North Miami Beach

Between the Intracoastal Waterway and Maule Lake, Eastern Shores attracts homebuyers looking for a private neighborhood with waterfront properties. "The whole feel is like a little island. When you open the windows or go on a walk, all you hear is the sound of the water and the sound of the trees swaying," says Alvaro Minor, a Realtor with Optimar International Realty who has been selling homes in the area for over 30 years. “You don’t need a car since you can bike to the beach, to Oleta River State Park and to all the shops and restaurants in the Intracoastal Mall,” says Randy Rose, a Broker at Rose and Rose Realty who has been selling homes in the area for over 47 years. While Eastern Shores feel wonderfully secluded, the neighborhood offers proximity to local amenities and to the Atlantic Ocean. With alternating residential streets and man-made canals branching off from the neighborhood’s main thoroughfare, Northeast 35th Avenue, almost all the properties in Eastern Shores are waterfront. The western half of the neighborhood is entirely single-family homes, with prices ranging from about $1.2 million to $8 million. Most homes feature Spanish and Mediterranean design elements such as red-tiled roofs and neutral stucco exteriors. Outdoor amenities include in-ground pools, private docks and patios. On the eastern side of the neighborhood, homebuyers can find townhomes and condos starting at around $200,000 for a one-bedroom unit and increasing up to $2 million for a three-bedroom unit with a private pool and dock. Locals can walk, drive or even kayak to the expansive Oleta River State Park, which is less than half a mile south of Eastern Shores. The park includes over a thousand acres of green space and is the largest urban park in Florida. Mountain bikers enjoy access to over 10 miles of off-road trails, while walkers and runners can peruse the park’s three-mile paved path. Sandy beaches along Biscayne Bay are popular spots for swimming and relaxing, and locals looking to explore the water can hop in a canoe or kayak and paddle through shaded mangrove swamps. There is an admission fee to enter the park. Residents can also drive or bike one-and-a-half miles across the 163rd Street drawbridge to the public Sunny Isles Beach. Eastern Shores is about a mile from Gateway Park, where the weekly Gateway Market is held on Wednesday nights. The open-air farmers market features vendors selling everything from fresh produce to handcrafted goods, and residents can shop local while enjoying live music. The Intracoastal Mall is located right outside of the neighborhood’s gates. Residents can stroll down the palm tree-lined sidewalks along Northeast 35th Avenue and stop by the shopping complex to catch a movie at IPIC Theater or sit down for tea and ice cream at Lily and Rose Tearoom. Waterfront dining options include Sea Grill, an upscale restaurant known for its fresh seafood served over white tablecloths. “Some of the restaurants allow you to go and dock your boat out there,” Rose says. The Tuck Room provides a space for neighbors to gather long after sundown, serving craft cocktails in a modern speakeasy setting. For groceries, the mall includes a Winn-Dixie. Residents are also about 4 miles south of the Aventura Mall, which is the largest mall in Florida. Kids in the neighborhood attend the nearby Ojus Elementary School, which earned a B-plus from Niche, before moving on to Highland Oaks Middle School, which earned a B-minus. Teens attend Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Senior High School, which earned a B-plus from Niche and offers hands-on academies designed to prepare students for careers in fields such as dance and hospitality. Residents are also just north of the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University. Students in grades 9-12 can apply to attend the university’s Maritime and Science Technology Academy, a public magnet school specializing in marine and environmental sciences. Residents are about 8 miles east of Interstate 95. The Miami-Dade Transit buses make several stops just outside of Eastern Shores on Northeast 35th Avenue and Northeast 163rd Street. The city’s free trolly, The North Miami Beach Line, also stops along these same streets every day except Sunday. For longer trips, Miami International Airport is about 20 miles south. Eastern Shores sits in an AE Flood Zone. According to FEMA, homeowners in this area face a 1% annual chance of flooding and a 26% chance over the lifetime of a 30-year mortgage.

When you see the Sunshine State Arch, you know you're getting close to Uleta. This symbol of midcentury modern style is a good representation of this neighborhood of homes that are “just the right size for growing families,” says Rafael Gonzalez, a Realtor and business broker with Real Estate Sales Force. <br><br>In Uleta, you’ll find well-maintained ranch-style homes built in the 1950s that list for between $400,000 and $650,000. These houses feature neatly fenced yards, mature palms and unique architectural details. Many offer carports with Tesla chargers, wide paved drives with plenty of room for extra vehicles, and lush front lawns fed by irrigation systems. Spacious backyards for entertaining, some with lap or swimming pools, beautiful patios and fruit trees for shade, are also important to homeowners here. Commercial and industrial buildings dominate the western part of the neighborhood, on the other side of Interstate 95, where you’ll find office buildings and warehouses mixed in with storage and retail spaces.<br><br>The schools that serve Uleta include Gertrude K. Edelman/Sabal Palm Elementary School, which received a B from Niche. The elementary offers free homework help online in English and Spanish and after-school programs designed to boost social skills and help students develop healthy habits. Andover Middle offers the Cambridge Secondary 1 Program, an accelerated method of academic study from Cambridge International Examinations that allows students to pursue coursework in technology, health science, business education and the arts. At North Miami Beach Senior High, magnet programs have a distinctly college-preparatory focus. Students learn to enhance their leadership and communication skills and respond to the demands of a highly technical and educated workforce. At the Miami-area campus of Cambridge College of Healthcare & Technology, high school graduates, too, can work toward degrees and diplomas in nursing, radiology and other medical professions.<br><br>To beat the heat, residents head to the Uleta Park swimming pool in the summer. In cooler weather, the pool is heated, and the baseball diamond, basketball courts and playground are usually full. The Uleta Community Center, also on park grounds, offers a Best Loved After School Time (or BLAST) Program for K-8 students and features a computer lab, meeting rooms, a teen lounge and teen programs. At Top Golf Miami Gardens, no one worries about the weather. This climate-controlled entertainment destination features hitting bays with HDTVs, complimentary clubs (or you can bring your own), and high-tech balls that keep score when you hit any of the giant outfield targets. Top Golf also serves food and cocktails and is one of the best places to socialize in the Miami Gardens area.<br><br>For groceries or most anything, you’ll find a Walmart Supercenter on Northwest Second Avenue, just around the corner from Top Golf. When it's time to make your house into your home, décor and furniture retailers such as Ashley are also nearby. To the east, dozens of restaurants line Northeast 167th Street, offering a wealth of international cuisine — “Lebanese, Russian, Chinese and Spanish food are just a few examples,” Gonzalez says. One restaurant to try is Dumpling King. Known for its bundles of goodness, which can be sweet or served in broth to enrich their flavor, this eatery serves food that is authentic and reasonably priced. Getting to the beach or shopping centers such as Aventura Mall, with its renowned luxury brands and cutting-edge architecture, is easy with the Golden Glades Interchange. Six major highways, including I-95, Florida’s Turnpike and the Palmetto Expressway, meet at the interchange, which forms the base of the neighborhood. The nearby Golden Glades Station, too, gives commuters easy access to the Tri-Rail line, the train system that links Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.<br><br>If midcentury modern is your thing, or if you’re looking for a beautiful home that’s a quick drive to Sunny Isles Beach, Haulover Beach, and several prime shopping and entertainment centers, check out Uleta. Here, you’re minutes from the main arteries that keep South Florida moving.