Moving to South Florida with 2 teenagers (Coral Springs, Miramar: rental, to buy, best schools)

[makeba16]

My family is relocating from Atlanta area to South Florida and we are still not sure if it is a good time to buy or to rent instead. We are also debating between Coral Springs, West Miramar and Weston. My main concern is good school. It's a very stressful change but we must move because of our jobs. 2 questions: Should we rent first - What would be the best area for our kids Education. I found this forum to be a good tool. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[doggiebus]

When moving to a new city, its always best to rent for a year first. This gives you the chance to get to know the areas better. You don't want to buy a place and a year latter wish you had bought some place else.

[Not2BIgnored]

Good advice DoggieBus. I would DEFINITELY wait and just rent for a while. What jobs are in S FL and not in Atlanta? Of course unless you are marine biologists, lol. People usually leave S Florida and go where you are, your headed in the wrong direction, lol.

[compelled to reply]

Rent.

1. Weston
3. Coral Springs/West Miramar. Choose the right spot in both areas for the best schools. The main difference between the two is that Coral Springs is mostly established and west Miramar mostly didn't exist 5 years ago.

Also consider Cooper City.

[Nikki9947]

Rent, Rent, Rent and you will thank us all later. What area will you guys be working? Is traffic a factor for you?

[makeba16]

We will be working in fort lauderdale area. Thanks to all of you for replying. I will start looking at the rental option.

[vvolin]

I would also move in the same direction as you are. As for schools, if Catholic schools don't bother you, check out those: they have scholarships and are not exceedingly expensive anyway. Not easy to get in though. As for public schools, the problem of renting is that the next year your kids may have to adapt to another new school. It won't kill them, but you may want to consider that. I also recommend renting, especially because you get a feeling not only of the areas, but also the prices. However, if you really like a place, you can certainly buy now, although prices are still going down, but do so only if you plan to hang in there for 5 to 10 years at least. It is not easy to find good public high schools. People will tell you that there are some, but I am skeptical of all of them. In some schools, though, if your kids qualify for high level classes, they may be able to get out a decent education. I am just not sure. Standards about what good education is are different for different people. Consider that when you receive an opinion (mine included, lol!)