Are there good community colleges in or near Deerfield? (Miami: fit in, renters)

[missmoving]

Hello. I am moving to Deerfield Beach early next year. I am a woman in my mid 20's. I am moving from Los Angeles because I can't take living in this city anymore: smog, dirty beaches,really crowded! I am returning to school after being away for some time, so I need to attend a community college before transferring to a university. Are there good community colleges in Deerfield or near Deerfield? I don't have a car, so I will be taking public transportation. Is public transportation good? Is Deerfield safe? What neighborhoods should I look into for affordable, but safe studios or one bedrooms? Also, I love vintage clothes... Are there good vintage/thrift shops in Deerfield? Any good old diners or southern cooking places? Good oldies radio station? Any suggestions for fun things to do in or near Deerfield for a young lady with old timey tastes? I appreciate any help I can get. Thank you for your time.

[doggiebus]

Moved to Ft. Lauderdale boards, you may have better luck getting more answers here.

[compelled to reply]

I'm going to answer one by one

Originally Posted by missmoving

Hello. I am moving to Deerfield Beach early next year. I am a woman in my mid 20's. I am moving from Los Angeles because I can't take living in this city anymore: smog, dirty beaches,really crowded! I am returning to school after being away for some time, so I need to attend a community college before transferring to a university. - We have plenty of crowds but clean beaches (Pompano is iffy) and not much smog.

Are there good community colleges in Deerfield or near Deerfield? - PBCC Boca Raton is 5 minutes away, or Broward College has a campus in Coconut Creek, about 5-15 minutes away depending on what part of Deerfield. Both are about as reputable as a community college gets.

I don't have a car, so I will be taking public transportation. Is public transportation good? - To answer your question, no.

Is Deerfield safe? - The crime rate in Deerfield is overall about average. There is a sketchy area between Dixie Highway and I-95 that I wouldn't live in, but is fine as far as passing through. The rest is pretty safe.

What neighborhoods should I look into for affordable, but safe studios or one bedrooms? - I'm not sure what "affordable" is, but many would be able to help with an approxmite price range.

Also, I love vintage clothes... Are there good vintage/thrift shops in Deerfield?- Actually, they are around.

Any good old diners or southern cooking places? - Broward County is not "southern", but there are many "local" greasy spoon type places all over Deerfield. One of my favorites is the Whale's Rib on A1A by the beach.

Good oldies radio station?- Good is debatable, but we have 102.7

My suggestion is not to even consider ANY of South Florida an option if you don't have a car. It is not very pedestrian friendly, the bus system is unreliable, and the train system (well, whatever there is) is, at best, very limited in it's usefulness. If you have a car, Deerfield might work well.

[missmoving]

Thanks for your answers Compelled To Reply. They were really helpful. I looked at the community college websites you mentioned and one of them will do. I guess I should have been more specific about what affordable means to me: anywhere from $500-$700. I am going to be a student, so will be on a student's budget. Sad to hear about unreliable public transportation. Maybe I could ride my bike. Do drivers respect bike riders there or is it like Los Angeles were you are taking a high risk with your life by riding your bike? Too bad about the southern food, I do love buiscuits and gravy, but thanks for the greasy spoon reccomendation! As for the oldies station, for me good would be selections from the 50's and 60's not the 70's and 80's. Out of curiosity if South Florida is not pedestrian friendly, what parts of Florida are?

[Nolefan34]

missmoving>

I think you have the wrong idea of this place. South Florida has many of the same problems as L.A. minus the smog. Deerfield isn't so bad, but you will need a car to live here. And why did you chose Deerfield? Did you already commit to a lease? If not, I would advise against Deerfield. Without a car you will need to look at a walkable area like Las Olas in downtown Ft. Lauderdale, but the rent prices will be much higher there.

Public Transportation- terrible. I think worse than suburban L.A. You need a car to live here. The area is not walkable whatsoever unless you live on the beach.

Crime- similar to L.A. Pompano Beach, the next suburb down from Deerfield, is a mecca of crime. Fort Lauderdale is really bad too. There is a lot of spillover into the surrounding areas, and a lot of crime works its way up from Miami. There are also tons of bums hanging around on the streets.

Traffic- significantly better than L.A., but the drivers here are worse. Occasional traffic jams on I-95, especially during rush hour. The whole area is relatively congested during business days.

Drivers- Much worse than L.A. We have the worst drivers in the U.S. The drivers are extremely aggressive and this is the hit-and-run capital of the U.S. Nobody uses turn signals and they cut you off left and right. They do not give consideration to the "pedestrian right of way". Be very careful if you like to walk or run in public. Never assume a car will stop to wait for you to cross.

This area is NOT Southern. Do not expect southern buffets or southern hospitality. Most of the people here are ex-New Yorkers or New Englanders, or are from Latin Countries. The Southern feel of South FL died years ago. There are very few Southern buffets here. You will have to travel north to Orlando to get any sort of Southern feel or to hear ppl. say "Ya'll".

Oldies stations- I'm sure there are some. But I've never heard of a 20's year old who listens to oldies. Are you sure you're in your 20's? Most of the young ppl. here in their 20's are very materialistic and are into the hip-hop/club-culture scene. But then again, just about anybody can fit in here.

Vintage clothing/shops- I'm sure you can find something. The good part about South FL is you can dress or wear whatever you want, kind of like L.A. There are no rules or limits here.

Pedestrian Friendly parts of South FL- Las Olas (downtown Fort Lauderdale), downtown Hollywood, Aventura, South Beach, and Brickell (downtown Miami). Those are the only areas where you can live without a car and are completely walkable. The problem is that these areas are more expensive to live in than the non-walkable areas. 500-700 might be unrealistic for a "walkable" area.

That said, I would not recommend anywhere in Miami-Dade County for you because I don't think you would fit in. Stay in Broward County. The good news is that the renters market is the lowest in years and keeps dropping. Rents have fallen considerably just in the past 12 months.

[missmoving]

Thank you for all your help. I'm glad that I posted. I am moving to Deerfield or near Deerfield because a friend of mine is moving there too. He has family there and we both want to leave Los Angeles. I'm pretty sure I'm in my 20's, unless I was switched at birth or something. HA! HA! I just love oldies: rockabilly, old country/westerns, old fashioned clothes (in my opinion they were more stylish), classic movies. I found on line a neat looking place in Delray Beach called House of Vintage. I am excited to visit it! Does anybody know if there are other neat places like that in Delray? How is Delray?

[fauve]

*downtown* Delray Beach is great...I think you'd like it a lot more than Deerfield Beach.

Also, Palm Beach Community College has an excellent reputation, and while not close, it's a lot closer than Deerfield - you would still definitely need a car.

[Nolefan34]

Delray is > Deerfield. But you will need a car to live in either place. It will be tough to find an area close to Deerfield that is walkable. I am thinking the only two places are Las Olas which is downtown Fort Lauderdale, and maybe, and I mean maybe, Mizner Park in Boca. The problem with Boca is it is the polar opposite in style from what you are looking for. There are a bunch of rich, snobby materialistic people there. Also, commuting between Deerfield and a surrounding suburb will be a challenge for you.

[missmoving]

I checked out downtown Delray Beach on line and it looks great! Do you know in what areas that are in walking distance of downtown Delray or in downtown Delray I could find a Studio/1 bedroom for $500-700? Once again, thanks to all of you who have taken the time to answer my questions. You have all been very helpful!

[fauve]

I don't think the safe part in walking distance of downtown Delray is possible in your price range. Try asking on the WPB board. Someone may have an idea.