[LHBR702]

Considering a move to Florida and looking into West Palm Beach. Would like to hear from Locals who know the pros and cons, areas to stay away from, places to go, job market, people, etc. THANKS!

[Need_affordable_home]

Thats where I live! Good areas with good houses will cost $400k+ You could consider the acreage, huge lots and less expensive, still a fairly good area but feels rural. You cant go wrong with gated neighboorhoods. Theres alot of shopping, we have the palm beach mall, the wellington mall, the gardens mall. Theres a superwalmart a few miles drive, lots of publix for grocery shopping, many other stores and some good restraurants like Golden Coral.
The job market is good but most jobs dont pay very well here. If your a doctor, lawyer, scientist or senior IT, you may make enough to afford a house there. Otherwise its a big problem, houses are very expensive in my neck of the woods, I myself am moving out. How much house can you afford?

[bale002]

If you're talking about West Palm Beach the city proper, as in most cases, the few, better neighborhoods are along the coast, Flagler Blvd, Oliver Street, City Place, and so on. Builders have put up many new condos there, but some of the projects are flagging simply because they are overpriced, and now that the bubble is bursting, other projects will not get off the ground.

So, on the negative side, everything is overpriced. On the positive side, it has much of what you would expect of southern Florida and a coastal city, including some interesting museums and other cultural activities. Shopping and restaurants are never a problem in most of southern Florida, because that's basically what most people do (a bit of exaggeration).

Actually, many of the shops in City Place are brutally overpriced and I have heard that many owners are complaining that the foot traffic is not what they were promised, also because many of the condos stand half-empty (or worse) because, you guessed it, they are overpriced. During the low months (say May-September, what I call Florida's winter), City Place has a ghost-town feeling to it, at least this year it did.

If you come down with a ton of money, and price is not an issue, then you'll have a wide variety to choose from.

If you mean the West Palm Beach area, and not the city proper, and you're looking for a suburban environment, someone already mentioned Wellington which is well west, and there are also many communities to the north that others can tell you about. A bit to the south, there is Lakeworth which is less pricey, but you really have to know it neighborhood by neighborhood.

You probably need to be more specific in terms of what you're looking for, city center or suburban, and what level of lifestyle in terms of price, because it varies widely.

[Reese1313]

First off, moving to the state of Florida is a bad idea, but if you have to, then I would recommend Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter. They are about 12 miles North of West Palm Beach. A lot better choice of people with class. WPB has a lot of crime with the ghetto walking around, or at least the ones that think they are in a gang.

[rkumar3]

If we are talking about Palm Beach as a county, I would suggest Delray/Boynton Beach. Both of the town are central, offer tons of housing options, close to beach and offer easy commute to Broward as well as main 'West Palm Beach'. I personally live in Delray Beach and love it here.... the downtown is one of the best ones around, the beaches and not very touristy and I am still within 10 minutes to most of Boca shopping, restaurants and jobs etc.

[bale002]

Originally Posted by rkumar3

If we are talking about Palm Beach as a county, I would suggest Delray/Boynton Beach. Both of the town are central, offer tons of housing options, close to beach and offer easy commute to Broward as well as main 'West Palm Beach'. I personally live in Delray Beach and love it here.... the downtown is one of the best ones around, the beaches and not very touristy and I am still within 10 minutes to most of Boca shopping, restaurants and jobs etc.

Though I agree with the tenor of the above post referring, in general, to southern Palm Beach County, I am not sure that I would characterize Delray Beach as "not very touristy" if you are referring to downtown Delray Beach, during the high season in particular when it is jam-packed with snowbirds, and at all times of the year the restaurants are overpriced and the food is mediocre, at best, in most of them; in other words it's a typical tourist ripoff.

If you are referring to Delray Beach as a whole, then, yes, there is a wide variety and most of it is not very touristy.

[lvmy3grls]

We live in Wellington and love it! There are great schools, very safe, lots of shopping, many families, but we pay lots of taxes and homeowners insurance on our beautiful home in the great neighborhood. Make sure you are prepared for BIG bills! I would definately stay away from Riviera Beach and Haverhill or anything near the PBI airport. VERY scary areas!!!

[mk1116]

I live in Wellington and my taxes are less than I paid in MI. People keep saying expensive but that is not true unless your comparing FL to what it was 10-20 years ago when they paid people (homestead) to live here. Compared to upnorth it is cheaper here.

[macguy]

Originally Posted by mk1116

I live in Wellington and my taxes are less than I paid in MI. People keep saying expensive but that is not true unless your comparing FL to what it was 10-20 years ago when they paid people (homestead) to live here. Compared to upnorth it is cheaper here.

What are you reffering to when you say they were paying people to live here?

[mk1116]

Originally Posted by macguy

What are you reffering to when you say they were paying people to live here?

That is why the Homestead Exemption started. They used it to encourage people to move to FL. Believe it or not it was not that long ago that FL was considered a "bug infested swamp" and no one wanted to live here.