Another Long Islander seeking relo advice to WPB (West Palm Beach, Boca Raton: sales, to rent)

[TPL79]

Hello Forum -

I am a newbee here and have read some other threads with great interest. I thought to post and see what comes back.

We (me, my wife + twin 7yr old boys) currently live in Melville LI and I may have a very solid job opportunity in the Medical Diagnostics field, which would allow for a Florida relo. Healthcare is a huge industry and is somewhat recession resistant. I have been in this industry in a high level sales capacity for about 15 years now, working for a large, global, medical device mfgr. Healthcare, especially in Florida, is big business, due in large part to demographics.

As with many others who have posted, we are interested in the best schools we can find, and will consider private if need be.

We have immediate family in Lake Worth and Boynton Beach and aquaintances in Boca so we are a little familiar with the area, but only from a vacationers view point.

I will spare you the familiar stories about LI being very pricey; it is, and the high taxes for small homes on even smaller property; its true, especially in the better school districts.

However, we are spoiled with schools that seem to have a very strong reputation, some perhaps rooted in reality. The teachers make very high salaries and the school budgets are HUGE (almost $190 million in Half Hollow Hills SD were I live). Hence the programs are plentiful and are there for the taking.

The winters have ground me down and it gets harder and harder to pack everything away for the winter year after year. On the other hand my wife is concerned about the heat in the summer.

I am just hoping for a moment of clarity so I can make the right choice if given the opportunity to join you in Florida.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I am open to any and all advice positive or negative.

Thank you!

[MoItaly]

Well, you seemed to have almost made up your mind.
Anyway, let's see.
Schools: you will have to do some serious researches, this is definitely not an area known for the schools. I know that some decent schools are in the northern palm beach county area, but obviously there are not the only ones.

Weather: you better like it hot. I have been here 11 years and I still can't get used to it. Personally I love the seasons so if I could afford to live in the NY area I would not hesitate, and not just for the seasons, but for the city and what it offers. Anyway, the good news is that here there is air conditioning everywhere. Another thing that is good and bad is that you don't walk much here. You have to drive everywhere, even to buy milk. Therefore you spent most of your time in air-conditioned places like car-office-house; this helps with the heat, although it obviously does not help your health (not the air-conditioning, the lack of walking).

As for Palm Beach County, Boca Raton (south) and Palm Beach Gardens (north) are the upscale cities (and of course, the island of Palm Beach). Boca is much bigger than PBG and I read people talking about some good schools. Boca is probably the city (of decent size) with the highest number of upscale communities and houses, golf clubs etc.. Some locals here look at Boca as a place for the rich and arrogants. Personally I worked in Boca for quite some time; I am not a big fan of it, but have nothing against. Between Boca and Palm Beach Gardens I prefer PBG, but I am partial as in general I prefer the Northern part of the County to the Southern one.

Lake Worth is coming along, but should you go there make sure you know in advance what's the electrical bills. Many in Lake Worth are getting hammered with ridicolous electrical bill by the local company.

Boynton is okay, espcially the western, suburban part. Around the center it's getting a bit rough, plenty of gangs going around.

The city of West Palm Beach could give you more options for location/houses, as it is of decent sized (for this area) and you are kind of in the middle.
Ok, that's it for now. If you have more specific questions I'll be glad to help, and I am sure you'll get other suggestions/opinions here.

[DaniellaG]

I don't have kids but if I did I think that would be one major factor in where I chose to live. I grew up in MI and in a very well off area which overall I don't like for varing factors but if I had kids I would want to live there due to the school district was very good and overall safety/extra activties. I have just relocated from MI to Boca. Now I have heard that schools are good in this area and somewhere on the board there are replies about this. If possible I encourage you to rent first so you can get a feel of the different areas. In Boca it is older in general and some of the presonalities take time to get used to. I was a snow bird this year though I am young but anyhow I made the full move in July. There is a huge difference to me in the amount of people being less and overall people are nicer that are year round. Another area I was in that I liked and felt was younger but still upscale was Wellington. Though I heard there are some not great areas. The heat/humidity to me is not the best but still way better then 7 months of gloom/cold/snow where I am from. I just try to do the outside things in the morning and basically am inside most of the time. I look forward to winter when it is nice to sit out more.

[skylinet]

You've probably already found these websites, but they are helpful.
Schools in Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, FL.
The School District of Palm Beach County
GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community

I don't have children, but I've met many parents saying that the schools in West Boynton/Lake Worth are excellent.

Canyons is a great neighborhood in West Boynton. They built a school, Super Target, and shopping center for the area. It's a really nice community feel, only 15 minutes or so to the beach, and it's right off the turnpike so you have great highway access. Existing homes are very reasonable for what you get. (many are selling at 100 a square foot...)

No snow is a huge plus in any neighborhood down here

[Bobstar]

I'm a former LI'er and made the move 2 years for my job. The best advice I could offer you is to rent first, although now is a great time to buy. I also believe it will remain a great time to buy for the foreseeable future so there really is no rush. We started off renting in Wellington b/c we heard the schools were better than most and we were not impressed with Boca. We have now just bought a home in Wellington and you can not believe what you can get for your money compared to what you are used to. We really like Wellington. My daughter is in 2nd grade and goes to Panther Run. We like the school. We send our younger one to a private pre-K. Coming from the Hewlett SD on the Island, we were very concerned about the quality of the schools here. While some get insulted if you say so, the schools down here generally speaking to not compare. That does not mean you can't find good schools, b/c there are plently. From my experience, the schools in Boca, Jupiter, Wellington, and West Lake Worth and West Boynton are good. I'm sure there are others.

Also, for the most part, you may want to stay west of the turnpike. The communities are newer, the schools are better and the crime is less. If you are going to to work in WPB, I would investigate Wellington, Jupiter, and Palm Beach Gardens.

The heat is not so bad. Typically, you are in the A/C all day. You may have a home with a pool or find a development with a community pool.

[kek1993]

Schools in Jupiter area are better than in WPB, I don't know about Boca. You won't find the same as what you are used to in the North though.

[rm36]

I'm originally from LI, moved here and regret it. Will be moving back.

Things may be marginally more expensive up there, but the pay is much less down here. Enough so that the disparity makes things the same or worse for Florida. There are, in general, less job opportunities. The winter is mild but the summers are terrible. The schools are atrocious. On the upside, there is no state income tax. Of course, that's WHY the schools are atrocious. If you value giving your children a good education and good job opportunities, stay up there.

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by rm36

I'm originally from LI, moved here and regret it. Will be moving back.

More the merrier....don't worry though there are plenty of people from LI here to fill the void.

[faithfulFrank]

I've never been to this area, as I just Mod here.
I must say I find many posts here baffling. Many statements made here just seem so general that I doubt their credibility.

Here you have a new poster who has already stated he has secured a very good job down there. (Something that this forum makes one feel can almost NEVER happen). He wants to know about good schools. Are some of you saying that there is not ONE good school down there? Even private? Is every child down there illiterate? Is there not even one nice neighborhood down there? I thought you guys had million dollar neighborhoods in some areas.

Some of you make the whole place sound like a scary, ghetto-type dangerous desolate lawless hellhole. I cannot believe it is like that.

I'm not saying that folks should post that all is rosy and wonderful.....but if someone is going to make blanket statements, weather positive or negative, please back them up with some FACTS. The sad truth is that most of what I read here makes me not want to ever visit there.....and I'm sure your area has some redeeming value. Is there no civic pride anywhere in south Florida? We need more balanced, informative posting here. If you take a step back and read all these threads from the perspective of one 1300 miles away, you will see what I mean. All very scary negative with little or no facts to back the statements up.

Frank

[skylinet]

Frank,
I think some people could build their own island, bring only the people they wanted there, do everything the way they wanted, and they would still complain about it.
Moving to Florida and complaining about heat just seems completely ridiculous to me. That's like moving to Antarctica and whining about not being able to where shorts.
Some people are just born complainers.