Is anyone HAPPY in Boca and/or Wellington??? (Pembroke Pines, Palm Beach: rental, neighborhood)

[JMadison]

OK, haven't lived in S. Fla. for a while, but am a native.

Years ago the Mayor of Wellington was asked, "How come there's no affordable housing on the drawing board for Wellington?"

His response was, "Money is money, trash is trash".

So assuming they were successful in keeping the "trash" out, Wellington is probably still a good place to be. Assuming it isn't built on a landfill or something, LOL!

Anyway, all ranting aside, it was always known as a upscale place. Worked in the area at one time. Drove through some really rough areas to get there though. Like a lot of Fla., nice homes border bad areas or even landfills.

Do google maps on Iron Horse Country Club, then look at it's proximity to Dyer Park. Dyer Park is built on the old 45th Street Landfill (oddly at the end of Blue Heron, though.) Yet Square Lake, etc. just to the north is fairly moneyed. Ballenisles and PGA National, of course, a little further north are of course $$$. Yet they are within "smelling distance" of the old landfill.

To the south is Blue Heron, MLK Blvd, and 45th street, All basically "the hood".

Wellington is well south of all that, but because it's west... you'd best check as far as old landfills go. But because the wealthy lived on the coast, and "the hood" developed inland... and then the wealthy, I guess, wanted room for horses, you have some inland spots like Wellington and Palm Beach Polo Club.

Net effect? Your access is via Southern Blvd and Forest Hill Blvd. Fairly rough and business areas. Bottom line is that North-South-wise it's between West Palm and Lake Worth. I'll leave the crime demographic study as an exercise. Suffice to say one of my former high school classmates was shot dead teaching in Lake Worth. Google or "Barry Grunow Nathaniel Brazil". That should give you an idea.

You see, this is the whole thing about Florida in general and S. Fla especially. There are pockets of wealth, where that "Palm Tree Image in Your Mind" exists... if you can afford it. And everywhere else... "the hood". There are few inbetweens. And where they are, except for the recent deflation, homes had long, long ago become a "2 upper middle income" pricing problem.

As a single income household/person I struggled with it for a long time. Built in Royal Palm as a way to get space and a decent sized house. Net result? 5 breakins. When they caught the perps... crack dealers. I was away in Tampa for career reasons (attending Stetson) for the last of those before I sold. They parked a stolen car in my garage, crapped in my sinks and threw the paperwork in the car all over the house.

Ain't crack dealers grand?

Bottom line, pick you spot carefully. Then realize, you are likely to have to shop with the very elements you tried to get away from when selecting your gated community.

Trust me, it pains me to have to write this, as the Palm Beaches are my home town. But it's true none-the-less.

That's probably why you find so many negative posts. "It could be awesome... except for...[fill in the blank]"

[luckysnap]

Boca Raton is beautiful, full of fine dining and pretty lanscaping, however if you are not Jewish and wealthy you will not be comfortable.

[luckysnap]

I moved from Atlanta to Wellington. I would never move back!

[waterviewgal]

I'm grappling with leaving cold l.I., n.y for warmth near Boca but wondering how life changes during summer, and is it just as difficult as n.y. winters? (comparable)

[waterviewgal]

Yours is the first message I read about the hurricanes. forgive me I'm a newbie, but do you have to be worried about them, did they hit Boca?thx

[bale002]

Originally Posted by waterviewgal

I'm grappling with leaving cold LI, NY for warmth near Boca but wondering how life changes during summer, and is it just as difficult as NY winters? (comparable)

Maybe you should have started a new thread, but to answer your question, indeed, personally I refer to the June-August period as Florida's "winter". For example, most agricultural harvesting in Florida stops in August and many fresh produce stands shut down, just like you would expect to happen in winter up north.

Having said that, it is cheaper to cool than to heat and if you have access to a pool or are near the beach, it is all worth it.

I suppose you have to determine to what extent you can tolerate humidity, but, as mentioned above, you can escape it relatively easily indoors, in a pool, or at a beach.

Obviously weather is only one aspect of life in southern Florida, having sufficient wealth and income is probably an even more important consideration.

In 2005, Boca Raton was blasted by hurricane Wilma which mowed its way through 18 Florida counties. There was also a series of hurricanes that hit Palm Beach County in 2004.

Historically, however, widely destructive hurricanes are relatively rare and right now we just don't know if the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons were flukes or the start of an ominous trend.

[House4Sale]

I'm not Jewish nor rich but am comfortable here for reasons already noted and some others. Like book stores (yes, a thing as simple as book stores for I moved back from a town that didn't have a one and I was miserable there), coffee shops, cafes, culture, decent movie theaters, etc. Trip up to Delray and there's the whole Atlantic Ave. spirit going on. Try it, you might like it.

[cleanhouse]

Originally Posted by luckysnap

Boca Raton is beautiful, full of fine dining and pretty lanscaping, however if you are not Jewish and wealthy you will not be comfortable.

If you are comfortable with yourself you will be comfortable anywhere. The post Im responding to is a load of crap.

[MoItaly]

Boca is a bit snobbish unlike Wellington. That said, it should not go further as stereotyping is always going to lead to wrong conclusions/decisions. Boca has plenty of people with big bucks which might relate directly to the 'snobbish" aura around it.
However saying that Boca is filled with rich people and Jewish people is correct, saying that if you are not rich or a Jew yuo won't be comfortable is misleading. I worked in Boca and know people there, never felt uncomfortable.

Boca gives you a touch of fanciness and a sense of security and in change you pay a bit more. You pay when you go to the restaurant, or use other services, as sometimes the mere fact of people located in Boca authorizes someone to call the business place "upscale".
Wellington is more down to earth as a place, although still aiming and fighting to become an "upscale" neighborhood. Wellington is well served when it comes to shopping and restaurants and has nothing to envy to Boca beside some nightlife and upscale (and aslo super expensive) restaurants.

[Swimmom32]

We moved to boca and love it..yes im jewish but not rich and most of my new friends arent rich either, and there are some very nice people here, despite what everyone seems to think...and alot nicer than some other other places we have lived...one needs to draw their own conclusion, where we fit in might not be for everyone however its just a Sterotype any which way..and Most of the restaurants here are no more expensive than some other places...we spend the same amount of money here for going out than we did where we just came from...sorry but I dont know very many people that go to upscale restaurants all the time....almost all of our friends dine in normal places unless its a special occasion..