Let’s skip the sales pitch. If you’re looking into Miramar sober living, you probably want to know two things: where to live, and how to not blow it. I can help with both. I’ve been around men’s recovery housing in South Florida for years, and the pattern I see is simple. The men who make it through the first 90 days usually make it. The men who don’t usually skip the same few steps.
So this guide is mostly a plan: a week-by-week map of your first three months in a men’s sober living house, with Miramar as the backdrop. You’ll also get the city’s ZIP codes, parks, transit and job basics. And the honest part: The Foundry has no house in Miramar. Our Beachhouse is on the Intracoastal in Hollywood, roughly 20–30 minutes east depending on traffic, and our Lakehouse is in North Miami Beach, roughly 25–35 minutes southeast. Both are close enough to Miramar to keep your job or family nearby, and far enough to break old habits.
Miramar sober living starts with the right house
Your plan is only as good as the place you sleep. Before you sign anything, get straight answers to these:
- Is it certified? Florida’s voluntary certification program for recovery residences is in section 397.487 of the Florida Statutes. The Florida Association of Recovery Residences (FARR) is the state’s credentialing body. Ask for the certificate, then check FARR’s site yourself.
- Are the rules real? No alcohol or drugs. Randomized drug testing. Curfew. Chores. Required meetings. Ask what happened the last time someone broke one.
- Is there structure? Work, school, volunteering or an outpatient program within the first couple of weeks.
- Will they tell you no? If you need detox or treatment first, a good house says so. Sober living is housing, not treatment.
Our guides to sober living rules and drug testing in sober living go into the details.
Weeks 1–2: Land, listen, and do what you’re told
This is not the time for big decisions. Your only jobs:
- Learn the house rules and follow them without negotiating.
- Go to a meeting every day. Use AA’s meeting finder or NA’s meeting search.
- Get a temporary sponsor. Ask the guy who has what you want.
- Sleep, eat, shower, show up. Basic, and harder than it sounds.
- Start the job search, school enrollment or IOP. At The Foundry, that commitment is expected within the first couple of weeks.
Milestone: 14 days in a row of meetings, chores done, and a phone list with at least five sober numbers in it.
New residents at The Foundry also have an initial blackout period before visits. Use it. Family will still be there.
Weeks 3–4: Get to work
By now you should be working, in class, volunteering or attending an outpatient program. If you’re from Miramar or want to work there, entry-level jobs tend to be in retail, restaurants, warehouses and service work along the main corridors like Miramar Parkway and University Drive. CareerSource Broward has free job-search help and a South Center in Hollywood. The Foundry helps residents with resumes and interview practice.
Milestone: A first paycheck or a full week of your program, and the first step done with your sponsor.
Weeks 5–8: Build the routine that will carry you
The pink cloud tends to wear off around here, and boredom shows up. This is where a lot of men slip. Fight it with a schedule that has no empty evenings:
- A home group you attend every week, with a commitment like making coffee or setting up chairs.
- Exercise. Miramar Regional Park at 16801 Miramar Parkway has fields, basketball courts, a fitness station, a skate park and an aquatics complex. Details are on the City of Miramar’s park page.
- A quiet place that isn’t your room. Broward County Library’s Miramar Branch Library & Education Center works for job hunting, reading and free Wi-Fi.
- Something to look forward to. A sober concert or community event at the Miramar Regional Park Amphitheater or the Miramar Cultural Center/ArtsPark is a good test of having fun without a drink. Bring a sober friend and leave early if you need to.
Milestone: Thirty straight days with no unplanned evenings, and steps two and three underway.
Weeks 9–12: Earn trust, don’t demand it
By the third month you’ll feel better, and you’ll want your old life back fast: the car, the girlfriend, the weekend plans. Slow down. Trust is rebuilt with time and consistency.
- Family visits should be on the house’s schedule and your sponsor’s advice, not your impatience.
- Money: pay your fees on time and start saving. Old debts can wait for a plan.
- Transportation: at The Foundry, residents in good standing may have a car. Earn it.
- Service: start giving back. Take a commitment. Help the new guy.
Milestone: Ninety days. Take the chip. Then sit down with your sponsor and the house manager and talk about months four through twelve. Most men at The Foundry stay between three and twelve months, and the extra time is where a lot of the real change locks in. Our post on life after rehab: the first 90 days covers this stretch from another angle.
What if you slip?
Straight talk: some men do. If it happens, tell the truth fast. At The Foundry, a relapse leads to an honest conversation about the right level of care, which might mean stepping back into treatment. You can look for licensed treatment on FindTreatment.gov, the federal locator. Hiding it is what kills people. If you’re in danger, call or text 988, or call 911.
Five mistakes I see in the first 90 days
None of these are rare. Every one of them is avoidable.
- Moving back into old territory too soon. Living ten minutes from where you used is fine. Hanging around the same blocks, the same people and the same phone contacts is not. If you’re from Miramar, a house a short drive away can make that line easier to hold.
- Treating meetings as optional once you feel good. Feeling good is the result of the meetings, not a reason to stop going.
- Starting a relationship in the first months. Your sponsor will probably tell you the same thing. Listen.
- Working so much there’s no time for recovery. A job is required; a 70-hour week that crowds out your home group is a different problem.
- Keeping secrets from the house. Every rule in a men’s sober house exists because somebody before you needed it. Our first 30 days guide covers how to be honest with house staff early.
If you catch yourself doing two or three of these at once, that’s your signal to call your sponsor today, not next week.
Miramar at a glance
Miramar was incorporated on May 26, 1955, with fewer than 200 residents, according to the city. Its first mayor, Robert Gordon, named it after Miramar, a suburb of Havana, Cuba; the name means “look at the sea” in Spanish. The original town covered about 2.9 square miles between Pembroke Road and the county line. Today it stretches across southern Broward, and the 2020 census counted 134,721 people.
It’s a diverse, largely residential city with planned neighborhoods, lakes and big parks. The FBI’s Miami field office moved to a federal building in Miramar in 2014. Practically, Miramar Parkway is a main east–west road, I-75 crosses the western side of the city, and the southern edge of the city runs along the Miami-Dade County line. The city’s official site is miramarfl.gov.
Miramar FL ZIP codes
Miramar uses four standard ZIP codes, listed for the city in both Wikipedia’s article and zip-codes.com. The Postal Service’s default city name for all four is Hollywood, with Miramar accepted, and each one crosses into a neighboring city. Check an exact address with USPS when it matters.
| ZIP | Area it covers | Note for a man in early recovery |
|---|---|---|
| 33023 | Eastern Miramar; shared with Hollywood, West Park, Pembroke Park and Pembroke Pines | The eastern side of the city; the shortest drive in this list to Foundry: Beachhouse. |
| 33025 | Central Miramar; shared with Pembroke Pines | Home to the city’s Civic Center Place offices; BCT Route 2 runs on nearby University Drive. |
| 33027 | West-central Miramar; shared with Pembroke Pines | Miramar Regional Park is here, at 16801 Miramar Parkway. |
| 33029 | Western Miramar; shared with Pembroke Pines | Newer, spread-out neighborhoods; plan on rides. |
See our Broward County ZIP code guide for the whole county.
Getting around Miramar
Miramar is built for cars. Without one, use Broward County Transit; Route 2 runs along University Drive through Miramar and Pembroke Pines. Use BCT’s trip planner for current routes. Early on, Foundry residents get rides to meetings and appointments, which matters most in exactly those first two weeks.
For families
If you’re a parent or partner, the best thing you can do in the first 90 days is let the structure work. Don’t rescue, don’t pay off every problem, and don’t take his word over the house’s rules. Our family page answers common questions, and Al-Anon offers support for you.
The Foundry’s houses near Miramar
Foundry: Beachhouse is at 701 Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood, on the Intracoastal Waterway minutes from Hollywood Beach, roughly 20–30 minutes from Miramar. Rooftop terrace, pool, ping pong, kayaks and a billiards room with a waterway view.
Foundry: Lakehouse is at 871 NE 182nd Terrace in North Miami Beach, near Aventura and I-95, roughly 25–35 minutes away. Lakeside, eight bedrooms and five bathrooms, canoes, kayaks, a hammock, a tree swing and a fire pit.
Both are FARR-certified, men-only, and run by men in recovery who are active in the fellowship. Rooms are furnished; utilities, linens, laundry and high-speed internet are included. Private pay, with scholarships for qualified men. We give rates on a call and don’t publish bed availability. Comparing the two? Read Hollywood or North Miami Beach?
Neighbors in this series
Read our guides to sober living in Pembroke Pines and sober living in Pembroke Park and West Park.
Day one starts with a call
If you want men’s sober living near Miramar, FL, call The Foundry at (954) 817-7143 or go to our admissions page. Ask us anything. We’ll give you a straight answer.
In a crisis, call or text 988, or call 911.
Maps: Miramar to the Foundry houses
These routes start in Miramar; tap a button for live directions from your address.
