Paul Estrada

Miami may be heading towards a "global city" but it is still ranked the 5th poorest big city in the US. Keep in mind it was recently the #3 poorest. Low education levels and a tiny tech industry, along with thousands of low skill workers certainly does not help. - Sun May 18 2008, 20:54

You say "good areas for homes for sale around 130-150.000 USD singl family homes" I can tell you that there is no "good" or safe area that can offer a home in Miami for that price range. I'm not even sure you can find a home in that price range in a "bad" area anymore :-) - Wed Apr 30 2008, 21:36

Crime in Miami IS BAD. Regardless of what anyone tells you I can honestly tell you that it is bad. All you have to do is visit the miamiherald.com on daily basis and see for yourself. I was raised here btw, then we moved out for a few years and recently returned. Up on our arrival, within 3 months, our new home (with alarm) was burglarized (this is the second time my home is burglarized living in Miami). Almost everyone I know has had their home burglarized. I can't even keep count how many times my cars have been burglarized or how many times I've seen police search helicopters hovering on top. I can go on with many stories. And I've only lived in "nice" upscaled neighborhoods.

As far raising children, well I would say Miami is near the bottom of the list. In my opinion, this is not one of the better places to raise a family (if you can avoid it that is). Of course this all depends on what you consider decent and what your standards are and what schools you want for your children and what type of friends you want your children to make. I went to school here, so I know. And things are worst now than 20 years ago.

You say that you're on a "budget", well unfortunately you will not be able to settle in anything I would consider decent in Miami. Of course this can subjective. If I had to stay in the Miami area, the only places that I would consider are not very affordable unfortunately. This includes "certain" areas in Coral Gables, "some" communities in the Pinecrest, and maybe some in Palmetto Bay. Of course, then you have the very high end areas like Gables by the sea, Gables estates, Cocoplum, etc.

Remember that there are many things that make up a city, things like level of education among residents, quality of schools, and the type of people for example will have a big influence on crime and the standard of living. - Tue Apr 22 2008, 17:59

Hi Donna, I'll be the first one to blame the media for hyping things, etc. But in this case however, the media is actually not hyping, if anything they are under hyping :). As I type this, the Federal reserve just lowered interest rates by a 1/4 point in an "Emergency" meeting (remember that they meet again this Tue) and the markets are already tanking big (Sunday night). I trade the financial markets for a living btw. Anyway, the market in NC is much different than what's happening in South Florida. You see, homes here have tripled in price in just a few years while at the same time salaries have remained steady and insurance and property tax have sky rocketed. Add to the fact that we have an epidemic rising crime problem, horrible traffic and substandard public schools and you will see why most homes are way overvalued. I will keep you in mind Donna if we decide to move up there.
Ramesh, maybe I'm exaggerating saying 99%, ok I'll say 98% :-) Seriously, some people will always be buying just like we had buyers at the peak of the market, but there is a reason why we have record levels of homes listed and unsold. The demand/supply curve has now shifted and now sellers have piled up and most buyers are staying put or are unable to buy until prices are either A. More "reasonable" or B. Inflation catches up to current price levels. Again, there will always be some buyers at current price levels, but most folks living here simply can not afford homes at these prices. And lets not even bring up the insanity of new "high-end" condos that have been built here. Of course our European friends can always take up that burden given the horrible mess the dollar is in. - Sun Mar 16 2008, 21:19