Is the keys gate area in Homestead really that much better than the rest of homestead? (Miami: section 8, apartment) - Florida (FL) -Miami-Dade County - City-Data Forum

sflove · 01-09-2015, 02:06 PM

We are looking to sell our house in East Miramar because the area is getting worse and we hope to lower our bills. However, rent has been going up like crazy it seems so we are not sure where to go that is reasonable. Of course the only places that have 2 bedrooms for under $1000/month are the crappy areas(at least on zillow anyway) but I keep reading that east of the turnpike in homestead is nice especially in keys gate. Is this true? Does it just look nicer or is it actually safer? We have some friends who lived west of Dixie in a house on I believe 301st street. If you are more out there is that ok?

ace587 · 01-09-2015, 10:35 PM

Keys gate is a great community. I have a place east of the turnpike. Its safe. The problem is there isnothing to do there

popcorn247 · 01-10-2015, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ace587

Keys gate is a great community. I have a place east of the turnpike. Its safe. The problem is there isnothing to do there

There are two national parks (Everglades and Biscayne) within a short driving distance. The Florida Keys are a short drive away. You can go fishing, hiking, snorkeling, shopping/eating/touristing in the Keys. The only reason I go to the city of Miami environs is for jury duty.

tallrick · 01-13-2015, 08:01 AM

Keys Gate is the same kind of area as numerous developments built since the 90's in Dade, Broward. Ugly, inconvenient and surrounded by nothing. Yet is is safer than downtown Homestead. It defeats the purpose of moving to Homestead which was to get a rural feel and more space.

Cubanchic · 01-13-2015, 12:43 PM

Hopefully you will be working close to homestead if considering Key Gate, because the northern commute is murderous!

mtn2palm · 02-20-2015, 03:41 PM

I would love to keep this thread alive.....We may be moving to Homestead for my husband's job at the ARB. We will be moving into an apartment based on what we can see on the Internet. We won't know a soul besides each other. I have seen some places that are limited income that look nicer than those that aren't...that's an entirely different post. Lol I could use some pointers on where to live that's close to the Air Reserve Base. Additionally, we have heard that the area directly around base isn't very nice or safe. When you say Keys Gate is away from town-how far away is town? Miles or time wise? TIA

doggiebus · 02-20-2015, 03:56 PM

Yes the area directly around the base isn't good. Keys Gate is a nice older planned community in Homestead. There are shops close by, grocery stores, chain restaurants, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Two national parks, Key Largo is only 25 minutes south. The race track is Homestead. What isn't in Homestead is nightlife, fine dining or a Mall. You have to travel north for a mall, Cutler Bay has a mall, but Dadeland Mall (in Kendall) or The Falls Mall in Pinecrest would be your better malls closest to you.

If you don't go out a lot, Homestead is a good option because you'd be close to the base. If you like to go out to dinner or want some night life you might want to look at living a little further north and commuting down against traffic to the base for work. Unless you don't mind driving a minimum of 20-30 minutes north if not longer to get to things. If you want to live closer to things I would suggest looking into South Miami or downtown Dadeland area. This would put you close to lots of things, closer to South Beach, Brickell or Midtown for nightlife and your near an expressway that can get you to the base faster.

Another place in Homestead to look at renting in is Waterstone a nice community.

Sugah Ray · 02-21-2015, 08:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtn2palm

I would love to keep this thread alive.....We may be moving to Homestead for my husband's job at the ARB. We will be moving into an apartment based on what we can see on the Internet. We won't know a soul besides each other. I have seen some places that are limited income that look nicer than those that aren't...that's an entirely different post. Lol I could use some pointers on where to live that's close to the Air Reserve Base. Additionally, we have heard that the area directly around base isn't very nice or safe. When you say Keys Gate is away from town-how far away is town? Miles or time wise? TIA

I can't not imagine limited income areas being that great. They must be taking some real nice pictures.

My brother lived in Keys gate, in a gated community with high rent and there was still some undesirable people around, like unsupervised teenagers hanging out late at night on the street. Yes management would take care of them but sometimes they would come back. I can only imagine the environment in the cheaper areas.

I wouldn't say though is away from town. They have many businesses on Campbell drive and even a good hospital. Maybe there is not much to do if you have a teenager.

The only 3 things I dislike about east Homestead is its residents, the noise from the speedway and Turkey Point(nuclear plant) and the homes built with chinese drywall.

popcorn247 · 02-21-2015, 11:15 AM

The old, northern part of Homestead is nice. This area is framed by 296 Street on the north and NW 15th Street (304th Street) on the south. Areas adjacent to Krome Avenue and 4 blocks east and west of Krome. Older homes, some large lots, city services, extremely quiet. There are some rental homes in this area. No hoa.

sflove · 02-21-2015, 12:47 PM

We are rethinking moving down there...I'm not sure what we are going to do but the areas I was looking at aren't exactly keys gate I guess... it's the complexes around keys gate that are cheaper. Homestead just landed a spot in the the top 100 most dangerous cities in the U.S. with a population over 25000. The crime stats are terrible and the only area down here that tops it is Opalocka. Looking at the crime listings on homestead police website you can tell most problems are to the West of the turnpike but it is not perfect on the east side either. It's hard to tell how "bad" the East side really is/isn't in comparison to the rest of Miami but the stats over all for homestead are terrible. I guess we will have to go down there more in the exact location we are looking into to see if it seems ok...It is really frustrating trying to find affordable housing in Miami period. It seems like every other block is a bad area and it extremely difficult to tell how bad it really is. There are a lot of areas down here that look old and "bad" that aren't and a lot that look new that are section 8. UGH!