Confused about West Boca vs Parkland (Coral Springs, Weston: rent, house, neighborhoods) - West Palm Beach - Boca Raton - Boynton Beach - Florida (FL) -Palm Beach County - City-Data Forum

Berjdr4 · 03-30-2014, 10:51 AM

My family is relocating from Manalapan, NJ to South Florida. My husband and I are in our mid to late 40's and we have 2 sons, ages 11 and 14. My sons will be entering 7th and 10th grade next school year so we are looking for a good middle school and high school. Obviously, a good school is very important to us, especially at their age. My husband will be telecommuting so commuting is not at all a concern.

We are looking for a 4 plus bedroom home in the 300's to 500's. Renting is also an option. We want a newer home and would prefer a gated community with amenities. Land is not important to us. Finding a development with families our age is important to us. We are also Jewish and hear that there are many temples and Jewish people in these areas.

We are conflicted because we hear good and bad things about both these areas. We have narrowed it down to these two towns because we hear the schools are the best rated. We hear that since the schools are so good, we don't need private school. We've looked at Weston and it's too far south for us, and have heard that Spanish is the primary language

We have heard that Parkland and West Boca are the two areas that would best meet our needs. We have two friends who live here and told us that, as well as an excellent realtor we found. The schools in the boundaries we are looking at are West Glades middle and Stoneman Douglas in Parkland. Loggers Run middle and West Boca high in Boca. We were told to rule out Coral Springs except for maybe the Northwest section that goes to Coral Springs middle and the Parkland high school, but we haven't heard as good things about Coral Springs middle.

Can anyone offer advice on these towns and schools? If anyone has children who are currently attending these schools or recently graduated these schools and could offer their advice to us, we'd be so appreciative.

We are going down to south Florida the week of April 11 to look at theses areas so any information we have ahead of time would make our visit more productive. We have sold our house in NJ and are looking to either rent or buy in one of these towns.

Any advice on developments in these towns who attend these schools would be appreciated as well!

Thank you!

bmw335xi · 03-30-2014, 12:29 PM

West Boca is better than Parkland

OptimusPrime69 · 03-30-2014, 01:05 PM

Those areas are fine areas to be looking. Tho, I caution you to rule out Weston completely. Weston is diverse, meaning there's a good mix of everything from you're all-American born anglos to your all-American born Hispanics and All-American Jews, in addition to to people who have moved to the area from outside the country, in particular Colombia and Venezuela. Weston is soldily upper-middle class and you certainly wouldn't be the only Jewish family in the neigborhood by any stretch.

Also, please keep in mind you'll hear Spanish everywhere in south FL. Doesn't mean it's the primary language. The nature of south FL is such that Hispanics are very much represented and all of south Florida has a large and diverse Spanish-speaking population, including Parkland and Boca. .

However, West Boca is nice depeding on where u are. For example west of Glades and Yamamto Rd are gorgeous, family style neighborhoods that are solidly middle/upper-middle class. Areas of west Boca south of Palmetto park Rd and basically trailer parks with a mixed bag of people.

Also, Parkland is very nice and very family oriented. Again, all these areas have sizeable Jewish populations, u really can't go wrong.
Even northern coral Springs that u mentioned I think you'll like it. You really just gotta see it for yourself. Areas u thought were the "it" spot to be may turn out to be undesireable for you. And areas u thought "I dont wanna live there" may turn out to surprise you. IE. Weston.

Anyway, good luck with ur search. The best thing to do is just come on down and see for yourself. You need to see it to picture yourself here. Best of luck.

Berjdr4 · 03-30-2014, 01:51 PM

Thanks for your advice. That's what we've been hearing that parkland and west boca are both comparable. Do you know if boca falls, boca winds, boca isles, boca greens, Avalon vineyards, Lexington estates, island lakes or mission bay are the developments that are in the nicer area you mentioned in boca?

Does anyone have an opinion on west boca schools over parkland schools?

OptimusPrime69 · 03-30-2014, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berjdr4

Thanks for your advice. That's what we've been hearing that parkland and west boca are both comparable. Do you know if boca falls, boca winds, boca isles, boca greens, Avalon vineyards, Lexington estates, island lakes or mission bay are the developments that are in the nicer area you mentioned in boca?

Does anyone have an opinion on west boca schools over parkland schools?

Yes, mission bay is very nice. Very california style housing. Spanish tiled roofs, neat, somewhat cookie cutter, but still very very nice and organized and nicely landscaped. I sometimes drive through and it looks like the movie set because everything appears so "perfect"... Even the trees line the streets evenly and are groomed to perfection.

West Boca high is a newer school. I wanna say it opened by back in like 05? Maybe a little before or after.
It looks like a prison lol but that's just because it's so large and sterile looking... but im sure it's a great school. It's an "A rated" school with lots of different magnet programs. Also, I know it's one of the top 50 in the state. So it's a good school.

I dont know much about the parkland/coral springs schools.

Berjdr4 · 03-30-2014, 02:37 PM

Thanks again. You've been so helpful! Once we go down in April and look at both boca and parkland we should be able to make our decision!

Berjdr4 · 03-30-2014, 02:48 PM

Anyone else have opinions on boca and parkland schools? We would so appreciate any feedback both positive and negative. Thank you so much!

Swimmom32 · 03-30-2014, 08:12 PM

If your looking for a good HS I would stay Central and not West Boca...We left West Boca and the HS because it really wasn't a great school...My son went 3.5 years to Spanish River and were happy with it...My daughter went to Omni Middle and were also happy with that school as well...We lived in Boca Falls for 6 months moved to Central which was East of the Turnpike because of the schools..We too lived in Manalapan and we moved back to NJ...

Good Luck

Berjdr4 · 03-31-2014, 04:44 AM

Swim mom,
Thanks for all your advice. I heard Spanish river was better but heard that Spanish river homes are older, not gated, no amenities unless you pay a high membership fee. Did your child graduate from Spanish river? What NJ schools did you come from Before you moved there? Why didn't you think west boca HS was a good school? Why did you move back to NJ?

Sorry for all the questions....it's a big move and we want to make sure we are in the right area with the right schools.

We heard stoneman Douglas was very good. Do you know anything about parkland and it's schools because we've been hearing good things about that town.

Swimmom32 · 03-31-2014, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berjdr4

Swim mom,
Thanks for all your advice. I heard Spanish river was better but heard that Spanish river homes are older, not gated, no amenities unless you pay a high membership fee. Did your child graduate from Spanish river? What NJ schools did you come from Before you moved there? Why didn't you think west boca HS was a good school? Why did you move back to NJ?

Sorry for all the questions....it's a big move and we want to make sure we are in the right area with the right schools.

We heard stoneman Douglas was very good. Do you know anything about parkland and it's schools because we've been hearing good things about that town.

I sent you a message