Work in Miami, live in Broward? (Hialeah, Fort Lauderdale: middle-class, apartment complexes, rental)

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by MidwestBlondie

This is going to be your typical 9-5 or 8:30-6 M-F day job.

I am flying down for an in person interview on Monday, and booked my hotel by the Fort Lauderdale airport to kinda get an idea right there.

I'm still thinking East Hollywood is looking doable, at roughly 16 miles from the zip code of the work building.

We don't give distances out in miles but in minutes. That sixteen mile trip can easily take you 90 minutes in traffic. Any sort of commute during peak times will be a nightmare. Move as close to your job as possible. A bad commute can destroy your quality of life because both I95 and the Turnpike are HARD driving.

Originally Posted by MidwestBlondie

Truth, but from what I've read, I don't think I'll want to live in Hialeah. I don't speak a lick of spanish and am VERY blonde lol

Hialeah is the largest Spanish city in the world outside a Spanish country. Even to do things like go to the grocery store or get gas you might need rudimentary Spanish.

[MidwestBlondie]

Originally Posted by blueherons

We don't give distances out in miles but in minutes. That sixteen mile trip can easily take you 90 minutes in traffic. Any sort of commute during peak times will be a nightmare. Move as close to your job as possible. A bad commute can destroy your quality of life because both I95 and the Turnpike are HARD driving.



Hialeah is the largest Spanish city in the world outside a Spanish country. Even to do things like go to the grocery store or get gas you might need rudimentary Spanish.

Okay well I'm not living in Hialeah ... I can learn rudimentary Spanish but that's about it ... so what do people reasonably suggest then? Someone here says East Hollywood, and now everyone is saying basically nowhere but Hialeah.

I guess let's go back to the original question: I am going to work in Miami Lakes. Where should I live? Where could I reasonably live that will be more east and hopefully between work and my friends who are up in FLL?

[BNBR]

I know plenty of people who live as far as Wilton Manors and drive to Medley for work (near Hialeah). Living in Broward and driving to the Hialeah area is a very normal commute. It's not short, but it is what it is. I don't think you'll want to live anywhere near Hialeah which includes Doral.

Seems west Broward might be your best shot. Pembroke Pines area. The western Pines areas near I75 have a ton of restaurants, shopping, etc. It's a reasonable commute to work and a reasonable drive to FLL (25 min).

Why exactly do you want to live east so bad?

[MidwestBlondie]

Originally Posted by BNBR

I know plenty of people who live as far as Wilton Manors and drive to Medley for work (near Hialeah). Living in Broward and driving to the Hialeah area is a very normal commute. It's not short, but it is what it is. I don't think you'll want to live anywhere near Hialeah which includes Doral.

Seems west Broward might be your best shot. Pembroke Pines area. The western Pines areas near I75 have a ton of restaurants, shopping, etc. It's a reasonable commute to work and a reasonable drive to FLL (25 min).

Why exactly do you want to live east so bad?

Thank you for your response!

I have someone PMing me telling me just to live in Miami Lakes (the job's address says Hialeah but when I mapped the ACTUAL street address, it is in Miami Lakes). She said that it's better and has more to do than Pembroke.

I guess I was thinking that I'd want to live east because there is more to do, but in reality I don't even go out that much. I also just want to make sure that I'm not TOO far from my friends, if I wanna go to their house a few times a week. I also don't want them seeing me as a trek to go visit.

A little background on me is that I am a 34 yr old single white female who grew up in a very upper-middle class WASP-y surburbia. I actually DO like that type of surrounding. It's comforting to me. I suppose everywhere cool to play could be a simple 30 min drive away, and where I live should be more comfy. So now I am leaning towards Pembroke. Though like I said, I have someone telling me that Miami Lakes is even better.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by MidwestBlondie

A little background on me is that I am a 34 yr old single white female who grew up in a very upper-middle class WASP-y surburbia. I actually DO like that type of surrounding. It's comforting to me. I suppose everywhere cool to play could be a simple 30 min drive away, and where I live should be more comfy.

It's important that you feel comfortable - especially when you first move to a new place.
I hope you'll have enough time to check out east Hollywood as well as Pembroke when you're here.

Years ago I drove from northeast Boca to work on 95 and Pembroke Road - it's a drive from hell.
If I left 20-30 minutes earlier than I needed to.. traffic wasn't as bad.
I'd get to work early for no reason, but avoiding the stress of traffic was worth it.

I moved down here a bajillion years ago from Milwaukee and South Florida's pretty intimidating for someone from the Midwest. I prefered living near people I knew than being close to work initially. In time when I was more comfortable.. I moved closer to work.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by MidwestBlondie

Truth, but from what I've read, I don't think I'll want to live in Hialeah. I don't speak a lick of spanish and am VERY blonde lol

First, the reality is all of us need to have a working knowledge of conversational Spanish.

Second, just how blonde are we talking here?

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by MidwestBlondie

I guess let's go back to the original question: I am going to work in Miami Lakes. Where should I live? Where could I reasonably live that will be more east and hopefully between work and my friends who are up in FLL?

While it might not seem so, we are actually attempting to be helpful here. Commutes just suck the life force out of you.

As a practical matter, can you ask your hiring manager or people who interviewed you for some practical suggestions on where to live? After all, they know the commute very well.

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by BNBR

I know plenty of people who live as far as Wilton Manors and drive to Medley for work (near Hialeah). Living in Broward and driving to the Hialeah area is a very normal commute. It's not short, but it is what it is. I don't think you'll want to live anywhere near Hialeah which includes Doral.

Seems west Broward might be your best shot. Pembroke Pines area. The western Pines areas near I75 have a ton of restaurants, shopping, etc. It's a reasonable commute to work and a reasonable drive to FLL (25 min).

Why exactly do you want to live east so bad?

It's been years since I've been... would Plantation maybe be a good option for her as well?

[MyITGuy]

I'm not familiar with that specific area - But can reinforce what others are saying about the commute times - Expect the worst (10 miles will take me 10-15 minutes to get to here in Orlando, but could easily be a 30-45+ minute drive in Miami).

One of my family members lived in Pembroke Pines with a commute to downtown Miami area if I recall correctly and it was a 45-60 minute commute. All her feedback (besides traffic and people) seemed to be positive.

Asking your potential employer about ideal areas to live in would be best - I did the same when I moved to Miami and was within 2 miles of my office so my commute was only 10-15 minutes. My wife unfortunately had to deal with the traffic and times would vary between 30-120 minutes depending on time of day.

Another piece of advice if you want to expand your area is to look at traffic patterns while your in town and live in the opposite direction. I.E. If traffic is heavy in the morning going south, then look to the south for a place to live so you can drive north or against the flow of traffic.

[MidwestBlondie]

Well it seems like a bit of research will have to go into this. What would you all suggest in the meantime? Do I just stay at an extended stay hotel for a month and work while I figure it out? I'd hate to jump into some lease willy-nilly.