Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Which of these two areas would you rather live in, or which do you like better in general? And why?
Consider external considerations like distance to work as irrelevant for this question. These are the two areas I'm most interested in and I'm interested in hearing opinions about them.
(BTW I don't mean the city of North Miami Beach, just the North Beach area)
Brickell. Lots of Section 8 neighbours in North Beach, rents are cheaper there for a reason. Now South Beach's South of Fifth area and Surfside would be more competitive with Brickell, depending on the lifestyle you want.
Two are not comparable IMO. The only advantage north Beach has it walking to the beach that is it. Brickell is the place to be right now, if you can afford the rent that is where I always suggest for urban condo living. Good public transit in Brickell, not in NB. Lots of places to eat and shop, drink, etc.. All walking distance or quick metromover ride which is free. Newer and nicer buildings for the most part and in 2-3 years Brickell will be even better.
Brickell. Without a question as long as you can affrod it and don't need to go to the beach every day.
Two are not comparable IMO. The only advantage north Beach has it walking to the beach that is it. Brickell is the place to be right now, if you can afford the rent that is where I always suggest for urban condo living. Good public transit in Brickell, not in NB. Lots of places to eat and shop, drink, etc.. All walking distance or quick metromover ride which is free. Newer and nicer buildings for the most part and in 2-3 years Brickell will be even better.
Brickell. Without a question as long as you can affrod it and don't need to go to the beach every day.
Brickell. Lots of Section 8 neighbours in North Beach, rents are cheaper there for a reason. Now South Beach's South of Fifth area and Surfside would be more competitive with Brickell, depending on the lifestyle you want.
I'm attracted to high rise condo living without the party atmosphere of south beach. I like urban environments, but I'm not really interested in the nightlife.
Brickell. The only thing missing in Brickell is a beach; but those are not far away.
It's a good 45 minutes to South Beach by public transit with a transfer in downtown...it should be under 20 minutes by direct Metromover/Metrorail service!!! Route B to the Key Biscayne beaches runs only half hourly, and very unreliably. So unless you have a car the beach is really not that close to Brickell.
But if you did want to live by the beach, South Beach or Surfside would definitely be better than North Beach.
I'm attracted to high rise condo living without the party atmosphere of south beach. I like urban environments, but I'm not really interested in the nightlife.
There's way more to South Beach than just nightlife and parties, especially South of Fifth, West Ave., Sunset district. Mid Beach also has lots of nice high rise condos without the party scene, though older then the ones in Brickell. I actually prefer South Beach urban which is mostly small buildings close together with businesses decentralized throughout but still all in walking distance, pretty unique in the US and almost European. Also I don't care much for the whole luxury high rise condo thing, that's why I'm moving to SoBe. But to each his own.
But if you did want to live by the beach, South Beach or Surfside would definitely be better than North Beach.
Well, let me put in a brief defense for North Beach, especially since unlike anyone else posting, I actually live here. The earlier post about cheap rents and Section 8 neighbors certainly doesn't apply to the oceanfront highrise buildings in North Beach. One-bedroom units in my building sell for $500k and rent for $2800. Two bedrooms rent for $4,200. And I'm not even in one of the more expensive condo buildings on the water. Canyon Ranch is just down the street from me. I don't think they would have built here if north Beach was the slum some of you are portraying.
Also, since the OP is interested in high rise living, I believe that North Beach would be a better option than Surfside. Surfside, with a few exceptions, is mostly made up of older, smaller buildings on the ocean. North Beach's high rises include Akoya, which is the third tallest building on all of Miami Beach. And many of the high rises here have been built in the last decade. There's even a brand-new luxury apartment building (Monte Carlo) currently being built which is scheduled to open in the next couple of months.
Also in comparison to Surfside, North Beach has a much larger commercial district. Surfside consists of a two-block stretch along one street. (Of course, the Shops of Bal Harbour is just across 96th St. for luxury mall shopping as well.) North Beach's commercial district runs south to north from 65th St. up to 75th, and east to west along 71st St. from Collins all the way into Normandy Isle. I have numerous bars and restaurants within walking distance, as well as multiple groceries, drug stores, and other commercial enterprises. We also have parks, a playhouse, post office, library, and other businesses as well.
Now, I'm not saying North Beach in total is anywhere near as nice as Brickell (although I did select it over Brickell because I wanted to be on the ocean), but oceanfront highrise living here is very nice indeed.
Agreed with Bethesda that you will definitely NOT have Sec. 8 neighbours if you live on the ocean front in North Beach, and there are more high rises and businesses than what Surfside has to offer. However, once you get a few blocks away from the ocean front, it's a very different story.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
