Er, a tad concerned now! (Miami: crime, neighborhoods, living)

[heydade]

In Miami, almost everyone is "packing" or carrying a gun...wether legally or illegally. Many crimes are commited with guns. In England, you do not have that problem. Doral will be a HUGE culture shock to you since many people out on the streets ( I would say 50%) don't speak any english in that area. Most of them are affluent venezuelans and colombians that flock to that area.

[kevinkagy]

Also to add, try Downtown Miami (if you want big urban living, it's very nice). The lower side of Downtown, Brickell is synonymous with upscale urban living and has a lot of very nice apartments, flats and penthouses. But, it's also pretty expensive. The northern side of Downtown is nice, not as nice as Brickell though, but apartments are much cheaper and you can actually find very good deals on newer towers.

Downtown Miami has OK public schools, really good private schools, very nice areas, great public transit, lots of metro stations (Miami's tube), nice parks, center of everything and about 20 minutes from Doral (keep in mind you're going against rush hour traffic, so you can get there very fast!)

Miami Springs is another great alternative, very nice area.

Best of luck and I hope you choose to come to Miami, it's a very nice place and although some may not like it, I love it and I would recommend you to come live in Miami! Again, best of luck!

[tokay57]

Originally Posted by heydade

In Miami, almost everyone is "packing" or carrying a gun...wether legally or illegally. Many crimes are commited with guns. In England, you do not have that problem. Doral will be a HUGE culture shock to you since many people out on the streets ( I would say 50%) don't speak any english in that area. Most of them are affluent venezuelans and colombians that flock to that area.

I've lived in miami-dade for over 32 years, I am 40 now. I never seen anyone with a gun, I never seen a shooting, I never seen a physical crime, I am spoken to in English 95 % of the time. you all can take it from me who lived in palmetto bay for 20 years, and miami shores for 12. Mr. Heydade do you live in Boca or in Miami-Dade County?

[TannerMan]

Yea that was a crazy comment to make, its just not true.

[Chelito23]

The good news: there are nice, liveable areas scattered about Miami Dade in all locations.

Bad news: They are expensive by most standards, especially for local paying jobs.

Other con: they are all adjacent to a bad area. It is the nature of the beast, the bad areas are not limited to one little area, or one "side" of town. It is all over, which explains a lot about the negativity you heat. You just have to develop a thick skin for homeless, panhandlers, ghetto and thug life...but you can still live your life crime free if you are careful and stay away from the bad areas and are street smart.

I also agree that those commute times were way off OR were for like 3AM on a Saturday morning. They are nice areas, but at normal hours of the day there is just no way...

If money is no factor buy in Miami Beach near the golf course...talk about being in the middle of everything. Safe, beautiful, like living in a movie. The other areas in Miami are more grimy and are adjacent to not to nice areas. Although, I recommend Coconut Grove as well. Pincecrest and S. Miami east of US 1 is also a good choice. And of course you can't go wrong in Coral Gables either.

I don't think there is much redeeming value living in Kendall or Doral unless you want more for your money and prefer a suburban lifestyle.

Miami Springs IS nice, but it is an island of nice surrounded by industrial zones, the airport, cargo facilities, expressways, train tracks and the Miami River canal (Hialeah). It is therefore isolated so to speak and not close to many things, although not FAR either. Would also be a more affordble alternative.

[kevinkagy]

Originally Posted by tokay57

I've lived in miami-dade for over 32 years, I am 40 now. I never seen anyone with a gun, I never seen a shooting, I never seen a physical crime, I am spoken to in English 95 % of the time. you all can take it from me who lived in palmetto bay for 20 years, and miami shores for 12. Mr. Heydade do you live in Boca or in Miami-Dade County?

Agreed. I've lived in Miami all my life and never seen anyone with a gun, and never seen a violent crime. Some people just take everything out of context and exaggerate it. And on the language topic, people here people speaking Spanish and freak out and think that's all people speak. One word: Bilingualism. People always speak to me in English, so I don't understand what the problem is.

[Justlooking fm UK]

Thanks to everyone who has responded, your replies have made me more positive about the potential move and put perspective on Miami for me.

Neighbourhoods : A big thank you for the neighbourhood suggestions, I'll definitely be checking them out.

Crime : Having lived in Johannesburg, South Africa for 11 years I'm hardened and realistic.

Gun Crime : Knives are cheaper and kids here are too busy knifing each other to have the time to pull a gun. We have a lot of mindless crime, a result of a generation of children having children, political correctness gone wrong etc., I could go on. The UK has many problems, loads.

Language : We'll both wish to learn spanish before we move, even though we appreciate that there will be a variation in some way between that spoken in Miami to that in Europe. It's likely that being bilingual is a must for the type of work my husband does. The UK has a massive immigration problem and there are areas where if you don't speak Polish or Urdu you're lost in your own country. Schools must teach all religions in order to create a better understanding of each other but muslims can set up their own schools which are unregulated by UK authorities and can teach what they like, and if, say, a polish child moves into the area and can't speak English, the school must employ either an interpreter or a polish speaking teacher, the child does not have to learn English and the parents are appointed interpreters to help them settle in. It is their human right not to be forced to learn a new language. No school budgets are increased, no local government budges are increased, so these costs are born by the other pupils/residents. again I could go on. It's an out of control situation with politicians being paid to pretty much talk out of their ar$e.

Anyway, back to the positive, a big thank you to you all, your comments are much appreciated.

[blackklight]

don't let any negativity stop you from doing what you want to do

[Marlin331]

There are many, many areas of Miami-Dade county where crime is low. The worst areas of Miami may be comparable to Johannesburg, but the best most certainly aren't. I have always felt safe in most areas around Miami, and I just avoid a few select areas that are known to be bad.

In most areas around Miami, you do NOT - and I repeat - do NOT need to speak Spanish to get around in daily life. Many people are bilingual and many Hispanic people were born/raised in the United States and speak English as their native and/or best language. You will have very few interactions with people who speak no English; honestly, if you go into a store and have a problem (let's say you're trying to return something and are explaining the details of why) and encounter someone who doesn't speak English well, they will immediately get someone who does speak English well. You will NOT be lost without knowing Spanish; keep this in mind regardless of what anyone on this forum may tell you.

[kevinkagy]

Originally Posted by crisp444

There are many, many areas of Miami-Dade county where crime is low. The worst areas of Miami may be comparable to Johannesburg, but the best most certainly aren't. I have always felt safe in most areas around Miami, and I just avoid a few select areas that are known to be bad.

In most areas around Miami, you do NOT - and I repeat - do NOT need to speak Spanish to get around in daily life. Many people are bilingual and many Hispanic people were born/raised in the United States and speak English as their native and/or best language. You will have very few interactions with people who speak no English; honestly, if you go into a store and have a problem (let's say you're trying to return something and are explaining the details of why) and encounter someone who doesn't speak English well, they will immediately get someone who does speak English well. You will NOT be lost without knowing Spanish; keep this in mind regardless of what anyone on this forum may tell you.

Agreed. You do not need Spanish to get around and crime is only bad in the real bad parts of Miami. Overtown, Liberty City, and its vicinities.