Any thoughts on Ft. Lauderdale

[BornAndRaised]

Ive lived in Broward my WHOLE life, if you can afford go to Coral Springs/Coconut Creek area, go. Thats decently diverse. Theres nowhere completely diverse, but thats probably the most diverse you can get while being the most safe. I'm from Pompano, but from Coral Springs area I know African Americans, Caucasians, Chinese, Taiwanese, Bangalis, Bahamians, Haitains, Pakis, and one Nigerian.

[Sarasota_Blues]

I agree with the last 3 posters. Ft. Lauderdale is very diverse. There may be a few small areas that resemble what Nirvana was talking about, but most of what he describes sounds like Dade County to me. You mentioned the word "transfer", as if it could be job-related. If you're transferring with your existing company, find out where you will be working, and research areas as close to that location as possible. The commute to work can be almost as bad as Atlanta. As far as homes go, you can get a bit more for your money in Ft. Lauderdale over Philly, but HOI has increased drastically over the last few years, with not much, if any relief in sight. This is a huge issue, as wages have not kept with the cost of living here, and many are really over a barrel. Who really wants to pay $5,000 and up for HOI?

That then brings me to real estate. You won't get nearly as much in Ft. Lauderdale, as you can in Atlanta. Considering the home prices in Atlanta, $250,000 still gets you a large (2500 sq. ft.) house outside the beltway in Atlanta (Marietta, Lilburn, Duluth, Alpharetta, etc), with a sprawling piece of property. In central Ft. Lauderdale, if you can find anything at all in that range, you'll likely get a 1200 sq. ft. built in the 40's or 50's, on a tiny 4,000 sq. Ft. lot. If you look at the western Broward County areas, such as those previously mentioned, your $$ will go a bit farther. Rule of thumb generally, the farther east (towards the ocean), the more $$$$! That's especially true east of US 1. Best of luck!