Moving to Miami from Upstate NY (Orlando, Kendall: middle-class, insurance, crime)

[E39Chris525i]

My family and I will be moving into the Kendall (on Lake Galloway) around late January/early February 2009. How are the schools (elementary, middle and high) in that area? I know that the area is pretty pricey, but we already have a house that was basically given to us, so we lucked out in that department. We were going to move to the Orlando area, but the job market seems to be pretty weak in central FL. Only temp jobs have posts online, and the house offer changed our minds to come to Miami. My wife and I don't speak spanish, so I know that will turn off many employers in Miami. The job market is pretty bad everywhere, though. We are just looking for accounting/finance/medical field positions so we hope we are lucky. We have been applying already, so catching lightning in a bottle could be what we need.

[runswithscissors]

Click Miami to take you to the forum page, then on the right click on search tools, then enter Kendall in the blank, and check off posts (not the threads) and there are alot of detailed posts about neighborhoods and atmosphere there. and theres something about medical too....it appears you'll be well accepted even if the area is 50-50 or 60-40 language wise.

[E39Chris525i]

any other comments..?

[beeper66]

that area is a very good area to live, very central and safe, actually will live close to OJ Simpson-but it really is beautiful.
Lots of traffic, but there is all over Miami, so just dont let it bother you.
Job in health care field will be NO PROBLEM. I'm a nurse, you do not need Spanish. Can always take a conversational Spanish class later, but you do not need to know Spanis for a health professions job. Baptist Hospital is RIGHT in Kendall, apply there first, because one thing you don't want to do is commute in Miami, in the mornings.

[E39Chris525i]

Yes that is where my mother works, for Baptist Hospital, but I think its the one near this mall on US 1 (Sunset Shops I think its called). My wife is looking for medical assistant/scheduling work. I would be looking at the accounting/finance field. I do have 10 years experience and a 4 yr degree, though the lack of Spanish speaking (and I am hispanic-yes I am a slacker, go figure) is a concern for me. For income off the bat I though of just working some odd job (ie car prep for Enterprise since I did that while in college) just to get income while I continue to find something.....

[guest78236]

About Miami:
I have lived here in Miami for the past 15 years. Things have changed a lot in Miami. Crime is at its highest. Education is at its worst. There's a huge unemployment rate in Miami right now. And for the past 5 years it's been very obvious that people are loosing their culture, manners, and education. A few years ago this was only true about restricted areas in Miami however this has been spreading to the good areas like kendall.
Learn to speak spanish. Not only is it going to be extremely hard for you to find jobs, but it's going to be hard to communicate around with people. The language spoken here is Spanish, English is more like a second language to those who know it. Also, the weather issues. Miami has nice weather starting November through March. April begins with thunderstorms, wild fires. July gets extremely hot (not the good type of hot) this is burning almost 100 deegrees hot. Also it's the start of hurricane season. You will get used to this. I imagine it will be scary the first couple of years, but the hurricanes or the threads of hurricanes are so many that you will get used to this. Also, There's not such thing as the sunny state. Our summer is also rainy season. It will rain almost every day starting July through september.
About Kendall:
I have seen the area of Kendall grow from a beautiful peaceful area to a over crouded, heavy traffic, and a not so cultured populated city. Unfortunately. Kendall is a pretty safe city, it is not a "bad" neighborhood, however it does have its crime. If you have kids, put them in private schools. Do not put them in Kendall's public schools if you want them to have a good education
People who live in Kendall wish they could move now to better areas but are stuck there because property tax or economy issues.
On the positive side Kendall is very central. You'll find everything there. You have a hospital, plenty of grocery stores, plenty plenty of shopping, major department stores, and lots of restaurants. You wont have a problem finding anything near by. Of course traffic might delay you. Central in Miami here also means that there's lots of Cuban, Colombian, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan restaurants. This is highly important to us latins. You will learn to love the latin culture. Our customs, our way of life, our food, and our music. There's lots to do here.
I love Miami and don't ever want to move. However as the economy worsens Miami's community does too. Things are deteriorating rapidly and it's very sad.
I'm sure you'll do fine. And you'll learn to love Kendall. But I do recommend to start those spanish lessons because they're only going to help you =) Good luck and welcome to Miami, the hurricane state =)

[miamiblue]

You are actually going to be in an area very close to where I grew up and where my parents still live. They have lived in the same house for about 35 years. I went to Killian High School, which is not far from your new home.

Kendall has grown westward a lot since I was a kid, and different sections of it are nicer than others. You happen to be in the nicer section!

This area is probably one of the better parts of Miami to raise a family. It is still middle-class, though not quite as exclusive as neighboring Pinecrest - this makes it a little more down to earth. It's a very safe area (except when you leave your laptop, gps, ipod, etc. in your parked car, which for some reason happens all the time). There is some traffic congestion that is annoying, but you'll quickly learn routes to avoid US1 altogether.

Schools are generally not that bad in this area. I don't know what the feeder patterns are like now, but I attended Leewood Elementary from k-5, FC Martin Elem. for 6, Arvida Middle for 7-8 and Killian for high school. I was in mostly advanced, honors and AP classes and feel I got a decent education. For everyone who wasn't in advanced classes with students who were actually interested in learning, I think the quality of their education might have been less than mine. Things have probably changed somewhat since I was in school there, but I can't imagine that the change would be very drastic.

Baptist Hospital on Kendall Drive (the original Baptist, the other hospital you mentioned used to be called South Miami Hospital) is going to be your best bet for an easy commute. It is also one of the nicer hospitals in the area. If anything they need more people who DO speak English well in healthcare there. My father had major back surgery at Baptist last year and had a nurse that did not understand what he was saying because her grasp of English was very minimal. I'm sure this is not overly common, but it definitely seemed like it could have become a serious problem.

If you were practically given a house, consider yourself lucky! However, make sure that you're aware of the property tax and homeowner's insurance costs, as these often take people by surprise because they are very high in S FL. Best of luck, I think you will find that Kendall is generally a nice part of Miami to live.

[lauralei2]

I also think checking Baptist Hospital is a good idea. Baptist Health South Florida If you would consider a commute to South Broward, Memorial Healthcare System. Florida Hospital - Memorial Healthcare System - Broward & Palm Beach County - Florida Also, check Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Bank of America, as well. How about trying Miami-Dade County? The jobs may be few and far between, but you may find a perfect fit. Miami-Dade Link, Jobs

Good luck, and welcome to the area.
Laura

[Bjorn_Ironside32]

Originally Posted by rackie21

About Miami:
I have lived here in Miami for the past 15 years. Things have changed a lot in Miami. Crime is at its highest. Education is at its worst. There's a huge unemployment rate in Miami right now. And for the past 5 years it's been very obvious that people are loosing their culture, manners, and education. A few years ago this was only true about restricted areas in Miami however this has been spreading to the good areas like kendall.
Learn to speak spanish. Not only is it going to be extremely hard for you to find jobs, but it's going to be hard to communicate around with people. The language spoken here is Spanish, English is more like a second language to those who know it. Also, the weather issues. Miami has nice weather starting November through March. April begins with thunderstorms, wild fires. July gets extremely hot (not the good type of hot) this is burning almost 100 deegrees hot. Also it's the start of hurricane season. You will get used to this. I imagine it will be scary the first couple of years, but the hurricanes or the threads of hurricanes are so many that you will get used to this. Also, There's not such thing as the sunny state. Our summer is also rainy season. It will rain almost every day starting July through september.
About Kendall:
I have seen the area of Kendall grow from a beautiful peaceful area to a over crouded, heavy traffic, and a not so cultured populated city. Unfortunately. Kendall is a pretty safe city, it is not a "bad" neighborhood, however it does have its crime. If you have kids, put them in private schools. Do not put them in Kendall's public schools if you want them to have a good education
People who live in Kendall wish they could move now to better areas but are stuck there because property tax or economy issues.
On the positive side Kendall is very central. You'll find everything there. You have a hospital, plenty of grocery stores, plenty plenty of shopping, major department stores, and lots of restaurants. You wont have a problem finding anything near by. Of course traffic might delay you. Central in Miami here also means that there's lots of Cuban, Colombian, Nicaraguan, Venezuelan restaurants. This is highly important to us latins. You will learn to love the latin culture. Our customs, our way of life, our food, and our music. There's lots to do here.
I love Miami and don't ever want to move. However as the economy worsens Miami's community does too. Things are deteriorating rapidly and it's very sad.
I'm sure you'll do fine. And you'll learn to love Kendall. But I do recommend to start those spanish lessons because they're only going to help you =) Good luck and welcome to Miami, the hurricane state =)

Very well put.

and about the spanish lessons, it's a must especially on medical/hospital jobs related, if you know multi-languages (including spanish) you'll have no problems .