[Checkalex]

I am looking to move to Florida but need help with what city to move to

-I am currently working as an IT Executive
-I am willing to commute a little over an hour
-I have children educated in private schools
-I am looking for a low crime and mellow city but still within an hour of shopping centers. I would like minimal crime and somewhere with good educational facilities
-I could spend on a house maybe 350-500K on a house

Please give me as much information about the city as possible. I have been looking at cities Coral Springs which sound enticing. Is it good for me and my family? How are crime rates ? What's the education like? Transport? And AS MUCH information as you can

Descriptive and informative responses would be most appreciated and I thank you all very much for reading this thread

If you need any further info about me please let me know

Thanks, Alex

[Lilybeans]

Where do you plan on working? After we know that, then we can see what is within an hour's drive.

[GregTraub]

Coral Springs is a great little town, Very pretty. Right around Coral Springs is Parkland, and a little farther out Boca or the otherway you have Weston. All those area's have great educational facilities. I beleive PineCrest is the premeir private school in the area, my cousin's went to school there.

I grew up in Coral Springs, and while it has been a while since I actually lived there, I remember it being a great place to live. You are maybe a 20 minute drive to the Sawgrass mills mall (HUGE mall). And for local shopping you have the Coral Square mall. Your also about 20-30 minutes from the Boca Town Center mall, and a zillion other large shopping centers in the area. For 350-500 you can get a very nice sized home. Crime wasn't bad when I lived there, but that may have changed since then. You can check crime statistics here... 2006 Crime in Florida Data .

If you need more specific information about the area I still have many contacts down there and can refer you to someone that can answer any and all questions you would have.

[doggiebus]

Alex - Saw that you are in the UK and looking at Virgina and Conneticut (as you posted the same exact question on their threads). I would suggest getting a job first before moving to the US. I would think that you would need to live near a larger city with IT. So maybe look at Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Tampa, Jacksonville.

[compelled to reply]

I second what everyone here said. The suburbs of any of these cities are what you (OP) described. Actually due to declining public schools I wouldn't recommend Coral Springs (I can't tell if the poster needs good public schools), although it has been named one of the 25 safest cities in the country for the past two years. I'm going to copy and paste a list from another thread that I made about "family" type areas in your price range in the Broward/Palm Beach County area in South Florida.

I have some heard some iffy things about Coral Springs schools. Not so much the academic quality but the discipline levels in the schools. Basically a slow decline. I see Davie becoming the next Coral Springs for the schools, similar academic quality but much safer schools, but it's further south. You might also want to look into Wellington, Weston, Cooper City, Parkland, and west Boynton Beach, depending on where you are going to work. 1800 a month is totally doable in any of the "Good school" areas in South Florida. Basically

Boca- you can't really go wrong. Lower-than-average crime, pretty good schools that aren't as crowded as some others. Somewhat congested.
Wellington- same as above but a little less congested, newer, less going on. The "old" Wellington schools seem to be better and safer. State Road 7 can be a drag, but the traffic is pretty low.
Jupiter- I have heard stuff about drugs and overcrowding in the schools, but pretty low crime, very pretty, not congested. Just an all around nice area.
Cooper City- Sense of community, small town feel in the neighborhoods, small town feel in the schools. Very low crime. My personal favorite for a "family" because it actually has an "aura" to it that feels very truly "family friendly" thats lacking in most of South Florida. Little traffic.
Weston- Kind of like Wellington but with about half the crime (and that's saying a lot) and an obscenely crowded, but extraordinarily rated high school. Ethnically diverse, but socioeconomically and aesthetically homogeneous, although very clean and tidy. Has a blue ribbon awarded elementary school, and most are rated "10" out of "10" greatschools.
West Boynton- Newer area. Very good schools, but crowded. I have heard about a lot of burglaries in this area, but it's not really "dangerous".
Davie- Equestrian themed, actually has a fair amount of open space. Not as spotless as some of the others (a few mobile home parks), but very safe school system with a small town feel in the schools. About average crime overall, but very low crime in the western half. Probably safest schools in South Florida, although academically most of the others on this list have an edge.
Coral Springs- Very low crime, but it seems like there is a negative element moving into the school system. It's nice, but it seems like it's declining to me.

I didn't include Parkland because it's VERY upscale and expensive. If it were my choice I would probably go.
1. Cooper City
2. Boca Raton
4. Wellington (tie)
4. Weston (tie)
4. Jupiter (tie)
5. Davie
6. West Boynton
7. Coral Springs

But they are all worth a look depending on where your employment is.

Although in your price range (I quoted this from another thread for convenience sake), definitely include Parkland, do a search for it, and put it at a tie for #1 on my list. Definitely feel free to DM me if you need to know more about some of the Broward communities. I also know a little bit about south/central Palm Beach County because I spend a lot of time there.

[Checkalex]

Thank you all very much for your current responses, they have all been very informative and helpful. The reason I posted similar threads for Virginia and Connecticut is because they were other places in the US I am interested in commuting to. I am researching those 3 states to try and find what's right for me instead of rushing into a decision. GregTraub, if you have got any contacts in Coral Springs it would be great if you could put me in contact with them. Fort lauderdale thanks for that very descriptive reply, a great help :-). I am planning to work for an IT Institute training and presenting to staff.
Thanks again everyone and please keep posting, I am reading each and every reply.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Checkalex

The reason I posted similar threads for Virginia and Connecticut is because they were other places in the US I am interested in commuting to. I am researching those 3 states to try and find what's right for me instead of rushing into a decision.

You will probably get more for your money in Florida, even in South Florida. In Central or northern Florida you will get a LOT more for your money. You may want to consider St. Johns County in northern Florida. About half hour or so to Jacksonville, very relaxed, upscale, better school system than most of South FL, not as overbuilt, safe, although if you are looking into South Florida there are some good options there on that list and you will do well there in your price range. If you particularly value a multicultural, but safe environment, those places on my list will satisfy better than most.

[Checkalex]

Thanks very much for that, in the last couple of hours I have been researching all of those cities you told me of and have taken a very keen interest into Cooper City and especially Weston. More information on those two would be marvelous. Also, if you recommend any cities in St.Johns County that would be brilliant but first impressions are very good. You have been of great assistance, thank you

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Checkalex

Thanks very much for that, in the last couple of hours I have been researching all of those cities you told me of and have taken a very keen interest into Cooper City and especially Weston. More information on those two would be marvelous. Also, if you recommend any cities in St.Johns County that would be brilliant but first impressions are very good. You have been of great assistance, thank you

You should DEFINITELY rank western Boca Raton highly on your list as well. As far as Weston/Cooper City/ I am going to send you a DM.

In St. Johns County, I'm not totally familiar with it, but I'm always impressed by Ponte Verda Beach. I think it may ultimately be a better investment than South Florida, due to some future infrastructure and economic concerns in this region. I wouldn't recommending purchasing a home in South Florida for various reasons (mostly due to the real estate market and an unhealthy balance between cost of living, median income, and quality of life, read:major price decline is coming), renting would be a much better idea.

[songgirl]

I live in St. Johns County and I was thinking, while reading your post, that it sounds like a good fit for your family. You can get a great house for what you are looking to spend. Most people commute into Jacksonville, which takes about 45mins give or take. The schools are highly rated, and IT has a fairly large presence here (though Orlando seems to be the IT hot spot in Florida right now).

Look into Ponte Vedra, St. Augustine proper and the Fruitcove/Switzerland areas for starters.


As far as Connecticut goes, I lived in the suburbs of Hartford, which also has good employment ops. in IT. There are some beautiful towns around there with extemely low crime, and top-notch schools.

I'd suggest Simsbury, Avon, Farmington and Canton, which are all part of the Farmington Valley.

The cost of living is higher in Connecticut, but in IT you'll make about $30,000 more for the same job. For us, it ended up being a wash financially. You will get a smaller house for the money but the typical lot size is about triple the size of what you get in Florida.

Both are great areas. We left CT and came to FL mostly because of the weather. Too many gray, freezing days for us.

Good Luck in your search!