Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with housing and neighborhoods

Allapattah and Downtown Miami- how is it?

aussicht — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 13:04:39 -0800

I am contemplating moving (I live in Wynwood, and like it) nearer to where I go to school/work (hospital district/the gables). How is living in allapattah or downtown miami? i'm used to living in working class areas and can handle myself, but am not sure if crime is bad there? Is anything open downtown after like 6? What about community spaces, bars, restaurants, cafes, etc? My girlfriend is asian, and I know there's no neighborhoods with many asians around, but is downtown homogeneously latin or is it more diverse?

Moving to Wilmington, NC

sara is disenchanted — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:28:56 -0800

We're moving to the beach! But, I would like a few specifics about life in Wilmington, NC. Hope me Wilmington Mefites! I was offered a career position with the City of Wilmington last week, and now my husband and I have three to four weeks to relocate from Winston-Salem, NC to Wilmington, NC.

I grew up on the Delmarva shore and my husband spent most of his summers and free time visiting the coast from Wilmington down to Myrtle, so we have a decent understanding of coastal living. We're even familiar with where we like to fish and eat and drink and visit when we're in the greater Wilmington area.

What we would love to have is information regarding "lifestyle and living" questions.
-What neighborhoods are best for a married couple (who does not plan on expanding the family any time soon) that earns combined $60K? We're going to live in an apartment from 6 months to a year just to become oriented and save some money, but we would like to purchase a single-family house in the future.
-Any recommendations as far as apartment/condo complexes that are safe, comfortable, and dog-friendly? Any to avoid?
-Does anyone have a suggestion for veterinarians and/or doggie daycare? My schedule is so that we would only need to take the Rocky dog to daycare up to 3x per week. He's 5 years old, healthy, and blind (he gets around just fine, but sometimes we think we should buy him a little helmet!).
-What is traffic like on a regular basis? Is this a bicycle-friendly area (i.e., will I have trouble riding my road bike to work?)?
-What tasty vegetables and fruits can I grow in my garden?
-Best tackle/fishing shops in the area?
-Safe running trails and areas? Good mountain bike trails? Or will I be riding my road bike more with the terrain?
-We're both interested in hopefully joining an adult sport league (he's looking for flag or contact football, I'm more interested in ultimate, soccer, or tennis), and I've found some interesting leads, but do you have any clubs/teams you'd specifically endorse?
-Is there anything that you wish you would have known before you made the move to Wilmington?

Thank you in advance...this totally might be an excuse for a meetup.

Indy, Indiana, not Louisiana, Paris, France, NY or Rome

DiscourseMarker — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:01:54 -0800

Moving to Indianapolis, need neighborhood recommendations. Posting this for a friend: Mrs. Friend just accepted a job located near the SW corner of the greater Indianapolis tri-county area. They are currently in South Dakota (Brookings). Mr. Friend is looking for suggestions on where to live. They need a good school system (1 middle-school aged kid) and a house. They also need housing in Indy for grandma who is now in a HUD supported senior apt complex in Brookings. They like the college town vibe, but I think Bloomington is too far of a commute. Mr. Friend is a freelance writer/audio producer/stay-at-home dad.

Please give suggestions for good neighborhoods, MLS numbers, zip codes, etc where they can look. My friend thanks you!

Moving to Houston, eh!

arcticseal — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 09:10:49 -0800

So after 5 years of swimming in the cold waters of Norway, the arcticseals are migrating to the warmer zones of Houston. Which brings us to the obvious question that all newcomers ask: Where should we live? I've been in Houston a few times before on courses etc. with work and I do have colleagues whose brains I've been picking, but would dearly love to hear what the hive mind have to offer. I've searched AskMeFi for previous questions, but most seem to be over 2 years old and I'm looking for more up to date information.

There's the 2 of us, married, mid-30s, Canadian/British, Asian/Caucasian, liberal outlook, arriving in mid-April. I'll be likely working near Dairy Ashford, and have gotten used to a 15 minute commute in Norway, so we'd prefer not to live in the suburbs.

Areas we're looking at (so far) are Mid-town, West University, Montrose, Bellaire and Sugar Land. We're looking for quiet & safe neighbourhoods, with walking access to shops, prefer to be close to the arts, movies, parks and generally cultural hangouts.

Type of place we're looking for is a condo, apartment or townhouse, with the intention to rent short term and then buy, budget TBC but in the range of $250-400k, need to look at finances first. Credit should be ok as I'll likely be getting the mortgage through the company credit union, so initial worries about credit rating should not be a big concern.

Recommendations on areas, good realtors, good building inspectors, places to go, things to see, the good and the bad deals on phone, cable, internet, things to look out for and tips on things to do. We're also planning on getting a dog since we'll finally have our own place, so pet friendly is a must.

Will also need to buy a couple of cars, so recommendations on good car dealers also appreciated.

I apologize for the brain dump, it's going to be a busy couple of months! Feel free to MeFi mail me with any questions.

Living near the University of Miami

aussicht — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 22:22:14 -0800

Where should I live near(ish to) the University of Miami? I was accepted to the UofM nursing school. I have visited Miami for a week, so kinda know the layout, but am not really sure where I should live.

Here's what I'm looking for:
1. being near (walkable, bikeable) grocery stores, laundry, restaurants and things to do if possible.
2. I want to live in a diverse, affordable, and working class area.
3. i want to be near public transit.

I want to avoid having a car if at all possible. That would mean living somewhat near the U of M (metrorail?). The other thing is I could be doing clinicals at a bunch of hospitals around town: Baptist, Jackson, Miami Childrens, South Miami, Mercy, and VA. Would getting to those make a car totally necessary? I just want to be realistic, though i'm willing to try real hard to avoid it.

Where would be a good place to live? I've had friends who lived in little havana, and they said it was decent and affordable. Maybe parts of that neighborhood would be well connected by bus or bike towards school? I'd like to live on the metrorail line, but that leaves like coral gables, south miami, or downtown? is that right? I'm a little nervous to return to the spread out sprawl/car based areas (takes me back to my youth in california), but maybe living in an interesting neighborhood would outweigh those factors. Secretely i'm hoping to find a place with space for fruit trees (avocados, mangos, etc).

I have a few friends and they live in hialeah, sweetwater, overtown, and the design district. Those are all out-they-way though I think.

Thanks for any help for this confused stuck-in-portland-mentality fool.

todd

What are good neighborhoods to consider in the Philadelphia area?

scblackman — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:11:22 -0800

PhillyFilter: My wife and I are relocating to the Philadelphia area and could use some advice on what neighborhoods or (shudder) suburbs to consider. We currently live in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston, having previously lived in the Clifton neighborhood of Cincinnati and in the East Lakeview part of Chicago, meaning that we prefer neighborhoods that are more artsy/diverse. We have a new little girl, so safety, schools and greeenspace are important.

We've been looking at places on the "Main Line" but I don't want to live in a generic suburb, and so our attention has been turning more to Germantown and Chestnut Hill, but we could use more suggestions.

I'll be working in Upper Gwynedd/West Point, but am willing to tolerate a commute of up to 45-60 minute if it means living in a neighborhood that we both are happy with.

For the sake of this AskMe, assume that we're a late 30s/early 40s family of 3 and that cost doesn't matter nearly as much as quality of neighborhood, schools, housing stock, safety, etc.

And if you have a minute, what's the scoop on the Friends schools? They don't have them here in Beantown.

The housing bubble -- as seen on your street corner?

calhound — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 20:04:08 -0800

I've been reading about the ongoing housing bubble collapse, and I am wondering how exactly neighborhoods are supposedly changing and especially where all these people go when they lose their home. I recently read this passage on a webpage about the bubble: "As purchasers lose their homes to foreclosure, the real estate is being grabbed at bankruptcy prices by the banks and by any other investors with ready money. Whole neighborhoods of cities like Cleveland or Atlanta are turning into boarded-up ghost towns. And it’s not just lower-income home purchasers who are affected. The Washington Post has reported that for the first time in living memory that foreclosures are happening in Washington’s affluent suburban neighborhoods in places like Fairfax, Loudon, and Montgomery Counties."

So where do all these homeowners go exactly? Interestingly last month I was looking at rentals in a medium-sized city and there wasn't really any shortage on rentals. One would think displaced people would be lining up to sign leases from ghetto properties. But last month I was looking at medium-ranked rentals in a medium-sized city ($800/month rentals in the Midwest FWIW) and there was no sign of any rental shortages. There were lots of properties to look at.

Or are the Washington burbs just cherry-picked examples, with the collapse not really played out in full yet?

I guess I'm wondering what it is I should be seeing in my neighborhoods (and my parents neighborhood), and why it looks very much like business as usual. Are you all seeing anything different? Or is the turmoil limited mostly to the financial markets right now?

Renting a Room in Redwood City

Maia — Thu, 03 May 2007 13:03:18 -0800

I'm looking for a place to live in Redwood City in 3 weeks. Can anyone give me some information about good/bad neighborhoods, or any other advice?

Where should I buy a home in Cleveland, Ohio?

googly — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 17:14:49 -0800

[MovingtoCleveland filter] My SO and I are moving to Cleveland. We have some questions about life choices, buying a house in a new city, and Cleveland in particular. [MI] [well, OH actually]. We’re both transplants from big, cosmopolitan, coastal cities, who are moving to Cleveland for jobs at Case Western U. We are, to put it mildly, less than thrilled to be moving here but determined to make the most of it. Where should we live? The particulars:

- We can afford a house in the $2-300K range.
- We expect to live here for 5-7 years.
- Its just the two of us (and a cat) for now, but possibly another in a year or two, so we we’re thinking about 3 bedrooms.
- For a neighborhood, we value funkiness, diversity, mixed use (i.e. we’d like to be able to walk to things), proximity to Case Western and moderate safety.

So far, it seems clear that we aren’t going to find what we really want in Cleveland. And given Cleveland’s economy and recent history, things aren’t going to change any time soon. So do we buy a house in a transitional neighborhood and hope that in a few years things change? Or do we do the safe thing and buy a perfectly nice house (and good investment) in Cleveland Heights or a similar inner-ring suburb, which all seem boring and car-dependent to us? We’d especially like to hear from people who know the Cleveland area.

On a larger level, if you can’t get everything that you want in a place to live, do you take a big risk that it might develop in the future, or do you play it safe, suck it up, and make a good investment?