why do people with kids not live on the beach? (Miami: real estate, renting)

[bocamom]

i am looking for a nice beachfront 2/2 NORTH of the Hillsboro inlet (I am south of it now and the inlet effluent makes rather gross here for swimming). Anything from deerfield bch to south delray is fine except for the mile around the boca inlet.

I have found that there are no kids on the beach in any of the buildings I have looked in and I don't understand why. I grew up on the beach and have lived on the beach most of my life and find it is just great to have the recreational opportunities the beach provides and it makes my son rather popular for playdates, etc., that we have the pool and beach available.

So what is the deal? Why is the beach considered a place for childless couples? why do people keep suggesting that with a child i should go west? Is it just because it is unusual? Or is there some really good reason I haven't picked up on?

it actually is less expensive than renting a house, most of the beach is low in crime, almost all of the buildings are secured/gated/have a lobby guard and the school districts are the same as they are on the other side of the intracoastal in most cases.

What's the deal?

Thanks

[fauve]

I always regretted not staying on the beach with the kids. We went the suburban route and I think it would have been better for them to be in a more pedestrian area. My kids especially aren't the outdoors types so our yard was rarely ever used for anything other than the pool, and really they used that rather rarely. Follow your instincts and stay near the beach. The school issue is a real one though. Once you figure that out, you should be set.

[JohnVosilla]

Posible reasons are worse public schools on the east side, not being around other families with kids, not having a backyard, only a very old stock of dated small ranch homes/condos that might be affordable to working families, farther from employment and those intracoastal draw bridges constantly going up.

I do agree with you east of US 1 is awesome and I am not a lover of SoFla in general.

[Momma_bear]

1. The housing stock is older and smaller for the same price as houses out west.
2. There is much more crime in east Broward than in the west.
3. Youth recreational activities are more plentiful in west Broward.
4. Playgrounds are more plentiful and cleaner in west Broward.
5. Public schools in east Broward border from crappy to unacceptable (with a few exceptions).
6. Grocery stores are smaller and not stocked as well as the stores in the west (not all of them but many).
7. You can still take your kids to the beach if you live west. It's only half an hour from Weston to Fort Lauderdale beach. We go whenever we want and we don't have to deal with the negatives.

[dmccauley]

I don't live on the same coast but the reason I didn't move to the beach with my kids was because it didn't feel like a neighborhood. Majority of the homes were owned by snowbirds and boarded up the majority of the time.

[bocamom]

Originally Posted by dmccauley

I don't live on the same coast but the reason I didn't move to the beach with my kids was because it didn't feel like a neighborhood. Majority of the homes were owned by snowbirds and boarded up the majority of the time.

good point. i actually found a street with kids, and a fourplex on that street with kids in the other three units, so i am considering it. the school bus stop is at the end of the street, although we have no plans to attend that school, things have been known to change. there were dogs in the building and little boys.

I don't like it as well as the buildings with all the amenities, tiki huts, tennis courts, sweet kitchens, super security, etc, but i suppose i could find somewhere else to play tennis, and highland beach seems pretty safe

there were basketball hoops in driveways, the whole shebang. . . so, that's big, right? i should get that one?

[Nolefan34]

Another reason is hurricanes. The beach is a barrier island, so every time there is a hurricane scare you are forced to evacuate. It can be a major ordeal having to leave your home for several days while you have work and kids at school to contend with. Also, the cost of housing and property insurance is significantly higher on the beach.

The beach areas tend to be younger people or really old people. Not much in between. Its a party zone for the most part.

[Tiger Beer]

Am I the first person who is going to mention the MONEY it costs?

I would think everyone would WANT to live on the beach, but FEW could afford it.

Imagine how much you'd have to work so your kids could enjoy the beach, but you'd be so busy yourself, you could never enjoy it with them.

[fauve]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Am I the first person who is going to mention the MONEY it costs?

I would think everyone would WANT to live on the beach, but FEW could afford it.

Imagine how much you'd have to work so your kids could enjoy the beach, but you'd be so busy yourself, you could never enjoy it with them.

That's not really true here. The housing prices are pretty comparable. In towns like Surfside, Hollywood Lakes, and even Miami Beach, you can find a nice house within blocks of the beach for the same price as the houses out west. This has always amazed me and I attribute it to the genius of the new home builders that developed towns like Weston & Pembroke Pines.

[bocamom]

Well, I am comparing apples to oranges at some level, since i am on the beach in pompano and have been looking at real estate in boca, but my problem has been the opposite: it costs more to live on the edge of a golf course just west of a highway in boca with nothing within walking distance than it does to have three sides open on the beach in pompano.

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Am I the first person who is going to mention the MONEY it costs?

I would think everyone would WANT to live on the beach, but FEW could afford it.

Imagine how much you'd have to work so your kids could enjoy the beach, but you'd be so busy yourself, you could never enjoy it with them.