[lawANDorder005]

I'm considering moving to south Florida. I have a family (3 little ones!) and want the best environment for them. Can anyone suggest which place would be best? I've been directed to Pembroke Pines and Miramar. Weston was also mentioned along with Davie. WOW, so many places to choose! Elementary schools (with Pre-K) and atleast a "B" rating. Thanks for your help.

[TriMT7]

Does it have to be as far South as Mirimar/Davie?

Some of the best family neighborhoods are Jupiter/Wellington in Palm Beach County.

[compelled to reply]

Weston has the best rated elementary school in the entire state, Eagle Point. The schools in Weston are better than Wellington just more crowded, and the schools in Davie and Cooper City are about equivalent and not overcrowded at all and the envrionment isn't all that different. You don't get robbed by rude people just because you crossed south of 595, that's a complete misconception. The primary difference between Davie and Wellington schools is that Wellington has a few that really really good and a few that aren't all that great. The only school in Davie that isn't really that great is Davie elementary. There also isn't a single bad school in Weston or Cooper City. I do not recommend Miramar or west Pines unless you hvae to commute to Miami. It's a decent area but not as good as Weston or Davie. Cooper City got rated one of the 10 best cities for families in the whole country by Parents Mag. for what it's worth. Something to keep in mind about Pembroke Pines is that they are opening a new high school out there next year that looks very promising. All of the schools that feed into it are very good, so I don't see any reason the high school won't turn out decent too. Stick with schools within the Silver Trail Middle School zone (and the Chapel Trail neighborhood) if you are looking at Pembroke Pines.

There is nothing inherently "better" about the envrionment in Wellington or Jupiter, in fact it's actually way snobbier (really) and I personally wouldn't want to raise my kids around that if I had kids. The primary difference is that those areas you mentioned are a little better for xenophobes because they don't have the same mix of people although Cooper City/Davie can definitely meet the homogeneity quota if you need it to. Also, although Sperlings claims that the crime rate is similar or slightly higher, City-Data shows the only areas that have a higher crime rate than Jupiter or Wellington are Miramar and Davie and that's mainly because they have areas on the eastern side that drag the crime rate up. It's the equivalent of annexing Lake Worth into Wellington (although no area in Broward is nearly as bad as Lake Worth).


Wellington schools - Wellington public schools - Wellington school ratings - Best Wellington schools
Davie schools - Davie public schools - Davie school ratings - Best Davie schools
Weston schools - Weston public schools - Weston school ratings - Best Weston schools
Cooper City schools - Cooper City public schools - Cooper City school ratings - Best Cooper City schools
Pembroke Pines schools - Pembroke Pines public schools - Pembroke Pines school ratings - Best Pembroke Pines schools
Miramar schools - Miramar public schools - Miramar school ratings - Best Miramar schools

[lawANDorder005]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Does it have to be as far South as Mirimar/Davie?

Some of the best family neighborhoods are Jupiter/Wellington in Palm Beach County.

The respones were great! All the information was wonderful and helps with the overall picture. I would be working in the Miami area and Palm Beach County would be a bit far to communte from what I hear, approximately 50 minutes to an hour.

[lawANDorder005]

Thanks for the information, you very informative and fair. Weston is sounding promising along with Pembroke Pines. I'll check into the schools and neighborhoods, thanks again!