Boca Raton vs. Los Angeles? (fit in, real estate, buy)

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by 5FLgirls

Having lived in many parts of Palm Beach County over a 15 year span, I can tell you that when I lived in WPB and Jupiter, I attended temple in Palm Beach. There is a nice temple in WPB but most people that I know in eastern WPB attend in Palm Beach. I can admit that I was only friends with two jewish families the entire time I lived in Jupiter (and I met them at Gymboree). If you have children and want them to attend a jewish school, you're going to go to Palm Beach Gardens or West Palm Beach. You're going to be spread out with your "community." Boca does have more of a snobby "jewish" feel to it and Jupiter is much less pretension. My way of looking at things goes to Christmas. When I visit Boca -- there are very few homes decorated with lights and it's not overwhelming. In Jupiter, our community did caroling and Christmas lighting contests. Another place to look is Delray Beach (east). Bed Bath and Beyond in north county always has spare jewish holiday items but the BBB in east Delray is always overflowing with stuff. OP: Have you posted your question on the LA forum??

West Delray is majority Jewish as well... probably the most Jewish part (even though most of the people in this section seem to be over 90, heh).

[doggiebus]

To the OP- A friend of mine lived in Miami (I know not Palm Beach) and now lives in Santa Monica. He is Jewish and loves it out there. He will never move back to Florida, he loves California that much. I have to admit I have a preference, California.

I really think that both places have plusses and minuses. It just depends on what you want and don't want.

Boca has a large Jewish population, and when the snow birds come down, I bet its even higher then.

[Dallas Gator]

Of course one day he's going to slide into the sea....

[doggiebus]

And one day our homes will be covered over by the sea once again (as our homes sit on coral rock)...

[Dallas Gator]

Originally Posted by doggiebus

And one day our homes will be covered over by the sea once again (as our homes sit on coral rock)...

of course he'll slide into the sea in the next 30 years where as most of us in florida will remain above water for the rest of our lives...

[THX 1138]

The quality of jobs in SoCal are much better then here, also the business base there is much larger so you won't feel trapped if you never go anywhere with your current employer there is always opportunity to leave. Salaries, well that's all relative, but in general salaries tend to be lower even with a lower cost of living then CA.

Depends on your career and what you do, but the overall image is less service based like things are here. Florida, primarily Palm Beach County has all it's eggs in the vacation destination basket not the let's replace those high tech jobs we lost back in the 1990's. Yes there are those that will scream biotech and Scripps but that is a long way off of being a panacea for the problems that exist here. SoCal and California in general, has established these companies years ago and though some may have moved out most are staying put.

Jewish ties here are strong, but I would not base that solely on moving here. Both places have positives and negatives. SoCal is huge compared to SoFla, with that comes more opportunity, more things to do and also more headaches. Choose your poison.....

[MovingFromTexas]

Thanks for all the input - this is really helpful. Yes, I also posted my question on the Los Angeles forum.

For us, our income would be the same in both locations. I know that means our standard of living would be much higher in Boca. But, we are willing to sacrifice the big house if it means getting more friends and a better community. That's why my question is so focused on how easy people find it to make real friends. Here in Texas, people are very "surface friendly" but, if you are not from here, you could live here for YEARS and never make any real friends. It took me a while to catch on that "we have to get together" is just a nice thing people say here. We are trying to avoid ending up in another city where we have lots of friendly acquaintences and no real friends.

FYI - living in Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, etc would simply not be an option for us.

[PBCboy]

Originally Posted by MovingFromTexas

Thanks for all the input - this is really helpful. Yes, I also posted my question on the Los Angeles forum.

For us, our income would be the same in both locations. I know that means our standard of living would be much higher in Boca. But, we are willing to sacrifice the big house if it means getting more friends and a better community. That's why my question is so focused on how easy people find it to make real friends. Here in Texas, people are very "surface friendly" but, if you are not from here, you could live here for YEARS and never make any real friends. It took me a while to catch on that "we have to get together" is just a nice thing people say here. We are trying to avoid ending up in another city where we have lots of friendly acquaintences and no real friends.

FYI - living in Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, etc would simply not be an option for us.

Well, I already answered your question on the friends thing.

South Florida is not like a small town where you meet lots of friendly people and have city picnics and all that ****. Most people stay inside all day, walk through most neighborhoods and you'll rarely see any people out. Boca Raton's people are also well-known for being snobby and assholish. Someone on here said they moved from Boca because of the lack of friends. They ended up in Port Saint Lucie where they say they've met lots. But then again, you want the Jewish factor and have to be in that area, so, yeah.

And why are those other cities not an option? You'll find Jews in Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens. There's Jews in every upscale section of Palm Beach County, but the presence is definitely hugely felt in The Rat's Mouth.

[5FLgirls]

Originally Posted by MovingFromTexas

Thanks for all the input - this is really helpful. Yes, I also posted my question on the Los Angeles forum.

For us, our income would be the same in both locations. I know that means our standard of living would be much higher in Boca. But, we are willing to sacrifice the big house if it means getting more friends and a better community. That's why my question is so focused on how easy people find it to make real friends. Here in Texas, people are very "surface friendly" but, if you are not from here, you could live here for YEARS and never make any real friends. It took me a while to catch on that "we have to get together" is just a nice thing people say here. We are trying to avoid ending up in another city where we have lots of friendly acquaintences and no real friends.

FYI - living in Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, West Palm Beach, etc would simply not be an option for us.

Hands down, the weather in California is more agreeable. There's less heat and humidity than Florida. My husband's allergies have disappeared here but I've discovered that I have allergies. We've spent more time enjoying the outdoors (walking, playing, biking, etc) than we ever did in Florida. I've heard comments on this forum and others calling Texas "East California" because so many Cali people are moving there. My greatest realization (IMO) is that there was really no difference between meeting people in Florida and California. People are "surface friendly" in both places. Californians have been very nice but not too interested in being friends. I haven't joined a synagogue out here for personal reasons. I'm sorry to say but we've moved three times in the last two years (twice in Florida and now to California) and we've found that we have made lots of acquaintences and no real friends. I think it's probably going to be a matter of visiting both places and choosing the place that your gut points you to. P.S.-Take into account that you'll probably have lower car and homeowners insurance but your day to day conveniences such as grocery shopping and gas are higher (not break the bank higher but a nice increase).

[MovingFromTexas]

We can't live too far from my husband's job as there is a requirement of how far he can be from work.