Miami, FL
In Miami, a Young Family Sought a House to Grow Into. Would $750,000 Be Enough?
When Leonor and Taylor Willis moved to Miami in 2021, neither of them had ever set foot in the city before. “Not except for changing planes at the airport,” Mr. Willis said.
The couple, who met at Georgetown University, had been living in a rowhouse in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. Ms. Willis, 28, worked as a teacher and Mr. Willis, 31, was a consultant for regional airlines. They loved the city and their urban lifestyle. But when Mr. Willis was offered a new position at a Miami-based rail company, the two headed south for an unexpected new adventure.
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“When you think of Miami, you think of TV — ‘Miami Vice’ or ‘Burn Notice,’” Mr. Willis said. “Whatever you’re seeing there isn’t the real Miami, so I had very little idea of what the real Miami might be.”
They landed in a two-bedroom rental on the 47th floor of a downtown tower, to preserve the walkable lifestyle they’d enjoyed in Baltimore. They also kept their rowhouse, taking on a tenant to help offset the $5,000 rent at their new apartment, which they felt was worth it thanks to its huge windows and sweeping views.
Ms. Willis left teaching to take a work-from-home job handling business development for a software company (she also works as a freelance photographer), and used the condo’s second bedroom as an office. Even with three furry friends at home — a keeshond named Maurice and two cats, Napoleon and Charlemagne — the apartment was cozy but not overcrowded.
Then in late 2023, the couple welcomed a baby girl and squeezed her crib into their bedroom. They soon realized the baby would need her own room — not because she disturbed them, but because they disturbed her. “We were making too much noise in our sleep and waking her up,” Mr. Willis said.
The idea was to rent a new place with a primary bedroom, a home office for Ms. Willis and a room for their daughter, but it was tougher than it seemed. “It’s hard to find apartments that have three bedrooms,” Ms. Willis said. The ones they did find were asking significantly higher rents.
They wondered if it made more sense to try to buy a house — but without giving up the city lifestyle they loved. For Mr. Willis, who grew up in the far-flung suburbs of Dallas, walkability was key. So the couple started their search in neighborhoods where restaurants and shopping could still be reached by foot, as much for their daughter as themselves.
“As she gets older she’ll have the opportunity to do things a little more independently than being strapped in a car seat all the time, which is what my childhood was like,” Mr. Willis said.
They put the Baltimore house on the market to help with a down payment, and eschewed working with a broker, opting instead to comb listings on real estate sites and find their own way to showings.
Their search began casually and stretched over a year. By last summer, they had zeroed in on a couple of residential neighborhoods where Mr. Willis could have a 15-minute commute to his new job as director of commercial operations for a jet fuel company near Miami International Airport. They had sold the Baltimore house for $465,000 and set their budget for a Miami home to around $750,000.
On the couple’s wishlist: three full bedrooms and, if possible, a second bathroom for guests. Neither is keen on yardwork, so they looked at places with small yards. And both were hoping to find something with some architectural character, maybe Art Deco or Spanish revival.
Among their options:
Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:
The Miami Dolphins will have new starters at their cornerback positions since both Jack Jones and Rasul Douglas are not back with the team. The team drafted Chris Johnson in the first round and it’s pretty likely he’ll have a large role and should claim the one starting spot. The other starting spot should be up for grabs among the rest of the group. Jason Marshall is one of those players who has a better chance of claiming that starting spot after showing some flashes his rookie season. Jeff Hafley has already said he envision Marshall playing on the outside and the second-year corner should get plenty of chances to prove himself during the preseason.
You can check out that story here, and the rest of the day’s round-up below.
Phinsider News You May Have Missed
With Miami-Dade Superintendent Jose Dotres’ contract ending in February 2027, school board members are now looking to have his replacement by August.
Dotres has served as the superintendent for the third-largest school district since 2022. The school board started the search for his replacement in April.
More than 20 people applied for the position, but now only six have secured spots as semifinalists.
Here’s a closer look at who Miami-Dade’s superintendent might be:
Jose Bueno
With roughly 33 years of experience within Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Bueno currently serves as Dotres’ Chief of Staff.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bueno’s tasks include coordinating and implementing major projects “that have significant district-wide impact on the goals of the district and involve coordination of other divisions and offices.”
He started as a teacher within the country back in 1993 and is a Florida International University and Nova Southeastern University graduate.
Ernie Lozano
Lozano is currently Broward County’s Public Schools Chief Human Resources Officer.
His passion is creating a safe and secure environment for both students and staff.
“He has been recognized for his contributions to the District’s safety and security initiatives, receiving accolades for his exceptional leadership and commitment to student and staff well-being,” according to a bio on the site for the National Student Safety and Security Conference & Workshop.
Before his career in human resources, Lozano served within education as a teacher, assistant principal and more.
Sylvia Mitchell
Hope builder, executive leadership coach and seasoned superintendent are all descriptions Mitchell has on her LinkedIn.
Living in Houston, Texas, Mitchell is familiar with the Sunshine State since she was a principal at Charter Schools USA in Fort Lauderdale back in 2012.
She has also served as superintendent twice in Texas and is currently Executive Vice President, Curriculum, Design & Development for Per Scholars.
Carlos Perez
Perez is a charter school principal in West Palm Beach and the former executive director of the Education Reform Project, a nonprofit organization based in Miami Beach.
According to the nonprofit, Perez has over 25 years of experience within education, mainly in New York, but now in Florida.
Perez has also been an assistant superintendent in the past, as well as taking part as an Executive Board Member for the New York State Association of School Personnel Administrators.
Christopher Ruszkowski
Currently based in South Carolina as CEO of South Carolina’s Children’s Fund, Ruszkowski has moved all over the country, and Florida will be no exception.
According to his LinkedIn, he served as New Mexico’s Secretary of Education back in 2019. Before living in South Carolina, he was a conservator for the Texas Education Agency. A conservator oversees the state’s takeovers of large school districts and charter school networks.
Getting his master’s at Stanford, Ruszkowski was a Distinguished Policy Fellow at the Hoover Institute located within the university.
Rafael Villalobos
Since 2022, Villalobos has been the South Region Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Before that, he was a principal for over ten years.
The Nova Southeastern alum has been in Miami for most of his life, even graduating from South Miami Senior High School in 1990.
Miami, FL
I went to 2 famous Miami restaurants, a flashy steakhouse and a Cuban hot spot. Here’s how they compared.
Café La Trova celebrated the city’s Cuban heritage through live music, warm hospitality, and dishes that felt deeply rooted in local culture.
Papi Steak, meanwhile, embraced Miami’s flashy, see-and-be-seen reputation with theatrical presentations, celebrity appeal, and an atmosphere that often felt more like a nightclub than a standard steakhouse.
Despite Papi Steak’s over-the-top reputation, nearly every dish I tried — from the wagyu pastrami to the hamachi crudo — was thoughtfully prepared and tasted just as good as it looked. If you’re looking for an indulgent, special-occasion dinner where the spectacle is part of the fun, it’s easy to understand why the restaurant has become such a phenomenon.
Still, if I could only recommend one restaurant to a first-time visitor, I’d choose Café La Trova.
While Papi Steak offered the more decadent, once-in-a-lifetime meal, Café La Trova delivered a more authentic Miami experience, pairing outstanding food and cocktails with a genuine sense of the city’s history and culture.
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