Moving from Long Beach to Miami, Good Areas to live in? (Hialeah: apartment complexes, condos)

[Justice7]

Hello I'm a African-American man looking to move to Miami area in a few years (I know it's a while from now but hey) after I graduate from college with my BS degree. Im 31 now & have been to Miami (south beach) before last year & since I love being by the coast I choose Miami to rest my head. I currently live in Long Beach, the nice area & looking to transition myself there. I enjoy Clubs, Lounges, Jazz & a nice environment. I figure with this degree & all the experience that I have under my belt I can get a starting salary around 80-100k based on what I have to offer. I do have two children as well, so what would be the best area to look in based on the above mentioned. Mind you we do have neighborhoods like Miami, such as East side Long beach, Compton, Watts, South Central. I generally avoid there area since I here they compare to opp looka and Carol City.

[Justice7]

Also how are South Miami, Coconut Grove, Palmetto bay, Adventura, Kendall, North Miami, Coral Gables and etc?

[blackklight]

all of the areas you mentioned in your second post are good areas, minus a few parts. as for the parts you should avoid is generally in northwest miami; carol city, liberty city, overtown, allapattah, wynwood, opa locka, lil haiti, lil havana, brownsville, and some parts of miami itself. if you avoid the areas mentioned above you have just lowered your chance of being a victim of crime by at least 75% lol.

[THASPECIAL]

Originally Posted by Justice7

Also how are South Miami, Coconut Grove, Palmetto bay, Adventura, Kendall, North Miami, Coral Gables and etc?

Aventura is nice but its not really your typicall family area...it is more upperclass rich people that live in high-rise condos and nice high rise ritzy apartment buildings.....there is a mall there and the beach is close but its not like an entertainment area unless you like going to watch horse races or gambling at Gulfstream.....but its really not for families in my view.....its safe though

I don't know too much about South Dade but my father lived in Kendall before and i went to visit him a couple times and it is really congested and there is lots of traffic out there....it didnt feel too dangerous at all......its like a big area with nothing but houses and apartment complexes...there really isnt any culture to it....its like an average suburb just with an almost 90% hispanic population


You can add Miami Lakes in there as a good suburb to live in......there are lots of parks for your kids over there with basketball courts and baseball fields... The schools out that way are good by Miami standards too....Like Palm Springs North elementary, and Miami Lakes Middle (at least it used to be good)......The highschools might be different though...im not sure what the safe good highschools are nowadays....i went to American High back in the early 90's and there were gangs and fights everyday...i saw people get beat up over stepping on someones shoe lace....and people getting jumped at lunch almost everyday...and LOTS of other crap...We had a mix of people at American high back then so there was alot of problems...we had people who lived in Hialeah, Miami Lakes, Carol City, and Opa-Locka all going to American.....So u might wanna ask the locals that live there right now what highschools are good now

Like Blacklight said....anything in the North side of Miami is ghetto or bordering on being ghetto....i wouldnt move anywhere in the north part except out near Miami Lakes, Miami Springs, or close to the beach communities

Good Luck

[kbeejbee]

i've lived in miami for 30 years as well once working for the chamber of commerce. miami is a very diverse community yet can be very segregated due to economics (no diff than any other city) so if you're making the kind of money you think you're going to make, and want some proximity to good music, lounges, etc., i would consider: miami shores, aqua vista (east of biscayne, 79th street and north - gorgeous homes - very friendly neighborhood), coconut grove, the roads (close to downtown), south miami proper (east side of US-1), gables. any further south involves a lot of travelling unless you work downtown and want to metrorail it. as to children, now you must look at schools. my suggestion would be a smaller mortgage/rent and private schools.

[Marlin331]

Originally Posted by Justice7

Also how are South Miami, Coconut Grove, Palmetto bay, Adventura, Kendall, North Miami, Coral Gables and etc?

South Miami - nice, middle / upper middle class suburb fairly close to Miami with decent schools.

Coconut Grove - good areas and bad areas, a mixed bag. However, there is a lot of entertainment and nightlife located here and it is very close to downtown Miami. Zoned for okay (not bad) schools.

Palmetto Bay - one of the wealthiest areas in metro Miami. Great school district, but further from downtown Miami than the other areas you mention.

Aventura - beautiful, modern suburb that is a mix between single family homes, highrise apartment towers, and midrise townhomes/condos. Halfway between Miami and Fort Lauderdale; good school district.

Kendall - Miami's middle class megaburb. Lower middle class to upper middle class with schools that vary from okay to good. Lots of shopping, but the traffic is bad and the commute to downtown Miami gets worse and worse the further west you go.

North Miami - decent area that has nice and not-so-nice areas. I don't know much about the schools here but have heard some negative things about them. Close to downtown Miami.

Coral Gables - gorgeous and affluent inner suburb of Miami. Nice downtown area and good schools.

Ask me if you have any more questions, and good luck!