high end neighborhood but on his budget it's certainly a good area.
It's a fine area, it's no wonder that it's in blue (which stands for decent to reasonable areas - reasonable in this case). But the issue will be that's a pretty far area, like you said properly - and there he would have to take Dolphin to get to the more central areas and the beach, which has loads of traffic and is a toll Expy. Plus it's not walkable (it's a very suburban residential area). An upside is the rental prices there though, that area will be within budget. And there's no issues (at least from what I know) with panhandling/homeless people and it's a quiet area.
And thanks for the tips on that area, I'll definitely take a look, do a quick fact finding and incorporate that into the map together with the other updates.
It's a fine area, it's no wonder that it's in blue (which stands for decent to reasonable areas - reasonable in this case). But the issue will be that's a pretty far area, like you said properly - and there he would have to take Dolphin to get to the more central areas and the beach, which has loads of traffic and is a toll Expy. Plus it's not walkable (it's a very suburban residential area). An upside is the rental prices there though, that area will be within budget. And there's no issues (at least from what I know) with panhandling/homeless people and it's a quiet area.
And thanks for the tips on that area, I'll definitely take a look, do a quick fact finding and incorporate that into the map together with the other updates.
I'm just curious what makes something go from blue to light green on your map?
Well, like all colors - it will be mainly based on a fact finding mission (that is, several factors (community input - like you just did earlier, avg. income, avg. home prices, trends on avg. income and avg. home prices, crime statistics, crime trends, quantity of sexual offenders, reputability, local news, amenities, aspect/how well kept the area is, plus three or four other ones - like neighboring areas (depending on the case).
The blue, yellow and light green areas tend to bring the most controversy, as there are some tough calls in some areas and the difference between them can be quite small (from blue to yellow, and from blue to light green).
Well, like all colors - it will be mainly based on a fact finding mission (that is, several factors (community input - like you just did earlier, avg. income, avg. home prices, trends on avg. income and avg. home prices, crime statistics, crime trends, quantity of sexual offenders, reputability, local news, amenities, aspect/how well kept the area is, plus three or four other ones - like neighboring areas (depending on the case).
The blue, yellow and light green areas tend to bring the most controversy, as there are some tough calls in some areas and the difference between them can be quite small (from blue to yellow, and from blue to light green).
ah I see. where do u find the time to do all that? I mean I imagine you have a full time job so... also last thing, which is the more likely change to the area I suggested moving the trailer park to yellow or moving the surrounding area to light green? I personally would move it to yellow maybe even potentially orange because it really is not a good area.
ah I see. where do u find the time to do all that? I mean I imagine you have a full time job so... also last thing, which is the more likely change to the area I suggested moving the trailer park to yellow or moving the surrounding area to light green? I personally would move it to yellow maybe even potentially orange because it really is not a good area.
Yeah, but it's freelance so I make my own schedule...plus I'm kind of a workaholic and really like this sort of thing - and it helps people relocating - after all I work in IT, so I guess it comes naturally....
And I made both changes, it was a good call. I didn't think it was that nice that area. Crime stats are good, the houses mostly look nice and well kept, etc. And the area around the trailer park is shoddy, and the complexes/houses surrounding it aren't good at all, not to mention the statistics...but still, it is more to the yellow overall than the orange - mainly because it isn't that unsafe and not that much bad overall - when comparing with other orange areas.
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