Moving to South Florida - What areas are best for couples (Miami: real estate, apartment)

[matador92]

I'm a recent college grad and am moving to South Florida with my fiancée. We are in our early to mid 20s. I want to be somewhere around Miami, and I will be looking for a job once I get there. I'm going to have enough saved up by the time we move to do this.


Requirements:
-Must be on (preferably) or near the ocean
-Within 25 miles of downtown Miami (and not south of here)
-$1,800/mo. or less (not precise)
-At least 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom
-Preferably a detached house and not a condo or apartment, but certainly flexible


I've looked online at some listings and there seem to be many that meet these requirements. I don't know which areas to look in and I'm not familiar with the region at all.


We are moving from out of state. If you need to know more about us, let me know!


Thanks all.

[AnnRyan]

Does your fiancee have a job lined up? If not, I hope you have a parent willing to cosign on a lease. Few landlords will rent to a couple with no steady source of income.

But assuming you do have about $40K in income... (because not only will you be paying rent, but electric, phone, internet etc), some popular neighborhoods for young people are midtown, edgewater, brickell, and dadeland. A lt will depend on what sorts of things you like to do in your spare time. Honestly, my advice is to figure out where you'll be working first.. then figure out where to live after that.

[oronzous]

Detached house right on the ocean for 1,800? yes, 1800 per day.

Apartment with bay view, I think you can get a nice one for that price.

[BNBR]

As oronzous said, you are WAY off with the idea you will get a detached house on or near the ocean. $1800 is low for any single family home in South Florida, regardless of location and especially not near the beach. However, you can get a very nice condo with all the amenities for $1800 with ocean view or bay view.

[himain]

Sounds like you need to do a lot more planning before coming here. Your expectations are unrealistic

[Majami]

Miami Beach/South Beach, 1-bedroom/1 bath townhouse no ocean view but within walking distance of the beach.

[matador92]

Everybody calm down! I said within 25 miles of downtown Miami. Not 2.5. I am willing to stretch this a bit as well. My expectations are not unrealistic; I said that I was certainly flexible on whether it were detached or not. I am aware that this region is particularly high in demand for real estate. I saw hundreds of postings south of Ft. Lauderdale that were on the ocean, and met every criteria. I am going to look north of Ft. Lauderdale now. I want a beach vacation town feel as opposed to big city, but I want to be close at the same time. Perhaps somewhere further up the coast between Delray and Pompano.

[flgafl]

Please let me know what you find as I'm looking as well. I think many failed to read your post of 25 miles away....For sure you can get a condo/townhouse for $1800 a month. Have you considered the newest area in Tampa that is 2 miles from downtown? I found Channelside and googled an article of Tampa condo market and read they are planning for much more development for more walkability to shops, restaurants, etc. The market is taking off and is half of what Miami is......You also have views of the bay and can visit St. Peterssburg for the beach.......

[FlyMIA]

Originally Posted by matador92

Perhaps somewhere further up the coast between Delray and Pompano.

Just hope you don't have to work in Miami if you look that far up. Or get used to being in your car 3 hours a day. What you want may be doable in Broward, but not Miami Dade, especially a non-condo property. That close to the beach (certainly not on the beach) is not easy to find in that price range unless you are talking about a condo/apartment rental.

Why move here without a job lined up? What industry do you work in? Do you guys speak Spanish?

[matador92]

Originally Posted by flgafl

Please let me know what you find as I'm looking as well. I think many failed to read your post of 25 miles away....For sure you can get a condo/townhouse for $1800 a month. Have you considered the newest area in Tampa that is 2 miles from downtown? I found Channelside and googled an article of Tampa condo market and read they are planning for much more development for more walkability to shops, restaurants, etc. The market is taking off and is half of what Miami is......You also have views of the bay and can visit St. Peterssburg for the beach.......

Not really looking to live on the Gulf

Originally Posted by FlyMIA

Just hope you don't have to work in Miami if you look that far up. Or get used to being in your car 3 hours a day. What you want may be doable in Broward, but not Miami Dade, especially a non-condo property. That close to the beach (certainly not on the beach) is not easy to find in that price range unless you are talking about a condo/apartment rental.

Why move here without a job lined up? What industry do you work in? Do you guys speak Spanish?

I don't want to live in Miami-Dade; I don't even want to work there. Broward would be ideal, Palm Beach less so. I have my own source of income and she's going to work a basic job until she's more qualified. No hablamos Espanol.