Ot: Moving To Miami. Where To Live?

[rvadog]

Hey fellow bassers,

 

I hope this isn't too off topic. I'm military and will be transferring to Miami Beach this summer. Super psyched about 365 days a year of fishing and peacock bass! Anyone have any suggestions for decent areas to rent a house? No kids but a wife and two dogs so I really want a yard. Thanks guys!

[Gotfishyfingers?]

it would depend on how far you want to commute to work.

[rvadog]

I'm open to as far as 45-60 minutes. I obviously don't want to live in the hood but I also don't need to live in a gated community. With two big dogs that are protection trained (my other hobby) know one's breaking in to my house.

[evrgladesbasser]

_{If you don't speak spanish you probably won't like Miami area. Hollywood, Dania has some nice areas and is near the beach. Pembroke Pines and Davie are nice too, depends how far west you want to go. These are all in Broward, I can't, or should I say "won't", recommend anywhere in Dade county, but that's my personal preference because you really can't live anywhere in southern Dade county unless your bilingual.}

[tallydude]

I can't stand Miami, or most of Dade County, for that matter. You'd be better off looking in one of the Broward County suburbs if you'd prefer not carrying a sidearm everywhere you go.

[fstr385]

I hate Miami!!!! There are some ok places there, but for the most part........ I cant use that kind of language here. If I were you, Id stay in S. Hollywood, Pembroke pines area near a highway to work.

[fl_bass]

Double check the laws in Miami Dade about dogs. Pit bulls are illegal. I work in Miami and its true about Spanish is everywhere there. I walk into a grocery store and the staff barely speaks English. And I do mean the entire staff. Most of the houses are in gated communities you will be hard pressed to find a non HOA home in south florida. There is a huge culture shock coming here. I came from Arizona and was still surprised by some of the stuff here. People drive like maniacs and the insurance was through the roof compared to AZ. And that was a border state where cars ended up in Mexico. Find a nice spot in Broward and commute. Stay off I-95 and the Palmetto your commute will thank you, and learn Spanish if you want to function in miami.

[BasskingKeith]

Miami is like another country connected to Florida/U.S. It's very cultural there lol.

[JellyMan]

Yeah agree with most said. Try to find suburb/country club areas. 

[SirSnookalot]

Miami and Miami Beach are not the same city, many non Floridians are not aware of that.  I live in Palm Beach County and wished I lived near or around Miami Beach.  I personally enjoy a more diverse area and I like the Latin influence, it's like being on vacation everyday.

South Florida roads are inadequate for the population explosion, where ever you may be the driving times might be longer than what you are used to.  Your dogs could be a problem, I might be looking as rural as I could get, as mentioned many HOA's don't allow dogs like that, certainly not in a country club community, they have small yards anyway.

Being a fishing forum, the fishing in that part of Florida excels, just so many varieties of fish and in close proximity to the keys, no place I'd rather fish.

[LgMouthGambler]

Miami=North Cuba.

[Shane Procell]

Good luck....I really mean that.  When i first moved down here I rented on the beach while we looked for a place.  I live in the North Miami Beach area, Aventura, and I love it. Most of the neighborhoods in South Florida are below my living standards. The rest are above my living standards. I would suggest you get a real estate agent to help you find something suitable. As some of the guys above mentioned....this is HOA hell. Better to have a professional walk you through before you get into an area that does not allow you dogs, boat and truck.  In my opinion the highways are not as bad as some of the other urban areas that have 11 million people are jamed into. Half of which are over the age of 55 and 25% are from a island somewhere where they apparantly drive slow in the passing lane.

But hey like you said, 365 days of fishing...that's hard to beat.

I actually love it down here and would not live anywhere else.

[SirSnookalot]

 I live in the North Miami Beach area, Aventura

Our first place, 1982-1995 was a snowbird condo was on Biscayne Blvd. & near where the Aventura mall is today, on a saltwater lagoon that fed into the ICW.  Snook, tarpon, jacks, right out my back door.

[salmicropterus]

South Florida, particularly Dade, is an intensely multi-cultural region. My experience is that you either embrace it or race away from it asap. You'll have more fun and enjoy it if you embrace it but if your make up is to be uncomfortable in diverse and different situations, and there's nothing wrong with that, then you'll want to avoid it.

The issue with housing in Dade is that it is too expensive to live where you'll want to live or too iffy where you can afford to live. It's a split market and it's hard for the average income person to find a niche. As said by others, Broward has more average neighborhoods combining affordability with stability. South Broward area like Pembroke Pines, Hollywood, Cooper City, Davie are good to look at. Commuting distances into Dade, requires access to highways. There are no viable surface roads to commute long distances. Being military my guess is you'll be leaving early so if you are on the road by 6:30-6:45, you should be ok with your commute in.

The fishing speaks for itself. We just had a USCG guy move into the area. Works in Dade lives in Davie. He just joined one of my clubs so now he has a base to fish from and some new friends.

[Gotfishyfingers?]

Use google map to help you find areas. Maybe you can  find something on the water. salt of fresh

[BigAL]

Stay away from miami its a war zone down there look at boca raton,parkland or coral springs IMO

[BasskingKeith]

Miami=North Cuba.

LMFAO that's funny

[BassinLou]

Captain Shane touched on an really important topic. Find yourself a professional real estate agent and have them show you around town and give you ideas. As you can see many individuals so far have expressed their colorful opinions about MIA. I can understand where they are coming from being that I was born and raised in MIA. Miami or Dade County in general has many areas that are very nice and can accomodate the things you are looking for. West Broward is also very nice. However like any large metropolitan type of area its going to have its drawbacks. Are there many hispanics down here yes. So what?  There are many other nationalities and cultures down here as well. Best of luck and I hope you find what you are looking for. You can always PM me if you want local feedback and information.

[mg4u2nv]

Miramar isn't bad either(west of university).  You can just jump on the turnpike to the golden glades and take I-95 to miami beach.  You can be just a few minutes from the highway, and the miramar/pembroke pines area is a pretty good peacock area!

 

Matt