Relocating to South Florida... Need advice (Miami, Sunrise: neighborhood, pharmacy, place to live)

[Carol Kruger]

Originally Posted by Bjoo

My husband and I will be relocating to South Florida come this summer, July 2013. He has accepted a position in the Pembroke Pines area, and it is my job to figure out where we should live. We are looking for a highend area with homes ranging from $700k and up, great schools (public and/or private), safe (gated if possible) communities, with many young families and professionals. Any advice on the BEST areas with that criteria would be super helpful.

We would like to be near the water, but that isn't a necessary requirement.

Thanks in advance for everyones help!

A great place for you to live is Palm Beach Gardens; lots of families, close to down-town a little bit of a communte or El Cid a great historice neighborhood in the heart of downtown. PGA National, Frenchman's reserve, Admirals Cove, Ballen Isles another area is Juno Beach about 40 minute commute for all these areas.

Good Luck

[alexanderkay]

[SIZE=3]Hi BJ,[/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]And may I be the first to welcome you to the greater Ft Lauderdale area! House hunting can be fun and also stressful but I am sure you already know that. The short list of requirements leaves you with a lot of options. with your Price range $ 700,000+, great schools (public or Private) Gated, and possibly being near the water, I would ask you to consider the NE Ft. Lauderdale area, Lauderdale by the Sea( I live here) Sea Ranch Lakes, Coral RIdge, The Landings, and Rio Vista come to mind. Like MR Lee had indicated the drive out to Pembroke Pines is a bit further 20-30 minutes, but part of that drive can be along A1A and the ocean, something I always find relaxing. The "East Side" also has a good number of top notch public and Private Schools such as Pine Crest, Cardinal Gibbons, Bayview Elementry, and Ft Lauderdale High School (more on them when needed). [/SIZE]
[SIZE=3]If I can answer any questions for you please feel free to ask.[/SIZE]

[JimboUSMC17]

Woah woah... Don't listen to these people regarding Pembroke Pines. West Pembroke Pines is a very nice area with great schools, gated communities, beautiful homes and not white trashy. If they meant Eastern Pembroke Pines they should have been more specific.

[Thor88]

The OP must be having a headache reading through all these posts, all with contradictory advice!

If you want to be near the ocean, and live in a WASPY area, you will live in Victoria Park/Las Olas Isles/Coral Ridge/Rio Vista.

If you want a nice, gated community that has a more "American" feel, you will go to Parkland, north Coral Springs, north Coconut Creek, or Palm Beach County.

It's as simple as that. The central Broward suburbs (Plantation, Davie, Pines, Cooper City, Weston, etc.) all have very nice gated communities. The problem is that you are surrounded by trashiness, bad schools, Section 8, etc.

[JohnD_fla]

Bjoo,

A lot of the advice you've gotten here is good. I live in west Plantation. Years ago this area used to be good, but now its dicey. There are still some nice looking houses out here in the extreme west of the suburb but many of the people who've been moving into the area aren't so nice. There are still expensive gated communities out here in the western Sunrise/Plantation/Davie area. But just because certain people can afford to live in some of these homes doesn't mean that they're not still trash. And trash comes in all different colors.

[wizrap]

As for Weston, which is near Pembroke Pines, I would have to say that living in Weston you do hear a lot of Spanish in the stores but you do not need to speak Spanish to live here. My neighbors who are Spanish speak to me in English and when they are speaking Spanish together and see me in the neighborhood they speak to me in English.

Weston is generally considered to be a safe, well maintained city and I would say the mix of people who live here are multi-cultural. In addition to the garden variety folks born in the USA, in my neighborhood we have people from Cuba, Columbia, South Korea, Russia, India, Jamaica and Canada.

Some people do not like the rules in the HOA's (practically everything in Weston is gated -- although there are a few exceptions in the older Bonaventure area) but I have found that it's good to go to a HOA meeting and get to know the Board members.

[Retired Pilot]

Question for all you Broward Lovers. How do you deal with all the panhandlers? Seedy people? And just apathetic types walking all over east Fort Lauderdale? They are everywhere, even in Plantation. Broward Mall feels like Haiti.

[Jim_Miller]

Originally Posted by Mr. Lee

The white trash comment is strange to me since western Davie has no white trash that I have ever seen and neither does Cooper City and I have friends who live in both areas and have spent a lot of time in both. East Davie does have some lower income people.

White Trash knows no income level. I can name several successful people who would fit my description of "White Trash", but the forum only allows me 1,800 characters...

[Jim_Miller]

Originally Posted by Retired Pilot

Question for all you Broward Lovers. How do you deal with all the panhandlers? Seedy people? And just apathetic types walking all over east Fort Lauderdale? They are everywhere, even in Plantation. Broward Mall feels like Haiti.

Move! That's what I'm doing. Outta here asafp!

I do try to "wing" the panhandlers in the traffic lanes with my truck mirror. Nicked a guy once and spun him around. No injury though...

Broward Mall?!? You're a braver soul than I. I carry concealed and wouldn't go to the Broward Mall...couldn't possibly carry enough ammo.

[typ8lbb]

Don't know why but this comment cracked me up, was just in Broward mall yesterday to exchange something, haven't really had an issue there but then again I go only there a couple of times a year, the panhandlers do get to be a bit of a pain. And to the OP, Id agree with what some have mentioned Weston is nice but you will be hearing a lot of Spanish. If you don't mind that it is a nice, pedicured area....I live in Davie around Nova University but from what you posted it is probably not what you want.