Palm Beach Gardens or Boca Raton (Miami, West Palm Beach: 2014, rental, condo)

[Newyorker2]

I accidentally posted this on the miami forum, so here goes the rest of FL--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok, this is the second thread that i have ever posted on this site so I hope it works out right! My husband and I, both in our 30s, are entertaining the idea of a move to South Florida, we have 2 children so good schools are a must. Jobs are not an issue .. not yet at least.. we are hoping to start our own business though we will probably need to work/commute for at least a year ( Husband is in the automotive industry and can probably get a transfer to a West Palm Beach office).

My question is, where would you consider the better town to be for raising children, we will probably rent first. I saw a condo community online called Legacy Place in Palm Beach Gardens and totally fell in love, I love the medditerrenean(sp) theme and definitely would like some place upscale. I need to be somewhere comfortable, where we can get out and network easily, that is good to raise children and close to a beach and ammenities as we are still young and very active. Any advice on these two locations posted, or suggestions on better locations are also appreciated.

thanks in advance for your help, I have found/read some really

[TriMT7]

I would definitely go "North County" to Jupiter or Palm Beach Gardens. Less crime, less congested, just as "upscale," really.... but actually less expensive to live.

As for Legacy Place, it's nice...... but..... I don't know if I'd raise a family there. I toured it in person. The models are nice, but they're upgraded to the hilt and the unit you're likely to get will be "builder standard." It's also basically a rental community, even though it was turned into condo conversion. On the plus side, it's walkable to good stores and restaurants.

I would steer you to renting in Abacoa in Jupiter or Evergrene in Palm Beach Gardens (when I think of these places, I think "families"... upscale, mostly homeowners, in the middle of everything, close to the beach, mall, parks, greenways, etc. etc.)



If you have any other questions, just ask.

[filo74]

there is a serial killer on the lose in Boca Raton....I would say stick to Palm Beach Gardens.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Less crime

Not true.

Crime in Palm Beach Gardens by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 0 1 4 0 0 1 1 0
per 100,000 0.0 2.7 11.1 0.0 0.0 2.3 2.2 0.0
Rapes 10 6 6 10 6 6 10 7
per 100,000 28.3 16.2 16.7 27.3 15.5 14.0 22.1 14.1
Robberies 34 33 36 51 47 27 37 43
per 100,000 96.2 89.3 100.1 139.1 121.1 63.1 81.7 86.3
Assaults 63 53 61 66 75 69 65 92
per 100,000 178.3 143.4 169.6 180.0 193.2 161.4 143.4 184.7
Burglaries 260 223 350 346 321 335 377 365
per 100,000 735.8 603.4 973.1 943.8 826.8 783.4 832.0 732.7
Thefts 1,530 1,517 1,479 1,285 1,340 1,252 1,319 1,326
per 100,000 4329.7 4104.4 4112.2 3505.1 3451.4 2927.8 2910.7 2661.8
Auto thefts 220 192 151 114 164 176 183 123
per 100,000 622.6 519.5 419.8 311.0 422.4 411.6 403.8 246.9
Arson 4 6 12 3 0 3 4 2
per 100,000 11.3 16.2 33.4 8.2 0.0 7.0 8.8 4.0
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 323.2) 361.7 321.8 365.7 330.7 317.0 272.0 282.2 251.6

Crime in Jupiter by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
per 100,000 3.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.1 4.1
Rapes 5 3 4 2 7 8 8 11
per 100,000 15.9 8.7 9.9 4.9 15.8 17.4 16.7 22.6
Robberies 37 43 32 41 33 25 59 55
per 100,000 117.9 124.2 79.3 99.7 74.7 54.2 123.4 112.9
Assaults 86 121 101 102 126 151 94 95
per 100,000 274.1 349.4 250.3 248.0 285.2 327.5 196.6 195.0
Burglaries 290 322 389 365 328 276 316 340
per 100,000 924.3 929.9 964.1 887.5 742.4 598.7 661.0 697.9
Thefts 1,082 936 980 1,112 1,094 1,039 963 937
per 100,000 3448.6 2703.1 2428.9 2703.9 2476.3 2253.7 2014.3 1923.4
Auto thefts 139 105 92 95 70 105 73 76
per 100,000 443.0 303.2 228.0 231.0 158.4 227.8 152.7 156.0
Arson 3 6 3 2 4 4 5 10
per 100,000 9.6 17.3 7.4 4.9 9.1 8.7 10.5 20.5
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 323.2) 347.4 311.5 264.7 272.2 255.8 245.9 233.0 237.4

Crime in Boca Raton by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 3 1 1 2 1 2 0 3
per 100,000 4.1 1.3 1.3 2.6 1.3 2.5 0.0 3.4
Rapes 8 16 14 11 10 22 15 13
per 100,000 11.0 20.7 18.3 14.1 12.7 27.4 18.8 14.8
Robberies 72 52 65 63 46 82 53 72
per 100,000 99.0 67.4 84.7 80.6 58.4 102.3 66.4 81.7
Assaults 109 141 116 129 118 149 173 150
per 100,000 149.9 182.7 151.2 165.0 149.7 185.8 216.7 170.3
Burglaries 734 742 665 545 597 600 591 551
per 100,000 1009.6 961.5 867.0 697.1 757.3 748.2 740.3 625.5
Thefts 2,029 2,097 1,990 1,927 1,722 2,152 2,071 2,232
per 100,000 2790.9 2717.3 2594.5 2464.7 2184.5 2683.6 2594.2 2533.7
Auto thefts 288 263 188 213 203 256 182 168
per 100,000 396.1 340.8 245.1 272.4 257.5 319.2 228.0 190.7
Arson 3 0 2 2 3 4 16 2
per 100,000 4.1 0.0 2.6 2.6 3.8 5.0 20.0 2.3
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 323.2) 290.8 279.2 257.0 242.7 221.1 280.0 252.1 237.6

And the "oh, Boca is closer to Broward so that means more crime" excuse. Let's defeat this perception issue.

Palm Beach County-4,953.3 crimes per 100k
State Average- 4,632.0
Broward County- 4,295.9
Total Index Crime by County, 2006

And now for surrounding cities.

South of PBG
Crime in Riviera Beach by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 5 10 10 5 10 13 12 10
per 100,000 16.4 31.9 32.6 16.0 32.2 40.1 36.1 29.1
Rapes 10 24 48 30 28 10 11 13
per 100,000 32.8 76.5 156.6 96.0 90.3 30.8 33.1 37.9
Robberies 219 210 188 180 233 191 240 254
per 100,000 719.4 669.5 613.2 576.0 751.3 588.8 721.7 739.6
Assaults 326 337 327 327 365 335 392 626
per 100,000 1070.9 1074.4 1066.6 1046.4 1176.9 1032.7 1178.7 1822.8
Burglaries 1,186 2,006 789 1,111 1,049 842 891 1,073
per 100,000 3895.8 6395.7 2573.6 3555.2 3382.5 2595.7 2679.2 3124.5
Thefts 1,664 1,653 1,469 1,785 1,726 1,318 1,435 1,590
per 100,000 5466.0 5270.2 4791.6 5712.0 5565.4 4063.1 4315.0 4629.9
Auto thefts 1,017 570 575 999 575 443 576 486
per 100,000 3340.7 1817.3 1875.5 3196.8 1854.1 1365.7 1732.0 1415.2
Arson 31 6 13 12 15 11 20 20
per 100,000 101.8 19.1 42.4 38.4 48.4 33.9 60.1 58.2
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 323.2) 1247.7 1344.6 1109.6 1224.0 1205.2 941.5 1049.6 1192.1

North of Jupiter
Crime in Tequesta by Year
Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 0 0 0 0 0 0
per 100,000 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Rapes 2 0 1 1 1 1
per 100,000 37.0 0.0 18.2 17.3 16.8 16.4
Robberies 1 0 0 2 0 2
per 100,000 18.5 0.0 0.0 34.7 0.0 32.8
Assaults 23 19 1 7 11 12
per 100,000 425.1 344.6 18.2 121.3 184.6 197.0
Burglaries 29 26 50 25 15 14
per 100,000 536.0 471.5 908.4 433.4 251.7 229.9
Thefts 66 88 89 66 70 84
per 100,000 1220.0 1595.9 1617.0 1144.0 1174.5 1379.3
Auto thefts 4 10 9 4 6 7
per 100,000 73.9 181.4 163.5 69.3 100.7 114.9
Arson 4 2 0 0 0 3
per 100,000 73.9 36.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 49.3
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 239.8) 212.4 180.3 159.5 130.2 123.0 142.9
There we have a winner.
South of Boca
Crime in Deerfield Beach by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 0 5 4 5 1 2 2 7
per 100,000 0.0 9.2 6.0 7.4 1.5 3.0 3.0 9.0
Rapes 25 24 29 16 27 18 35 23
per 100,000 48.5 44.3 43.8 23.7 40.4 26.8 51.7 29.6
Robberies 66 62 70 65 97 133 144 141
per 100,000 127.9 114.4 105.7 96.2 145.1 198.1 212.8 181.6
Assaults 143 207 244 201 234 297 412 390
per 100,000 277.2 381.9 368.3 297.6 350.1 442.3 608.7 502.3
Burglaries 350 355 350 281 314 398 485 478
per 100,000 678.5 655.0 528.3 416.1 469.8 592.7 716.6 615.7
Thefts 1,241 1,257 1,308 1,134 1,127 1,577 1,767 1,835
per 100,000 2405.6 2319.1 1974.2 1679.1 1686.2 2348.4 2610.7 2363.6
Auto thefts 237 251 269 226 254 271 265 278
per 100,000 459.4 463.1 406.0 334.6 380.0 403.6 391.5 358.1
Arson 3 1 4 6 7 6 6 10
per 100,000 5.8 1.8 6.0 8.9 10.5 8.9 8.9 12.9
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 323.2) 313.1 340.2 300.9 245.2 279.6 343.0 418.8 363.0
North of Boca
Crime in (incorporated) Delray Beach by Year
Type 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Murders 2 3 1 1 1 3 6 5
per 100,000 3.7 5.2 1.6 1.6 1.6 4.6 9.1 7.6
Rapes 24 15 22 22 15 24 26 22
per 100,000 44.2 26.2 35.7 35.1 23.7 37.1 39.6 33.4
Robberies 165 130 131 139 125 155 132 150
per 100,000 303.8 227.1 212.7 221.5 197.1 239.5 201.2 227.8
Assaults 516 445 490 429 380 490 494 501
per 100,000 949.9 777.5 795.8 683.5 599.3 757.0 753.1 760.8
Burglaries 814 746 753 698 683 633 595 587
per 100,000 1498.5 1303.4 1222.9 1112.1 1077.1 977.9 907.0 891.4
Thefts 2,910 3,055 2,884 2,870 2,952 2,626 2,293 2,430
per 100,000 5357.1 5337.5 4683.7 4572.7 4655.3 4057.0 3495.5 3690.3
Auto thefts 578 472 458 506 401 346 319 315
per 100,000 1064.1 824.6 743.8 806.2 632.4 534.5 486.3 478.4
Arson 9 14 7 7 13 10 10 5
per 100,000 16.6 24.5 11.4 11.2 20.5 15.4 15.2 7.6
City-data.com crime index (higher means more crime, U.S. average = 323.2) 728.1 625.8 587.3 559.6 513.3 535.7 503.2 510.7


Otherwise, I can't say I disagree with your post. Jupiter over Boca Raton anyday. Way less traffic, far nicer people, and it's even prettier.

[TriMT7]

Well, nobody has been murdered with their 8 year old daughter outside the Gardens Mall recently, so maybe the crime free perception is better in North County!

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Well, nobody has been murdered with their 8 year old daughter outside the Gardens Mall recently, so maybe the crime free perception is better in North County!

I'm sure they had a burglary today in some small town in PA, let alone in Palm Beach Gardens. So "crime free" is an exaggeration, but yes, your right. And I'm sure you never would hear about it there. Then again, I never thought I would hear about that at Town Center either. Hmm, can't it happen anywhere? And didn't I say that Jupiter was the winner?

That incident was truly disgusting...

[LingLing]

Listen to TriMT7. There are a lot of nice communities just north of Legacy Place.

[Newyorker2]

Thanks for the replies. A concern about PBG is the fact that it is so far north ( on the map) I am concerned about getting around town, for networking our small business. Can any one give me an idea of this, or suggest a place in lower PB or Broward county that would also offer an upscale lifestyle (close to the beach) good schools and flexibility to travel to/from Miami? My husbands job may require for him to drive a lot.

thanks

[Newyorker2]

can someone tell me how to track this post? When I log on, I have to literally search for it.

[PBCboy]

I would go with Palm Beach Gardens. Palm Beach Gardens High School is supposed to be bad, though. Check the school boundary list for yourself when deciding to move:

High School Boundary Maps :: Palm Beach School District