Looking for nice neighborhoods close to the beach (Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs: renting, condos)

[beachykeen35]

My husband and i are moving to the area in the next 6 months and we are starting to look at the fort lauderdale neighborhoods online for areas to consider for first renting a yr and then to buy hopefully in that area.

We both want to be within 10 to 15 mins to the beach and i wanted to ask about the areas of coral ridge, coral ridge country club, poinsettia heights and wilton manor.
Do thease areas have good amenities, shopping, parks and area to walk a dog and cafe's etc and i guess most importantly are they safe?

Which of these areas do you like and which would we get more sq footage and yard, nice streets with a nice family feel.

I have been reading the forum and it seems like weston is highly regarded but just too far from the beach and city for us. Any areas like the ones i have asked about or others that would compare but are closer to fort lauderdale? Oh and budget around 500k ish

Thankyou for any help you can give us

[ybflady13]

I'd rule out Wilton Manors unless you don't mind living with the gays. I love them. But I am also a single female and not with a family. Mostly gay couples live in Wilton Manors. I am not so sure about the others. Victoria Park in Fort Lauderdale is nice and so is Lauderdale by the Sea. Dont go around Dixie Hwy, 441 or I-95 to look for housing; they are industrial, sketchy or bad areas. If you don't live on or by the intracoastal its hard to find a place to live that is affordable in pricing by the beach. All the other nice areas to raise a family are in the suburbs to the west like Coral Springs, Tamarac, Plantation..

[mango23]

Originally Posted by beachykeen35

My husband and i are moving to the area in the next 6 months and we are starting to look at the fort lauderdale neighborhoods online for areas to consider for first renting a yr and then to buy hopefully in that area.

We both want to be within 10 to 15 mins to the beach and i wanted to ask about the areas of coral ridge, coral ridge country club, poinsettia heights and wilton manor.
Do thease areas have good amenities, shopping, parks and area to walk a dog and cafe's etc and i guess most importantly are they safe?

Which of these areas do you like and which would we get more sq footage and yard, nice streets with a nice family feel.

I have been reading the forum and it seems like weston is highly regarded but just too far from the beach and city for us. Any areas like the ones i have asked about or others that would compare but are closer to fort lauderdale? Oh and budget around 500k ish

Thankyou for any help you can give us

Croissant park. Five minutes from the beach and nice family neighborhood. Nice older and newer homes at good prices.

[Nolefan34]

I would recommend Coral Ridge out of the areas you mentioned. Beautiful older but well-kept homes very convenient to beaches. The traffic in the area isn't bad compared to other parts of Broward. It is very safe and you can run/jog day or night. Just beware of the drivers.

If you are considering living on the beach, check out the city of Lauderdale By The Seas. There are tons of highrise beachfront condos there that are more affordable than Fort Lauderdale Beach. It is also very safe there.

[beachykeen35]

Nolefan, is coral ridge and coral ridge country club virtually the same or are they quite different areas?

Does lauderdale by the sea have nice tree lined streets and that neighorhood feel or more a surfer beach home feel? We are looking for a house not a condo, Hope you don't mind all the questions

Thanks to all for your help, lots to learn

[Nolefan34]

beachykeen35

Coral Ridge Country Club is one development inside of the greater area known as Coral Ridge. Coral Ridge is a subsection of Fort Lauderdale in the Northeast portion of the city. I am not too familiar with the country club though, but on the map it is east of US1.

Regarding Lauderdale By The Seas, no it is not nice tree-lined streets. It is a mix of younger and older people and lots of highrise beach front condo buildings. There are also single family homes there but they may not be what you're looking for. If you've already done research on Coral Ridge, that might be your best bet. It is very close to the beach, maybe 2 minutes drive time. The only time it should take more than 2 minutes is if the drawbridge goes up.

[vr2]

I'd still recommend getting out to Weston with that budget. It's right off 595 which I believe is less than 15 minutes to US1, Fort Lauderdale area.

You said it's far from the "city" but I'm not sure which city you are referring to. There is virtually nothing in downtown Fort Lauderdale, and areas out west actually have more great restaurants and shops than anything in the "city" of Fort Lauderdale.

You need to rethink your decision, as out west is where they are catering to folks with a budget like yours - great shops, restaurants, homes, schools, etc. And it's still only 15 - 25 minutes to the beach for that once every 3 months you'll actually go. It's 15 - 20 minutes from Hard Rock and anywhere else you want to go, remember it's right off 595, the East/West highway in Broward which connects to everything.

[mango23]

Originally Posted by vr2

I'd still recommend getting out to Weston with that budget. It's right off 595 which I believe is less than 15 minutes to US1, Fort Lauderdale area.

You said it's far from the "city" but I'm not sure which city you are referring to. There is virtually nothing in downtown Fort Lauderdale, and areas out west actually have more great restaurants and shops than anything in the "city" of Fort Lauderdale.

You need to rethink your decision, as out west is where they are catering to folks with a budget like yours - great shops, restaurants, homes, schools, etc. And it's still only 15 - 25 minutes to the beach for that once every 3 months you'll actually go. It's 15 - 20 minutes from Hard Rock and anywhere else you want to go, remember it's right off 595, the East/West highway in Broward which connects to everything.

Weston is like 26 miles to the beach. It may be 20 minutes at 65 mph but with combined city driving you would be hard pressed to be on the beach in less then 40 minutes and that can be extended to more then an hour if there is traffic.

I am not spectating, I use Cleveland Clinic and make that drive often. I always give myself at least an hour in case of traffic. Why do you think they will only go to the beach 4 times a year?

[beachykeen35]

Originally Posted by vr2

I'd still recommend getting out to Weston with that budget. It's right off 595 which I believe is less than 15 minutes to US1, Fort Lauderdale area.

You said it's far from the "city" but I'm not sure which city you are referring to. There is virtually nothing in downtown Fort Lauderdale, and areas out west actually have more great restaurants and shops than anything in the "city" of Fort Lauderdale.

You need to rethink your decision, as out west is where they are catering to folks with a budget like yours - great shops, restaurants, homes, schools, etc. And it's still only 15 - 25 minutes to the beach for that once every 3 months you'll actually go. It's 15 - 20 minutes from Hard Rock and anywhere else you want to go, remember it's right off 595, the East/West highway in Broward which connects to everything.

Vr2 Thankyou for your advice however the reason we are moving to florida is to be close to the ocean not 30 or 40 mins away.
Being near the beach means many things to my husband and i including walks and jogging in the morning along the beach, the ocean breeze giving relief from the heat, the fishing and swimming we love to do regularly and also being close to down town fort lauderdale "city" where my husband will be working.
I understand that weston and coral springs are both great areas with great amenities however that would defeat the purpose of why we want to live in south east florida and if we only wanted to live close to a mall and have master planned housing we could do that in 90% of the other states.
Yes it would be great to have those amenities but not at expense of being too far from the ocean, hopefully we can find a balance of both.

To us The ocean, the sand the fishing swimming,diving and down town feel of a city on the water is what florida is all about and the reason we chose to move down there.

That is why we asked about areas within 10 mins or so from the beach.

Thankyou for all the great information so far everybody

[SierraDog]

Originally Posted by beachykeen35

Vr2 Thankyou for your advice however the reason we are moving to florida is to be close to the ocean not 30 or 40 mins away.
Being near the beach means many things to my husband and i including walks and jogging in the morning along the beach, the ocean breeze giving relief from the heat, the fishing and swimming we love to do regularly and also being close to down town fort lauderdale "city" where my husband will be working.

With your budget, you can find a great property in one of the following areas within a mile or so of the beach:

Coral Ridge
Coral Ridge Isles
Lauderdale By the Sea
Victoria Park


I lived in Coral Ridge (Oakland Park Blvd/Bayview Drive) for a while and think it would really fit your desires. I walked and biked over to the beach often (beach is just about 1/2 mile), and the neighborhood is very pleasant. You can get a lot of bang for your buck with the homes in that area, the yards are spacious and beautifully landscaped and the homes are sprawling ranch style properties.

The beach near this area (Oakland Park) is the best, because it's not lined with hotels and tourists. You can just lock up your bike and walk up the beach. Just a mile or so north of Oakland Park and AIA, you arrive at Commercial and AIA, which is known as Florida's best beach diving location (Lauderdale by the Sea) featuring a very healthy reef system.

There are an increasing number of good restaurants and amenities, shopping is close and convenient, and people really take great care of their homes. I must disagree with VR about the quality of restaurants and amenities out west versus east. I live in Plantation now (East Plantation) which is really lacking in good restaurants, and I don't know what could beat the restaurants of east Fort Lauderdale... there are so many places I miss being able to just drive 10 minutes to from my old place in Fort Lauderdale. There are some advantages of the west (primarily kids and school-related) but the lack of restaurants is frustrating. The only good news for me is that my restaurant spending is down