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I think you are trying to give me some false info here. I don't know if you got any of my earlier posts, but I have allready been to Fort Lauderdale myself a couple of times and encountered nothing crimewise; in fact, I NEVER wanted to leave! And I am even coming back in march 2008, if I survive the winter. (Want really horrible crime rates? try St. Louis, Missouri or even Gary, Indiana!) By the way, everywhere you go, there is always going to be some crime. The world is an imperfect place.
No, if I was giving you false info, I would tell that Fort Lauderdale is the safest city in the world. I haven't encountered anything crime wise either. That doesn't mean you need to paint a false image in your head that the crime rate is low in Fort Lauderdale. No, it's not as bad as some places, but it's still bad. The last statement is very true, but trust me, there is a lot of crime in Lauderdale and surrounding areas.Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise. Go take a walk down Sunrise Boulevard from U.S.1, through Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes,Oakland Park, parts of Pompano Beach, parts of Hollywood, and west Hallandle Beach, and tell me if you come back alive. The only area I can consider truly safe, and consistently so, is the area of Broward County west of University Drive, and Palm Beach County west of Jog Road. I'm not saying its horrible here (And you will hear me preaching about how it isn't that bad all the time), but it's not the paradise you are painting it to be in your head, and if you want to truly live safe, you need to have an income of at least 60 thousand a year.
Last edited by compelled to reply; 10-09-2007 at 01:01 PM..
No, if I was giving you false info, I would tell that Fort Lauderdale is the safest city in the world.
This is pretty much the issue; I have encountered nothing crimewise in fort lauderdale, but apparently, a lot of people on this forum seem to be portraying Fort Lauderdale/Broward County/South Florida as "the absolutely most lethally, mortally, and totally dangerous, crime and corruption infested spot in the whole wide world." In fact, it even seems as if a few posters like to portray south florida as "like a giant Nazi camp/prison."
This is pretty much the issue; I have encountered nothing crimewise in fort lauderdale, but apparently, a lot of people on this forum seem to be portraying Fort Lauderdale/Broward County/South Florida as "the absolutely most lethally, mortally, and totally dangerous, crime and corruption infested spot in the whole wide world."
Oh, it's not. But we are definitely on a upswing in crime. Actually for a while Broward was averaging about 3 homicides per 100k until this year, a low rate for a county of its size and demographic (it was at one time the lowest for a county over 1 million), and I will always stress that when people make the argument of this being some dangerous cesspool. But the homicide rate is about to double from two years ago. Still, if it doubles, that will put the homicide rate dead on national average. South Florida as a whole has also traditionally had a dead-average homicide rate as well, although a soaring murder rate in Broward will send it above the average. Regardless, Broward has had a worse-than-average rate of robbery, and that is getting worse this year. Most property crimes have been a smidgen below the national average, but the rate of crimes like burglary and auto theft are rising. The thing is, it does not appear that this rise in crime is temporary. So basically, it's not a dangerous cesspool, yet.
Oh, and yeah, it's pretty corrupt, but I think some of these folks need to travel a little more to see that, unfortunately, similar things are happening nationwide. My main concerns with the region are its economics, not it's crime rate or general quality of life.You can go as high or as low as you want to go here, the problem is the expense, and the lack of a sustainable force driving it. Crime rate pretty average for it's size, but that is beginning to change with the economics.
Basically, I am actually very concerned for you and want you to know the truth, and I don't think Fort Lauderdale is a good move in your situation. You really should look into northern Florida, I'm hesitant enough to recommend South Florida to somebody making over $100,000, even if life here can be as good or as bad as anywhere else. If you really don't like Chicago, I think you may be best off looking into the northern half of the state, or putting yourself in a better state of mind. Look at it this way, those Florida naysayers are in the same state of mind with Florida and wherever they think is better as you are between Chicago and Florida. Economics generally come first when it comes to quality of life in any location, schools are second (if you have a family),traffic comes third, and anything else is what you are willing to make of it, be the people, the climate, the amenities, or any other aspect. What you need to do is put yourself in a positive state of mind in Chicago. Believe me, when its 96 degrees here and the air is still (or we have a hurricane moving through), I think I would rather be in Chicago, just like you would rather be in Fort Lauderdale when a snowstorm is moving through and the trees are bald.
Last edited by compelled to reply; 10-09-2007 at 05:31 PM..
This is pretty much the issue; I have encountered nothing crimewise in fort lauderdale, but apparently, a lot of people on this forum seem to be portraying Fort Lauderdale/Broward County/South Florida as "the absolutely most lethally, mortally, and totally dangerous, crime and corruption infested spot in the whole wide world." In fact, it even seems as if a few posters like to portray south florida as "like a giant Nazi camp/prison."
This is just todays paper and I just looked at the one section. This is not small town America. We have more crime in a day then
many places have in a year.
Thank you for clarifying this for me. Note that two of the violent happenings occurred in a "Good" area, Pembroke Pines. The Pines seems to be a popular place for robbers this year. Now granted, there are 150,000 people living in Pembroke Pines, so maybe the rate isnt bad, but theres plenty of crime going around. Is it as bad as some other places? No. Is the crime rate high here and increasing? Yes. I don't think its any worse than Chicago though. It's probably a little better.
sorry triton1, i just dont see how it's possible to buy a condo in ft lauderdale in the $20-30k range.
I think what they are finding are units in Sunrise Lakes, a senior community. I went thru one of these units last March and they are a steal for the price. Before Wilma came thru, these 1Br 1Ba units were in the $90k range and 2Br 2Ba were about $149k. Today many are 20k to 40k, 1 or 2 BR. Wilma took the roofs off many of the buildings and the units sustained water damage. Now, they have been rehabbed and are being turned back over to the owners, many of whom, are offering them for sale. Because of this, the surrounding undamaged units in the same complex have dropped in price to match the rehabbed ones. I have a 1Br 1.5Ba under contract for 35k, in an undamaged building. The prices are dropping like autumn leaves. When I went thru this unit last March it was priced at $54k. This is a premium Golf community with wide canals and wide streets lined with Queen Palms. The main clubhouse, in addition to the usual (pools, sauna, gym,etc,etc) even has a full sized professional theater. So, my friend, they are out there. And in a beautiful, desirable area.
i don't know where you have been going to be experiencing high violent crime rates, but i have surfed that crime comparison website and in 2005, chicago, like, grossly beat out fort lauderdale on murder, rape, robbery, assault, and grand theft auto in per capita rates. believe me, i have been through neighborhoods that are even worse than miami! in fact, i even emailed a realtor that had one of those sub $30,000 condos and she honestly said it was for sale at that price! and those listings even show you how much the payment is per month and a lot of those condos had monthly payments below $200 a month! (not $200,000, but $200!) by the way, i also know what a bad neighborhood looks like!
Yeah, but did you actually GO THERE YOURSELF?
I have actually lived in Chicago. Like.
Very general comparison. And in terms of lifestyle, no comparison.
And I have lived in Miami and spent time in Ft Lauderdale. In the price range you are quoting, you are looking at garages, dockiminiums, storage, or something that is seriously ghetto or so flood damaged or has issues you will have major repairs. Or it is a sub par age restricted community. Are there co ops in fort Lauderdale? I have never encountered those. But that would be more likely a co op price for something that is not a dump. And co ops have their own hidden costs. I have owned some in NYC. Great investments, but you have to know what you are doing.
Same goes for what you are discussing in Ft Lauderdale. Get on your feet and seriously go there. Take your laptop and wifi connection if you must, and if you dare.
Opportunity, maybe. Affordable? Likely not.
Sitting at your computer and surfing and oh my goodness actually emailing or calling the realtor and be still my heart speaking to them is not the same as going there and seriously searching, with adequate representation, and performing due diligence.
This is pretty much the issue; I have encountered nothing crimewise in fort lauderdale, but apparently, a lot of people on this forum seem to be portraying Fort Lauderdale/Broward County/South Florida as "the absolutely most lethally, mortally, and totally dangerous, crime and corruption infested spot in the whole wide world." In fact, it even seems as if a few posters like to portray south florida as "like a giant Nazi camp/prison."
South Florida is dangerous. I've lived in a few different places; both Eastern & Western Pennsylvania, St. Catharines Ontario and West Virginia. I've also spent considerable time in Jamaica, Israel and New York City...so it's not like I'm sheltered or anything. I've been in South Florida and while I've never been personally assaulted (thank G-d), my car has been broken into 3 times and my house once. Doing a simple search online for sexual predators in many areas of South Florida will bring up that at least 50 of your neighbors convicted of sex crimes (we did it at work...about 6 of us...and we live in various parts of Miami and Broward county). Professionally, I have encountered a lot of scams, corruption, cheating and very little ethical behavior in general in the business world. Seriously; I have either worked or had some sort of business relationship with companies that had managers embezzling funds, cheating employees out of their wages (or paying them late....like months late), running/publishing scams (saying they were a "post-secondary" education institute and they were not), and lying to the media.
It's hard to say that South Florida definitely has more crime than City A or City B. But there is more to the story than just crime. What about how crime is handled or addressed? How about the factors that encourage crime?
The two big issues I see....like big, red flags are 1) The Police and Law Enforcement....major problems here. and 2) The lack of a sense of community.
For #1 - The police here....I don't know what it is. If they don't have training or if they aren't getting paid....or what. Open up any newspaper and next to begging for teachers, just about every sector of law enforcement in South Florida is begging for police officers; certified or not. The pay is not horrible...but still not competitive (in my opinion....not for the quality of life). When you do encounter police, they seem to be either very "ho-hum" or totally out of line. True story: My co-worker went through a messy divorce and her ex was outside her house at 3 am...drunk, yelling, and banging on a window here and there. Because she had young children she called the police (of course). The Police asked if she was hurt or if he was in the house. When she answered negative to both questions...they acted like they didn't want to do anything! Second true story: my car was towed for being in the wrong spot in my father's condominium (my fault...I admit) and when I went to pick my car up, I found out that $2,500 worth of tools and items were stolen from my car. Now my car was only parked for 20 min. before it was towed and was in a bright area (so unlikely someone broke in while it was parked). Because the tow yard and the condominium were in two different localities (City of Miami vs. unincorporated Miami-Dade county), when I called to report the crime, each department wanted to tell me it was in the other's jurisdiction. Finally a detective from one of the precincts called me and practically barked at me that since I did not have pictures or receipts of the items...there was nothing they could do.
Which brings up #2....there is no sense of community here. You feel like you need to fend for yourself....all the time. Even in New York city....you can go into a pub...or you can go into a cafe or pizzeria and have a friendly conversation. Not here. Well in some places....maybe. But even then, not on "certain nights". The police don't have your back if something happens, and if you aren't in the right ethnic group, you won't get any help either once the hear you don't speak their language or dialect.
On the highest level....it seems like the politicians in South Florida are in denial. As long as they keep getting paid....it's all good in the neighborhood. Social services are weak for an area with such a strong economy. Cultural outlets are few. I don't have any children, but I don't know what you could do with kids here (Parrot Jungle, Monkey Jungle, The Science Centers, The Miami Zoo, the "Dade County Fair", Boomers....they are all pale comparisons for their respective counterparts up north). On the surface all is beautiful....but it's really a wasteland. Unfortunately....I think it takes actually living here year-round to see it.
South Florida is dangerous. I've lived in a few different places; both Eastern & Western Pennsylvania, St. Catharines Ontario and West Virginia. I've also spent considerable time in Jamaica, Israel and New York City...so it's not like I'm sheltered or anything. I've been in South Florida and while I've never been personally assaulted (thank G-d), my car has been broken into 3 times and my house once. Doing a simple search online for sexual predators in many areas of South Florida will bring up that at least 50 of your neighbors convicted of sex crimes (we did it at work...about 6 of us...and we live in various parts of Miami and Broward county). Professionally, I have encountered a lot of scams, corruption, cheating and very little ethical behavior in general in the business world. Seriously; I have either worked or had some sort of business relationship with companies that had managers embezzling funds, cheating employees out of their wages (or paying them late....like months late), running/publishing scams (saying they were a "post-secondary" education institute and they were not), and lying to the media.
It's hard to say that South Florida definitely has more crime than City A or City B. But there is more to the story than just crime. What about how crime is handled or addressed? How about the factors that encourage crime?
The two big issues I see....like big, red flags are 1) The Police and Law Enforcement....major problems here. and 2) The lack of a sense of community.
For #1 - The police here....I don't know what it is. If they don't have training or if they aren't getting paid....or what. Open up any newspaper and next to begging for teachers, just about every sector of law enforcement in South Florida is begging for police officers; certified or not. The pay is not horrible...but still not competitive (in my opinion....not for the quality of life). When you do encounter police, they seem to be either very "ho-hum" or totally out of line. True story: My co-worker went through a messy divorce and her ex was outside her house at 3 am...drunk, yelling, and banging on a window here and there. Because she had young children she called the police (of course). The Police asked if she was hurt or if he was in the house. When she answered negative to both questions...they acted like they didn't want to do anything! Second true story: my car was towed for being in the wrong spot in my father's condominium (my fault...I admit) and when I went to pick my car up, I found out that $2,500 worth of tools and items were stolen from my car. Now my car was only parked for 20 min. before it was towed and was in a bright area (so unlikely someone broke in while it was parked). Because the tow yard and the condominium were in two different localities (City of Miami vs. unincorporated Miami-Dade county), when I called to report the crime, each department wanted to tell me it was in the other's jurisdiction. Finally a detective from one of the precincts called me and practically barked at me that since I did not have pictures or receipts of the items...there was nothing they could do.
Which brings up #2....there is no sense of community here. You feel like you need to fend for yourself....all the time. Even in New York city....you can go into a pub...or you can go into a cafe or pizzeria and have a friendly conversation. Not here. Well in some places....maybe. But even then, not on "certain nights". The police don't have your back if something happens, and if you aren't in the right ethnic group, you won't get any help either once the hear you don't speak their language or dialect.
On the highest level....it seems like the politicians in South Florida are in denial. As long as they keep getting paid....it's all good in the neighborhood. Social services are weak for an area with such a strong economy. Cultural outlets are few. I don't have any children, but I don't know what you could do with kids here (Parrot Jungle, Monkey Jungle, The Science Centers, The Miami Zoo, the "Dade County Fair", Boomers....they are all pale comparisons for their respective counterparts up north). On the surface all is beautiful....but it's really a wasteland. Unfortunately....I think it takes actually living here year-round to see it.
This is a very accurate post in relation to Miami, but I would consider St. Catherines, Ontario or West Virgina to be very safe places, and Broward is a little better on the corruption and police (well, I don't know about that anymore...)
St Catherines is a blue collar town in a country that has a bit less social tension than the USA, and WV is one of the nations safest states. Eastern and Western PA are very safe places too (well, unless you live in Philadelphia).
I think that strangely enough, Fort Lauderdale has more culture than Miami. It actually has a few museums, but it's one of the few cities of its size to lack a symphony orchestra for crying out loud! All and all a pretty accurate post.
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Sunrise Lakes
