need to find best diverse safest areas in s. fla (Orlando: apartments, rental market)

[wanttodwellinsfla08]

Thank "compelled" for your reply and working with me. I do have the resources as well as my family before we make our move. I have been told by others who either lives/lived in S. Fla or have family in S. Fla it can get quite expensive there(rentals housing,food,car insurance etc......) but my family and I still believe that S.Fla is where we ought to go to live. Our faith in GOD is all we need and I know He will make a way. He(GOD) has done it many times in our lives will do it again. Hope you understand my position on this and thank you again for your reply. Oh just FYI my daughter is 20 years old and she desires to work and attend a junior college there. We just want the simple things in life in a beautiful tropical-like place . Take Care

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by wanttodwellinsfla08

Thank "compelled" for your reply and working with me. I do have the resources as well as my family before we make our move. I have been told by others who either lives/lived in S. Fla or have family in S. Fla it can get quite expensive there(rentals housing,food,car insurance etc......) but my family and I still believe that S.Fla is where we ought to go to live. Our faith in GOD is all we need and I know He will make a way. He(GOD) has done it many times in our lives will do it again. Hope you understand my position on this and thank you again for your reply. Oh just FYI my daughter is 20 years old and she desires to work and attend a junior college there. We just want the simple things in life in a beautiful tropical-like place . Take Care

Glad to be of assistance. BCC is one of the best community colleges there is. This is one area where Florida ranks highly- their community college system.

A lot of people have an image of Florida being a place of "paradise", and this area really does have a "feeling" to it that is honestly what keeps me from moving away. I like this area and have a good job but at the same time I telecommute, so I can live anywhere. Whats unfortunate is what is happening to "paradise", it has become very crowded with people seeking their little chunk of paradise, driving the living costs up sky high and causing a "Sunshine dollars" payscale. This leads to disappointment and even heartbreak to many people who try to move here and can barley make it, which is a lot of the "negativity" on this forum.

Have you considered the Tampa area maybe? It's a bit more affordable, very nice, actually more laid back than the Fort Lauderdale area. You seem like a nice family and I would really hate to see you all come on this forum a year later struggling...but at the same time, you do have that determination. I say if you can get up to 1000 a month, or can get a good job rounded up, it's worth a try for sure. Good luck to you and your family and god bless.

[wanttodwellinsfla08]

thanks "compelled" for your reply sorry did not get back to you sooner and yes I have considered moving to Tampa and I will check it out. I am still not going to give up on moving to S. Fla. If it is God's will it will happen. He will make a way and send the right people/connections in my life to make it happen. It is all in the matter of perfect timing. It is something about that area I like a lot believe it or not. We will continue to come there on vacations for now. Dont want to come here and "crash and burn" right??? Just have to wait for the perfect timing. Thanks and God Bless........................Reply soon as you can. Happy Hollidays

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by wanttodwellinsfla08

thanks "compelled" for your reply sorry did not get back to you sooner and yes I have considered moving to Tampa and I will check it out. I am still not going to give up on moving to S. Fla. If it is God's will it will happen. He will make a way and send the right people/connections in my life to make it happen. It is all in the matter of perfect timing. It is something about that area I like a lot believe it or not. We will continue to come there on vacations for now. Dont want to come here and "crash and burn" right??? Just have to wait for the perfect timing. Thanks and God Bless........................Reply soon as you can. Happy Hollidays

I say if you feel determined, don't give up, try and find the right job. Don't come down here without the financial means, but by all means try and attain them if it's your vision. There is definitely an aura down here, I can't explain it, but it's part of why I don't just live somewhere else. Of course, it feels different on vacation than it does in every day life...to put it simply, life here isn't an every day vacation. It's not that different from living anywhere else. In fact, a lot of people who have moved in over the past few years have been struggling, as our economy has remained stagnant but the cost of living has skyrocketed. A lot of people moved here with the false expectation that it was "paradise", and tried to come without coming within their means, thus a lot of the excessive "complaining" and "negativity" you might see around the forum. Fact of the matter is, no place is perfect. It's not that bad here on paper, and truthfully, if your expectations are set right (you CAN NOT look at it as "paradise" from the other side), it can be a dynamic and satisfying place to live, assuming you have the finances to enjoy it. But remember, our economy isn't really the best either. "Paradise" has a lot of problems nowadays.

I do wish you the best of luck, and have a happy holidays and a safe new years. And definitely consider Tampa.

[wanttodwellinsfla08]

Hi "compelled"


You are very correct on everything you said and I really do not see it as an everyday vacation. Its just I would like to live somewhere where it is a lot of things to do and it does not snow and I can go to the park or the beach after work when ever I want to all year round.(There is not much to do in Cleveland especially in the winter) Yes I know it is no paradise anywhere but I cant let that stop me. Ill stick with the vacations in S. Fla for now. Do you know of any good chinese and italian restauants there is is safe to eat??? You cant be too careful........Thanks I am planning a vacation for my family and me in May 2008 (God willing).

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by wanttodwellinsfla08

Hi "compelled"


You are very correct on everything you said and I really do not see it as an everyday vacation. Its just I would like to live somewhere where it is a lot of things to do and it does not snow and I can go to the park or the beach after work when ever I want to all year round.(There is not much to do in Cleveland especially in the winter) Yes I know it is no paradise anywhere but I cant let that stop me. Ill stick with the vacations in S. Fla for now. Do you know of any good chinese and italian restauants there is is safe to eat??? You cant be too careful........Thanks I am planning a vacation for my family and me in May 2008 (God willing).

I honestly don't eat Chinese food too often, so I'm not sure. Perhaps some others can chime in on here. Also a good place to get advice for this kind of stuff is on the "south florida lounge" thread. For Italian, the Roasted Pepper, located in a little shopping center in Pembroke Pines on Pines Blvd near Palm Ave, is A+ for family style as well as seafood specialties. For a more intimate but casual type experience and smaller portions, try Emilio's in Sunrise, on W. Oakland Park Blvd towards the Sawgrass Mills. Very unassuming exteriors at both places, but nice atmosphere inside.

If safety meant clean, then check out this link
https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl1...ID=&brd=H&typ=



If safety meant crime, the #1 crime you are going to have to worry about as a visitor, even in some more iffy areas, is car burglars. Stay out of Carver Ranches (you have no reason to go there anyway!), much of western Fort Lauderdale at night, and western Pompano Beach, and it's not likely that you will become a victim of violent crime. That being said, those pesky car burglars are even out in the suburbs, so park your car in a well lit area at night, and you should even be fine from that.

You sound like you have your priorities straight, I really do hope you can meet your goal .

[Maramax]

Housing here is very expensive. You need at least $1000 and that doen't mean you will fnd a decent house in a decent area. When it comes to jobs...it depends what kind of job...you can find jobs anywhere but will it cover all your expenses?
Look at the other posting about living in Florida... Good luck!

[eufo]

Originally Posted by wanttodwellinsfla08

Do you know of any good chinese and italian restauants there is is safe to eat???

There are MANY excellent italian restaurants in south florida. I personally feel like Carrabba's is one of the better chain italian restaurants around. I don't know what area of south florida you will be in, but there are a few of them down here.

Chinese? Well, here's my opinion:

I've always loved chinese food and grew up eating a lot of it. Of all the chinese restaurants I've tried here in south florida, the only one I really liked was P.F. Chang's, and they are not anywhere close to comparing with my favorite chinese places up north. I think the chinese food here is all made in the same place, because all the restaurants have the exact same mediocrity. The sauces are very creamy and bland.

I will say that I've found some really good thai restaurants, though, oddly enough.

[gbugmiami]

Originally Posted by Maramax

Housing here is very expensive. You need at least $1000 and that doen't mean you will fnd a decent house in a decent area.

My good friend owns a house on North Miami and 42 st. This is a pretty ghetto area (and NO im not starting that conversation, just trying to describe things). That house is currently rented for $1300 a month. For weston, forget about it. There are some affordable areas in Ft. Laud (in comparison to weston, or Miami even) that arent too bad. 1k is doable in a few places. I know people that pay 650's for efficiencies, so youll really need to see what you think you will be making, and see what you can realisticly pay, and if the numbers work out, find somewhere that will work for you.
p.s. another vote to look at Tampa from me.

[Chelito23]

When I saw this post I immediately thought "Coral Gables", but then I opened it and saw you are looking for safe and diverse for 700-800 a month? Sorry, but that is not realistic here. Safe and cheap are oxymorons. You need to have realistic expectations about compromising on what you want and what is important to you if you cannot pay more (substantially more). Faith in God is important, but this is Miami, and more people heer have faith in CA$H...so I wish you the best.

If I were you...I would look for an efficiency behind a house in ANY Browards community where you can find a rental for around 800. Chances are the real rat holes would be 600 to 700...and 800 and up would prob be liveable areas, but not ghetto.

I saw you wrote online that you have found many affordable rentals, what communities are they in? I would be very interested to know myself, but I would warn you that we have an affordable hosuing crisis here, so if the locals haven't taken advantage of cheap housing, there is something majorly wrong with it.