relocating from boston (Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: to rent, condos, houses)

[bostonbaby]

Can someone help me? we are relocating to Miami, we need to find good schools for our boys , elementary schools. We would love to live close to the beach ( Aventura, Hallandale Beach.. Hollywood ) any ideas? what do people from Miami think about this places to raise a family?

[rkumar3]

If you want to stay close to beach, Aventura is good place to start... lots of condos to choose from (in all price ranes from 250K to multi million $$), you also have town houses and a few single family homes to choose as well. Nice place to hang out, tons of restaurants, night life, movies, mall etc. Plus it is very central to Miami and Fort Lauderdale!!

[lauralei2]

Aventura I think would have the best housing and best schools, great access to shops and near the beach(within 3 miles). However, you may be able to pick up a condo on the Intercoastal or the beach in Hallandale Beach. Hollywood has homes near the beach as well, some older...some newer, condos, too. Not sure about the schools though, and shopping would be a drive....probably to Aventura (of course supermarkets nearby).

[doggiebus]

I am not real familiar with those places. But a friend of mine, used to live on Hollywood beach, lots of old people she said, but she like the fact that it was a slower pace and less people at the beaches. This thread will give you some insite, Considering moving to Miami- advice please!

[kitzy]

i lived in hollywood and dania....know the whole area....for ease of living [less traffic hassles, better access to the beach, there are some really nice neighborhoods between holywood and dania... [east of us 1!] but as far as schools, i would check out private..
good luck!!

[ynayshtut]

I wish i knew how to put pictures on line.We have very nice ones taken around Diplomat Golf course.We bought 3bdrm condo and planing to retire there.We liked that this area not overbuilt like others its great for families away from PARTY CITY and you still can have quality of life.Its also just few blocks from the beach walk to Diplomat mall and etc...Its like Aventura but newer more buitiful and closer to the beach.Our condo will be available in may07 and we are planing to rent it for few years.PM me if want to know details.

[vvolin]

We live in Hollywood on the intracoastal and have two children. It is not easy to raise them in South Florida because everything you want to do requires driving and traffic get worse every year (I have been here for 11 years and I have seen the deterioration.) On the other hand, the beach is beautiful, the boardwalk is a great place to ride a bike with a child, the parks are wonderful. What I miss here is the possibility to bring the girls to nature: there are no real forest, like I was used to in Europe or some of us are familiar with the western of NE states. If we want to have a weekend somewhere, unless if you want beach life, it is really just the springs in the middle of the state. How many times can you really visit St. Augustine? As for Disney World, more than once a year gets boring. I am not trying to scare you away. The reality is that South FLorida has a lot to offer: a beautiful winter, naked feet all year around, splashes in the pool (a must) 8 months a year. It does not offer good public schools, kindness has to be search and treasured, you can not ride your bike in the streets unless you like to take risks. It is a balance. I have been happy here for 11 years, but I am ready ot move on.

As for Hollywood, the east side, east of US1, is a nice place to live. Nice neighbors, the ebach nearby, not so great restuarants from italian standards, but not so bad overall for the US (lol!)

Some more nature-oriented people can take it and I see why. But there is more than you can enjoy: the Latino community is colorful and festive many times a year, some of the private schools, although costly, are excellent. Good luck!

[bostonbaby]

Thanks for all the advice. I hope we have a nice life down there, Boston is pretty cold and very expensive.
Schools are awesome here, I hope my boys can keep getting great education in SFlorida as well.
Please keep posting more recomendations I love to read them, doesn't matter if they are good or bad, for us is very important to know all points of view. thanks

[doggiebus]

You wrote about schools, Florida isn't known for the best education compared to the north. I would talk to people about the public schools in what ever area you decide is right before you send your kids to school. There are many good private prep schools around just incase you are in a not so great school, charter schools through the public schools are also a great option. I am sure you can find the grade for schools in the neighborhoods you are looking at, online somewhere.

[Willow1]

Davie, is just to the North of Hollywood and is a wonderful and safe place to raise your kids... Pretty decent public schools for them and most homes have quite a bit of space to let them run around in.