My husband and I and our 3-yr-old may relocate to Miami (for work) in the very near future. We will visit (w/o child) in October to scope things out. My husband has been there several times for work and I%26#39;ve been there but it was many years ago.
I believe the work location is the Coral Gables area. We%26#39;ll probably be seeing that area (though I%26#39;m not sure we can afford to live there), downtown and visiting South Beach. I%26#39;d like to get a good impression of Miami from a resident%26#39;s standpoint too. I%26#39;m not sure what I mean by that, other than checking out some potential neighborhoods.
Any ideas/recommendations for our visit?
Weekend visit prior to Possible Relocation to Miami
Sonia%26gt;
Miami is a wildly diverse city... there are areas of relative calm and places you visit to party at night and then flee to the suburbs (as in most metropolitan areas).
The Downtown area is gradually getting a makeover and there are urban, industrial places to live as well as brand new high rise developments. For now - most people drive into the city in the morning and work the day and then leave at dusk to drive back to their homes on the Beach (15 minutes) or up to the semi-Poltergeist-sanitized Weston (1 hour) north and west of here... or take a commuter train down south to Kendall, South Miami or the Redlands (farm country).
Please understand that I am making a BROAD generalization here...
In your case, you need to decide if you want to live near the Beach, near a great public school, near your husband%26#39;s office... or perhaps just rent a condo for 6 months and play tourist a while until you get a feel for the area and decide if you even want to remain in town!
Reloacting is a big step.
If you have a few days time to come into town, you can get an inexpensive hotel on the Beach or in the Gables and rent a compact car and drive through the neighborhoods to see what feels right to you.
When friends of mine relocated here, they found a lovely waterfront high rise apartment to rent for 6 months and enjoyed the novelty of the pool and the ';unreal'; quality of living in an atmosphere that was so foreign to their lifestyle in the northeast. They traded in the snow shovelling and the commuter trains for a building with valet parking, a doorman who brings up their groceries on a wheeled cart... Their pool area has a hot tub and their apartment has a view that goes on forever.
In a few months time, they are settling into a house in the suburbs and will resume mowing the lawn and carrying their own groceries. While they enjoyed the 6 month respite from reality, they want a little more privacy and autonomy... and they picked a place near some great public schools.
Perhaps that%26#39;s a good solution for you? I guess you need to see how it feels when you visit and how your husband%26#39;s relocation arrangements work out.
Let me know if you have any questions and I%26#39;ll try to help!
AG
related links:
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g34438-i92-k770778鈥?/a>
tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g34438-i92-k789955鈥?/a>
Weekend visit prior to Possible Relocation to Miami
If his work location is in Coral Gables, (my husbands company is located there too). I would suggest you look at a few neighborhoods. Coral Gables to start, you may be surprised at prices. Then there are two other cities (in side Miami-Dade) that are next to Coral Gables, that you must look at. The city of South Miami and Pinecrest. Then there is Palmetto Bay which is next of Pinecrest, the cheapest out of these nice neighborhoods. Coconut Grove can be an idea too, but some parts are close to not so nice parts of town, FYI. Key Biscayne also might be a nice idea, but the place is getting packed and congested I hear from friends.
Public school wise, Palmetto Bay kids (not sure if all parts of Palmetto Bay kids go to this school, some do) have the 13th best rank high school in the country, Coral Reef Senior High. Pinecrest%26#39;s, Palmetto Senior High isn%26#39;t far behind at 53 in the whole country. Those are the only two high schools ranked in the top 100 in Miami-Dade County. There is only one other school in the tri-county are ranke 20th and its in West Palm Beach.So that says a lot.
The well know big private prep schools in the county are in, Coconut Grove, South Miami, Coral Gables and Pinecrest.
I would have lunch and walk around, Coral Gables, City of South Miami (sunset and red road), Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne and see the differences between them. And I would just drive around the neighborhoods.
I hope this helps.
Thank you AG for some things to think about and great links to school info.
In our case we%26#39;re leaving an apt with a garage and doorman and view and practically no commute. I think ultimately we want a house, but certainly we could rent a house or apt for awhile before we buy to get a feel for the lay of the land.
Does commuting to Coral Gables if we can%26#39;t afford to live there bring to mind different areas to live, than if we were commuting to downtown?
We%26#39;re not much into %26#39;bedroom communities%26#39; and would prefer something with it%26#39;s own character and center of gravity. I know I might be dreaming, but is there any community around Miami that brings to mind any of the following: artsy / bohemian or earthy / organic or small-town atmosphere, that is also family friendly? Even some area that you might associate with this atmosphere?
Thanks doggiebus
I must have been posting my other reply while you were posting as well. You gave some specifics I was looking for.
I will definitely look at those neighborhoods while we%26#39;re there. If we can afford CGables it would be nice to be near work and it looks like schools are good there too. But I certainly want to know all my options and what place feels right for us.
Sonia -
Try to get a weekday into your trip. All neighbourhoods are different from weekdays to weekends - you%26#39;ll get a better idea of the areas you%26#39;re checking out.
Glad to help.
The Shenadoah neighborhood is very close to Coral Gables.. and there you%26#39;ll find 1920%26#39;s and 1930%26#39;s houses with prices a few hundred thousand less than the Gables. Some people love the flavor and proximity to Little Havana, others don%26#39;t. The Roads area is nice, but a bit more expensive. You might like Coconut Grove (next to the Gables) and that can be a fun place to live.
You may want to consider the private school situation in south Florida. When my children were young, I didn%26#39;t really know what I was looking for but you need to look at the long term. Depending what is available in the area you relocate to, you may have great elementary schools and a dangerous middle school ( my geographic situation). What happens there is that there is a competitive crunch as the kids in your area get to middle school age. Fortunately for me, my kids tested well and had good grades. This may seem a long time off when you have a three year old but it is something you should consider when you purchase a home in Florida. For numerous reasons, political and economic (and not related to the teachers who are also frustrated after they have been there a few years), we don%26#39;t get much for our money in the school system.
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