Moving to Miami Area

Hi A.,
I moved to Davie, FL about 10 months ago and I love it. It's just a hair north of Cooper City (north of Griffin Road). I commute down to downtown Miami every day, it takes me on average 45 to 60 minutes. The Florida Turnpike in the morning is a breeze. It's the I-95 that's really traffic bound and that's what I have to take. If he can stick to the turnpike, the commute is really not that bad.
We chose Davie because we liked the location, close to all of the major highways, but it's not over crowded and there isn't anything that we need that's not within a 5 mile radius. We are in walking distance to a couple of nice parks and the whole layout of the pine island ridge area is very walk, run, bike and family friendly. I told my husband when we were looking for houses that I wanted to be able to envision myself walking alone around the block, pushing a stroller and feeling safe, comfortable and secure. I feel that way here. (A+ schools too)

Dear A. J,

I live very near that area in the Town of Davie. I LOVE IT!!! The area is great. You still have the hometown feeling while being close to the city. The commute you are speaking of is really not that far and very "doable". I travel even further than that as I work further southwest in the Everglades. Your husband can take either Sheridan or Griffin Road (depending if you are in Pembroke Pines or Cooper City) out to I-75 to FL Turnpike South to the 836 exit. It is really easy. A little congested, but if you stay to the left after the Okeechobee Road, right before the toll plaza, it is a smooth sail. Good luck! And, welcome to the neighborhood.

HEllo A....

Wow,i am glad to hear that everything goes on well...
I would deffinitly tell you to move not to Cooper city ...Nothing against it,but the commute is way to far.the traffic here is bad anyway so you don't want to go to far.Why are you not looking at the Kendall-Doral area???This is way closer and we have wonderful schools and churches here too.

Welcome to Miami. The problem here is traffic! Lots and lots of traffic! Very congested. My advise, live and play close to home. If your husband's job brought you here,look for a neighborhood with a good school and church close to his job. When a was a working mom, my husand and I have a 1 1/2 comute each to and from work. Now, we moved close to the kids school and he moved his practice close to our home. We love it!Sometimes when he has a slow day, he even comes home for lunch. Good luck and welcome to the neighborhood.
H.

Hi,

We live in the Sunrise area and my husband works in Miami, (Miami Lakes to be exact). Normally it's a 25 minute drive. But in the mornings if he doesn't leave early he will be stuck in traffic (he travels 75). The areas you are looking at are very good also there is Miramar. These area are much closer to the area where he's going to work. You can take 75 to the turnpike. But the traffic here is incredible alot of people live in Broward county and work in Miami. The evenings it's the same. Good Luck!! Where do you live now??

A.

Definitely pembroke pines or miramar... because of the turnpike the proximity and the comute to work is a breeze... the proximity to church is also good.
Also you might consider Doral, or the area around Belen Jesuit school... I have no idea what it is called but they have huge houses there at a very reasonable price and it is 5 minutes from dolphin.
Good luck!
PS read your "little about me section... you will love miami if you like learning new cultures and languages!!! (I hope spanish is one of them...=-)

Hello A., the Doral Area is nice and a good place to raise a family it's nearby that intersection. Commute in the Miami area can be frustrating. It's best to try to go against traffic if possible. Ok God Bless

I've been attending Flamingo Road for 9 years now and I love it. I have a 3 and a 5 year old and they beg me to go to church. I used to commute over 45 minutes to get there. We moved to Davie two years ago and so the communte is much easier. But the church is worth the drive. I hope your family enjoys it too!! L.

We live in West Pembroke Pines area - Close to Rt 27 - in Broward. I have a ton of neighbors that go to Flamingo Road Church as it is not far and it is an easy commute down 27 to the Turnpike. My husband does it daily and it really takes no time at all. Cooper City is close to the Church but does not get you close to Rt 27 and therefore would add quite a bit of time to the commute.

Around here the schools are on major roads so for hours each morning you will have to go 15 mph through school zones - something to think about.

Some neighborhoods to look at are Pembroke Isles, Laguna Isles, Chapel Trail, Keystone Lakes and Silver Trails. Some are open communities, some are gated.

The idea of a gated community seemed strange to me before I moved here, but now I like that they take care of the yards and community standards - not because we don't like to do yard work or make sure that our house and roof is clean, but because there are a lot of other people in South Florida who do not care about theirs.

If you have kids - the schools around here are important to look at as well.

I can only imagine that you will get lots of responses from Realtors as there are a ton here in South Florida. Everybody got into it when things were booming and now there are a great many who are looking for work. The one we used to buy our home 4 years ago has been in the business here in this area since before the boom. I recently found out that her family attends Flamingo Road. (We ran into her at a birthday party for our neighbor.) She is very nice and really listens to you. A friend of ours introduced us and she was great even before we even came to look for the house. Her name is Ana Orge - she is with Keller Williams - ###-###-#### - www.OrgeTeam.com.