Moving to a new city is a wonderful and exciting experience, like your bat mitzvah or menarche. Sure you get cramps and have to wear an uncomfortable dress, but there's so much more to explore now and so much more danger while you do. When I move to a new city, including those in the awful state of Florida, I search the internet for tips and tricks - not unlike what we used to do in the pages of GamePro or Nintendo Power. City Data and its message board forum recently produced a great discussion of the best and worst parts of the Miami area. Below are the highlights.
Anonymous wrote:
There Is Not Safe City Or Safe Place In Miami-dade County... Even The Most Expensive Cities Have High Crime, Dont Move To Miami... Save Your Life...
Chelito23 wrote:
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.
bunnywabbit! wrote:
About the NMB/Golden Glades - I wouldnt take a bus near that area in broad daylight, much less walk around those parts.
Anonymous wrote:
Overall the metro rail is safe. Incidences have happened usually at night though. Yah, the downtown area as a whole is just dirty and full of electronics mom and pop stores. The homeless live in downtown a few blocks west of the American Airlines Arena, they may not bother you, but I wouldn't walk through there just incase. IMO wouldn't walk in downtown late at night either...
milosarah wrote:
It just depends on what you are looking for in a neighborhood. Some of these posts are a bit racist, with all due respect. North Miami has great deals on housing, funky cafes, art galleries and antique shops. \Its diverse, you can actually walk to shops and restuarants and the beach is right there. Yes, you have to overlook the occassional drug dealing on the corner and you wouldn't want to hang out on the beach alone at night, but its interesting and not filled with big box stories and chain restuarants like Kendall and the rest of the Dade County. If you hate sitting in traffic, don't move to Kendall. Its suburban hell.
LoveMiami wrote:
i think the brickell is the best if you can afford it or one of those private islands where rich people live on canals with a huge yacht in the front.
blackklight wrote:
yeah it beats it in a few categories but also keep in mind it has 2x it's population. do not mistake me, i'm not trying to take that angle of this area is superior to that in crime as it's nothing to be proud of - but for the population opa-locka has it is a highly concentrated war zone
blackklight wrote:
supposedly in houston (i believe?) after people from new orleans migrated there the crime raised by something ridiculous, like 300 or 400%. i don't think many of them came to south florida, however, as i only knew one girl that came from there.
Lauderdale954 wrote:
first off..miami beach is ranked one the most dangerous cities in the country..moving on..
miami IS NOT like any other metro area..if you walk thru overtown, you will literally feel like you have just entered another country..the poverty, drugs in the open, fearlessness of police, and murders in broad daylight are unbelievable..I can honestly say, if you are not from overtown and you go thru there unprepared, you are in grave danger.
Liberty city is very bad too. recently i read a story, where a man got lost in liberty city going to his kids birthday party..when he stopped to ask a man for directions, the man pulled out a gun, shot him point blank in the head, robbed him, and left him for dead..not that is not unusual in miami..yes, there is crime in other areas..but the overall living in nothing compared to how bad miami really is
blackklight wrote:
musclehead, i do not think blaming the hip hop culture is the appropriate form of addressing crime. truth of the matter is most of the people who are into it (of course you have fakes, like any other "culture") is because they came up tough and relate a lot to the music produced. i have not been to overtown but i've been to a few of the notorious areas and have not felt like i was in harms way, live here long enough and you too will develop this skill. it's called the skill of "i could care less"
Musclehead wrote:
PBC Boy you are correct race has nothing to do with it , yes those areas are nasty and dangerous .... someone always has to inject race . Ok let's not call it hip hop , call the negative influence "gangsta rap " .... it is nasty and ghetto , crass and low life and I mean the "thug " lifestyle more than the music . You are obviously a smart guy and have a head on your shoulders ... many of these "wannabes " cannot say the same and are easily influenced .
Musclehead wrote:
"rap music " man , now that is an oxymoron ... by the way it is not a race thing in my case as I love many R&B artists and their music as well I love a lot of the old stuff that my older brother turned me on too ... Barry White , Earth Wind & Fire , Kool & The Gang and even some old Rick James stuff which was fun house music ... not this vile stuff today . Unfortunately Miami and South Florida is victim to this garbage and is heavily influenced with rap and it's Hispanic cousin Reggaeton which I despise just as much
flburgos wrote:
don't listen to half of these bloggers any city you go to there are going to be good and bad areas just use common sense like you would when you leave your house in the morning.i live in the city and i know where to go and where not to go and it's that simple.you wanna move?move to your liking and that's it, you like trash you move in with trash, you want decent blue collar people? you can find that to,you want high class?you move with high class.it's simple just check the area yourself.
big mean bear wrote:
Miami has more harassing street vendors than any other city. An indigestible glut of immigrants is the only reason for this, and Miami has a larger percentage of them than any other city, imo. (1+1 = 2) I also commend your statement about 'decent' people. To many scammers with their "cell phone businesses" plastered on the side of their cars, too many "slip and fall artists"... Many of these animals live in the "Top 5 neighborhoods", like my former land lord.
Help me Howard!!!!
Phil~Denver wrote:
Chelito has a typical "better than thou" immigrant Latino attitude towards areas that have dark looking people, Even if they are nice areas.
The North Miami Beach and North Miami areas are quiet and leafy neighborhoods with an interesting mix of middle-class Trinidadians, Hatians, Jews, Peruvians, Jamaicans, Brazilians, Asians, whites, Blacks.. It offers good shopping, better schools than anywhere else in central and northern Dade. Best of all it's only minutes away from several beautiful public beaches, my favourite is Sunny Isles beach.
Now let's examine what I consider the "Worse" and "Worst" neighborhoods of Miami, Cuba.
All Latino/Hispanic ares if you don't speak spanish fluently and unintelligibly as it is spoken there. I lived in Spain as an international student and when I moved to Miami I had to learn a whole new language, it's called "Cuban".
Starting with Little Havana and the surrounding areas. Picture Cuba or Venezuela and all it's craziness transported literally to the United States. some streets are so polluted with litter that it piles up on the corners. If you don't speak spanish you will completely lost since even the street signs are in spanish. It characterized by substandard poverty and so much crime that all of the houses brandish Burglar Bars in all shapes and sizes.
freedom_fighter145 wrote:
Just joined the forum today, glad to be a part of the discussion. I don't think I've seen such a racist post. It's funny, you blast Chelito on account of his "immigrant Latino attitude," and claim his thoughts on NMB are all based because his racist view against "dark looking people." You then turn it around and completely defile and harrass the Hispanic and Latinos. How can Chelito's eyes be filled with racist ideas, and yours not?
Musclehead wrote:
truth be told unless you plan on moving to Montana , Utah , or the Dakotas the entire country is becoming more dangerous and society is becoming more and more "twisted" ...
Musclehead wrote:
Hip Hop and "gangsta " culture is just part of the problem , as well as the PC culture we are fostering where everything is cool and ok , just do not get caught . The Springer crowd and the MTV crowd are also part of the problem ... I am not blaming Hip Hop culture for everything but it sure is a vital component to what is happening now with our society and youth in general . By the way I will turn 27 next month , so I am not my Dad talking here . I have seen how vile and crass the "gangsta " and "thug " thing is and how it is affecting young kids and I see no end in sight .
The average citizen wrote:
What is the Capital city of Florida?
Lauderdale81ave wrote:
Tallahassee
Chelito23 wrote:
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.
Phil~Denver wrote:
West Miami is the same, from North Kendal to Sweetwater, Westchester, Flagami area, Miami Gardens, Hialeah Gardens and Doral, the scenery is all in spanish and you feel you are in another country. Burglar Bars, Crazy Drivers, unruly pedestrians, Gang activity on every corner, not to mention the loud Spanish music played from every house at all hours of the night and especially on weekends, cars parked on laws and over sidewalks.
big mean bear wrote:
NMB has serious issues with crime and undesirability. It is one of the few parts of Miami which is both culturally and intellectually bankrupt. Unless you are talking about a culture of classlessness and urban 'hip hop' intellect.
Saname81 wrote:
Miami is getting worse by the minute, move to central or north FL, in fact move to Ga, Sc, Nc, homes are cheaper and people are more decent. You cant drive around town with out some bum asking for a dollar with a stupid sign "RETIRED VET, NEED FOOD OR WATER" or how about in Hialeah, in every corner there is a man with a large hat selling drinks, gum, fish, and flowers. In down town, you have all the homeless, junkies, and night clubs, in over town you have the blacks selling thier rocks, in the South the hispanics, enough said.
Phil~Denver wrote:
Hahahaha.. No Cubans in Carol City???
West Carol City is 100% Cuban! Well, maybe 90% Cuban 10% Puertorican
My wife is African-American and she got tired of being called a "negro" by Cuban refugees. Colombians seem alot less racist and way more educated than Cubans. We never had problems with Colombians. Venezuelans are also decent.
somebodymiami wrote:
miami springs is a DUMP, full of druggies, alcoholics, and hypocrites, lived there b4 so i know.
Tungsten_Udder wrote:
What I believe instead is that those folks feel disconcerted and FEEL like they might be robbed, shot, killed, etc. The question is, "Why do they feel that way?" There are probably a number of factors, including:
* A belief that crime statistics are something like a lottery, where each person is holding a unique number and has an equal chance of "winning",
* Worry because of stories that the local television stations and newspapers dwell on to obtain viewers and readers,
* Movies, television shows, music videos, etc. that give an impression that going into those areas amounts to putting one's life in danger,
* Social reinforcement, where the fact that other people also believe the same things seems to lend credence to one's own belief.
Aside from visits to psychologists, the way to combat the worry is to bring the worriers into the areas they worry about and let them spend some time there. It's like getting someone with bee phobia to spend time in open fields among flowers. Of course, this isn't easy to do, as the person with the phobia is going to resist the experience. But maybe if more of us without the phobia were willing to accompany the phobic, and forwarded regular but non-nagging offers, we might help. I regularly offer to walk with the phobic through neighborhoods that they are afraid of, where we can talk about their fears, but it's difficult to get people to take me up on it.
the 7 oh 4 wrote:
Last time we were in Miami we drove thru Overtown in the broad daylight and a Miami-Dade Police followed us the whole way. Even pulled up beside of us at a stop light and told us that we should not really be in Overtown being white and with out of state tags. I looked at him like he had 3 heads and said oh really.
BCreass wrote:
Worst neighborhoods?
Answer: anywhere predominantly Cuban, i.e. Hialeah, Little Havana. Let me tell you....I felt more "accepted" living in a black neighborhood.
vpcats wrote:
You are not needed in any Cuban areas.
cuba libre wrote:
To be fair, I have noticed some snobbery from some of the New York "Guido" crowd on South Beach and in the Aventura/Sunny Isles area. This is more of an "I have money and I'm on vacation" rudeness than the "blast raggeton and speak Spanish loudly" rudeness experienced by Miami's largest full time demographic.
the 7 oh 4 wrote:
Sorry to be dumb...but what is PC platoon? :)
MiamiChris wrote:
well elfyum i was born and raisen in nw miami on martin luther king blvd and yes its bad nw miami has little hait the projects brownsville allapattah mostly all of the ghettos maybe your neighorhood aint hood but most nw miami is
karamelkande4u wrote:
"No Cubans in Carol City" I live in Illinois and by page 17 of this post I knew there were def Cubans there. I laughed even louder when you gave the breakdown. Too funny
miamiroe wrote:
nmb and nm are bad now a days pretty soon the jewish community in nmb is going to leave. bad ass jits with pistols and no education running around fighting each others over numbers on street signs.
xS☺Be wrote:
South Beach is arguably the best place on the planet for a single male to live. The babe factor is through the roof. It's a long haul to Doral though, but kinda a reverse commute.
Glasvegas wrote:
My advice for how to date in Miami:
1) Either have money, or pretend you do, by renting an expensive car and cruising around South Beach.
2) Do not be a gentleman - be THE MAN.
3) Make sure you hit the gym at least twice a day (and be sure to mention that, along with how many lbs you can bench press).
4) Do not discuss anything remotely intellectual, like books, politics or news, for example.
5) Talk about yourself a lot, be a narcissist.
6) Do not call her back. Disappear, then let her do the chasing.
7) Act macho, even if that's not in your nature.
8) When on a date with her, be sure to check out other women.
9) Be sure to tell her what to do; what she can and cannot wear / eat.
10) If it gets serious, cheat (or she'll beat you to it), or at the very least, spend more time with your friends than with her so that she automatically assumes you're cheating.
Nolefan34 wrote:
This is no surprise. I have always found Miami to be a walkable city mainly in the downtown areas. Except for the crazy drivers that run over pedestrians or the thugs that mug you on the streets. Once you go outside of the Miami city limits though, the walkable factor drops off.
Three Wolves In Snow wrote:
I darn near choked to death from laughing so hard. Yah, it's a "walkable city" except for that part.
LOL.
tallrick wrote:
People leave Miami to grow up and start their life. Those that stay in Miami often go nowhere. Most of my friends left Miami and all of them did better than those who stayed. Miami is all hype and no substance. Since sometime in the 80's Miami has become the My -UH -me where the world dumps their crooks and peasants. Low wages, high cost of living all under the punishing subtropical sun.
Glenn, you are going to be murdered.
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