Husband working in Coral Gables -- good area for family? (Miami: rental, condos)

[Alicia64]

Hello,

We're in VA and I don't know FL at all -- except Legoland Florida.

We're a family of four w/ twin 11-year-old boys. We'd like to live on the beach, but assume that a suburb is more like it.

We're safety nuts -- I'm alone a lot when my husband travels.

We homeschool so aren't worried about schools, but prefer to be in good school districts anyway.

We love pools and water life. We have a German shepherd and would love to find a dog park.

And we're big library people.

We will rent and can afford $1800 to $2,000 a month.

Thank you for any help!

Alley

[ace587]

Originally Posted by Alicia64

Hello,

We're in VA and I don't know FL at all -- except Legoland Florida.

We're a family of four w/ twin 11-year-old boys. We'd like to live on the beach, but assume that a suburb is more like it.

We're safety nuts -- I'm alone a lot when my husband travels.

We homeschool so aren't worried about schools, but prefer to be in good school districts anyway.

We love pools and water life. We have a German shepherd and would love to find a dog park.

And we're big library people.

We will rent and can afford $1800 to $2,000 a month.

Thank you for any help!

Alley

Coral Gables is zoned for good schools and family oriented. Maybe you'll like the venetian pool for the kids. As for dog parks, i only know the one by Kennedy Park, but im sure Coral Gables should have one too. Are you guys going to rent a house? 2,000/month might be a little tricky for Coral Gables.

[FlyMIA]

Your budget won't get you anywhere close to the beach. I suggest looking for a nice townhouse somewhere. Miami Lakes might be somewhere of interest. Your budget will not be easy though. It is fairly low for Miami.

Miami Lakes is a very safe area, has things to do in the town itself and is close to the major highways. His commute won't be great but it won't be the worst one in the world. Lots of families in the Miami Lakes area. There is a map at the top of this forum. Check it out, you will see the green safe areas on the map.

[StarfishKey]

Coral Gables is perfect for most of what you're looking for, and is home to the University of Miami so you'll have access to plenty of books. You'll just have to compromise on a few things in that budget, or live just outside Coral Gables, maybe North or West. Coconut Grove is also a fabulous, if busy and somewhat squashed-in place to live, full of restaurants and shops you can walk to. I am not current on rental prices there to help, but if you can swing it I think you would probably really like Coral Gables.

It is not going to be everybody's cup of tea. It is a planned city that you should really research, because it has quite a history. It is kind of like one large gated community, centered around UM and actually INSIDE the city of Miami although it is it's own city. Full of million dollar homes, and tons of rules about what you can and cannot do to your own house or yard. I hate that kind of thing, but considering how high the demand is to live there, clearly a lot of people don't. Maybe there is a townhouse or partial house situation available, possibly with a pool, in your price range. The Venetian Pool is amazing, but it had closed a few years ago for complete renovations, and I didn't know it had reopened! Check first if you are banking on using it.

There are lots of surburban areas of Miami that are less posh with more space, though, and pretty safe. Like Kendall. Or you can rent in a condo on the Beach, but the commute will be killer.

If you have not done so, time to brush up with the kids on some Spanish. In most areas of Miami, it will come in handy. Not a necessity for survival, but you will find that Miami does not feel like it is an American city. It is essentially an American Cuba, but feels a lot like a South American city (which is not surprising as many people who live there are from South America). Unlike in the rest of the US though, Spanish-speakers run the city and are quite wealthy - they are the ruling class and often live very aristocratic lives with old money. They also have very light skin, and sadly this fact is very important to most of them. There are also poorer Spanish-speakers, but they tend to have darker complexions. Unfortunately, Miami is very segregated.

Miami is very cosmopolitan, and in Coral Gables you can take advantage of a lot of the best of this, without the urban feel to your living situation. It is a rich suburb very close to city life. Coral Gables itself also has trolley service (really a bus), which is great because the rest of Miami is sorely lacking in the public transportation dept!

[Cubanchic]

Op with your budget a three bedroom rental in coral gables can be found but mostly the outer edge of it and the homes would be small square footage wise. There are areas that your dollar could go a lot more space but then a longer commute. What would be more important to you in this case so we can point out more areas. And what is the longest commute time acceptable if not in coral gables proper.

Be aware if you are not working in the exact same area you live in most of us have a commute time of at least 30 to 45 mins on good days.

I live near old cutler in cutler bay close to 184 street and when I make the drive to meetings in coral gables my commute time is 35 mins in good days 45 or more on bad days, but to us the area we wanted to live in for our budget it was worth it.

Hubby works in downtown and his commute time start to finish is about 50 to 70 mins and that is using the train.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Based on your budget, safety concerns, and pet situation, your selection may well be limited to Palmetto Bay and Cutler Bay, or way out west by the Everglades if you want more of a newer "cookie cutter" type neighbourhood. Some condos may have 3br and enough space and allow a large pet, but of course without a yard. In the Gables area and other safe, central parts of town, you don't really have many options for houses under $3k (I know, I know...by any measure of affordability that requires a six figure income...in practice, it's more commonly like two or three smaller incomes + renting out an illegal efficiency). There's also Homestead and parts of Broward County, but then you're talking about a 45+ minute commute. Are you sure the job is paying you enough for the cost of living within a reasonable commute of CG?

[tallrick]

You are heading into a third world economy if you move to south Florida. Coral Gables is boxed in by roadblocks and an inadequate road system. Commuting there would be a disaster. If you really want to live there, demand that the job pays a living wage, at least 100K a year or stay where you are. Do not be a fool, wait till after the crash coming to Miami if you decide to move there without a lot of money to burn.