I have driven the stretch of Biscayne Boulevard between North Miami Beach and the Broward line more times than I can count, and Aventura is the place most people in South Florida know by one landmark: the mall. That’s a shame, because for a man in early recovery, the city around the mall is quietly one of the better places in Miami-Dade to rebuild a routine. It is small, walkable in parts, full of green space, and sitting right between two of the strongest recovery communities in the state.
This guide is for men — and the families of men — looking at sober living in or near Aventura. I’ll walk through what the city is actually like, where the nearest men’s sober houses are, and how the area works for the things that matter in the first months: meetings, work, transport and the long evenings. It’s the first of five pieces in our Sober Living in Aventura series.
Aventura in one paragraph
Aventura is a compact city in the northeast corner of Miami-Dade County, about 3.2 square miles of land with around 40,000 residents, according to the City of Aventura. It is bordered by North Miami Beach to the south and west, Hallandale Beach and Broward County to the north, and the Intracoastal Waterway to the east, with Sunny Isles Beach and the ocean just across the water. Most people know it for Aventura Mall, the Turnberry golf course and its high-rise condos. Fewer know it has a 3.1-mile exercise loop, a 12-acre waterfront park and a performing arts center, all within a few minutes of each other.
Aventura at a glance
- County: Miami-Dade, on the Broward line.
- Size: about 3.2 square miles; around 40,000 residents.
- Best known for: Aventura Mall, Turnberry, high-rise condos along the Intracoastal.
- Best for recovery: the Don Soffer Exercise Trail, Founders Park, nearby Oleta River State Park, and meetings on both sides of the county line.
- Nearest Foundry houses: the Lakehouse in North Miami Beach (south) and the Beachhouse in Hollywood (north).
Is there sober living in Aventura itself?
Here is the honest answer: most men who search for sober living in Aventura end up living just outside it. Aventura is dense, expensive and mostly condominiums, which isn’t the kind of housing stock that suits a recovery residence with shared bedrooms, a backyard and a house meeting at the kitchen table. The well-run men’s houses tend to be in the single-family neighborhoods around it — North Miami Beach to the south, and Hollywood and Hallandale to the north.
That works in a man’s favor. He gets the quiet of a residential street to come home to, and Aventura’s parks, gyms, jobs and meetings a short drive or bus ride away.
The two Foundry houses closest to Aventura
The Foundry runs two FARR-certified, men-only sober living homes, and both sit within easy reach of Aventura.
- Foundry: Lakehouse — 871 NE 182nd Terrace, North Miami Beach, FL 33162. A lakeside house minutes south of Aventura, with eight bedrooms and five bathrooms, furnished one-, two- and four-person rooms, and a backyard on the water with canoes, kayaks, a hammock, a tree swing and a fire pit.
- Foundry: Beachhouse — 701 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, FL 33019. Directly on the Intracoastal in Hollywood, a short drive north of Aventura, with a rooftop terrace, pool, ping pong, billiards and kayaks, minutes from Hollywood Beach and the Broadwalk.
The program is identical at both: no alcohol or drugs, randomized testing, curfew, required meetings and a sponsor, rotating chores, and work, school or an outpatient program once a man has settled in. If you’re weighing them, there’s a side-by-side comparison and a local guide to sober living in North Miami Beach.
What makes the Aventura area good for early recovery
Green space you can use every day
The Don Soffer Exercise Trail is a 3.1-mile paved loop around the Turnberry golf course along Country Club Drive, with shade trees, benches and water fountains, open 24 hours and free. Founders Park has courts, a fitness trail with exercise stations, picnic shelters and an athletic field. A little south, Oleta River State Park has miles of trails and mangrove paddling. Our guide to Aventura’s parks and trails covers each one.
Meetings on both sides of the county line
Aventura sits right where Miami-Dade meets Broward, so a man living nearby can pick from northern Miami-Dade’s meetings and clubhouses and Broward’s famously dense schedule. Meeting lists change, so use the live finders: AA’s meeting finder and NA’s meeting search. Our round-ups for Miami and Hollywood are a good starting point.
Real jobs nearby
Aventura Mall, the Turnberry resort, the hospital, hundreds of restaurants and service businesses: the city is a genuine employer, and it hires all year. For men who need to be working within a few weeks of moving in, that matters. There’s a full piece on finding jobs in Aventura in early recovery.
Plenty to do that has nothing to do with drinking
The slide tower and art at the mall, films at the big theater, concerts at the Aventura Arts & Cultural Center, the beach across the causeway, kayaking at Oleta. The point is not to stay busy every minute; it’s to have good places to put the hours that used to be the hardest. See things to do in Aventura without a drink.
What to watch out for
Every place has its pressure points, and it’s better to name them. Aventura and its neighbors have plenty of bars, lounges and late-night restaurants, and Gulfstream Park, just over the Broward line, has racing and a casino. None of that is a reason to avoid the area; it’s a reason to plan. Men in the first months do better with a curfew, a meeting schedule and housemates who notice. That structure is what a sober living house is for.
Getting around without a car
Many men arrive without a car or a license. Miami-Dade Transit runs buses through Aventura and along Biscayne Boulevard, and its trip planner is at miamidade.gov/transportation. For trips into Broward or Palm Beach, Tri-Rail runs north and south through the region. While residents are getting on their feet, The Foundry also provides rides to appointments and meetings. More on this in getting around North Miami Beach in early recovery.
What sober living near Aventura costs
Sober living is generally private pay, and rates vary with the room, the length of stay and what is included. At The Foundry, furnished rooms come with utilities, linens, laundry and internet. Insurance covers clinical treatment, not housing, though outpatient care attended while living in the house may be billable. Scholarships are available for qualified residents when cost is the only thing in the way. For specifics, call; we give current pricing on the phone rather than publishing a number that goes out of date. Background: what sober living costs in Miami.
How to choose a house near Aventura
The same questions apply anywhere in Florida. Is the house certified through the Florida Association of Recovery Residences? Who manages it day to day? Is testing random? What happens after a relapse? What does the rate include? Can you talk to a resident without staff in the room? Our explainer on Florida sober house regulations and guide to finding a good sober home in Miami go into detail.
Coming to Aventura for recovery from somewhere else
A lot of men who end up near Aventura aren’t from here. Some come from treatment programs elsewhere in South Florida; some from other states. If that’s you, two pieces of advice. First, move toward a program and a community, not just away from a problem. Second, plan the first week before you arrive: where you’ll sleep, which meetings you’ll go to, how you’ll get to them. The house can help with all three. Our Florida service area page lists approximate drive times from 89 cities, and your first seven days in a Miami sober house walks through the first week.
For families
If you’re researching this for someone you love, the Aventura area has one more advantage: it’s easy to visit. Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood and Miami airports are both within reach, and there’s no shortage of places to stay and eat nearby. We wrote a weekend plan for exactly that: events in Aventura and a family visit weekend. Our guide for families covers the bigger questions.
Maps: from Aventura to both Foundry houses
Here are the drives from Aventura Mall to each house. The Lakehouse is the shorter trip south; the Beachhouse is north across the county line. Use the buttons for live directions from wherever you are.
Talk to us
Call or text (954) 817-7143. We’re happy to talk about the Aventura area even if neither house turns out to be the right fit. If what someone needs is treatment rather than housing, we’ll say so and point you toward it; SAMHSA’s FindTreatment.gov is a good place to start.
