Move from LA to Fort Lauderdale area

[8to32characters]

So, lemme get this straight. You expect to move to South Florida, buy a cheap home on the water and pay lower property and sales taxes, but at the same time, expect a safe environment, high-quality public schools and lots of amenities?

Surely, you jest.

South Florida is very different from Southern California, and there's a reason why it's cheaper.

Unlike SoCal, the beach areas of South Florida are much less safe and offer much lower quality public schools than inland areas.

Thing is, people don't move to South Florida for the beach or other lifestyle-related reasons; they move there for a combination of warmer weather, cheaper housing and lower taxes. Basically, no one cares about living on or near the beach (very different from SoCal). In fact, most people in South Florida don't even go to the beach--ever. That's why inland areas like Parkland, Weston, Wellington, etc. tend to be more popular among transplants, safer, better maintained and have higher-performing school districts than coastal areas.

Most people who move to Florida are old, retired, fiscally conservative and hail from high-tax areas of the country, so they tend to vote down educational expenditures. Many of these people feel as though they've already "paid their dues" to whatever industrial Hellhole they crawled out of in New Jersey or Ohio, so they think they shouldn't have to pay "school taxes" or support educational investments. Really sad, IMO.

That, plus South Florida is a much less educated region of the country than Southern California with less "knowledge industry" and no renowned institutions of higher learning, so there's less emphasis on education overall in South Florida. Most people who live in South Florida work in or are somehow tied to the service industry, even in the "nicer" areas.

Florida is a RTW state, too, so teachers' unions have less collective bargaining power than in non-RTW states like California with very strong teachers' unions.

Finally, South Florida is essentially a narrow strip of land about 100 miles long from north to south along the southeastern Florida coastline, but never more than 20 miles wide--at its widest. Translation: high-crime areas tend to be very geographically close to upscale, supposedly "safe" areas. That's another reason why schools, even in the more upscale areas, tend to be on the ghetto side.

These factors among others contribute to why public schools, even in the more expensive areas, tend to be lower-performing in Florida than in California.

That's not to mention that whatever "savings" you perceive from lower home prices will most definitely be consumed by significantly higher homeowners' insurance, property taxes, auto insurance and utility bills.

Regarding auto insurance, South Florida is home to the most aggressive, dangerous drivers in the United States, so auto insurance premiums are "through the roof." The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area consistently ranks #1 in terms of pedestrian, cyclist and motorist fatality rates, respectively, year after year. Just a really bad concoction of NYC-area and "Third World" driving habits.

Your electricity bill will go up, too. In South Florida, you have to run the AC for upwards to 12 months/year. Unlike Southern California, you can't turn off your A/C during the cooler months of the year or at night during the summer--you have to run your A/C 24/7 in South Florida.

Years ago, not long after I moved to Florida and before recurring online payments were a thing, I remember going down to my local FPL office to pay my electric bill and couldn't get over the number of people standing in line to contest their bills. Then, it dawned on me that, even if you can't afford your electric bill, you *CAN'T* turn off your A/C. Some food for thought.

But listing prices are cheaper.

[Fl1150]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

So, lemme get this straight. You expect to move to South Florida, buy a cheap home on the water and pay lower property and sales taxes, but at the same time, expect a safe environment, high-quality public schools and lots of amenities?

Surely, you jest.

South Florida is very different from Southern California, and there's a reason why it's cheaper.

Unlike SoCal, the beach areas of South Florida are much less safe and offer much lower quality public schools than inland areas.

Thing is, people don't move to South Florida for the beach or other lifestyle-related reasons; they move there for a combination of warmer weather, cheaper housing and lower taxes. Basically, no one cares about living on or near the beach (very different from SoCal). In fact, most people in South Florida don't even go to the beach--ever. That's why inland areas like Parkland, Weston, Wellington, etc. tend to be more popular among transplants, safer, better maintained and have higher-performing school districts than coastal areas.

Most people who move to Florida are old, retired, fiscally conservative and hail from high-tax areas of the country, so they tend to vote down educational expenditures. Many of these people feel as though they've already "paid their dues" to whatever industrial Hellhole they crawled out of in New Jersey or Ohio, so they think they shouldn't have to pay "school taxes" or support educational investments. Really sad, IMO.

That, plus South Florida is a much less educated region of the country than Southern California with less "knowledge industry" and no renowned institutions of higher learning, so there's less emphasis on education overall in South Florida. Most people who live in South Florida work in or are somehow tied to the service industry, even in the "nicer" areas.

Florida is a RTW state, too, so teachers' unions have less collective bargaining power than in non-RTW states like California with very strong teachers' unions.

Finally, South Florida is essentially a narrow strip of land about 100 miles long from north to south along the southeastern Florida coastline, but never more than 20 miles wide--at its widest. Translation: high-crime areas tend to be very geographically close to upscale, supposedly "safe" areas. That's another reason why schools, even in the more upscale areas, tend to be on the ghetto side.

These factors among others contribute to why public schools, even in the more expensive areas, tend to be lower-performing in Florida than in California.

That's not to mention that whatever "savings" you perceive from lower home prices will most definitely be consumed by significantly higher homeowners' insurance, property taxes, auto insurance and utility bills.

Regarding auto insurance, South Florida is home to the most aggressive, dangerous drivers in the United States, so auto insurance premiums are "through the roof." The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach metro area consistently ranks #1 in terms of pedestrian, cyclist and motorist fatality rates, respectively, year after year. Just a really bad concoction of NYC-area and "Third World" driving habits.

Your electricity bill will go up, too. In South Florida, you have to run the AC for upwards to 12 months/year. Unlike Southern California, you can't turn off your A/C during the cooler months of the year or at night during the summer--you have to run your A/C 24/7 in South Florida.

Years ago, not long after I moved to Florida and before recurring online payments were a thing, I remember going down to my local FPL office to pay my electric bill and couldn't get over the number of people standing in line to contest their bills. Then, it dawned on me that, even if you can't afford your electric bill, you *CAN'T* turn off your A/C. Some food for thought.

But listing prices are cheaper.

Why are you so threatened that people want to move here from your precious California ? You sound so pathetic clamoring to crazy notions and to be honest why should someone trust your opinion if you haven't lived here since 2007. The antics are getting old of you posting a book report on how it is so bad here per copy and paste.

[JohnD_fla]

Originally Posted by StEt0417

Im sure you can find something with water access for that price range. Look at Lighthouse Point, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach.

Lighthouse, Pompano, and Deerfield are on the cheaper side for a reason. Years ago, Lighthouse was ok. The parts of it that are right up on the water are still nice.. But, for the most part, its surrounded on the back end by undesirable elements from both Deerfield and Pompano.