Is the Miami metro area a good place to live?

[wheelingman]

I have been to nearly every major city in North America, but Miami-Ft.Lauderdale is not one that I have ever been to. I would like to know what the quality of life is? What is the crime rate? Are there a lot of good ethnic restaurants? What is the nightlife like? How well is downtown Miami doing? Will they ever build a tower over 1,000ft. in Miami? Where are some good,safe areas in the city/suburbs that are nice places to live? What does the future hold for Miami-Ft.Lauderdale? I would appreciate the info. :)

[The Mad Hatter!!]

well it depends on what you want,miami and miami beach are you're loud neighbor,while ft.l is that catholic schoolgirl everyone thinks is a good girl,and palm beach is the quiet old lady.i'll talk about miami for the time being,the crime rate is dropping at about 9% a year,at one point miami was very dangerous.are there alot of ethnic restaurants,yea there are plenty,but mostly latin american.miami is the king of nightlife,downtown is set to become one of the most attractive areas in florida and the U.s.good suburbs would have to be doral,pembroke pines,coconut grove ,coral gables,aventura, and so on.about the 1000ft we don't know,but be on the look out for an 800ft.the future looks good for miami,many new projects are coming.

[nimbyhater]

quality of life is pretty much average, not much better or worse than any other major american city... crime is declining and a fast rate, and has been for several years, and is at a very resonable level, and much below average in many of the nicer suburbs... ethnic restaurants, come on, miami over 60% hispanic and im sure another huge percent of that 40% are foreign born as well, little havana and hialeah will get you some of the best cuban food in the world, little haiti will make ur tastebuds water (although i suggest ordering a delivery, thats not the nicest neighborhood)... there are many delis and jewish food meccas all over the area, especially on miami beach... and miamis gourmet restaurants are comparable to most cities in the world (with many world famous chefs)... nightlife, have you never heard of south beach? dozens of clubs can be found in this small area alone, as well as many in the design district, coconut grove, there are a few downtown, and ft lauderdale also has quite a few... downtown miami is in the middle of one of its greatest booms in history, but im sure that my friends can tell u all about that much better than i can... 1000ft tower, not for a while, but within a decade or 2, its a real possibility... some of the nicest areas of miami are coral gables, coconut grove, pinecrest, south miami, miami beach, kendall, pembroke pines, doral, sunny isles beach, and many others, just to name a few of the nicer ones...

really is a great city and great place to live, and in only a few years, a much greater urban environment

[Mr Man]

Chitown, NY, Toronto, all great cities, but Miamis on its way up!

Agreed! :)

[wheelingman]

Does Miami and some of the inner ring suburbs have density on par with older northern cities?

How bad is the traffic in Metro Miami?

[The Mad Hatter!!]

don't get us started on traffic.

[nimbyhater]

traffic in miami really isnt that horribly bad, though worse than most cities

[MAH45462]

Does Miami and some of the inner ring suburbs have density on par with older northern cities?

It's no New York City, but there are only three large cities in the Southern half of the United States that have population densities over 10,000. All of them are in Miami-Dade County: Miami, Hialeah, and Miami Beach, and all are among the fifteen densest large cities in the US.

How bad is the traffic in Metro Miami?[/QUOTE]

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

don't get us started on traffic.
LOL, Uptown-Midtown :) , Haha, Hoho, Hehe, NO Comment :) , I'll Take " THE 5TH " :cheers:

[Roark]

I have been to nearly every major city in North America, but Miami-Ft.Lauderdale is not one that I have ever been to. I would like to know what the quality of life is? What is the crime rate? Are there a lot of good ethnic restaurants? What is the nightlife like? How well is downtown Miami doing? Will they ever build a tower over 1,000ft. in Miami? Where are some good,safe areas in the city/suburbs that are nice places to live? What does the future hold for Miami-Ft.Lauderdale? I would appreciate the info. :)Well, you asked for it...I've lived in some major US cities, and even after living in Miami, I came back. I'm midwestern and I still can't speak spanish. The quality of life here is AMAZING! Proof positive is that my knucklehead friends won't stop coming to visit me. Lord knows it's not my personality! They come from Chicago, NYC, and LA. Weather is awful in the first two, LA's nightlife isn't as nice. LA closes down early and you can't walk anywhere. Of course "quality" is realitive. But as an example, my day went like this...wake up in a 2 bedroom apt with two parking spaces 2 blocks from the Biscayne Bay and 8 blocks from the Atlantic Ocean, walk to car, drive 10 minutes to office. Walk from Brickell Ave office to middle eastern restuarant for lunch. Work some more. Go to Espirito Santo for a drink after work with ocean/bay views and beautiful women from all over the world. Drive home 10 minutes. Change clothes have a drink with my girlfriend on the terrace (60 degrees, ("average quality of life" January 21???) drive to Mike's park the car and have the best chicken wings in town with great views of the largest cruise ship port IN THE WORLD, and then take the FREE MetroMover to the Heat v Pacers game at American Airlines Arena. Meet friends who offer a boat ride from Arena to Miami Beach.
Seriously. That was a Friday.
I've had much better days....this is just an average Friday.
Crime rate? Never thought to ask. In the big picture, this place is great...not much in the way of taxes, lot's in the way of culture.
My incredibly biased opinion is that quality of life in Miami Beach is better than any city in the WORLD.

[logybogy]

Yeah, Miami Beach offers an incredible lifestyle. The only problem is housing costs suck, especially if you need space for a family!

A nice 2 bedroom condo will easily run you over $400,000+, and that's not including the maint. fees of over $400 a month usually or the property taxes of 8,000+ a year.

Even small 1 bedrooms or studio condos with less than 700 sq. feet can run more than 300,000 depending on location.

It's very expensive.

[MIAballinboi]

what a great day roark,

j/w was that middle eastern restaurant the one right across from espirito santo called "pashas"

its cool i didnt know they had a restaurant across the street from esp and they also have the sales center for bor and some other cool stuff

also for the esp, u can go up to the lobby and take drinks even if ur not part of the hotel right? theres nothing rong with that, cuz when i went up i thought they might ask me to leave or ask what i was doing but they didnt it was cool, sitting on the balcony

[nimbyhater]

Yeah, Miami Beach offers an incredible lifestyle. The only problem is housing costs suck, especially if you need space for a family!

A nice 2 bedroom condo will easily run you over $400,000+, and that's not including the maint. fees of over $400 a month usually or the property taxes of 8,000+ a year.

Even small 1 bedrooms or studio condos with less than 700 sq. feet can run more than 300,000 depending on location.

It's very expensive.

miami beach is expensive as hell, but there are plenty of other areas of miami that are much more affordable

[ChuckScraperMiami#1]

NIMBY :) , Yes, Its Expensive Almost Anywhere NOW in MIAMI-DADE County, There's a Report out now That HOUSE Construction is at the HIGHEST :) Point Since 1978 DUE to Interest Rates STAYING Below 6 % on a 30-YEAR Mortgage at www.interest.com AND The Price of SELLING A HOUSE has gone UP Taking the ADVANTAGE of the LOW RATES. :cheers:

[logybogy]

miami beach is expensive as hell, but there are plenty of other areas of miami that are much more affordable

Please tell me where those places are.

The areas I would consider living and would feel safe in....Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Brickell, Coral Gables, even Downtown Miami are expensive as hell.

Sure Overtown, Little Haiti, Hialeah, Opa Locka, are "affordable" but they are not places most people would choose to live in if they had a choice to get out.

Even in Kendall you'll be hard pressed to find a decent single family home for under $300,000. Then you are dealing with the hellish traffic and commute.

The only affordable housing in Dade County that isn't ghetto right now is the new stuff being built around Homestead. But then you are an hour's drive from Downtown.

[The Mad Hatter!!]

Please tell me where those places are.

The areas I would consider living and would feel safe in....Miami Beach, Sunny Isles Beach, Aventura, Brickell, Coral Gables, even Downtown Miami are expensive as hell.

Sure Overtown, Little Haiti, Hialeah, Opa Locka, are "affordable" but they are not places most people would choose to live in if they had a choice to get out.

Even in Kendall you'll be hard pressed to find a decent single family home for under $300,000. Then you are dealing with the hellish traffic and commute.

The only affordable housing in Dade County that isn't ghetto right now is the new stuff being built around Homestead. But then you are an hour's drive from Downtown.

uptown,wynwood,design district,north miami,morningside,in between coral gales and kendall.

yea uptown and wynwood might not be a nice looking right now but give this area 3 years,and you'll probably get 200%back of what you invested.uptown might be a little dangerous,but wynwood isn't, i lived in wynwood five years ago(right infront of design district,my parents still own the house )and there was never really any major crime or anything of that sort which happened.

in my opinon people make a big deal about crime in miami,all i know is that i've never been robbed,mugged,shot,raped etc and i've walked through some bad places,little hait,uptown,overtown,liberty city,poke n'beans,brownsville,coconut grove westside.the one time i felt threatened was one time i was in a store that was being robbed in coral gables,coral gables not overtown,not liberty city.

so crime doesn't always happen were we expect it to

[wheelingman]

Is the housing more affordable in Broward County,Fort. Lauderdale, and Palm Beach County?

[Roark]

what a great day roark,
its cool i didnt know they had a restaurant across the street from esp and they also have the sales center for bor and some other cool stuff
Yeah, thanks, Pashas is great, there's one at the terminus of Metromover, next door to another great restaurant, Novocento (Argentine), and you can head up to the 25th floor of the Esprito Santo/Conrad for drinks and a look in their observation telescopes. My office is right in that area of cool stuff, right at skydivejunkee's "decidely suburban" parking lot. There are lot of things to do, and getting better.

[Roark]

Yeah, Miami Beach offers an incredible lifestyle. The only problem is housing costs suck, especially if you need space for a family!
A nice 2 bedroom condo will easily run you over $400,000+, and that's not including the maint. fees of over $400 a month usually or the property taxes of 8,000+ a year.
Even small 1 bedrooms or studio condos with less than 700 sq. feet can run more than 300,000 depending on location.
Yeah...true. There are lots of ways to measure cost...rent/mortgage/maint. is just one of them.
Before I step up on the soapbox....here are couple of useful rules of thumb and thoughts to consider when you are buying.
1. Interest rates are very low, consider interest only mortgages, and adjustible rate loans. You can buy more (better location/amenities) for less a monthly payment.
2. A great rule of thumb to calculate property taxes in almost every Miami-Dade municipality is 2% of your purchase price. (send a private message for full details...but that is the way it is).
3. The homestead exemption saves you about $600 on your annual property taxes...but it caps your annual increases (that is the REAL benefit).
4. Buy newer buildings...be very careful about looking for a bargain condo that is aged. The elevators will be slow (and will require expensive maintenance and special assessments). Maintanence should be in the .45 cent per square foot per month in most full service buildings. If it is much lower, check the condo assoc's financials. They are probably running without reserves. Prepare yourself for the $25,000 special assessment.
5. Where ever you buy....think about the quality of life. We are Miamians! If you are going to be spending sunny days in your car because the store/office/school/beach is so far away, you might as well be living in Orlando!!!!
6. Most importantly.....Don't think that prices are going to go down. Since the day I stepped off of the boat from America, people said, "It's the top of the market". They were correct. It was the top in 1992, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97....etc. There has not been a down year since I started counting. Maybe people stop moving to Miami...maybe prices are going to finally go down...Maybe, but don't bet on it.
My favorite cliche..."Buy real estate and wait, don't wait to buy real estate."

Roll all the advantages in, and I think Miami Beach is cheap! Walking 8 blocks to the beach is priceless! You don't ever have to whine about parking. Even if you don't like to walk to the beach, it's nice to watch the girls that do.

Here is the soapbox part, and further evidence that location is almost everything...
A girlfriend of mine commutes 45 minutes per day (without accidents). That's 1 1/2 hours a day, 7 1/2 hours a week, 30 hours a month, 360 hours a year. 360 hours a YEAR! that's 45 8-hour workdays spent in a car! 6 and a half weeks a year in a car!!! My suggestion...ditch the car payment, the car insurance, the gas costs, and move downtown. Take the metromover to work. She could spend those extra minutes/hoursdays making more money or spending it with the family.