I had to laugh at your post because I knew you weren't going to find any of those things in Dade unless you can afford Coral Gables or Coconut Grove.
HOWEVER I do live in S Broward and can tell you W Pembroke Pines and W Miramar are great communities. You can buy close to the expressway but it would still be an hr communte during rush hr. The Eastern parts are older but are nice also.
Email me at
sjkdavis at bellsouth dot net if you need more.

Doral is very nice I like it here nice size yard and lots nature with cows,horses plus built up areas if you like that .
I am new here but must say the single worse drivers I have ever seen in my life. I was stationed in Afghanistan for a yr and found the drivers there better than here as far as common courtesy goes lol .
I work in Doral but the traffic here is brutal takes me 30 minutes what in NY suburbs would have taken me 1o to 15 minutes .

Hi Stephanie, I'm in the South Miami area and would recommend moving into Dade if you're going to be working in Downtown Miami. If not, you're going to face horrible congestion daily with your commute, because the areas of Dade north of downtown that you will have to travel through are VERY congested. The same goes for Doral, just because of how far West in Dade it is.

Coral Gables is definitely the nicest part of Dade (unless you can afford a truly exclusive area), with matching high prices, but Coconut Grove and Key Biscayne are equally attractive areas (depending on which part of Coconut Grove, that is). If those are out of your price range, then the parts of South Miami that surround Coral Gables are also very nice. Keep in mind, however, that there has been a HUGE drop in house prices, and you might be able to find something quite nice.

These areas (Coral Gables, Brickell, Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, and parts of South Miami) will afford you the best commute, since there are lovely back roads leading directly into downtown and are all pretty close to it. They do get traffic during rush hour, but I guarantee you will be better off on Old Cutler Road for a half hour than for at least an hour on the highway between Broward and Downtown. Not only that, but these areas are pretty much the only areas that are almost entirely covered by mature live oak and banyan (various ficus) trees that line the streets and give you a scenic, shady drive... in either Dade or Broward. Well, not Key Biscayne, but Key Biscayne has its own appeal.

But do you have the opportunity to take a trip down to these places before you decide on where you move? Only you know your price range and exactly what you're looking for.

Good luck!

I've heard that Kendall offers an easy commute downtown if you use Metrorail. Forget driving.

In addition to Coral Gables, Coconut Grove and South Miami, I would highly recommend Pinecrest. This neighborhood has arguably the best public schools in Miami-Dade and plenty of greenary. It is the farthest from Downtown Miami though As the other poster mentioned, prices have dropped dramatically, so it is a great time to buy.

Overall Miami-Dade COunty has very little greenary, so be prepared for that.

I am in the process of buying a home in South Miami and have a great realtor. Let me know if you would like his info.

Yes I heard pine crest is very nice I havent been there . South Florida does have a huge problem that I didnt find to be the case in NY and I am an Independent and thats the politicians.

Doesnt matter what political party you are as party here makes no difference just a tittle . If your involved in community like to help people get ready for the shock of a lifetime with the south Florida bunch