Life in Coconut Grove

[DenverLawGal]

OK, sounds like the Grove might be a good spot for us to check out. We are coming next May and will probably start in the Grove, then check out Brickell (condo) areas. It's such a big city that it's really hard to make sure you are moving to a safe place. Even if the commute is so-so, it's better to be in a safe area. We would prefer open ocean beach, but the bay is neat too. Being 15 min. away is just fine. Do people in the Grove need to evacuate as much as S. Beach during hurricane season?

[planetsurf]

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

We would prefer open ocean beach, but the bay is neat too. Being 15 min. away is just fine.

See my revision re "open ocean" -- some of the beaches of Key Biscayne are VERY nice.

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

OK, sounds like the Grove might be a good spot for us to check out. We are coming next May and will probably start in the Grove, then check out Brickell (condo) areas. It's such a big city that it's really hard to make sure you are moving to a safe place. Even if the commute is so-so, it's better to be in a safe area.

Basically, the US1 corridor between downtown, including Brickell, The Roads, Grove, Gables, S Miami, all the way down to Pincrest and East Kendall are VERY safe.
There are a few small pockets of real poverty however, but this is way less than 10% of that total area.
You can "drive through" the whole area thanks to Google now:
http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&...065,-80.243585
to check it out. You can't necesarily tell the good spots from bad, but still VERY cool.

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

Do people in the Grove need to evacuate as much as S. Beach during hurricane season?

I assume you mean during the threat of a Cat 1 storm?
No, it doesn't appear so from this map:
http://www.miamidade.gov/oem/library...mage_DEMHS.pdf
Much of the Grove seems to be in a B evacuation zone, MBeach an A.

Good luck and enjoy the adventure of moving!

[intelfan11315]

Wanttomoveeast, I am living in the Grove right now and I love it. There are restaraunts and bars everywhere and people are still out walking around at 3am. The place is very lively and there is a range of restaraunts from cheap to expensive. They have clubs and bars that play classic rock. I can't say I really feel unsafe anywhere around there, obviously you wouldn't see me walking around at night past SW32 but going during the day you wouldn't think anything of it.

[compelled to reply]

I got pickpocketed once in the Grove ! I wonder if it was the "burgler" ? That is an out of field crime you know!

[miamiblue]

Originally Posted by planetsurf

You can "drive through" the whole area thanks to Google now:
Coconut Grove, Miami, Miami-Dade, Florida, United States - Google Maps
to check it out. You can't necesarily tell the good spots from bad, but still VERY cool.

Tee hee! I just "walked" down the street my boyfriend used to live on (Day Ave, between Matilda and Virginia) and saw that the "Through the Looking Glass" compound he used to live in is still there. Just look for the VW bus on the north side of the street and a wooden fence. It was a cool place, but he did have his truck broken into and a locked up bike stolen off the second floor terrace in front of his apartment. The funkiest thing about that place was that the Krishna temple was a couple of doors down on the same street.

Still disappointed that I still can't "walk" by of our old apartments in South Miami.

[DenverLawGal]

Planet and all: Your information will really help us for our scouting trip next May. We are not bothered by poverty but obviously don't want to move to a bad area (not that poverty equates to crime, I don't believe that and if you want to argue, let's go to another thread!! )

Planet: That google link is awesome, thanks!! And yeah, I was talking a Cat 1. We are landlocked people and aren't used to evacuating because of hurricane threats. So we thought it best to not jump right into living near areas that evacuate more often than others. Plus, we are coming from many states away (Colo.) and therefore want to find the most suitable spot for us.

I think the Grove might be a good spot for us to get started. Here's the thing though, one of our top requirements is a pool. We need that to help us acclimate LOL. I didn't see tons of apt. listings in the Grove that had pools.

For commute, I'm in law and prefer to work in a big firm, I'm thinking Brickell is where I'll be. My DH is in IT so will probably be working who knows where, could be anywhere in the city, but I'm hoping the Grove will be central enough for him that he won't have a nightmare commute.

Thanks again everyone, I do appreciate it!!

[planetsurf]

Originally Posted by wanttomoveeast

I think the Grove might be a good spot for us to get started. Here's the thing though, one of our top requirements is a pool. We need that to help us acclimate LOL. I didn't see tons of apt. listings in the Grove that had pools.

For commute, I'm in law and prefer to work in a big firm, I'm thinking Brickell is where I'll be. My DH is in IT so will probably be working who knows where, could be anywhere in the city, but I'm hoping the Grove will be central enough for him that he won't have a nightmare commute.

Thanks again everyone, I do appreciate it!!

The Grove is VERY central -- I commuted all the way to north Ft Lauderdale from C GAbles (10 minutes further down US1 than the Grove) for a couple of years. Only took me ~50 minutes door to door b/c I was mostly against traffic.

As to the pool thing -- other people that have more experince may be able to help more, but I think mostly the bigger condo-type places all have pools vs the smaller places in the 'heart' of the Grove. They are VERY shoe-horned in in most cases and just don't have room.

Good luck.

[DenverLawGal]

well, it'll be a good starting point no matter. And thanks for verifying what I was hoping about my DH having to commute -- I think/hope my commute will be no big deal compared to his.