Worst/Best Towns in Florida? (Jacksonville, Miami: house, condos, rent)

[Redsoxfan34]

I've seen the negativity that many have about the state of Florida based on posts and conversations with residents. I was just curious of what everyone thinks the worst town/city is in the state of Florida and the reason why you feel this way. Also I would like to know what you think the best town is.

Thanks

[daniellefort]

That's a pretty wide span. Are you interested in a certain part of the state? North, South, Central, East or West? It might help to answer according to the region. I might say my town is the best town yet i've never been to South FL before so really, how would i know what to compare it to. I could give you a breakdown of west central where i live but again, there's so many small towns and cities, you can't really compare them all.

[daveyjones]

Ill still favor my town of West Melbourne as one of the best,been here 9 years from the northeast (Mass) and still love it.

[compelled to reply]

South Florida

Best (general)- Palm Beach, Lighthouse Point, Hillsboro Beach, Boca Raton, Key Biscayne, Parkland, Miami Beach.

Best (family)- Boca Raton, Parkland, Weston, Cooper City, Jupiter, Wellington, Davie.

Worst (looking)-Oakland Park, Miami Gardens (the city of),Belle Glade,west Dania Beach, much of west Hollywood, most of west Pompano Beach, Florida City

Worst (overall/crime)- Miami Gardens, Opa Locka,west Pompano Beach, Riviera Beach, east Boynton Beach,parts of West Palm Beach, Florida City, Homestead.

[Floridabound09]

This is a tuff question that has been asked before, best and worse could mean allot of different things, it would be hard to really answer if your asking what would be the best or worse to fit your likings.

[Redsoxfan34]

I was just asking for the best and worst cities based on your opinions and experiences. The city you live in may not suit me, but I was just curious to see what kind of positive or negative experiences you may have encountered in your city and other cities around the state. If you live in Pine Hills for example (yeah I know Crime Hills) and have never been south of Tampa or North of Orlando, then it's alright to jump to conclusions on this thread that Pine Hills is the worst place to live due to constant crime. This thread is only out of curiosity and to pick up opinions.

Sorry for the confusion

[Floridabound09]

It is not confusing at all.

Many of these people can help you allot based on your likes or dislikes.

Post specific questions and many of them will jump in.

Personally for me and I dont live in Florida yet, I like the central western side and the panhandle.

Since your a Red Sox fan maybe around Lakeland will suit you so you can visit spring training games, allot of them in and around that area.

[borocat]

Seven years ago I made a plan to travel to all the spring baseball training camps in FL. I was able to accomplish that and along the way found the place I liked the best. While this did not allow me to see some of the state (most notably the panhandle and Jacksonville which I was able to see through my work) it allowed me to see a great majority of it. My plans allowed me to stay off the major 4 lane highways most of the time and travel the Florida state highways and county highways. Doing this I saw a lot to like about the state and encountered a lot of really nice people in all areas.

I decided that my favorite place was the Melbourne/Indialantic/Satellite Beach area. Family oriented, educated populace, not too big, not too small.

My least favorite areas were Orlando (east coast LA) and Ft. Lauderdale. Both offer too much traffic, too many people.

[KoZmiC NinJa]

Originally Posted by fort lauderdale

South Florida

Worst (overall/crime)- Miami Gardens, Opa Locka,west Pompano Beach, Riviera Beach, east Boynton Beach,parts of West Palm Beach, Florida City, Homestead.

My favorite place is right where I live...
Juno !

Its a shame about Riviera...I work there
and am quite familiar with it. Some
blocks, especially from Rt.1 to about 4th
or so, Greenbriar, Forrsteria, etc are very,
very nice....a lot of home pride in great
period Florida architecture homes. A very
nice deviation from the blight of condos.
If they could just erradicate the obvious
crack and hooker trade I think it would
actually be a desirable area.

[Averie-Jay]

Palm Coast (located in NE FL, approx. 1 hr S of Jacksonville) is a small town that's been steadily growing. IMO, Flagler County is controlling the growth well, the developers are creating a beautiful city for raising a family & living out retirement.

With the new Town Center being built along Old Kings Rd., it will soon be unnecessary to travel 30 mins + for shopping. Beautiful scenery & right next to the ocean. I miss the great restaurants right on the beach - Flagler Fish Company, The Golden Lion, & Java Joint. For those looking for a seaside lifestyle, this would be a good option.

The only caveat of Flagler County is that, although the area is growing into a well-rounded population age-wise, it's currently not a place to live out your single/cosmopolitan days.

I drove through the Panhandle recently & found it to be very picturesque. The trees were spectacular & numerous. I almost wanted to park my car & stay! Unfortuantely, I don't have any personal knowledge of the area other than how nice it looks.