Am I crazy to be considering this area?? Will it meet my wish list? (Tampa: relocating)

[live-fit]

Back story-

Born in Tampa, FL
Raised in Buffalo, NY
Got married & moved to Northern Virginia for 11 years (loved it!)
Back in Buffalo (hate it!) and am looking to relocate with my family this summer

My husband has a job opportunity in Hollywood, FL that looks very promising but I had my heart set on relocating to Houston, TX or Atlanta, GA. My hubby sprang this information on me at the last minute but I'm willing to consider it. We're taking a trip down to scope out the area.

Although I love FL, I'm not familiar with this area.

What would be some good suburbs for us? We're used to a diverse community after being in Northern Virginia for 10 years and we love the sun and heat...no problem there. We have lots of young kids and one teenager so good schools and a safe neighborhood is really important. I'd like a large and really nice fitness facility close by for the whole family to take advantage of (I'm a fitness instructor) and Target, dining, shopping, etc close by too.

Considering my wish list above, what suburbs should I be looking into?

Thanks so much in advance!!

[compelled to reply]

Look immediately west of Hollywood in Cooper City. Shoot down Stirling Rd to get to Hollywood in 15 minutes. They just built a huge Supertarget 5 minutes away and there is also a regular sized target and a variety of shopping/restaurants 5 minutes south in Pembroke Pines. You are not crazy, if you have at least 75k a year family income, you will be fine and there are plenty of decent areas. I would personally take it over Atlanta if the job is right, however Houston provides a very nice value for the money and a surprising amount of diversity. Atlanta IMO is the king of overrated, and despite what anyone tells you, GA schools currently are and always have traditionally been lower ranked than Florida schools. Texas on the other hand seems to have it's act together when it comes to public education. If you can deal with the crazy traffic and the dirty air I might take Houston over this area because of the cost of living being so much lower. You can get an estate there for the price of an average home here. Atlanta is only a little bit cheaper than here in exchange for some of the worst traffic in the country, disgusting air, higher crime (yes, higher crime, really), even more poorly planned sprawl, worse schools, even more corrupt government, less tolerance to diversity (Atlanta is not the kum-by-yah city that you hear about), inferior dining scene, and I could go on and on about that place. But you can get a bigger house for cheaper in a more homogeneous suburb with friendly people! Seriously, the only advantage I can think of to Atlanta is that it's cheaper, there are more trees, and people in the grocery store tend to give you more unauthentic smiles that people consider "friendly". Houston on the other hand has similar problems to Atlanta and on top of that a brash appearance in many areas, but unlike Atlanta, it's extremely tolerant, even cheaper, Texas sets the educational bar higher, has authentically friendly people, and you at least aren't landlocked.

All three have nasty summers, however I will take the breezy, 89 degree, high humidity, 5 month Ft. Lauderdale summer any day over the 3 months of steamy, still, smoggy hell in Atlanta and Houston, even with the hurricane risk (the other two cities get their own natural disasters). At least you have a breeze to blow the sweat off of your back, the excellent beaches nearby to cool off, and you won't wheeze AND sweat when you are doing outdoor activities.

[whyamIhereinFL]

You would be crazy to move here. The people are rood, service is terrible, people are not too bright and incredibly incapable of doing their jobs. If Congress had any common sense at all, they would offer it to Cuba. Swing down to vacation and head back north.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by whyamIhereinFL

The people are rood, people are not too bright

Look within yourself .

[NEWTOSFLA]

Originally Posted by whyamIhereinFL

You would be crazy to move here. The people are rood, service is terrible, people are not too bright and incredibly incapable of doing their jobs. If Congress had any common sense at all, they would offer it to Cuba. Swing down to vacation and head back north.

i totally agree with this statement...you would have to be a fool to move down here permanently..just come for vacations...you can find sun and warmth anywhere..South Florida is a third world place...

[compelled to reply]

I agree, close minded fools shouldn't mov...umm, I mean, yeah, you have to be a fool to move here. Leave now and make South Florida a better place, one malcontent at at time . Like I said, if you want to see the number one thing that is wrong with this place, look within yourself. People with ridiculous, unrealistic expectations moving here and are disappointed because their lives didn't turn into a life long vacation, and they found that a lot of the problems that they ignored where they came from exist here too. And then instead of working to change the things the malcontents complain about and make the best of a bad situation, they are totally counter productive and resemble exactly what they complain about.

[dk22]

I wish all the disgruntled people will start packing and head to your paradise in NC, TN, GA, or any other place north of here. The sun will peek here again with all those people out. Go find your replacement for Zoloff or Paxil somewhere else and not in Florida.

[jhlcomp]

I moved down here from Northern Virginia (McLean to be exact). This was many years ago, but I go back up frequently.

Please ignore the naysayers. Compelled gave you some excellent information. You might also look in the following areas: Davie, Sunshine Ranches (just west of Cooper City), Plantation, and Weston.

Also, take a close look at Hollywood - there are some areas that are not that desireable, but there are others that are lovely, some much older, some by the ocean, etc. - quite a mix.

You will literally have your pick of housing given the current market conditions. Please PM me if I can be of further assistance.

[Lithium1330]

I grew up in Rochester NY and moved to S. FL for work a few years ago. If you are looking for a change in scenary (literally), this would be it. The winter up north can get tiring, but you'll be living with heat and humidity here instead - think having the AC on all year long. Public schools here are mostly a miss (IMO). Now granted, it's probably on par with most upstate NY nowadays (suburb or not). If good school is important to you, you'll want to find good neighborhood to move to (others have mentioned above). And home prices in those neighborhoods command a premium, naturally. Not sure what your current finance/housing situation is, but I suggest doing research on home prices well in advance if you plan to buy. I know size and locations of homes here are significantly more than those in Roc... and will likely apply to Buffalo as well. It seems the avg home prices in OK neighborhood starts north of the $350k mark. And I know you can a really nice home in/aroud Buffalo for $250k. If you are serious about moving, consider visiting for a few days to look around. The forum here is also a source of info as well - options from different folks & walks of life average out. You should also check out Sun-Sentinel.com (our local newspaper)... You can also google for local ft lauderdale tv stations broadcasting segments over the internet (e.g., CBS 4 or WSVN-TV). They are probably good options if you want to get a feel local happenings without making the trip down. Hopefully, that'll provide some unbias view. People move here for different reasons... you just have to find if SFL is right for you and your family. Good luck!

[Momma_bear]

We moved from NY to FL. The hubby and I both went to school in western NY. I don't like Buffalo all that much, although I think Rochester has a lot to offer. We like living here.

Schools are not great here, although if you stick to Cooper City, Davie and Weston they are fairly safe. Hollywood has some nice neighborhoods, although it has some crummy ones as well. Plantation is lovely, but the high schools are not. Parkland and Coral Springs are also nice, but the commute to Hollywood is not great from there. If you can consider private schools your housing choices open up quite a bit. There are many lovely neighborhoods in Fort Lauderdale but public schools are really bad there, even by FL standards.

If you are Catholic, or would consider Catholic schools there are many many choices. St. Thomas Aquina HS, Chaminade Madonna HS, Cardinal Gibbons HS, are all nice schools that are in Eastern Broward. In West Broward Archbishop McCarthy is a nice school. The Catholic schools are far less expensive than the secular private schools.

The area is nice for families. Almost every city has nice recreational facilities and good youth activities. My suggestion would be to come here for a week and do ordinary things, like shop for groceries and see what you think.