Groceries and goodies: Where to buy essentials around Miami
Settling into a new life here at the University of Miami means settling into new responsibilities. Tasks like shopping for groceries, buying toilet paper and doing laundry are all things that students living apart from their parents will now have to take on. Unfortunately, life at the U — with all of its sunshine and palm trees — still entails vacuuming sand off your floor after a long beach day.
To do this, most students utilize the proximity of many stores to get the essential things they need. The closest and one of the most popular is the CVS located right across the street from campus on US1. From toiletries to beach supplies, CVS has anything a college student could need and is only a short walk from the dorms.
“For most toiletries and supplies, I just went to the CVS across the street just because it was convenient,” said David Kronman, a freshman majoring in Marine Affairs.
Another great place for essentials is the Dadeland Target, which has a lot of essential items and other necessities for living in a dorm. This Target is great for freshmen as well, since it is two stops south along the Metrorail. Junior Erin Spinner, who is majoring in health sciences on the pre-med track, utilized this Target often during her freshman year.
“One thing that is really helpful is that the Dadeland Mall Target is right on one of the Metro stops so it’s really easy and cheap to get there,” Spinner said. “I actually bought a little mini grocery cart that I can bring and it’s really easy to use because you can just carry it up and you don’t have to worry about having a car or taking an Uber which can be really expensive.”
In terms of groceries, Trader Joe’s is popular among the student body. Known for their plethora of frozen meals, it’s a great place for college students to get good meals on a budget. A new location recently opened in Coral Gables, making it more convenient for students to shop there.
Also located near campus is a Publix, a southern favorite well known by Florida natives for their sandwiches.
“You can get literally anything at Publix and it’s great, you can get lunch while you’re there and it’s super close so you don’t have to worry very much about going too far,” Spinner said.
Living alone for the first time may feel like a daunting task, but being prepared can help ease the pressures that incoming students may be facing.
“Making sure you kind of have a plan for things especially because I would always be super last minute with my grocery shopping and things like that and either there would be nothing there or there wouldn’t be anyone to go with me or I wouldn’t have transportation,” Spinner said.
There are so many options so close to campus, so make sure to take advantage of everything during the beginning of your time here on campus.
