Moving to Miami with family....advice needed!! (Kendall, Coral Gables: fit in, apartments)

[2blan3]

Hello, my family and I are planning on making the move to Miami while my husband completes Grad school at UM. We have three children ages 8, 2 1/2, and 9 mos. We are an upper-middle class caucasian family that know little spainish. That said, we are looking to find the best fit for our family as far as neighborhoods go in Miami. We already know all of the negitives that people have of the city, so no need to go there with comments. I believe any place is what you make it! Anyway, we would like a place with good elementary schools and a nice, quiet, safe, pedestrian friendly neighborhood....I know, hard to find in Miami without a huge price tag. We are going to be renting so that should help us out some. Thing is, we are going to be on more of a budget than normal because my husband will be in school. We will be able to afford about $1750/mo. If anyone can recommend a nice neighborhood that won't be hell for a commute to UM that would be great! We would LOVE to try and stay in the "Gables", I know it is very pricey but I have found a couple of places in our range. I am in need of advice for one of the houses though....it is on SW 21st street (a block or two from Miracle Mile) the ad states that it is in Coral Gate, is this area okay and is it really any diff. from Coral Gables given that it is so close in proximity? Also, are Coral Gables Elem., Sunset Elem., and GW Carver Elem. considered "good" schools? Sorry for such a long post, I am just very nervous about such a big move with the children!! Any advice is sincerely appreciated!! TIA!

[Keeper]

Until someone replies, you can try searching for Coral Gables using the search button, there should be some other threads there.

[Marlin331]

First, search through my post history - I have posted a lot on the Coral Gables / South Miami / Kendall area so in addition to what I will tell you here, you will have some "assigned" reading material.

Anyways, Coral Gables is a beautiful, safe area. As a Caucasian family, you will "fit in" just fine - Coral Gables is well over 90% Caucasian. Though about half of that number is Hispanic, most Hispanics in Coral Gables speak English and are just as educated/professional as the non-Hispanics. Secondly, the elementary schools in Coral Gables are known to be outstanding, especially Sunset (which I think is actually in South Miami) and Coral Gables Elementary. I am sure Carver Elementary would be fine, but technically, it is located on the other side of US1 in the "bad" area of Coconut Grove. For that reason, some people see that school as being "worse" than the others; however, I am sure that it would be fine if you lived in its zone. The only problem may be living within the boundaries of Coral Gables with a budget of $1750 for 3 bedrooms. I am sure it's possible but you might have better luck living in east or centrall Kendall, which is a nice suburban area that also has good schools. South Miami is another option. Both Kendall and South Miami are more middle class / upper middle class while Coral Gables is pretty solidly upper middle class with a lot of very wealthy residents mixed in.

[2blan3]

Thanks so much for your reply Crisp! I know I would be pushing it to try and live in Coral Gables for that little amount in rent, I did come across a few places there that I will take a look at while down there over the weekend! However, I have heard you along with many others suggest Kendall, or Pinecrest, or Palmetto Bay. As far as Elem. schools go are these considered as "good" as Coral Gables elem, and Sunset? I looked on Greatschools.net web site and well the schools in Palmetto didn't look good at all (unless maybe I looked at the wrong area??) and Kendall Elem. (which I assume is the elem. in Kendall looked as if it was almost all Hispanic....which I don't mind Hispanic population at all but when that is almost the whole population I just tend to feel nervous that my daughter will feel out of place. As far as Pinecrest, it looked good, but again, I know it's pricey, I did see a few places though (The village of Pinecrest being one, let me know if anyone has info. on that) but wouldn't Pinecrest and East Kendall be a hell of a commute, in terms of traffic fo my husband to UM?? I know people say use the Metro-rail but when I looked up commute time for that from there to UM it was something like 1 hr.1/2 :O!! Something about having to do a layover type thing....who knows! Please let me know if you have any info on that because that is the main reason I ruled out the Kendall area (commute time). Also, how do the school systems work there? I mean if we live IN Pinecrest does my daughter automatically get to go to Pinecrest elem.? Or do they just put you were ever? If that is the case what are the other schools she could potentially get put into? Thanks so much to ANYONE who can add their two cents! I know I have lengthy posts but I would just like to be informed as much as possible before attempting to understand the neighborhoods of Miami!

[Marlin331]

If you lived in Kendall your husband could get from Dadeland Station (SW 88th Street, the southernmost point in the metro rail) to UM in about 15 minutes I believe. It really is a quick trip, and he could do it driving as well. Pinecrest would be another option for you (has good schools as well), but Palmetto Bay is getting a little far from UM. All of the areas I have recommended to you are a fairly quick commute to UM; it wouldn't take 90 minutes unless you were commuting up from the Keys! You should expect elementary schools in Kendall/South Miami to be 50-80% Hispanic and 20-40% white non-Hispanic; that's pretty normal for a nice suburban area of Miami. I really have to stress that Miami is probably the only area of the country where schools with very high percentage of Hispanic aren't seen as undesirable; keep in mind that these Hispanic kids are from middle class to upper middle class families and really aren't any different from their non-Hispanic counterparts. Your daughter shouldn't feel out of place because 1) all these kids speak English just like your daughter and 2) most of these kids are also "white" (of European descent) so appearance wise your daughter will "fit in" as well. I know it seems like a shock that white non-Hispanic people are in the minority in nice suburban areas of Miami, but you really will need to get used to it. Even neighborhoods with $1 million homes tend to be half Hispanic, like parts of Coral Gables. Good luck, and let me know if you have any more questions.

[2blan3]

Ahhhh.... thank you so much for your information Crisp. I think you just put my mind at ease about a few things, I literally just had a breath of fresh air!!! I am really going to start researching the Pinecrest area now. So you say that even with traffic the commute for my husband (driving) from Kendall or Pinecrest is going to be under 20 mins.? That would be great if that's the case! Now, do you know anything about catching the Metro-rail from Pinecrest? Do you know why the Metro-rail website said he would have to transfer, making his commute time even longer than if he were to drive (from Kendall to UM)? As far as Hispanics go, I do not mind the larger population being Hispanic, I was just concerned about the schools (for instance, I did not know if a lot of Spainish would be spoken amongst the children and my daughter would have no clue what was going on). I apologize for my ignorance when it comes to Miami.... I truly am clueless! Hence my numerous, lengthy posts!! Thanks again!

[Marlin331]

The boundaries of Pinecrest are (look at Google maps so you can see what I mean) from SW 136th Street to SW 88th Street and from US1 to the water. Commuting from most places in Pinecrest to UM would take 15 minutes in the car. I just checked the Metrorail schedule for you and it is only a SIX minute trip from Dadeland South Station to University Station. If you lived in Pinecrest or East Kendall, you would park your car at Dadeland Mall (lots of people do this) and catch the train there to UM. Driving to Dadeland from East Kendall or Pinecrest is a very quick trip. I have no idea where you got the 1.5 hours figure, LOL - it's a one train ride from Dadeland to UM that takes 6 minutes.

When you do a Craigslist search for housing, I would use the following keywords: Pinecrest, Kendall, Dadeland, South Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Falls, Killian

[2blan3]

Once again, thanks for a very informative post Crisp!! Yeah, I got the SIX mintue commute one time too on the metro-rail site but then when I looked further into it (After listening to some other person on another site....who knows how valid that was), I THINK it said he would have to transfer to a bus or something and the transfer time was what took so much time....I will try to find it (just so I don't look like a complete fool, LOL), now I am beginning to think I imagined it I will check it out, and see if I can find it because 6 min. is a HUGE diff. from 1 1/2 hrs.!!! Like I said though I think it was something to do with transfer time....who knows! So those boundaries for Pinecrest, are those boundaries for Pinecrest Elem.? And if we are within those boundaries does our daughter automatically go to Pinecrest elem.? TIA!! You have no clue how much help you have been!!!

[2blan3]

Also Crisp....are parts of Kendall in Pinecrest school zoning area? THX!

[Marlin331]

When you look at apartments/houses, type in the address to find the exact elementary school your child will attend: Services Near You

Here is a basic guide to elementary schools, but keep in mind that this is a "rough" one and I pretty much made up the lables "north," "central," "east," etc.

Pinecrest (North) = Pinecrest Elementary School
Pinecrest (South) = Palmetto Elementary School
Palmetto Bay (North) = Howard Drive Elementary School
Palmetto Bay (Central) = Coral Reef Elementary School
Dadeland area = Kenwood K-8 Center
Falls area = Leewood Elementary, Vineland Elementary School
South Miami (East) = Sunset Elementary School
South Miami (Central/West) = Ludlam Elementary School
South Miami (North) = South Miami K-8 Center
Coral Gables (East) / Coconut Grove = George W. Carver Elementary School
Coral Gables (South) = David Fairchild Elementary School
Coral Gables (North) = Coral Gables Elementary School

You can research each one of these schools (test scores, location, demographics, etc.) through GreatSchools.net

PS - don't be put off by the couple "K-8 centers" there are on that list; what it means is that the elementary and middle school share the same facilities. I went to a K-8 center myself and I had a normal elementary school experience. My mom now teaches at one and the elementary and middle school kids are kept pretty separate.

PSS = "Dadeland" and the "Falls" are areas of east Kendall.