Plantation vs. Weston (Fort Lauderdale, Davie, Country Club: violent crime, houses, landscaping)

[casualobserver]

Well, I'm here almost two months now and from the very beginning, I have been hearing a lot about Weston both in this forum and outside of it.

Nonetheless, as I dig a bit deeper, I'm now hearing about places called Hawkes Landing, Lago Del Mar, etc in Plantation. I'm also told it's a straight shot down Broward into downtown as opposed to needing to use 595.

Anybody care to throw out a comparison between these two communities?

Thanks in advance.

[compelled to reply]

"Hawks" Landing is the Weston Hills of Plantation. Homes start at around 800k and it's one of the only sizable gated communities in Plantation. However, it's massively overrated. Most of the homes are on small pieces of land and not that large, and unlike most of Plantation, there are not very many trees. Very, very overpriced for what it is. Lago (no Del) Mar is very nice, however they plan on building a massive shopping center where the trailer park used to be. The trailer park wasn't too bad, trashy looking but quiet, but they recently evicted it.

If you want a community that isn't cookie cutter and feels established, look anywhere across Nob Hill Rd from Hawks Landing (that is Jacaranda Country Club area). Sometimes small lots, but very nice homes and a lot of different styles. Weston doesn't really have a neighborhood like it. Plantation also has a pseudo equestrian area called Plantation Acres that kind of has a Parkland style lifestyle, or like a more upscale SW Ranches.

You don't need to use 595 from Weston either. You can very easily get to Broward Blvd using 84 and making a left at Flamingo Rd. You can also take Griffin Rd and head north on 95 or even the turnpike depending on what part of Weston you are in. In fact, I prefer Griffin to Broward Blvd, especially since they widened it and got the light timing correct.

Generally speaking, anything west of Pine Island Rd is pretty upscale in Plantation, but it is considerably older than Weston. The biggest growth spurt in Plantation was through the 80s and it was pretty much 100% built out by 2000. It has kind of an east Boca feel but with more trees and less peach stucco, where Weston...well...definitely has it's "own" homogeneous feel.

Crime is significantly higher in Plantation, in fact in 2007 it exceeded the national average. Most of the violent crimes occur east of the turnpike but burglaries and property crimes are fairly common throughout the city, and an occasional armed robbery will pop up in a shopping center, even on the west side. Not a dangerous area to walk around, but not the piece of mind of Weston. Invest in a security system.

Not sure if it is important, but the schools in Plantation are hit and miss.

Basically Plantation has more substance and Weston has more piece of mind.

[Momma_bear]

I have lived in both Plantation and Weston. We chose to buy in Weston, but we really liked Plantation as well. If you have children both cities have great youth activities and nice parks. The big parks are Central Park in Plantation and Regional Park in Weston.

Plantation is more of an open community with fewer gated communities and fewer restrictive HOAs. In Plantation Acres you can have one really nice mansion, next to a run down home, although the area tends to be quite nice overall.

I don't care for Hawks Landing for the reasons stated by CTR. We looked there when we were looking to buy and what you were getting there is the fancy name. The houses were small for the money, very little landscaping and they were more expensive than anything else.

I liked the Westport neighborhood very much as well as Plantation Acres. There is another part of Plantation off of Fig Tree Lane, north of Broward Blvd and east of University that is lovely. My kids have friends that live in that area. The public schools over there are not that great so almost everyone in that area sends their kids to private school (that's how my friends know them). It's a really nice area.

As far as statistical crime in Plantation I believe it is mostly confined to a handful of sketchy neighborhoods that border Fort Lauderdale. The nicer neighborhoods in Plantation are quite nice.

Weston is manicured and has many more gated communities with restrictive HOAs. There is less space between the homes, and the communities all look the same. Public schools in Weston are as good as you are going to get in Broward.

[AJGIANTS]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

. Public schools in Weston are as good as you are going to get in Broward.

Not to question your judgement Mommabear but do others agree with this?

[Lost in Translation]

Originally Posted by AJGIANTS

Not to question your judgement Mommabear but do others agree with this?

Yes, she's right. All the schools in Weston are A-rated schools.

[kevinkagy]

Weston and its immediate area has really, really good public schools and they are all top-ranked.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by AJGIANTS

Not to question your judgement Mommabear but do others agree with this?

She is right. Even Davie has better schools than Plantation. Weston has some of the best schools by "ratings" in Florida. Weston schools are also notoriously overcrowded although I don't hear too many people complaining about the quality of the education being bad. I have heard people say that it was better where they came from though...generally speaking you don't want to come down south from a northern state for better public schools. I went to a public high school here and came out fine (I think I even had a good experience) but that doesn't mean there are "better" out there.

[AJGIANTS]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

She is right. Even Davie has better schools than Plantation. Weston has some of the best schools by "ratings" in Florida. Weston schools are also notoriously overcrowded although I don't hear too many people complaining about the quality of the education being bad. I have heard people say that it was better where they came from though...generally speaking you don't want to come down south from a northern state for better public schools. I went to a public high school here and came out fine (I think I even had a good experience) but that doesn't mean there are "better" out there.

yeah we are pretty much resigned to having to pay for private schools. but I thought maybe in weston we could get away with at least the elemenatry grades.

[Rcm58]

As you travel west on Peters RD/ Davie Blvd west of 441 it gets nicer after you go past South Plantation High. Some old homes hide behind the concrete fence as you approach University Drive. I would live west of here for those that can afford it. Personally I love the Weston area.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by AJGIANTS

yeah we are pretty much resigned to having to pay for private schools. but I thought maybe in weston we could get away with at least the elemenatry grades.

You could get away with it for elementary in Plantation very easily. Pretty much any decent neighborhood will have a decent ELEMENTARY school.

Originally Posted by Rcm58

. Some old homes hide behind the concrete fence as you approach University Drive.

What's wrong with old homes? As far as I know the whole area along Peters Rd WEST of the turnpike is as nice as anywhere in Plantation. Those older homes are very nicely kept and the oak tree shade is really nice. Also, Weston isn't any more expensive than Plantation. Why? I'm not sure, but it isn't.