Miami?

I've been planning a winter "move" to Miami. There are some very nice units available with short term lease agreements for $3,000-3,500 a month. My question is, what is the best area to look at; South Beach, Downtown? I've been to Miami on numerous Occasions, but I've never lived there. I know it's regarded by many as a third world cess pool full of illegal immigrants and brutal street thugs that commit murder, rape, home invasions, and car jacking on a daily basis, but many wealthy people do live here, some full time, and most manage to live here peacefully and have no problems with crime.

What are the areas to watch out for? I won't be traveling much, I don't have a 9-5 job I don't have to go to work everyday, so traffic isn't a problem. Snobby people are also not a problem, I'm a snob myself. Rudeness, heat, and humidity are also not an issue (I love hot and humid weather). My main concerns are crime and amenities (whole foods and a good gym). I did some digging and stumbled upon city-data.com's Miami section and was shocked by the amount of people warning others to stay far away, I suspect most of these people are in the lower income brackets and are just disgruntled over the state of the U.S economy and the deteriorating neighborhoods around large cities. Am I right, or is it true?

I found some nice lofts (The Lofts At South Beach) right on the venetian causeway (Dade blvd) and Purdy ave. Is this a good neighborhood? Is South Beach generally safe? Where are the bad parts around downtown? I hear around the Airport? Is there a high risk of getting your car stolen or damaged, more so then any other U.S city? Also, are there any upscale grocery stores and such near by on South Beach or does one have to drive a fair bit? Excluding Miami and SoBe, are there any other areas with comparable amenities (high rises, or lofts, with beach access) further north with less crime and more comfortable living?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

 

Interesting thread. I am wondering about a lot of the same things. I have a condo I'm stuck with in Georgia and as the market is deteriorating, but since things are bad all over and even worse in Miami than other places I am planning on selling my GA condo at a loss and buying a Miami unit on the cheap and hold it until the market recovers. I also see myself potentially moving down there in about 1.5 years.

 

It's bad all over. Chicago is a dump as well. I live in one of the highest income suburbs in the greater Chicago area and the surround towns are 90% hispanic and high crime. There has also been a large influx of Chicago gangs setting up shop in ritzy Chicago suburbs due to the destruction of many Chicago housing projects. With that being said, it's very safe here and there is tons of police presence and my neighborhood is gated so I have nothing to really worry about. I just want the scoop on Miami. I want to get away from the Midwest. It's beyond boring and I cannot stand the winter or summer weather here. I like it hot and humid year round. We haven't seen one 90 degree day yet up here in the northern suburbs yet, eh.

But going back on topic, can someone who lives in Miami chime in and give some feedback.

 

Maybe You should reconsider Miami

 

I am not curently living in s. florida right now but went to school there and usually visit 2-3x a year. If you are willing to move a little further north and drive a little there are safer areas like Hollywood, Hallandale, Ft. Lauderdale. North Miami beach is making a slow come-back as well. Good luck in your search, Scott

 

South Beach still rocks, I am in SoBe for the summer. I love Lincoln Rd then you have the beach and nearly naked hotties by the ton

I have a condo on Brickell Key also just S of downtown, Brickell is more family/business oriented than SoBe, its Miami banking center

The new Marie Brickell Village is finally completely up and running, its a medium size outdoor mall w lots of cool restaurants & bars

then you have Coral Gables down S which is even more family oriented but has a lot more houses, Brickell is mostly condos

if you BUY something now you can probably sell it in 5 or 6 years for a nice profit, and for $3500 a month you can buy something pretty nice in SoBe or Brickell

crime rates are climbing everywhere w the recession but murder rate in Miami is very low, its mostly petty theft, shoplifting around here

 

What is your situation, family, children, single, do you work, where? That will determine a lot of where to live.

I am single, just went through the search for an apartment, looked at Coral Gables, Coconut Grove (some great lofts with private rooftop areas, some with jacuzzis), South Beach, Brickell Key, and Brickell Avenue.

Everyone I know told me that Brickell Avenue and Brickell Key were the best for a single male. Every building I looked at confirmed this. I work, the Causeway traffic to South Beach was too unpredictable. The best rental deals I found and also the nicest newest buildings was on Brickell Avenue, within walking distance to the Mary Brickell Village. That center has numerous restaurants, and a Blue Martini. There are also two other night spots with a nice straight single clientele.

But I do not think the Brickell areas is good if you have kids. Then I would suggest Coral Gables or Key Biscayne.

 

For 2.5 - 3K you can also have a nice place here:

www.flamingosouthbeach.com

4 blocks to the Regal south beach theatre and Lincoln Rd., and you can take cabs anywhere on Sobe for 5 bucks. Lots of restaurants and bars. A Whole Foods about 5 blocks away and Epicure market and Publix about 5 blocks the other way.

If you read the paper they have a section with all the crime reports every week: looks to be mostly breaking into cars parked on the street, petty theft, and once in a great while something extremely serious.

 

I'm single, no children, I won't be working in Miami. I'm going down there to get away from the winter and explore the possibility of a permanent residence. Brickell seems nice, but It seems very city like and not very "Beachy/Tropical". I'm not on partying, so that doesn't really interest me. I'm looking to do this for the weather. I love the water and the hot and humid tropical weather. I'm looking at SoBe (the Sofi area). That seems to the one of the safer areas with many amenities near by. I need a good gym and a upscale grocery store for good food. With whole foods right by it seems like a good idea to stick to Sobe (SoFi).

 

The Flamingo has a 14,000 sq. ft. David Barton Gym with brand new equipment, 2 pools that are giagantic, and its own beach, marina, and beach vollyball and basketball court.

For anything you need you will have to leave Sofi and come up Alton 10 or so blocks: CVS, movies, etc.

 

Brickell Key is a small island w about 10 large buildings on it

I bought there bcus I like the isolation & safety that the bridge provides, + as soon as you drive on to the island its very different from Brickell, Miami, or SoBe, its a very beautiful high end neighborhood

Its good for single guys, there are lots of athletes, Drs, & Attys there

but its also good for families, there are 2 good size parks always full of little kids & stroller Moms

+ there is a trail that wraps around the island that is great for walks, runs & socializing

parking is pretty safe too, there are plenty of high end cars including at least 1 Enzo
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Yes, South Beach sounds good for you, albeit crowded.

I would also consider going up the road to a more upscale Bal Harbour.

New ocean front units there are actually keeping their value, great shopping, restaurants. There is an FChatter here that runs a very successful building in Bal Harbour. PM me and I wil give you his contact info.

 

I can confirm the single women are plenty on Brickell Key!!

 

I'm new to Miami as well, but I said screw waiting until winter, I'm going NOW. Anyways I did the same thing, screw buying anything in this market. Miami is sooooo overbuilt it is ridiculous. Condo inventory is so massive it would take forever to recover even without the econony having gone bad. Sounds like our finanical eye works the same, when I saw what you could rent FURNISHED, and what it rents for, total no brainer.

IMO it will only go lower. When owners have the choice between their unit sitting empty and renting for any amount greater than zero, well there's good deals to be had all over.

Can someone tell me where 'Key Brickell' exactly is? What streets or cross streets or area is that? I'm always interested in checking out areas of the city.

Right now I live off of Biscayne right on the water, over near Bayside. Don't what part of town you call this, maybe someone can enlighten me. Anyways, it's awesome because I'm no more than 5-10 minutes to South Beach, day or night. And South Beach traffic sucks, so I'd rather live here and when I pull the prancing horsie out - actually have a little bit of A DRIVE ahead of me to get to the action, rather be thrust into suck traffic the second I hit the street.

SoBe rocks, and there is an endless supply of people around, locals and tourists. What I am interested to know is, where are the other hot spots in and around the Miami area to hang out? That could include hot night spots or more chill walk-around spots (similar to Lincoln Rd). Since this thread is titled 'Miami' maybe we can list some of the great places to hang out, why to come or not to come here, and where to live!

Also, if anyone wants to do a meet and greet for all the Fchatters local to central Miami area, someone pick a place and we can all get together.

 

I'm in!

 

Cool, I'll look into some potential cool places to get together. Most likely would be bar/restaurant, with parking able to be reserved to accomodate safe parking of all hardware most people would likely be bringing.

I'll start by PM'ing everyone who posts in this thread, and then post a new thread in FLORIDA section with date/location. It'll probably take a week to find a suitable place, and then maybe we'll plan the date for right after 4th of July.

 

You are in downtown Miami, I wouldnt go out there too much at night, Overtown which is REALLY bad is a short walk W of you, about 10 blocks W, its pretty scarey

to get to Brickell Key from Bayside drive S on Biscayne, cross the drawbridge, then take a Left on 8th st and when you see the bridge, thats Brickell Key w the Mandarin Oriental hotel on it

 

Oh I see, so it's basically like 10 minutes south of Bayside area. I'm actually a bit more north near Venetian Way. And yes heading West into more central downtown is never in my travel plans, I can tell it's sketchy over that way.

 

My Feelings exactly. I'd be right in South Beach where you can walk or bike to everything. Everything is Brickell this and that right now. Brickell is fine but it can be had in Atlanta or Phoenix except for a few palm trees. Sobe is special and there's no substitute for throwing on the ipod and walking around in that enviornment.

Coral Gables and Coconut Grove are nice for a 'someday' place when you start a family and wanna lay down some bricks.

North Miami is getting better but it still feels like a bunch of little enclaves of ethnic neighborhoods instead of a community.

Know a guy living on the Venetian and it's too far away from South Beach as he always jumps in the car instead of walking to the gym or lunch.

South Beach is the kinda place you don't have to explain or justify to yourself..you just like being there.

 

I have a condo in Atlanta. How much longer do you guys think the condo market will continue to decline in Miami? If I sell in Atlanta now I'd be selling at a loss from when I bought it, but I could buy something in Miami and hold onto it until the market returns.

 

I'm in SoBe for the summer, its got the flavor of a small island town especially in the summer when the tourists are gone

I love Lincoln Rd

Ocean Dr is good if you have a nice ride but you'll most likely have to valet bcus parking is very difficult to find, plus Ocean is more hip hop than Lincoln these days

 

Jumping in the car is part of the fun!

But yes parking sucks. Anyone have tips for where/how to best park on South Beach?

 

what are you driving ?

360s, 430, Gallardos are very common in SoBe & they are parked all over

if I take the F40 or Slutmobile out I valet it & pay extra for them to leave it there

 

I saw a gallardo the other day parked at a meter...

I would recommend 17th st. garage right near lincoln. Park near the top floor. Besides that, if you're going to valet, do what WilliamH does and pay more to have the valet leave it up front. NEVER let them take it. Valet in miami beach are notorious for joyriding. I've seen them racing cars from the sanctuary to the 17th st garage before, one valet trying to pass the other by driving on the sidewalk. They've also joy rode my friends m3, putting 20+ miles on it with zero excuse.

That being said, the only valet I do give the car to is at the setai....

 

South Beach is a paradise at times.. one of my daughters lives in the Portofino building

Two words for Miami properties: Chad Oppenheim ... Brilliant work if you appreciate contemporary architecture.