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We moved to Doral in November and have spent the past five months narrowing down our search for the best community for our family of five in Broward or Miami/Dade. We have definitely settled on Weston. Now, I am trying to sort through the gated communities and buy a home. I have read many of the previous posts and would like to thank momma_bear, compelledtoreply and everyone else for great info. Could y'all help me with more info regarding these questions:
-I have seen some posts suggesting Savannah is super-crowded. Question: with three kids under the age of five, I am very drawn to Savannah for their kid-friendly amenities....Is Savannah so crowded that the pools, playgrounds, etc are too crowded to enjoy?
-If anyone lives on the water, are there problems that I might not be anticipating? (Not from FL, so excuse any stupidity, but alligators, snakes, mosquitos, any other critter or what-not causing problems?)
-Are there any common serious building-related problems in Savanah or The Ridges or other to look out for when looking at homes?
-If you could rank the following neighborhoods as to nicest place to live (meaning amenities are good, people take good care of their homes, neighborly feel, kids are safe, investment would be wise cause neighborhood isn't sliding...etc.), in what order would you place them?
-North Lakes
-The Ridges
-Savannah
-The Meadows
-Emerald Estates
-Any special advice on The Ridges or Savannah neighborhood would be highly appreciated as we are looking mostly in those two, as would any advice on Weston Christian or St. Bonaventure school if anyone has kids in either.
We live in Savanna (not Savannah) and I will answer the first 2 questions.
1. Savanna is the place to be with toddlers. Since it's the newest development in Weston, the family tends to be younger than other communities. That's one of the reasons why we decided Savanna 2 yrs ago (we had a 2yr at the time). Our neighborhood is built in 2002 and there are so many toddlers in my block. We have a 4 yr old. The house across from ours has 2 and 4 yr olds. Right of that house has 3 and 5 yr olds. The left of it has teenager and a 4 yr old. When I take a walk around the circle, I see so many kids playing with each other.
Is it super-crowded? Not to us. We love to go to the community pool and never felt crowded. On weekdays, it feels too empty. We always wonder where all the people are. I guess many people use their own pool instead of the community one. The Savanna playground never gets crowded. Sometimes I wish there are more kids playing in the playground.
There are two problems with the crowd that I can think of. First is the morning traffic around 7:50 am near Gator Run elementary. To get to I-75, we need to make a left turn on Glades pkwy right in front of the school. It can take several signals to make the left turn. Second is the long line for guest entrance at the guard house. Even though there are two gates, each has 1 line for guests and another for registered guests. On weekends, the line can become 5-6 cars long. On holidays, it can become 10-20 cars. This is not an issue for residents.
2. We live on the water and was worried about the safety issue when we first moved in with a 2 year old. We thought about installing a fence. But my DD was smart enough to avoid getting too close to the water. Yes, there are alligators but they fear us more than we fear them. I have seen one swimming in the water but when I noticed it, it went under water.
As for mosquitos, waterfront houses are actually better. Mosquitos don't like open spaces and like to hide in bushes, hedges. We don't have mosquitos now but my neighbor across the street can't sit on her backyard because of mosquitos. Her backyard is small and surrounded with ficus hedges.
Waterfront houses carry $20-30k premium not only due to view but also other reasons. First, you have more privacy in the backyard and second, you get better ventilation. Our side of the road don't run A/C now, but I can hear the A/C running across the road. In a related note, if you are worried about heating up, try to avoid large windows facing west where the sun sets. It makes a huge difference.
We moved to Doral in November and have spent the past five months narrowing down our search for the best community for our family of five in Broward or Miami/Dade. We have definitely settled on Weston. Now, I am trying to sort through the gated communities and buy a home. I have read many of the previous posts and would like to thank momma_bear, compelledtoreply and everyone else for great info. Could y'all help me with more info regarding these questions:
-I have seen some posts suggesting Savannah is super-crowded. Question: with three kids under the age of five, I am very drawn to Savannah for their kid-friendly amenities....Is Savannah so crowded that the pools, playgrounds, etc are too crowded to enjoy?
-If anyone lives on the water, are there problems that I might not be anticipating? (Not from FL, so excuse any stupidity, but alligators, snakes, mosquitos, any other critter or what-not causing problems?)
-Are there any common serious building-related problems in Savanah or The Ridges or other to look out for when looking at homes?
-If you could rank the following neighborhoods as to nicest place to live (meaning amenities are good, people take good care of their homes, neighborly feel, kids are safe, investment would be wise cause neighborhood isn't sliding...etc.), in what order would you place them?
-North Lakes
-The Ridges
-Savannah
-The Meadows
-Emerald Estates
-Any special advice on The Ridges or Savannah neighborhood would be highly appreciated as we are looking mostly in those two, as would any advice on Weston Christian or St. Bonaventure school if anyone has kids in either.
Thank you so kindly!!!
I don't find Savanna very crowded.
I moved here when my kids were 1,4,6. They are now 11, almost 14, 16. I loved living here when they were toddlers. Everything was very convenient. We went to the playground almost every day in the winters when my youngest was small. We never had problems with crowds.
We also live on the water. I like water lots because they are more open and provide more buffer between the houses. Other than watching your little ones like hawks near water we have not experienced any problems with a lake lot and we have been here almost 10 years.
I am not aware of any building related issues in Savanna.
I think that Savanna and The Ridges are very similar and I would rate those at the top of the list (and pretty equal). After that I would say The Meadows, North Lakes and Emerald Estates with The Meadows being nicer than the other 2. You might also consider The Isles of Weston.
I moved here when my kids were 1,4,6. They are now 11, almost 14, 16. I loved living here when they were toddlers. Everything was very convenient. We went to the playground almost every day in the winters when my youngest was small. We never had problems with crowds.
We also live on the water. I like water lots because they are more open and provide more buffer between the houses. Other than watching your little ones like hawks near water we have not experienced any problems with a lake lot and we have been here almost 10 years.
I am not aware of any building related issues in Savanna.
I think that Savanna and The Ridges are very similar and I would rate those at the top of the list (and pretty equal). After that I would say The Meadows, North Lakes and Emerald Estates with The Meadows being nicer than the other 2. You might also consider The Isles of Weston.
As usual, great post by momma bear.
Ridges is very convenient if you need to travel south. Savanna is the worst if you commute to south.
Most shopping places (except for Sawgrass) that we go to are around Pines blvd. Sometimes we wish we lived in Ridges. There are more restaurants near Ridges too. Everything is far from Savanna.
I moved here when my kids were 1,4,6. They are now 11, almost 14, 16. I loved living here when they were toddlers. Everything was very convenient. We went to the playground almost every day in the winters when my youngest was small. We never had problems with crowds.
We also live on the water. I like water lots because they are more open and provide more buffer between the houses. Other than watching your little ones like hawks near water we have not experienced any problems with a lake lot and we have been here almost 10 years.
I am not aware of any building related issues in Savanna.
I think that Savanna and The Ridges are very similar and I would rate those at the top of the list (and pretty equal). After that I would say The Meadows, North Lakes and Emerald Estates with The Meadows being nicer than the other 2. You might also consider The Isles of Weston.
I agree that Savanna is a beautiful community and very kid friendly , but once again if you do not speak Spanish it can be a grind at least for some people .. I hate to get on this topic again .... but we have friends in the community who like it but sometimes feel alienated due to the language issue ... Savanna was the last of the original Arvida communities and they marketed heavily in Colombia , Venezuela , Mexico and Argentina during 1998-2000 .. thus you have a much larger Hispanic presence than the other Weston communities .. we had wonderful friends from these countries when we lived in Weston .. my wife is fluent in Spanish ... although I remember being at social gatherings with every one speaking in Spanish and me feeling like the odd man out .. again it is just an issue that I hear being brought up frequently by friends who live there and do not speak Spanish . We lived in The Meadows for four years and really liked the community .. much smaller ( more English ) and quaint than Savanna IMO .
Ridges is very convenient if you need to travel south. Savanna is the worst if you commute to south.
Most shopping places (except for Sawgrass) that we go to are around Pines blvd. Sometimes we wish we lived in Ridges. There are more restaurants near Ridges too. Everything is far from Savanna.
Although Savanna is nice ... I think the Ridges is nicer and the location is better .. close to Weston Commons and the schools ... as well the landscaping in The Ridges is beautiful .. with the community looking almost "hilly " in some areas .
I cant comment on weekdays at the Savanna pool - but wow the weekends - too crowded for me. Often its hard to find seating - add in the constant b-day parties occupying tables and its a disincentive.
I don't find it crowded. Although we have our own pool.
The Savanna Commons pool can get crowded on the 4th of July or a similar holiday. It used to be more crowded there back in early 2000's, but then the security guards started checking everyone's IDs and only allowing a limited number of non-resident friends and relatives to come, and it got better.
Also the Savanna entrances can get long lines on holidays, especially long on Halloween because all of Weston knows that the best trick-or-treating is in Savanna.
As for toddlers, this depends on the area. Some Savanna areas have more toddlers, some have older kids. Our area used to be all toddlers, now they all have grown up a bit.
As for Spanish, I don't know a lick of it, but haven't had any problems living in Savanna for 10 years. We do have a bunch of neighbors from Venezuela (Savanna is often called Savannazuela, but then again the whole Weston is often called Westonzuela), but everyone can speak English.
I agree that Savanna is a beautiful community and very kid friendly , but once again if you do not speak Spanish it can be a grind at least for some people .. I hate to get on this topic again .... but we have friends in the community who like it but sometimes feel alienated due to the language issue ... Savanna was the last of the original Arvida communities and they marketed heavily in Colombia , Venezuela , Mexico and Argentina during 1998-2000 .. thus you have a much larger Hispanic presence than the other Weston communities .. we had wonderful friends from these countries when we lived in Weston .. my wife is fluent in Spanish ... although I remember being at social gatherings with every one speaking in Spanish and me feeling like the odd man out .. again it is just an issue that I hear being brought up frequently by friends who live there and do not speak Spanish . We lived in The Meadows for four years and really liked the community .. much smaller ( more English ) and quaint than Savanna IMO .
Really?
I have lived here for almost 10 years and although I find that there are many Spanish speakers, most of them speak English as well (or are trying to learn). We have not had any problem making friends here.
This is great information, thank you so much and keep it coming if you have more. As for The Ridges...are the pool, playground, what-not great for toddlers or not so much (i.e., no shallow area or kids' pool...non-covered playground, etc?) Have not had the chance to check these out for myself yet.
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