South Florida Babies
Relocating to Miami ????
DH is considering a job in Miami, neither of us have ever lived there before. Can you offer any neighborhood advice? He would be working in the Brickell area, and we would love to avoid a hellish commute (45min+ each way.) What do you love/hate about having children in Miami?
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Re: Relocating to Miami ????
"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane" -- Jimmy Buffett
As for taxes, we don't have a state tax, which is nice. : ) Property taxes (if buying) are on the higher end, but have significantly decreased over the past 3 yrs!
When trying to avoid a lot of traffic to downtown, I'd try to live as far east as possible (close to US1). Anything too west will get you into a lot of traffic, quickly! Personally, my "west" point is 117 Avenue (for reference, US1, depending on the area, is about 75 Avenue - the highway is diagnal). It takes you from Downtown all the way south to the FL Keys (4 hrs later)!
"If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane" -- Jimmy Buffett
I grew up in Miami Shores and I LOVE it there!! It's about a 20-25 minute drive to downtown during rush hour. The houses are beautiful and it's a great neighborhood feel. They have a community center that has sports for kids and adults, classes, a pool and a kiddie water playground and a tot lot. There's also a country club with golf course. Totally love the area. Great schools, there's a good public school, charter school, catholic school (where I went), and private. There's also a bunch of churches.
Nearby there's Biscayne Park which is also great, homes are a little more affordable. I was born and raised in Miami. I love living here, love living near the ocean. I don't hate anything, but we do worry about hurricanes and it gets brutally hot in the summer, but we make up for it in the winter with amazingly beautiful weather!
My parents neighbor is a realtor if you want to talk to someone for advice, she's really nice and a mom of 2.
Coral Gables is a very nice community and close to the Brickell area. It is very well maintained and central to a lot of places. We've been living here for nine years now and love it. I agree with Jackie - you want to live east to try and avoid that west to east traffic. I love living here - the weather is amazing, there is always something to do. We have beaches, beautfiul parks, great libraries, museums, zoos, aquariums, etc. As Leaana mentioned, it gets soooo hot during the summer months but it's worth it when the rest of the country is snowed in during the winter and we're chillaxin' at the beach :0) Good luck to you and your family!