Relocating to Fort Lauderdale area from NJ (Coral Springs, Pompano Beach: real estate, apartment)

[LittleOne79]

Hi All,

I will be relocating to Florida in the next year. I am a single mom with a 5 year old boy. My sister will also be moving with me and we plan on living together. We have family in the Pompano Beach area and would like to stay close to there. Currently we are looking into Coconut Creek or some parts of Coral Springs. My main concerns are schools. If someone can shed some light on the public schools I would appreciate it. I will also be looking into private schools dependent upon cost so if anyone has any info that would be great. Also, can anyone recommend a good Realtor in the area? I would like to work with a Realtor that has experience with families relocating from out of State.

I am very nervous about moving, but I am not a fan of NJ, I hate the weather and it is very expensive here.

Thanks!

[Thor88]

I will address your public school concerns. For the most part, you are not going to have terrible elementary schools, mainly because of the age of the children. Middle school is when most of the problems develop. You want to be in Coral Springs, Parkland, or Coconut Creek to have access to the better middle schools and high schools. I would also suggest looking at Boca Raton, which isn't too far from Pompano and also has good schools. The elementary schools in Pompano (ie McNab Elementary) are good, but the middle schools leave much to be desired.

[Jim_Miller]

Originally Posted by LittleOne79

...and it is very expensive here.

And it isn't here?

My property tax and windstorm insurance premiums are more than my mortgage payment.

Good luck.

[LittleOne79]

Yes Jim Miller, I am aware of those costs in Florida however it is more expensive for ME here in NJ than it would be in FL, but thanks so much for you insightful post...

[LittleOne79]

Originally Posted by Thor88

I will address your public school concerns. For the most part, you are not going to have terrible elementary schools, mainly because of the age of the children. Middle school is when most of the problems develop. You want to be in Coral Springs, Parkland, or Coconut Creek to have access to the better middle schools and high schools. I would also suggest looking at Boca Raton, which isn't too far from Pompano and also has good schools. The elementary schools in Pompano (ie McNab Elementary) are good, but the middle schools leave much to be desired.

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. Are you familiar with any private schools in the area?

[Thor88]

Originally Posted by LittleOne79

Thanks for taking the time to respond to me. Are you familiar with any private schools in the area?

I would look into the Pine Crest School and North Broward Preparatory. Both are very good, but very expensive.

[LittleOne79]

Thank you!

[garyhitchcock]

The prep schools are really expensive and unless your children have very special needs you'd be better off purchasing in Parkland where the schools were rated #1 by Forbes magazine for bang for the real estate buck. My wife teaches AP American History at the Parkland HS and her kids get accepted to every Ivy League school. I know she would recommend that you save your money for grad school!

[NowSoFlorida]

Originally Posted by Jim_Miller

And it isn't here?

My property tax and windstorm insurance premiums are more than my mortgage payment.

Good luck.

Not rent wise or housing cost wise. Most of Northern NJ is 30 miles from NYC. A lot of southwest NJ is part of the Philly area. There is no cheap part of NJ to live in.

In south Florida you can find a small one bedroom in a safe area for $650. You couldn't find that in Newark, not that you would want to, and everything away from Newark is more expensive until you get to Camden which is worse than Newark. So while it might not be easy to find a decent apartment for $650 here you might be able to, in NJ you won't even find a crappy one in a bad neighborhood for that amount.

So housing costs which is most people's largest expense is a lot lower in South Florida than it is in NJ.

and property taxes in NJ are among the highest. and yeah your mortgage might be lower is you got a 30 year one 25 years ago, but most people in NJ have high mortgages too.

[Jim_Miller]

Originally Posted by NowSoFlorida

In south Florida you can find a small one bedroom in a safe area for $650.

Wow...someone hasn't looked at rentals lately. I guess we differ on the definition of "safe area".