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.
Location: Miami (prev. NY, Atlanta, SF, OC and San Diego)
7,409 posts, read 6,550,878 times
Reputation: 6685
North Beach is an interesting area...was looking at Eden House until construction began on a new complex in front of it--Pelora??...nice views and you can work your way down to SOBE or up to Bal Harbour...I know they have lots of ethnic Restos here but wondering if you would classify this as a walkable area or not. Seems you would be more car dependent than in SoBe.
I agree with most here. Brickell will definitely be your best bet. There is a ton of construction going on so be aware. Coral gables is another amazing area if you can afford it. Coconut grove is a happy median between the burbs and the city. I have a ton of friends out there due to proximity to brickell without brickell prices ( though they are catching up quick).
In terms of demographics Brickell, Wynwood, Midtown, Mimo and the Design District are predominantly made up of younger ( 24-35) professionals ( i.e. doctors, lawyers, med/law/graduate students, bankers and young tech startup profesionals).
Since you said you lived in New York Ill give you the comparables:
Brickell= Wall street mixed with soho, ( once the City Centre (2015) and Flatiron(2017) are done it will also have the time square feel as well)
Wynwood= Brooklyn ( hipster; cool vibe, expensive)
---- Wynwood tends to either get the very unsafe tag or very expensive tag. This for good reason as literally you can be on one street with Warby Parker and the next block you hear gun shots. As long as you stay more towards the design district/ midtown area and not towards the overtown area you will be fine. The whole area is going through gentrification so it will all be very different in the next couple years ( if not months)
Midtown = Upscale outer borough or midtown in the city ( say white plains in the bronx) or manhattan near Harlem (nice parts)
Mimo= Brooklyn ( newer parts)
Coconut grove is a mix of the above with more of a family feel to it ( so everything from 1-50 in terms of age with the majority being around 18-40) though its proximity to UMiami shows with all the student there. Same goes for Coral Gables and Pinecrest though you get a lot of high school students as well. These areas are very suburban and beautiful ( this is where we plan on moving to in a couple years ourselves; right now enjoying the city life). Definitely a place to consider maybe later on down the road.
El Portal is very up and coming. I have a couple friend who have bought property up there and the area is really coming along.
Also I second the point about HOA'a, south beach is notorious for having outrageous HOA's given the upkeep for some of the older building. Brickell is no joke either, however there are plenty of upscale buildings that have very low HOA's in the brickell/ downtown area, just gotta search for em!
Thanks all. You've given me some good advice on areas and I am now confident I'm focused on the right spots Hopefuly you'll have a new friendly neighbor soon.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pierrekid
I agree with most here. Brickell will definitely be your best bet. There is a ton of construction going on so be aware. Coral gables is another amazing area if you can afford it. Coconut grove is a happy median between the burbs and the city. I have a ton of friends out there due to proximity to brickell without brickell prices ( though they are catching up quick).
In terms of demographics Brickell, Wynwood, Midtown, Mimo and the Design District are predominantly made up of younger ( 24-35) professionals ( i.e. doctors, lawyers, med/law/graduate students, bankers and young tech startup profesionals).
Your description of the areas are super helpful, thanks! What/Where is Mimo? And where is Midtown? I am familiar with the other areas you mentioned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pierrekid
Also I second the point about HOA'a, south beach is notorious for having outrageous HOA's given the upkeep for some of the older building. Brickell is no joke either, however there are plenty of upscale buildings that have very low HOA's in the brickell/ downtown area, just gotta search for em!
Thanks this is very helpful! I've also been reading other threads in this forum about the nightmares many condo owners are facing re HOA fees, annual increases and surprise assessments. Leaving me a bit wary. I am wondering, do the areas I'm focusing on also have SFH or are they primarily Condo based? I may decide to look at SFH (although perhaps my budget won't allow it). Is $300-$400k possible in these areas? From a quick perusal on Truila/Zillow it is for Condos (although HOA fees are all over the map). But are SFH possible in this range?
And PierreKid - you mention reasonable HOAs in Brickell... what range do you consider reasonable? I'd like to find something in the $300 p/mo range but I'd guess this unlikely in SoBe or the other "hot" areas you mentioned. I could go up but I'm terribly wary of these unknown assessments that seem to appear out of nowhere. And further these other threads describe continued HOA increases. So I'd prefer to start low to give me a buffer. I do not want to end up over $500 p/mo anytime soon.
Last edited by NomadicMe; 08-22-2015 at 01:39 PM..
I agree with most here. Brickell will definitely be your best bet. There is a ton of construction going on so be aware. Coral gables is another amazing area if you can afford it. Coconut grove is a happy median between the burbs and the city. I have a ton of friends out there due to proximity to brickell without brickell prices ( though they are catching up quick).
In terms of demographics Brickell, Wynwood, Midtown, Mimo and the Design District are predominantly made up of younger ( 24-35) professionals ( i.e. doctors, lawyers, med/law/graduate students, bankers and young tech startup profesionals).
Since you said you lived in New York Ill give you the comparables:
Brickell= Wall street mixed with soho, ( once the City Centre (2015) and Flatiron(2017) are done it will also have the time square feel as well)
Wynwood= Brooklyn ( hipster; cool vibe, expensive)
---- Wynwood tends to either get the very unsafe tag or very expensive tag. This for good reason as literally you can be on one street with Warby Parker and the next block you hear gun shots. As long as you stay more towards the design district/ midtown area and not towards the overtown area you will be fine. The whole area is going through gentrification so it will all be very different in the next couple years ( if not months)
Midtown = Upscale outer borough or midtown in the city ( say white plains in the bronx) or manhattan near Harlem (nice parts)
Mimo= Brooklyn ( newer parts)
Coconut grove is a mix of the above with more of a family feel to it ( so everything from 1-50 in terms of age with the majority being around 18-40) though its proximity to UMiami shows with all the student there. Same goes for Coral Gables and Pinecrest though you get a lot of high school students as well. These areas are very suburban and beautiful ( this is where we plan on moving to in a couple years ourselves; right now enjoying the city life). Definitely a place to consider maybe later on down the road.
El Portal is very up and coming. I have a couple friend who have bought property up there and the area is really coming along.
Also I second the point about HOA'a, south beach is notorious for having outrageous HOA's given the upkeep for some of the older building. Brickell is no joke either, however there are plenty of upscale buildings that have very low HOA's in the brickell/ downtown area, just gotta search for em!
Why do people keep recommending Wynwood? Wynwood barely has any residential units. Like, almost none.
If you want walkable and NYC atmosphere, there's really only SoBe or the southern end of NoBe/northern end of Mid Beach. Downtown/Brickell/Coral Gables shuts down at like 6pm, after which it's a ghost town. Sort of how the FiDi used to be (and still kind of is, despite best efforts to turn it into a hip spot). Coconut Grove is the suburbs. People who live in Coconut Grove are the kinds of people that like telling everyone they live in a big city, but are actually terrified of living in big cities. Midtown is people who are desperately pretending to be wealthy, but aren't really (I mean, for fark's sakes, the shops are anchored by a Marshalls and a Ross Dress For Less. Anyone who thinks Midtown is "upscale" really isn't worth getting an opinion from). Anything other than that and you're basically out in the suburbs.
Why do people keep recommending Wynwood? Wynwood barely has any residential units. Like, almost none.
If you want walkable and NYC atmosphere, there's really only SoBe or the southern end of NoBe/northern end of Mid Beach. Downtown/Brickell/Coral Gables shuts down at like 6pm, after which it's a ghost town. Sort of how the FiDi used to be (and still kind of is, despite best efforts to turn it into a hip spot). Coconut Grove is the suburbs. People who live in Coconut Grove are the kinds of people that like telling everyone they live in a big city, but are actually terrified of living in big cities. Midtown is people who are desperately pretending to be wealthy, but aren't really (I mean, for fark's sakes, the shops are anchored by a Marshalls and a Ross Dress For Less. Anyone who thinks Midtown is "upscale" really isn't worth getting an opinion from). Anything other than that and you're basically out in the suburbs.
Wynwood does have plenty of high-rise condos which I'm totally OK with (in fact I prefer). However after an exhaustive search on Redfin I can't find any that have HOAs anywhere near what I'd like ($300 or less per month). They are all in the $500+ range. So Wynwood is out.
I have searched SoBe and Brickell and there are a small # of Condos for sale in the $300 p/mo range that are also $300k or less and approx 650 sq ft. That may work depending on storage/closet space. But Id really prefer a place that is 750 sq ft min.
The other area that pops up is North Beach. Seems like I can get a little more for my money up there (i.e., sq ft) - but it appears a little higher north than you are suggesting I may like (higher than mid-beach obviously). Is North Beach also like the 'burbs'?
Edgewater and North Miami had some places in my budget as well. And North Miami is near a Whole Foods which I like. But I assume these are both "the burbs" again?
I may have to give on my walkability requirement as I do not want to push my budget further. Assuming I needed to find the 'next best option' from SoBe, Brickell and Mid-Beach what would you suggest a back up option or two would be? Ya know, closest to the NYC thang but hey - I get it's not gonna be too close.
For those that would like to help...
In my perfect world the Condo would cost one of the following (they are all the same outlay to me the way I am budgeting):
$275k + $250 HOA
$250k + $320 HOA
$225k + $375 HOA
$215k + $400 HOA
I'd like all of the above options to be at least 750 sq ft+. Assuming I stuck to this, what neighborhoods would be options for me in the Miami area? It would be helpful if you read my original post to get an idea of me and what I am seeking. But since I am now locking down the budget, I realize I may lose other preferences. So you can go outside the areas described above and include new ones (e.g. Aventura, etc.). If you do, I'd love a description of the area if you know it. Thank you so much!!
Last edited by NomadicMe; 08-24-2015 at 04:42 PM..
Reason: to provide preferred budget
Why do people keep recommending Wynwood? Wynwood barely has any residential units. Like, almost none.
If you want walkable and NYC atmosphere, there's really only SoBe or the southern end of NoBe/northern end of Mid Beach. Downtown/Brickell/Coral Gables shuts down at like 6pm, after which it's a ghost town. Sort of how the FiDi used to be (and still kind of is, despite best efforts to turn it into a hip spot). Coconut Grove is the suburbs. People who live in Coconut Grove are the kinds of people that like telling everyone they live in a big city, but are actually terrified of living in big cities. Midtown is people who are desperately pretending to be wealthy, but aren't really (I mean, for fark's sakes, the shops are anchored by a Marshalls and a Ross Dress For Less. Anyone who thinks Midtown is "upscale" really isn't worth getting an opinion from). Anything other than that and you're basically out in the suburbs.
This is a pretty negative post overall. For the OP I would suggest you not take these comments seriously. Very rude and disrespectful.
Thanks all. You've given me some good advice on areas and I am now confident I'm focused on the right spots Hopefuly you'll have a new friendly neighbor soon.
Your description of the areas are super helpful, thanks! What/Where is Mimo? And where is Midtown? I am familiar with the other areas you mentioned.
Thanks this is very helpful! I've also been reading other threads in this forum about the nightmares many condo owners are facing re HOA fees, annual increases and surprise assessments. Leaving me a bit wary. I am wondering, do the areas I'm focusing on also have SFH or are they primarily Condo based? I may decide to look at SFH (although perhaps my budget won't allow it). Is $300-$400k possible in these areas? From a quick perusal on Truila/Zillow it is for Condos (although HOA fees are all over the map). But are SFH possible in this range?
And PierreKid - you mention reasonable HOAs in Brickell... what range do you consider reasonable? I'd like to find something in the $300 p/mo range but I'd guess this unlikely in SoBe or the other "hot" areas you mentioned. I could go up but I'm terribly wary of these unknown assessments that seem to appear out of nowhere. And further these other threads describe continued HOA increases. So I'd prefer to start low to give me a buffer. I do not want to end up over $500 p/mo anytime soon.
Mimo is located close to the little river district, between the mid 50's and low 70's. Very cool area that, along with little river, will be the place in a couple years everyone is flocking too. Midtown is just past the MacArthur wedged between downtown and the design district. Again very nice area with a lot going for it ( search shops of midtown).
In terms of SFH, your best bet will be in the el portal, coral gables, coconut grove and pinecrest areas. Though all these areas have condos as well. The brickell/downtown/ midtown area is predominantly made up of condos. For your price range a SFH would be a bit of a stretch but possible. Probably a fixer upper on the outskirts of the areas mentioned ( though el portal might be your best bet. Still up and coming with deals to be had!) Those SFH areas are very expensive.
For me reasonable HOA's in these areas are high 300's to mid 400's. More important though is the association you are buying into.
Brickell has the vibe...restaurants, shops, you can walk to many places. Depends on what you are looking for, I have a family member who found a 1/1 for less than $1700.
Another option might be south miami, it has its own vibe, for a more mature crowd, lots of health stores and restaurants. But it is close to a not so good neighborhood, so be sure it's really south miami.
Coconut grove and coral gables are two separate neighborhoods. Coconut grove is more relaxed and young versus coral gables is more older and rich people. Again, both are adjacent to not great neighborhoods, so always look for gated communities and maybe alarm systems.
Parts of wynwood and midtown are still a bit dangerous. But they're becoming more and more mainstream.
Hope this helps
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.
Hopefuly you'll have a new friendly neighbor soon.
