Singer Island Negatives Please? (Orlando, West Palm Beach: real estate, insurance, condos)

[jengofoot]

I'm seriously considering Singer Island and I'm well aware of the pros of living near the water in a beach community and I just want to weigh the cons of living on Singer Island so what better way to find the negatives than go to a forum and ask?

I'm not worried about work (office is on the island). Any other con you can think of or have seen/experienced (Say... do hood rats cross the bridge?) would be greatly appreciated.

[thunderkat59]

Originally Posted by jengofoot

I'm not worried about work (office is on the island). Any other con you can think of or have seen/experienced (Say... do hood rats cross the bridge?) would be greatly appreciated.

Hood rats infest all of South Florida. It is their breeding ground. Why do you think COPS can stay on the air so long? Singer has a Riviera Beach zip code. The south end is crime and trash. The McArthur state park area is actually sort of nice, relatively speaking. If I were forced to live there, it would be one of those condo places in the middle of the island or an area closer to A1 than the Blue Heron bridge. I cant imagine why someone would voluntarily stay in the WPB area, but if you had to, the mid/northern Singer or around the bend in Juno would actually be a much more desirable living situation than anything else below Martin Co.

[FiveDime]

The Riviera Beach Public Beach is on Singer Island. Interpret that how you will (and do NOT go down to the water there at night).

Many years ago when mafia types ran around at will, Singer Island was one of their more popular haunts. That really made little difference to most folks (beyond the joys of sitting in Portofino playing "guess the mafia guy[s]"), unless you were in the wrong place at the wrong time (very rare). I don't know if they're around much any more, though.

Bad place to be during any hurricane. And if the proverbial "big one" ever makes a direct hit on the area expect everything to be pretty much gone...not to mention there is another natural inlet somewhere on the island north of the existing Palm Beach Inlet that has been filled in and built on...good chance it will open back up with a strong enough storm.

[TriMT7]

Good lord.


The biggest disadvantages is that 1) it has a Riviera Beach address, which has a stigma and crime issues, and 2) insurance costs for a home on the Island.


Singer Island has access from the north (Palm Beach Gardens), and South (Riviera Beach). The island itself is nice, a great little town called Palm Beach Shores is on the extreme south end of the island. The rest of the Island is mostly high rise condos on the beach, and single family homes on the intracoastal.



As for the beach being overrun with people from the "mainland," there's one or two special events per year that may make you uncomfortable (such as "Spring Bling,") but by all accounts, they have been problem free for the past few years.


Here is a link discussing the crime rate in Singer Island:

Singer Island Community Info - crime statistics, demographics, and census data - Trulia.com

Compare to some place like, say, Louisville Kentucky, and its actually lower, despite its proximity to Riviera Beach proper:

Louisville, KY real estate overview - Trulia.com

[veggienut]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

Good lord.


The biggest disadvantages is that 1) it has a Riviera Beach address, which has a stigma and crime issues, and 2) insurance costs for a home on the Island.


Singer Island has access from the north (Palm Beach Gardens), and South (Riviera Beach). The island itself is nice, a great little town called Palm Beach Shores is on the extreme south end of the island. The rest of the Island is mostly high rise condos on the beach, and single family homes on the intracoastal.



As for the beach being overrun with people from the "mainland," there's one or two special events per year that may make you uncomfortable (such as "Spring Bling,") but by all accounts, they have been problem free for the past few years.


Here is a link discussing the crime rate in Singer Island:

Singer Island Community Info - crime statistics, demographics, and census data - Trulia.com

Compare to some place like, say, Louisville Kentucky, and its actually lower, despite its proximity to Riviera Beach proper:

Louisville, KY real estate overview - Trulia.com

Thanks for mentioning my city Louisville, Kentucky

[rusty78]

My wife and I stayed on Singer Island in April of this year and we would often take walks after dinner at night...we walked up and down the main road as well as the side streets looking at homes...it is definately nicer the further north you walk...But we never felt unsafe...

The beaches further north are pet friendly...if that makes a difference...many people take their dogs swimming and one or two even had their cats out swimming...

[Snowbird100]

Originally Posted by thunderkat59

Hood rats infest all of South Florida. It is their breeding ground. Why do you think COPS can stay on the air so long? Singer has a Riviera Beach zip code. The south end is crime and trash. The McArthur state park area is actually sort of nice, relatively speaking. If I were forced to live there, it would be one of those condo places in the middle of the island or an area closer to A1 than the Blue Heron bridge. I cant imagine why someone would voluntarily stay in the WPB area, but if you had to, the mid/northern Singer or around the bend in Juno would actually be a much more desirable living situation than anything else below Martin Co.

Could you elaborate more about it ? Where to avoid, what to avoid, which activities to avoid, which neighbourhoods to avoid ?

At the moment, I only use my instincts such as avoid late night activities, avoid run down neighbourhoods (sometimes I can tell it's not safe ...).

Thanks !

[thunderkat59]

Originally Posted by Snowbird100

Could you elaborate more about it ? Where to avoid, what to avoid, which activities to avoid, which neighbourhoods to avoid ?

At the moment, I only use my instincts such as avoid late night activities, avoid run down neighbourhoods (sometimes I can tell it's not safe ...).

Thanks !

We had so much crime and scammery put on us in the West Palm Beach area of Florida, our stay was so horrifying, its impossible for me to answer in a rational manner. I would say the neighborhoods to avoid would be anything below Martin Co. Florida is a large place though, and shouldn't be broadbrushed based on the past and future stars of COPS--Grifter--Hood Rat culture of WPB. If I were retiring and was intent on FL, I would look into the Mt Dora / Eustis area. Very, very pretty and relatively close to Orlando with a high ratio of normal people relative to Florida. The town proper is gorgeous, walkable and there are international flea markets about four times a year that are a very fun time to walk around. Put it on your list

This is my opinion, obviously others will disagree.
Best wishes on wherever you end up.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by Snowbird100

Could you elaborate more about it ? Where to avoid, what to avoid, which activities to avoid, which neighbourhoods to avoid ?

At the moment, I only use my instincts such as avoid late night activities, avoid run down neighbourhoods (sometimes I can tell it's not safe ...).

Thanks !

You can never expect straight answers from these kinds people, and you didn't. Anyone who claims they were subjected to apparent relentless scammery and crime mustve lived in the ghetto, or are really gullible, easy targets. Laughably, the poster who responded moved to Louisville, which has a significantly HIGHER crime rate than most towns in Palm Beach County!



There are 1.3 million people in this county. Most of the towns in Palm Beach County have crime rates approximately at or below the national average. Even in West Palm Beach proper (and yes, even Riviera Beach/Singer Island), the crime is not distributed evenly.


It's unfortunate, but sometimes people run into bad luck, and blame geography, instead of themselves, for not being able to "make it" somewhere.

[veggienut]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

You can never expect straight answers from these kinds people, and you didn't. Anyone who claims they were subjected to apparent relentless scammery and crime mustve lived in the ghetto, or are really gullible, easy targets. Laughably, the poster who responded moved to Louisville, which has a significantly HIGHER crime rate than most towns in Palm Beach County!



There are 1.3 million people in this county. Most of the towns in Palm Beach County have crime rates approximately at or below the national average. Even in West Palm Beach proper (and yes, even Riviera Beach/Singer Island), the crime is not distributed evenly.


It's unfortunate, but sometimes people run into bad luck, and blame geography, instead of themselves, for not being able to "make it" somewhere.

I thought you were making a joke about Louisville. There use to be a gal here I know, who did move to Louisville. But if it is the same gal, she's back in Florida. We do have crime here, but only in selected areas like you all do there. Our issue is that gangs from another state moved in which has increased those selected areas. But where there wasn't any crime and is a safe place to live isn't anymore. Anyways, it is like this everywhere I'm sure.