top 5 worst and best Miami neighborhoods (Hialeah, Miami Beach: best neighborhoods, condo, high crime)

[reverendjohn]

what are the worst neighborhoods in Miami and which are the best.Would appreciate the information

[elfyum]

Worst: Opa Locka, Overtown, Lemon City/Liberty City (anywhere around 79th street west of Biscayne) Carol City area

Best: Aventura, Miami Shores, Miami Beach (except between 60ish St & Surfside - 88th St)/Surfside/Bal Harbor, most of North Miami Beach (near Sky Lake & near Greynolds Park) & most of North Miami (San Souci Estates)
Oh I forgot Coral Gables, Biscayne Park, El Portal, Biscayne Gardens area -
Basically South Miami is super Spanish, & North West is pretty ghetto as is the outskirts of downtown...
The Northeast is cool.

We have ALOT of very nice areas!!! (Um, yeah, some are a bit on the expensive side! )

[doggiebus]

Worst: Opa Locka, Hialeah (mostly just because it is so ugly looking), Liberty City, Downtown, Goulds and Overtown

Best: Coral Gables, Pinecrest, Palmetto Bay, parts of Miami Beach, South Miami (east of US1), Fisher Island, Kendall (east of 874), parts of Coconut Grove, The Rhodes, Key Biscayne (if you don't have kids and you like lots of people)

[beachbyrd]

I beg to differ than most of North Miami & North Miami Beach are the best neighborhoods in South Florida. Maybe 15-20 years ago, but not in 2007!

[Chelito23]

Agreed. N Miami and NMB are closer to the worst neighborhood lists than the best neighborhoods. I know NMB has a small enclave of liveable neighborhoods left, but the majority has gone down hill as witnessed by the fate of the 163rd St Mall.

North Miami isn't bad, but it is not the best either. Personally, I would say most of the North and NorthWest is not nice. Miami Gardens, Carol City, Opa Locka, Unicorportated NW Miami Dade, Little Haiti, Biscayne Blvd before the curve and areas closer to downtown can be downright scary.

There are nice enclaves along Biscayne Bay (east of Biscayne Blvd).

I think the nicest areas would be the private island communites in Biscayne Bay, followed by Cocoplum and Gables by the Sea. Beyond that, Pinecrest, Key Biscayne, the rest of the Gables and one section in Miami Lakes (can't think of the neighborhood's name) are exclusive.

Then there are many areas where the middle class live, that would not be considered middle class in many other cities due to the industrial nature, adjacent garbage dumps (Doral), high crime etc: Hialeah, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Westchester, Kendall, Doral and so on. Homes in these communities start at 300,000, if you find a "deal" on a handyman special. Some areas are better than others, and a 300K home is prob. not going to be up to most middle class people's standards, unless you are blindly in love with home ownership in Miami.

[vpcats]

OH Dear.
Well, I guess my West Miami area is in the dumps but I'm only 9 miles away from my job and don't get all in a tizzy about traffic. However, when I lived in Miami Lakes I was nearly ready to commit harakiri.

And that would be The Roads (not The Rhodes), which is another very old neighborhood that has close proximity to the financial district - Brickell - lots and lots of condo buildings, and the Grove and the Gables. Many homes there have been "modernized" and it's nice.

It's all a matter of what's more convenient for you depending on your daily routine.

[vpcats]

It just dawned on me (it's past my bedtime) that if you combine a couple of poster's suggested "nice" areas around Miami, we sure have a heck of a lot of nice areas.
The bad areas posted, are mostly duplicated. So what does that tell us????

[elfyum]

Originally Posted by vpcats

It just dawned on me (it's past my bedtime) that if you combine a couple of poster's suggested "nice" areas around Miami, we sure have a heck of a lot of nice areas.
The bad areas posted, are mostly duplicated. So what does that tell us????

Thank you!!!!
So those who think NMB & NM are "bad" - tell me the last time you were actually there, and where.
I am in this area EVERY DAY & it is NICE!!!
I didn't say "upscale" or "ritzy" like some of the other areas mentioned like Bal Harbor. It's a "regular" neighborhood area!!!

[Chelito23]

Hey elfyum,

I give private classes in NMB (behind the Wal Mart Supercenter) at a house for some adult English Language Learners. I drive up on weekdays, on N Miami Avenue, all the way from the 112. I take the backroads through NMB to avoid 1-95 and 163St at rush hour. On the way home, I take 163rd St to 1-95.

Last time I was there was Thursday. I would say it is not nice due to crime. Not too long back, there were people waiting in front of the 163St Mall bus stop that were shooting BB pellets at motorists eyes. This happened several times, I don't know if these people were ever caught. There was a murder of a man in the drive thru at the Dunkin Donuts there a while back. Also there was a man who was brutally beaten when he stopped at the KFC on the same street, and was left in a coma.

From what my adult students who own a home in NMB tell me, it is not safe to walk at night. There are many home burglaries and invasions. Neighbors play loud music throughout the night. When I drive there, there are people loitering around the back alleys of the neighborhoods and sifting through the garbage cans.

If you go into a laundromat, pawn shop, gas station or supermarket on 163 St in NMB, you will see what the people who frequent the area are like. It may not seem bad driving through, but living and working there is a different story.

I know for Miami, this is not bad, but it is relative. I believe that people coming from any other city, to pay over $300,000 for a house in "as is" condition, with these community problems, would be shocked that some consider this a nice area. North Miami has many of the same problems. There are many violent Haitian Youth Gangs in North Miami Dade County. This has led to shootings and increased crime in these communities over the years. Also remeber that N Miami continues west of 1-95, and that is a downright dangerous area.

I think the bad areas are repeated because they are so large and overwhelming, and the good areas are pockets here and there, so it seems as if there are more good than bad, when it is not so. That is why people can be general and say the NW is bad, and that area encompasses N Miami Ave west to 77 Ave or the Palmetto, south to the 836 and north to the county line. That is about half of populated Dade County. Just my thoughts though.

So lets keep in mind that for us, certain areas may not be bad, but for people who are middle class in other US cities, who move here, would be shocked by what we consider "normal" here. NMB and NM may be "normal" for us...but not likely so for a family from other middle class areas in different cities.

[doggiebus]

Originally Posted by vpcats

It just dawned on me (it's past my bedtime) that if you combine a couple of poster's suggested "nice" areas around Miami, we sure have a heck of a lot of nice areas.
The bad areas posted, are mostly duplicated. So what does that tell us????

I don't know what does it tell us?