Moving to Miami to work in Aventura (Miami Beach, North Miami: wood floors, apartment complexes)

[PRMIA]

I will be moving early next year after the holidays to Miami to work at Aventura Mall. From what I understand it is an expensive area and most likely I will have to find an apartment somewhere just outside the vicinity. I need some help finding out what are the affordable places nearby. It will be my wife, 5 yr old son and I. A 2 bed rm place would be ideal, but if we had to take a 1 bed rm to be in a nicer area we'd probably make the sacrifice to start off. So either 1 or 2 bed rm is fine. We are looking for something in between 1.2k to 1.5k. With a nice school nearby for our son, and we hear traffic is horrible in Miami so we'd like something as close to aventura mall as possible. We don't want to make a mistake and move into or close to a slum area. We are from Puerto Rico and in our 30's. In our spare time we like going to the beach, taking our son to parks, eating in restaurants and getting a drink or two at a nice bar. Thanks ahead for any suggestions.

[troxellPA]

Originally Posted by PRMIA

I will be moving early next year after the holidays to Miami to work at Aventura Mall. From what I understand it is an expensive area and most likely I will have to find an apartment somewhere just outside the vicinity. I need some help finding out what are the affordable places nearby. It will be my wife, 5 yr old son and I. A 2 bed rm place would be ideal, but if we had to take a 1 bed rm to be in a nicer area we'd probably make the sacrifice to start off. So either 1 or 2 bed rm is fine. We are looking for something in between 1.2k to 1.5k. With a nice school nearby for our son, and we hear traffic is horrible in Miami so we'd like something as close to aventura mall as possible. We don't want to make a mistake and move into or close to a slum area. We are from Puerto Rico and in our 30's. In our spare time we like going to the beach, taking our son to parks, eating in restaurants and getting a drink or two at a nice bar. Thanks ahead for any suggestions.

Check this out, a map of Miami-Dade highlighting neighborhood quality (good-bad). Click the link, the map legend is on the left hand side of the map.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...R8hr0&hl=en_US


What's your position in retail? Spent several years in retail after graduating college..

[hurricaneMan1992]

The condos off of East Country Club are more affordable, and you may well be able to find something in the upper end of your price range there. Otherwise, you may want to check out Hallandale Beach, Sky Lake neighborhood of North Miami Beach, or Eastern Shores (also part of North Miami Beach).

P.S. I lived in Aventura for over 5 years, a few years ago you could find 2br for $1200 in Aventura....holy crap, things have gone up.

[tankhead]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

The condos off of East Country Club are more affordable, and you may well be able to find something in the upper end of your price range there. Otherwise, you may want to check out Hallandale Beach, Sky Lake neighborhood of North Miami Beach, or Eastern Shores (also part of North Miami Beach).

P.S. I lived in Aventura for over 5 years, a few years ago you could find 2br for $1200 in Aventura....holy crap, things have gone up.

Just curious. What are they going for now?

[PRMIA]

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

The condos off of East Country Club are more affordable, and you may well be able to find something in the upper end of your price range there. Otherwise, you may want to check out Hallandale Beach, Sky Lake neighborhood of North Miami Beach, or Eastern Shores (also part of North Miami Beach).

P.S. I lived in Aventura for over 5 years, a few years ago you could find 2br for $1200 in Aventura....holy crap, things have gone up.

Lol, yeah I think I read an old post of yours before I posted on the forum, I think you were in the same position I was moving from another place going to Miami, I believe from the tri-state area if I'm not mistaken, if I'm confusing you with someone else, never mind. Thanks for the info. When I check on Zillow for apartments in the price range I'm looking for, quite a few always come up in Hallandale, and I believe it's relatively close, I just ask here to people to really find out if it's a nice area or not, cause that's the one thing you'll never find out on Zillow. I'll check into East Country Club you mentioned, thanks!

[PRMIA]

Originally Posted by troxellPA

Check this out, a map of Miami-Dade highlighting neighborhood quality (good-bad). Click the link, the map legend is on the left hand side of the map.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer...R8hr0&hl=en_US


What's your position in retail? Spent several years in retail after graduating college..

Manager

[PRMIA]

Hurricaneman, yeah so the place you mentioned, East Country Club, is actually in Aventura, I wasn't aware of that. The lowest I saw was for the Aventura Promenade and Camden Aventura apartments which looked nicer in the ads and newer for the same price. I think its safe to say, for a 2 bed rm the lowest price in the area would be 2k and a little pocket change for roughly 1050-1100 sq ft and 1.5k-1.6k minimum for a 1bd rm roughly 850sq ft. I'll look into the eastern shores and north Miami beach area you said and let you know, thanks for the info.

[ldl5112]

Originally Posted by tankhead

Just curious. What are they going for now?

I was paying $1500 for a 1 bedroom (approximately 850 sf) at the Yacht Club on East Country Club Drive last year. It was okay, but updated (badly) by the owner. Or at least, that's what I'm assuming, because if he paid someone to do it, he got taken for a ride. It looked good on the surface, with granite counters in the kitchen and travertine tile all over the bathroom. But the cabinets were the cheapest ones imaginable and in not-so-great condition, the tile-work in the bathroom was uneven and badly done when you looked closer, the appliances were missing pieces (who thinks to check the fridge to make sure it's got all it's shelves when viewing an apartment?), and the laminate-wood floors had gaps where you could see the subfloor underneath. It came "furnished" with curtains, but the sheers underneath were grimy, stained, and had cigarette burns in them. The parking was terrible, and the place was full of long-term vacationers from South America, Canada, and Europe, so the place was so loud. And there were ants. So, so many ants. I never could get rid of them entirely. Don't get me started on the roaches in the trash room.

I learned a good lesson about renting a privately-owned condo in the Miami area with that place.

[Bobdreamz]

Originally Posted by PRMIA

Hurricaneman, yeah so the place you mentioned, East Country Club, is actually in Aventura, I wasn't aware of that. The lowest I saw was for the Aventura Promenade and Camden Aventura apartments which looked nicer in the ads and newer for the same price. I think its safe to say, for a 2 bed rm the lowest price in the area would be 2k and a little pocket change for roughly 1050-1100 sq ft and 1.5k-1.6k minimum for a 1bd rm roughly 850sq ft. I'll look into the eastern shores and north Miami beach area you said and let you know, thanks for the info.

Hi PRMIA,
I used to live in Eastern Shores a while back and just enjoyed the neighborhood since it is canal laced but traffic can be a issue. Here is a aerial pic of the area :



It's the little islands in the middle.

[hurricaneMan1992]

Here's what I had in mind for the east side of Country Club Drive. $1500, 2/2, 1000 square ft. at 3475 N Country Club Drive. Of course, there are not many at this price, and they won't last long on the market ($1500 is very cheap for 2br in a safe neighborhood in the Miami area). Also these are condos, which tend to have better value than managed apartment complexes. Mainly because there is a greater supply of rental condos. Many managed apartments converted to condos during the last property boom. In particular, Camden Aventura is WAY overpriced for what you get, plus they charge extra for using the amenities. It was in the news--They've even stopped accepting packages at the office!

FWIW, when I moved up to Aventura in 2009, I was paying $960+water for 1 br, and my commute was 35 minutes. That place changed owners and did upgrades and went up to $1200, which prompted me to move to an older crappy building where I paid $990 /1br. But soon the commute was regularly running longer than 50 minutes (despite being closer to I-95!). By that point I said, eff it, I'll move closer and deal with the bus and walk most places. Traffic isn't getting any better, so I'd strongly recommend living in Aventura itself and avoid having to commute on US1, if at all possible.