Young couple moving to South Florida...longtime lurker needs more input. (Miami: for sale, hotels)

[nraustin]

Hello all! I have been a lurker on these forums for approximately one year and have been able to do the majority of my research based on the posts I read. Here's our situation. My wife is originally from Miami (we live in Indiana now) we are thinking about moving down to the Broward area to live. My wife will be an attorney shortly and I am currently a physical therapist Here is some basic background info on our situation.

-No children, yet.
-Active couple. Enjoy sporting events, shopping, exercise, etc.
-Would prefer a decent sized home (3 Bed, 2 Bath or 4 Bed, 3 bath).
-Safe area of course.
-Good schools
-Reasonable commute to Miami for family purposes.
-Little debt so budget isn't really an issue.

Based on posts here and other research I have done I have narrowed down our list of potentials to:

-Weston
-Pembroke Pines
-Cooper City
-Davie
-Coral Springs

I don't know the specifics of each city and am not too familiar with them. I know I have read the Cooper City/Davie area has more of a "rural" feel, but otherwise am not sure.

Does anyone have any other useful input such as job markets for attorneys/PT's? Housing prices? Crime? Etc.

Any info would be helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[ruski]

I want to say Weston, but you need good commute to Miami, so I will say Cooper City.

[nraustin]

Don't really need a regular commute to Miami as my wife will more than likely be working in Fort Lauderdale. Only going to go to Miami as much as we have to!

[AliciaMaria]

Your choices are pretty good ones! Now you just need to come down and check out the areas you like.

[heydade]

west davie or weston...I think Weston is gorgeous. Every time I drive down Arvida pkwy or Weston rd, I keep wishing to myself that Davie would invest in landscaping common grounds as much as Weston does.

[nraustin]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I'm sure this question has been posted 1000 times on the forums, but I'm strapped for time right now, but do you have some rough estimates on taxes? Property, homeowners, etc. Thanks!

[AttilaLaczko]

Alright, lots of requests in your post, so here goes, trying to keep it short:
If you want a place that has good schools, good commuting situation to almost anywhere, then Weston is the first place to look. Here's why - its communities are safe, very well planned, and they offer most things people look for. The caveat about Weston is that it is so much in demand, it has a higher-than-county-average price point, around $450,000. Most communities will get you a decent home for that price, but expect to pay more in Weston Hills and even more in the Windmill Ranches (Dan Marino's Weston home is for sale!).
Weston sits at the southwest corner of the intersecting highways of I75, 595 and the Sawgrass Expressway. 595 takes you directly to FLL and Fort Lauderdale/Beaches, I95. I75 takes you to Naples or Miami, and the Sawgrass takes you directly North Broward County.
The real draw that Weston has over almost everywhere else (except Cooper City) is the schools. Basically, you could drop a child into K through 12 - public schools - and see them get the best the public schools system can offer. South Florida is also littered with private schools, so that option is available anywhere.
Sporting events - within 10 minutes, you can see a FL Panthers game. Only 20 minutes away are the Dolphins, and a good 45 minute drive will get you to the Miami Heat. The University of Miami is within an hour, if you like to watch them play basketball, or a short 20 minutes to Dolphin Stadium to watch them play football.
Shopping - Aventura Mall, northeast Dade County, 30-40 minutes, big and fantastic
Town Center in Boca, 40 minutes, a little gigi
Sawgrass Mills, 10 minutes, 2nd most popular tourist attraction in Florida to Disney!!!! I still can't believe that.
Pembroke Gardens Mall, 15 minutes, casual, Barnes & Noble, restaurants
Merrick Village (Coral Gables), < 1hr, VERY gigi
Gulfstream Park Village, new, 30 minutes, great Crate & Barrel
The Galleria Mall, 40 minutes, old mall, renewed, great restaurants, near the beach

The beaches:
Las Olas/A1A - 30 minutes, The Elbow Room, the new hotels, the boardwalk
Commercial Blvd Pier - 40-45 minutes, the pier, Aruba Beach Cafe, Greek food, cozy feeling
Hollywood Beach - 30 minutes, great "Canadian Pizza" (pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers), boardwalk, farmers market on Sunday
South Beach, 1hr, Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road, The National Hotel

All three counties have their own performing arts centers.

Near Weston is Markham Park, but all through the counties there are parks of varying size, and catering to every interest.

-Weston: primo location, tops all areas of West Broward
-Pembroke Pines: 2nd to Weston, farther from Fort Lauderdale
-Cooper City: all areas have grown together for the most part, and Cooper City does boast good schools, but I would Davie has more to offer
-Davie: for those who want space, then consider Davie or Southwest Ranches, but land does come at a premium. Davie is huge, horse country, it has a cluster of colleges (U. Florida, FIU, Broward College, Nova)
-Coral Springs: has areas that are great and others that are not - has lost some luster, located in northwest corner and has become the stepchild to a hot area called Parkland.
-Parkland: not as familar with it as central Broward, it is new, and that has a draw, except for problems with Chinese drywall that the city is very actively addressing.

Job market for attorneys in Broward is centralized to Downtown FTL - a great place in and of itself. I think most people like FTL, Las Olas, and if you know the areas around downtown, then you will have small favorite neighborhoods. Federal and county courts are in downtown and that area is lawyer central - big firms are represented.

Weston is a good town for physiotherapists - because of the Weston money.

I am chalk full of Broward info - lived here for the past 21 years and I really enjoy it. You have to dig and talk to people to get the scoop on things. For example, if you love coffee like I do, then you must go to a coffee shop in downtown FTL, next to Tarpon Bend, along to south stretch of railway - its called Brew Urban Cafe. Amazing stuff!

Feel free to pick my brain anytime!!!!

[ruski]

Originally Posted by nraustin

Thanks for the replies so far guys. I'm sure this question has been posted 1000 times on the forums, but I'm strapped for time right now, but do you have some rough estimates on taxes? Property, homeowners, etc. Thanks!

In Weston, ~2,700 sq ft house on a 10,000+ sq foot lot - taxes are about $5.5K.

You can browse on BCPA.net website (Broward County Appraiser) and see what people are paying.

[max's mama]

Attila - one of the most informative posts I've seen in awhile. Of course I agree with everything, since Weston ended up my choice of a town.

[nraustin]

Wow. Thank you sir for the reply. Much appreciated.