Weston, Coral Springs or Parkland? (Fort Lauderdale, Plantation: renting, crime rate, safe area)

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by Elvi03

Ok, am I being realistic looking in the 700s range in Weston or Parkland??

Yes , you would be able to purchase a beautiful five bedroom three bath home with pool in either Parkland or Weston for $ 700 K ... you would not have been able to do that a year and a half ago as the same home would have cost you over $ 800K . Look in Weston Hills or Heron Bay ( Parkland ) ... both are great communities in two beautiful cities . Good luck !!!

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Must spread reputation around. One good post after another after another.



Seriously, some people are just snobs. There are some lower income people there but for the most part ehse people aren't criminals.

BUT, the schools ARE declining. Coral Glades High (new school) isn't the safest, Coral Springs High isn't academically up to the same standards as it used to be and also having some safety issues. J.P Taravella is still decent, but I worry about the future of that school. Some schools in Broward that used to be mediocre are sort of "replacing" their status, or new ones are. I.E Western High in Davie used to be pretty much a backwater "redneck" school, now it outperforms all of the Coral Springs schools. New schools built in Weston and other towns are kind of replacing their status as well. It's basically just a flux.

As far as Cooper City not being as comfortable as Coral Springs, thats ridiculous. However yes, it's a more "middle class" type of community, not as upscale as Weston or Parkland. But certainly at least as upscale as Coral Springs. Cooper City actually has a higher median income than Weston.

No way Cooper City has a higher median income than Weston ... where did you get your data ?

Cooper City is nice , but not nearly as upscale as Weston .

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Musclehead

No way Cooper City has a higher median income than Weston ... where did you get your data ?

Cooper City is nice , but not nearly as upscale as Weston .

I can't believe it either! I got it from C/D.

Estimated median household income in 2005: $84,100 (it was $75,166 in 2000)
Cooper City $84,100

Estimated median household income in 2005: $83,313 (it was $80,920 in 2000)
Weston $83,313

I agree, the "vibe" there is definitely more "middle class Anytown USA" than "resort community" like you find in Weston. I honestly would almost rather live there than Weston if I had children because of the less crowded (almost small town like!) schools. Overall, I prefer Weston as it's more "versatile" and upscale, but theres definitely more of a "family" vibe in Cooper if you know what I am saying.

[Elvi03]

Originally Posted by CJFlorida

Yes, houses in Parkland are listing for $600,000 and up.

Honestly though? Please rent. On realtor dot com there are literally hundreds of new houses for rent from $2,500-3,500 per month that are listing for $600,000 to $1 million.

Heron Bay, Parkland Golf and Country Club are over built and many have been vacant for a long time. Negotiate a great rental deal and wait it out.

That is an obscene rent multiple of 250-350. Totally ridiculous. You would have to stay in a house over 20 years to even begin to make buying at those prices make sense.

Please, by all means, come to Parkland, and please rent and watch the prices fall over the next few years.

THank you, I really will consider a rental first. My husband thinks that we should rent for a year or so first. That way we can look around carefully.

[CJFlorida]

Originally Posted by Elvi03

THank you, I really will consider a rental first. My husband thinks that we should rent for a year or so first. That way we can look around carefully.

Great idea. You can rent many brand new houses in Heron Bay or Parkland G&CC that have never been lived in. Or if it more your style, you can rent an older house on an acre in Pine Tree Estates.

Either way, the houses in Parkland fit into the price range hard hit by the housing bubble. Some have been for sale for 12-18 months.

Owners are being quite flexible concerning pets, deposit amounts, etc. If you have solid credit, you can negotiate an amazing lease in Parkland.

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by CJFlorida

Great idea. You can rent many brand new houses in Heron Bay or Parkland G&CC that have never been lived in. Or if it more your style, you can rent an older house on an acre in Pine Tree Estates.

Either way, the houses in Parkland fit into the price range hard hit by the housing bubble. Some have been for sale for 12-18 months.

Owners are being quite flexible concerning pets, deposit amounts, etc. If you have solid credit, you can negotiate an amazing lease in Parkland.

Parkland is a beautiful place , but you should not discount Weston as it is just as nice and upscale and offers more to do than Parkland.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Musclehead

Parkland is a beautiful place , but you should not discount Weston as it is just as nice and upscale and offers more to do than Parkland.

Parkland DOES has the advantage of being 10 minutes from Coral Springs (restaurant row) and Boca Raton. If you live deep enough into Weston, it's the same thing distance wise.

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Parkland DOES has the advantage of being 10 minutes from Coral Springs (restaurant row) and Boca Raton. If you live deep enough into Weston, it's the same thing distance wise.

Bottom line is that you cannot lose with either place .... I live in Boca Raton , but if I had a family ... Parkland , Weston , Coral Springs and Wellington up in Palm Beach County are the places that I would want to live in South Florida .

[TallblondeguyFL]

Originally Posted by Elvi03

My husband and I are really starting to consider moving down to Florida from New York. During our trip this past August, we were showed Parkland and Coral Springs, which are beautiful and I hear have good schools. I have an 8 yr old & a 3 year old so schools are very important plus the availability of children's activities. I also liked that "everything seemed close" in Coral Springs and Parkland - this is also important.
I was told that I should also look at Weston since this is a very nice place to live. Right now we are living in a pretty affluent area in westchester and would like to move to a nice area to call home:

1. Is the commute to Ft Lauderdale and Miami better or worse from Weston?
2. Which of the 3 is a more "family oriented" place to live? Activities? Schools?

Which would you choose - why???

Thank you all for your help - This is such a big choice and decision - any insight is greatly appreciated

Elvi, I can only respond in regards to Weston. Weston is close to Miami (via I-75/Sawgrass) but it's not a bad commute to Ft.Lauderdale if you stay the heck OFF OF I-595 and know how to get to Sawgrass!!

I commute from East Ft.Lauderdale to Weston every morning and evening. I completely avoid I-595 by using Commercial Blvd, which is still the fastest East-West thoroughfare from Ft.Laud to the Sawgrass. (If you use Broward or Oakland to Sawgrass, you have to deal with more than twice the number of stoplights.)

From Commercial, I take Sawgrass (becomes I-75 S) to Weston.
In the evening, I reverse the route. If you have a Speed Pass, it's a quick trip. (I think it's .75 cents at the Sunrise toll each way if you have Speed Pass, $1 if you don't.)

On a good day = 35 minute commute. On a bad day = 45 minutes.

Weston has quite a few good schools (the best ones are private schools) and shopping opportunities are pretty much everywhere.

Good luck.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Musclehead

Bottom line is that you cannot lose with either place .... I live in Boca Raton , but if I had a family ... Parkland , Weston , Coral Springs and Wellington up in Palm Beach County are the places that I would want to live in South Florida .

My personal choices are Weston, Parkland, Wellington, Cooper City, and Davie. I see a lot of declines in Coral Springs schools, and I like the small town type thing going on in the schools in the latter two. The last especially seems to be on an upswing in this department. I wouldn't say that the Coral Springs schools are "Bad", but they are just now outperformed by places that you wouldn't of expected in the past.