Help? Where Should We Live In Fl!?!? (Jacksonville, Orlando: foreclosure, gated)

[heydade]

Originally Posted by Want2LiVEinFLasap

This is making my wife and I crazy. We are wanting to move to Florida but everywhere we think sounds good to live we find out something that we HATE about it. I am going to working for a police department in that area so we don't want a completely crime ridden area, but good pay for cops...

We originally were looking at the Orlando area until we found out about the crime issues. We have 2 kids that will be starting elem school soon too so thats a big issue.

I hate the PC-ness of everything but I have to say, with the amount of illegal aliens and gangs in some areas of Florida, we want to live in a more Caucasian area.

Where is a good place for a young family?
Within a hour or two of a beach?
With good schools?
Good homes?
Low crime?
and FUN?

Thanks a million!

Easy....go where most cops and firemen live....the "acreage" in Palm Beach County....zipcode 33411 and some other zipcodes I don't remember off the top of my head. Nice homes on 1.4 acre lots...from 200K to 300K and more. Your hubby can work for Palm Beach Sheriffs department....big department with very good pay and room for advancement....since palm beach is still growing by leaps and bound. Hope I answered the question for you. Believe me on this one too...

[gameroom]

Family Circle Magazine rated Cooper City Florida as one of the top ten places in the country to raise a family. It has made the top of lists in other magazines as well. Besides being a safe city, with all A (best rating) schools, a new Town Center is being built with several hundred new homes, and townhomes, plus shopping and restraunts etc. It's located between the streets of University, on the East, Pine Island on the West, Stirling on the North, and Sheridan on the South. This is a huge project that will put alot more homes on the market in Cooper City which has a very high demand for housing.

Cooper City is also the best place to buy real estate in South Florida, since there are so many University level schools within biking distance. If you ever want to sell and can't, (due to a slump in the market as now) you can easily find a good renter in Cooper City, unlike some other cities. Often renters and buyers alike complain Weston is "too far". Also, I've been told by several AC repairmen that Weston has alot of homes with mold and mildew problems. Probably something to do with the fact that Weston is filled in swampland. Weston is beautiful when driving through. HOWEVER, with several friends, and friends of friends that have moved out there, it is not what the beautiful tree lined streets portray. EVERY ONE of the either moved, or wants out. They can't sell, or rent their houses because there is too much on the market in Weston (much more than most other local areas).

You'll be happy in Cooper City or "some" parts of Davie. Stay WEST of University for better, more well kept neighborhoods, and better schools. Beautiful neighborhoods East also, but if you go East, pull out your wallet for private schools, and much higher property taxes.

[gameroom]

PS - Much of Law Enforcement lives in Cooper City! The Sports Programs for kids thru the Optimist Club are excellent! AND when local News Anchors and Radio Hosts live in Cooper City you know its "someplace special". (thats the city slogan) Plus you would be in a MAJOR metro area, with many more jobs.

[Angelala]

We were looking for a second home in Florida for about a year until we visited Cape Coral and we ended up buying there. We couldn't be happier with our purchase although I would have liked to have been closer to the beach (we are about 20 minutes away from the beach) but we don't have to pay the higher taxes that go with being close to the beach. Here is some info that you might be interested in. Cape Coral, Florida (FL) Detailed Profile - relocation, real estate, travel, jobs, hospitals, schools, crime, news, sex offenders

[ajavella]

This is a great thread for My wife and I. Now, we are from Hoboken NJ so we can appreciate the positives of diversity. We were just in florida last month and are expecting to move there in less than a year. We are South Florida people. We do not want the quiet neighborhoods of the Jacksonville suburban area. We are still in that weekend nights out stage. We decided living in Downtown Ft Lauderdale will be great now then when ready for a family we will go north and west to Suburbs. I honestly could not handle living in North Florida when many of the people are Bible Belters and as an earlier post said "fighting the Civil War". We are Mets (sorry I cant call myself a Yankee) from the North East and know we belong in Broward or West Palm beach Counties.

[nkodream]

Downtown Broward is great...especially for young professionals....there's a ton to do, it's was rated #7 growing job market in the country as of 5 months ago. South Florida is definitely for the movers and shakers; people can be a little sketchy so beware but then again being from NJ, you are probably used to that. The only downside is cost of living is high and the traffic is a nightmare. Las Olas, Riverfront, and A1A are awesome...you will love it! When you start a family you will probably want to look west and north....Good luck!

[flburgos]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

Broward county is diverse across the board. We live in Weston and there is very little crime, gang activity here. The city has a large hispanic population, although the majority of the hispanics here are caucasian. The schools here are as good as they get in FL (the best of a poor lot) and it is about 25 minutes to Ft. Lauderdale or Hollywood beaches. But honestly, if you want to be in a place where you will not encounter blacks or hispanics on a daily basis you should probably not move to Broward, Miami Dade or Palm Beach counties.

As far as work, Weston is close enough for police officers to work in Broward or Miami Dade counties. That gives you 2 counties and a bunch of different cities for employment.

hey momma bear i'm hispanic but a very productive citizen i don't think running into me on a given day would be a negative.we're not all the same you've been around the bad batch of hispanics i'm a good one.

[mmaa]

Sheesh, Silversurfer, I'm so happy someone finally said something about all that was being said! Florida is a great place to live and raise your children! I understand all this is opinions and I respected yours up until it all became about race. God help your children if you continue this attitude and SS your absolutely right, that it is very scary to think that you would be one of our officers protecting us! Someone mentioned Weston, beautiful area. I live in Coral Springs and am very familiar with it Weston, Parkland too, great places to raise children! Top notch schools by FL standards, wouldn't recommend being a police officer down this way, you always hear about them getting hurt but I guess someone in that profession understands that. I personally don't think FL is the place for you. Weston is prodomintly white, however these "white folks" are high classed, educated, wealthy and most importantly, culturally diverse people. From the sounds of it, not a place for you. The people of FL in general have little tolerance for racists, and that is what you are. You can say that your not but you are and you proved it when you said you just wanted to be around people like you who you could relate with. Floridians come from everywhere very rarely do you hear of someone from FL, not to say their not out there. FL has so many great things to offer our children that its a shame to keep such a narrow mind and live here! Your children would defintly miss out! There are so many different great places to eat and try new foods, there are tons of ethnic festivals to go to and learn from, there are loads of museums to learn about other cultures and FL living. These are only a few of the reasons why we love it here. Yeah, the crime is a bit higher and the standards a bit lower but you cant buy or teach life and how to get along with others that may be different than you. I'm really appalled that there are still people out there like these people. If you don't care for so many of the "blacks" and want to live where there are other "folks" like you who can relate, then why are you in AMERICA? BTW, I'm white.

[acsolomon33]

Have you looked at Stuart?

[vixiegirl07]

Sorry if I am posting this in the wrong place, but its my first time doing this stuff.

Me and my husband are looking to move to the Florida panhandle area in about a year. We are both in our twenties and have no children. He is a civil engineer and I am a science teacher.

Here are a list of the things we want to wherever we go in the Panhandle area:

-place to have our sailboat on a dock outside or near a house or apartment
-good job opportunities for both of us
-low cost of living, realistically (we are from Houston after all)
-low traffic
-someplace that is not the ghetto and is clean

Please please help me with this. I have been reading some of these forums and it sounds like alot of you are familiar with this area. Please tell me the things to look out for and the pros and cons of the Panhandle area.

Thanks for all the help in advance.