What is Coral Springs Like? (Miami, Fort Lauderdale: lender, real estate, budget)

[Nervous Mom of Three]

Good for new family moving from Indiana? I lived in Coral Springs from 1972-1980 when I was a child. It's been a long time. I see some real estate listings that look sort of in my ball park, but how it is for a wonderbread nerdy family with 3 little kids?

[heydade]

FYI...most of the houses 300K and under are almost ALL exclusively short sales unfortunately. Anyhow, Coral Springs is a nice place to live....very little traffic especially NORTH springs.

One thing I hate about Coral Springs is the city ordinance banning frontage signs for shopping centers/strip malls and gas stations. That means you have no idea what store is here or there without actually driving into the parking lot to take a closer look. NO SIGNS ALLOWED OUT FRONT BY THE ROAD ! What kind of retarded crap is that? Do you know how many times I have almost gotten into an accident because I had to slow down and look at the building to try to see the small sign on the actual building...taking my eyes off the road while I try to make out what the hell it says ! And gas stations ?? Forget about trying to figure out how much a gallon of regular is....you need to drive into the gas station to take a closer look, as again, the city ordinance prevents gas stations from advertising on big signs.

Other than this VERY VERY annoying ordinance that is more of a safety issue than anything else, I enjoy living in Coral Springs.

[Nervous Mom of Three]

thanks so much for the info! What do you mean by " almost exclusively short sale"? I'm sorry to sound like a dunce.

[heydade]

meaning that many people owe more than what their house is worth. They are selling because of either the bad economy or because they are tired of making double payments on what their home is worth. So they are selling short sale which the lender has to approve first and it is NOT like buying a regular home since there is an appx 3 month waiting period when you put in an offer until you find out if you "won" the house.

PS...Coral springs is ranked the 17th safest city in the entire U.S. to live in and is always winning awards. What is your budget if you don't mind me asking ?

[Sharkey514]

Coral Springs has many great neighborhoods for families. We find it convenient to highways, shopping, schools, and kids' activities. There is an excellent sports complex for kids to take swimming and skating lessons. Many schools. Very family-oriented for South Florida. You should rent something to see if you like it. Good luck!

[Lawlady]

Try looking in Eagle Trace and that area.....great place to live!!! Sawgrass Mills is nearby....Drive into Ft Lauderdale for dinner/shows. Go to South Beach on the weekends. Lots of big churches.

[jhlcomp]

I will cut to the chase. My friend lives in an upscale community of Eagle Trace and they are moving to Parkland just north of Coral Springs. There are, to my taste and observation, too many rental units, gangs and crime. I would not
Live there.

[heydade]

Miami News, Fort Lauderdale News, Florida News & Weather Channel 7 Fox Miami WSVN-TV - Police searching for two car burglars

[Out#dButOutside]

Wow!!! What a frightening picture of Coral Springs. Funny how the reality of living in the city seems SO different
In the 10 years living in the city, I do remember a bike disappearing from the lawn overnight. CRIMINALS!!!

The sign issue takes a little getting used to, but like any place, you get to know your way around. Just look up the address. Even numbers on one side odd on the other. 17th street is between 16th and 18th. If the address is 1742 YOU CAN FIGURE IT OUT!

I have raised my boys here and feel very safe.
Like any big town, it’s not perfect. 130,000 people, over 20+ sq miles, speaking different languages, and living different cultures will bring out various opinions.
I admit, we did move to a different section of town about 5 years ago. I just didn’t want my boys wandering that neighborhood.
Some schools are better than others. An “A” rated school does not mean it’s a great school. It means the bottom 25% of that school’s students have improved. BUT the really good schools are also “A” schools. Do YOUR homework and you will find the best schools and neighborhoods.
As for renting – Good/bad idea. It will give you a chance to make a more educated, permanent decision. But maybe rent a house in a development instead of an apartment in an undesirable complex. It really is a great city, despite the ½ dozen scary news articles pulled from the 1,000’s of negative “entertainment” news that sells papers and air time.

NOWHERE is crime free and there will always be people who should have chosen a different place to live.
My biggest concern is it’s VERY EXPENSIVE to live in South Florida. Big houses, flashy cars and on and on and on. It’s all about what you have and it is expected of the children too.

[PBCboy]

Coral Springs is among the safest South Florida - or, hell, Florida in general - has to offer. Overall though I'd say Parkland is a better choice, but that city is probably out of most of our budgets here.

Coral Springs isn't amazing by any means, and it has a reputation for being boring, but it has shopping and other activities just like anywhere else. If you want a safe place for a family though it's a good area. Overall I'd say it's a cut above most of what Broward County has to offer.