Moving to Miami

March 27, 2006 8:54 PM

Which neighborhood/apartment complex to choose in North Miami?

My boyfriend has been accepted to a graduate program at FIU's Biscayne Campus and there will be no on campus living for either of us. Or my two cats. We have a list of neighborhoods (suggested by a faculty member at the school) that we have searched on Rent.com but a lot of the listings are not much to shake a stick at. What neighborhoods do you like/suggest?

We need:
Separate bedrooms
big kitchen
dining area
washer dryer in the apartment

posted by bilabial to home & garden (7 answers total)

I really like Miami Shores (a little south of FIU... it'd be an easy drive). It's quiet, residential and safe. Sorry, but I don't have any specific apartment recommendations.
posted by the_bone at 10:57 PM on March 27, 2006

I second Miami Shores - I have quite a few friends who live in that area and they love it. I also had a friend who lived in Aventura and where he lived was ok but I don't know how far that is from FIU.
posted by superkim at 6:05 AM on March 28, 2006

Avenura is maybe 20 minutes north of FIU-North, at most.

(BTW, FIU-Biscayne used to be FIU-North, you can spot old school Miamians because we'll often use the old name for the campus. Ditto, MDCC-South (which is now MDCC-Kendall).
posted by oddman at 6:23 AM on March 28, 2006

as you can imagine, prices out that way are EXPENSIVE. Aventura is pretty close to FIU/Biscayne, so that's a possibility if you can afford it.

Opa-Locka is cheaper, but it's....kind of a ghetto. I used to live there and my roommates told me which streets not to go past. So there's that.

Miramar is up and coming. I personally suggest that. I used to live in Pembroke Pines as well...farther away, but very suburban. Not as expensive as Aventura, but a little $$.

Hallandale is an option. I used to take Karate there...it's very urban and you can probably find some cheaper lodging around there. There's also Hollywood, which is north of Hallandale...that'll probably be fairly cheap as well.

So, going north of FIU/Biscayne you first hit N. Miami Beach (which I don't know anything about other than a lawyer friend of mine used to live there and complained about how expensive it was), then Aventura, then Hallandale, then Hollywood.

Heading west you have Opa-Locka, Miami Lakes (which is nice, but kind of far). Miramar and Pembroke Pines are to the northwest.

South of FUI/Biscayne is Biscayne Park and Miami Shores. I know nothing about them...I was more centered around Broward County.

So, to sum:

Suburban/expensive (most to least):

Aventura
Pembroke Pines
Miramar
Opa-Locka

Urban/cheaper (most expensive to least):

N. Miami Beach
Hallandale
Hollywood

It's also important to note that just to the east of the campus (take US 1 to 826 to A1A, and then make a right and go a mile or so) is Haulover beach, which is a nude beach. :)
posted by taumeson at 6:29 AM on March 28, 2006

Coconut Grove is nice. As is Boca.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 7:31 AM on March 28, 2006

I lived in Boca for 10 years through the beginning of this year and it's definitely nice but expensive (which is the reason why I got out of S. Fla). It's 45-50 minutes north (with mildly moderate traffic) of Miami Shores.
posted by superkim at 11:45 AM on March 28, 2006

Thanks guys, we ended up choosing an apartment in Hollywood.
posted by bilabial at 8:24 AM on April 10, 2006