places to live near ft. lauderdale? (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: equity, relocate, budget)

[alexa529]

i just graduated from college and am planning to relocate to the ft. lauderdale area (from new york like everyone else!). my boyfriend has a job in Davie so we were looking for something with a reasonable commute (30 min?). we found a place in north lauderdale that looks nice but i was wondering if this is too far. we also wanted to be in a relatively young area and i have no idea where to look for that in florida. our budget is around 700-1000/mo but we don't need anything fancy (just clean and safe). any suggestions would be wonderful and very much appreciated!

[vvolin]

Hi Alexa, I hope you will find south florida a nice place to live. You have maybe already read otehr threads and you see there are many different opinions. I have lived in Fort Lauderdale and now in Hollywood for 11 years. I am little tired of the traffic and the need of driving everywhere, and I really can not take the heat in the summer. Other than that, I like South Florida, and I hope you will like it too.

Traffic is a major stressor here. So if your job is in Davie, and you have a limited budget, then stay there. You can always move to the coast when you are ready to start setting up some equity. On the other hand, if you can, do not postpone buying too long. This is the right time to do it. When the market reassests itself, you may not be able to do it anymore.

Good cities to live in your situation are, besides Davie, Cooper City and Pembroke Pines. They are close to your job, but not too far from the beaches. If you have to rent somewhere else, try at least to have to use the Turnpike rather than I95 to commute.

Good luck!

[Angelrocks]

There's not much out there for that price on the lower end. Perhaps $1000 may get you a very, super small apt. I do know of a guy that is renting a studio for $750. It's just a small room. They might have some government subsidized housing if you qualify. Good luck!

[alexa529]

thanks for the input. it's nice to hear some encouraging opinions after reading all the horror stories!

[alexa529]

one more question. any thoughts on dania beach versus sunrise?? i found some nice affordable places in both cities and wanted to know if anyone could give me an idea what they are like. thanks again.