Area Comments? (Miami, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale: middle-class, oceanfront, condos)

[argalax]

Hi all!

We are considering buying a condo near Ft Lauderdale, and trying to research the area.

Can someone give a quick 'rundown' characteristic / personal opinion on the neighborhoods - from Sunny Isles (south Hollywood) in the South up to Melbourne in the North? Any comments...

We are looking for something in the low price range - we can't afford oceanfront, but walking few blocks to the beach is OK.
Is it even possible to get something there under 150K these days or am I dreaming?

Thanks in advance.

[Nolefan34]

Fort Lauderdale is in Broward County, which is a very large county in both area and population. About 1.5 million people live in Broward Co. and it is shaped like a rectangle. Fort Lauderdale proper is located in the east/center of the county and there are a bunch of suburbs that extend outward to the north, south, and west. By the way, Melbourne is nowhere near Fort Lauderdale; its in central FL near Orlando about 3 hours to the north. Sunny Isles is in a different county (Miami-Dade) than Hollywood which is in Broward. But Sunny isles is really nice. you may not be able to afford it with that kind of budget.

In general, the nicer areas of Broward are either to the extreme east (near the water) or in the western part of the county. There is a column of communities in between US1 and the Florida Turnpike that are shady/rough areas. Once you get to the west of those areas you can find cheaper places that are nice, but you have to commute further if you work downtown and you won't be near the beach. Sunny Isles is to the south and is in a different county (Miami-Dade). Its a nice area though. Hollywood is close to Fort Lauderdale and there are lots of nice condos in that area. To the north you've got Pompano Beach and Deerfield beach which are pretty nice areas. Boca Raton is just a little further north also. I western Broward, look in communities like Coral Springs, Plantation, Sunrise, Pembroke Pines, Cooper City, and Weston. Those are all nice, middle-class areas and they are more affordable than living downtown or on the water. You might want to check Lauderdale By The Sea which is on the barrier island to the east of Pompano Beach.

Just a warning though, if you decide to live west, you will have to deal with rush hour commutes headed east on I-595. That route gets backed up every day and there aren't any other good alternatives.

Price-wise, you'll find that anything near water is expensive. I haven't kept up with the prices of condos, but I don't think that $150,000 will get you very far if you are looking for something in a nice, water-front neighborhood. Like I said before, you may have to look further to the west to find something affordable if that is your price-range. You will generally find that you can afford more house/condo if you chose to live to the west.

[lauralei2]

You could find something. I would try Hollywood Beach or Hallandale Beach. Here is a link to a condo in Hollywood Beach

http://www.homes.com/Content/Listing...earchorig=main