[jessemh431]

So my parents are getting divorced and my mom is thinking of moving to FL and I want to stay with her. I am a junior high school and she is a writer. We are Jewish and Liberal, so we want to live in the Democratic areas of FL, not the redneck areas.

We're not sure how much we can get for our house, but we can most likely spend 400k or less for a 3+bed/2+bath SFR, preferably with a pool, central A/C necessary. I'd prefer to be as close to the beach and urban/popular shopping areas as possible. A city like Santa Monica is what we want, but for a much cheaper cost. I know Fort Lauderdale is nice, but expensive.

So first, I'd like to have it narrowed down to between Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa metros, and then from there narrowed into neighborhoods or areas.

Thank you for any help,
Jesse (I'm a guy)

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

A city like Santa Monica is what we want, but for a much cheaper cost. I know Fort Lauderdale is nice, but expensive.

It's MUCH cheaper than Santa Monica, but it's more like Venice Beach.

[pirate girl]

Rule out Palm Beach County if you're looking for Liberal.

Most of the West Coast of Florida is also older and fairly conservative.

Look to the North East Coast. It does have it's share of rednecks- especially the further inland you go, but you will experience a more liberal demographic.

I'm thinking you might like St. Augustine- artsy, pretty, historic, and more bent toward the liberal state of mind.

[pirate girl]

Oh- and St. Augustine is about 25 miles south of Jacksonville. And you can easily find a home there in your price range.

I'm about 25 miles south of St. Augustine. There is not a huge jewish demographic in this area but there are temples and everyone coexists very peacefully.

[planetsurf]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

So my parents are getting divorced and my mom is thinking of moving to FL and I want to stay with her. I am a junior high school and she is a writer. We are Jewish and Liberal, so we want to live in the Democratic areas of FL, not the redneck areas.

We're not sure how much we can get for our house, but we can most likely spend 400k or less for a 3+bed/2+bath SFR, preferably with a pool, central A/C necessary. I'd prefer to be as close to the beach and urban/popular shopping areas as possible. A city like Santa Monica is what we want, but for a much cheaper cost. I know Fort Lauderdale is nice, but expensive.

So first, I'd like to have it narrowed down to between Jacksonville, Miami, and Tampa metros, and then from there narrowed into neighborhoods or areas.

Thank you for any help,
Jesse (I'm a guy)

Shana Tova Jesse.

What your looking for is Broward or Miami-Dade County (maybe southern Palm Beach County).
I would also strongly suggest a college town like Gainesville, but that is smack dab in the middle of the state.
St Augustine isn't a bad choice at all -- but keep in mind it's pretty quiet there and it's a more liberal-minded island in the middle of a more conservative part of the state. (While based on experience, this is JMHO, not necessarily facts.)

There 's TONS to do in SoFla and a strong liberal presence (even in mostly Republican/Cuban controlled Miami-Dade). We have quite a few "Jewcy" things to do down here too, from lectures to concerts to parties -- the "Matzo Ball" was huge last year!
If you're from Santa Monica, you'll probably be looking for something more what I call suburban/urban. NOT highrises and not spread out SFHs but something in between.
You can find lots of more interesting pockets all throughout coastal SoFla:
SoBe, NoBe, Miami Shores, Aventura, Hollywood, Victoria Park, Delray, Boca ... really something for any particular taste and budget.

Personally we love living in Coral Gables -- to me it has a VERY Santa Monica feel. GREAT book signings at Books & Books, lots of smaller "downtown" areas to shop or walk around, interesting concerts at the Congregational Church and we are right next to U of Miami -- more films and lectures.
It is a pretty Hispanic area though -- something some people have to get used to. You'll hear LOTS of Spanish.
We belong to a large and VERY active, Reformed synagogue and about 5% of our ZIP code is Jewish so we don't feel alone at all. Near us, there is a Reconstructionist, 2 more Reformed (1 "Progressive") and a Conservative temple; a large Chabad pretty close too. (btw, ~30% of Miami-Dade Jews are foreign born, MANY Spanish speaking.)

At that price point, you'll be hard-pressed to find a SFH in CGables, but maybe more in SMiami area. It will basically work ok anywhere in SoFla except for the most expensive pockets. You WILL need central a/c (everything down here comes with it) but a pool may be too much $$ to be worth it.
Are you planning public or private? Public schools in SoFla can be great, but they can also suck - maybe you need to work backwards from a school if public.

SoFla is certainly a step less crowded and crazy than LA, but it's also a step less interesting.

If you have any specific questions, PM me.
Hope that helps, behatzlacha!

[jessemh431]

So I did a little research and I was wondering if places like Hollywood and areas around there are nice. They seem to be nice homes and the crime rate doesn't seem to be too bad, but I have no idea about personal views on the areas. Hollywood, Dania, etc.

[jessemh431]

Or what about coastal cities in the suburbs of Jacksonville?

And the west coast around Tampa is too conservative for me?

[planetsurf]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

Or what about coastal cities in the suburbs of Jacksonville?

And the west coast around Tampa is too conservative for me?

If you read my post, I mentioned Hollywood as one of the nicer, more interesting pockets. Less so Dania, but maybe that's ok for you too. Ther's certainly nothing wrong with it.

Tampa and Jax tend to be more conservative. But honestly, how can anyone tell YOU what will work or not work for you? YOU (or rather your mother) need to decide these things.
You have some good basic suggestions already, maybe you both need to actually fly out and do some checking out yourselves.

[jessemh431]

Yeah. We just wanted to narrow it down to hopefully one city to check out which seems to be Miami suburbs.

So we'll definitely check out Hollywood then.

Aren't SoBe, NoBe, and Boca really expensive though?

And I prefer public school since I used to do private and hated it.

[planetsurf]

Originally Posted by jessemh431

Yeah. We just wanted to narrow it down to hopefully one city to check out which seems to be Miami suburbs.

So we'll definitely check out Hollywood then.

Aren't SoBe, NoBe, and Boca really expensive though?

And I prefer public school since I used to do private and hated it.

Crossroads?

I would seriously check out ALL of SoFla, from downtown Delray to S Miami unless you just REALLY want a quieter type life -- then seriously consider a place like St Augustine.

You're going to get a smaller place for the money in those places (probably a condo in SoBe or NoBe) but it IS worth checking out. More flavor/intersting areas IMO (very Jewish too, but not necessarily liberal -- lots of Yashivas in SoBe for example).

Boca has some VERY expensive parts and some less so, just like the Coconut Grove/Coral Gables/S Miami area.

Have you tried Zillow.com? You can overshoot a neighborhood and get a feel for location and price.