Need advice about Parkland please (Miami, Coral Springs: real estate, renting, HOA)

[Pookahan]

Hi and thank you in advance for your help. We are moving to south Fla. for my husbands job in Ft. Lauderdale. We were initially hoping to live in Jupiter, but the commute 2-3 days a week in Ft Lauderdale may be a bit much. We looked at real estate in Parkland over a year ago and I found it to be a nice area, however, we were concerned about the chinese drywall issue. Anyway, we have small children and are looking for a friendly area, good schools, and lots of things to do like bicycling, playgrounds, restaurants, and a feeling of community. Can anyone advise me on this area who has lived here? Thanks!

[dedemoving]

Hi
I moved to Heron Bay last summer - we are renting and I really like Parkland. There is a lot to do for kids in town with parks, sports, concerts, etc.
Most of the houses do not have chinese drywall- that problem is pretty specific to newer homes (mostly built in the 2005-07). Tests can be done to look for it if the house you are buying/renting was built in that time frame. It got a lot of news coverage because those houses has such serious problems & the owners cannot sell, etc. so I think the perception is all the houses have it whereas many homes were built in the 80s, 90s etc. long before that problem arose. There are many developments in Parkland, most but not all homes are in HOA gated developments. Feel free to dm me if you have a specific question about one.

[Pookahan]

Thanks for your reply. We are not Jewish, but live in a diverse community here in MD. Is Parkland overall accepting to people of different backgrounds? I just read several threads that mention Parkland has a large Jewish population, which is fine. I just want to make sure that my family will be accepted, especially with us having small children.Thanks!

[SoFlaGuy]

Any ethnicity/religion is accepted everywhere in South Florida. You can blend in and become anonymous easily here.

[dedemoving]

Since I personally am accepting of others, I guess I always assume that everyone else is too! I would agree that Parkland has a large Jewish population. Otherwise I would note that many people here are of mixed heritage- I know so many people celebrating both Passover & Easter this week that it is rather astonishing! Also many are of mixed race, south american origin, south east asian, canadian, lebanese, lots of different island nationalities, just a really large melting pot. Not sure where you are from originally or if you are looking for something specific like specialty markets? Anyway this in no way resembles a deep south backwater or hillbilly area - just plain old vanilla suburbia with a scoop of salsa on the side IMO.

[Pookahan]

That sounds great. We are just looking for nice people who are accepting of diversity like us

[Gimme_Shelter]

(I just posted this on the West Palm Forum also - sorry if I breached any forum etiquette rules)

Hi all,

I wanted to revive this thread because my family's situation is similar. My wife and I are in our mid-thirties with 3 little ones (5, 2, 1). After last winter, we are really looking to move down to Florida. I've spent some serious time reading the different posts in this forum.....so I have a general idea - which makes me dangerous enough to do some real harm. A little background on us - I'm indian from the west Indies and I grew up in Northern NJ. My wife is 3/4 Irish and 1/4 German (also grew up in northern nj) - so we're kinda like the united colors of Benneton. Naturally, our kids are right in the middle (mutli-racial, blended, etc.) My wife is a stay-at-home and I am semi-retired at this point. We left northern NJ about 5 years ago and moved to Orange county ny to get out of the NJ vibe - Keeping up with the Joneses, the plastic people, the Jersey shore people etc (sorry nj peeps don't mean to stereotype everyone from nj). I love Orange county. The place is much more laid back and people are people just living their life...Anyways, the f-ing winters up here are ridiculous. It was cold from 10/15/10 to 4/15/11. That's enough! I've had enough of living like a refugee trapped in the house for 6 months.

So now, after considerable thought we are ready to make the move. Our budget is pretty flexible 1M +/- and we're not really not commuting anywhere so no need to be near any specific location. What we're basically looking for is good schools, good quality of life, stuff for the kids to do, some diversity, and good people - also a good bagel place and a good pizza joint are important. From what I have read, I should be looking at Parkland, Weston, Coral Springs, Jupiter. I would sincerely appreciate any feedback. My kids and my wife are my life so I am trying to put them in a place where they can thrive. Is florida tolerant of interracial couples and multiracial children? Sorry if this sounds ignorant...but I don't want to put my children in a place where they would have to face that. I understand there are knuckleheads everywhere (surprise, we even have some in orange county ny), but as a dad i want to protect them as long as I can. Any feedback on the towns I mentioned or frankly anywhere else in florida would be greatly appreciated. Northerners please feel free to advise on your experience. I have seen a lot of people move down and then move back up north. Thanks in advance.

[garyhitchcock]

Hi, we raised two boys from kindergarten to college in Parkland since 1987. All the things that you are looking for in a community bicycling, parks, restaurants, shopping, etc. are right here. Parkland being right off the Sawgrass Expressway means you can work anywhere between Miami and West Palm Beach!! Parkland schools were just rated #1 by Forbes magazine and this is a major reason that people move to Parkland and real estate maintains its value. You can read the article on my website at www.ParklandExpert.com Good luck !

[Rock Newman]

Originally Posted by Pookahan

Hi and thank you in advance for your help. We are moving to south Fla. for my husbands job in Ft. Lauderdale. We were initially hoping to live in Jupiter, but the commute 2-3 days a week in Ft Lauderdale may be a bit much. We looked at real estate in Parkland over a year ago and I found it to be a nice area, however, we were concerned about the chinese drywall issue. Anyway, we have small children and are looking for a friendly area, good schools, and lots of things to do like bicycling, playgrounds, restaurants, and a feeling of community. Can anyone advise me on this area who has lived here? Thanks!

We live in Parkland and we love it .... live in Heron Bay which is right on the Parkland / Coral Springs border .... our subdivision has no homes with Chinese Drywall which is a problem for some ... public schools are excellent as are the various day care facilities .. the City has growing restaurant and retail offerings as well as beautiful parks and other amenities .. crrime is low and it is a safe city ... you are a stones throw from Boca Raton and the nicer parts of Coconut Creek and Coral Springs .. about 50 minutes from Miami and 30 minutes to Ft.Lauderdale and a short 90 minutes to the West Coast ( Marco Island , Naples ) ... only Wellington , Weston and Abacoa in Jupiter compare in my opinion .

[Rock Newman]

Originally Posted by Gimme_Shelter

(I just posted this on the West Palm Forum also - sorry if I breached any forum etiquette rules)

Hi all,

I wanted to revive this thread because my family's situation is similar. My wife and I are in our mid-thirties with 3 little ones (5, 2, 1). After last winter, we are really looking to move down to Florida. I've spent some serious time reading the different posts in this forum.....so I have a general idea - which makes me dangerous enough to do some real harm. A little background on us - I'm indian from the west Indies and I grew up in Northern NJ. My wife is 3/4 Irish and 1/4 German (also grew up in northern nj) - so we're kinda like the united colors of Benneton. Naturally, our kids are right in the middle (mutli-racial, blended, etc.) My wife is a stay-at-home and I am semi-retired at this point. We left northern NJ about 5 years ago and moved to Orange county ny to get out of the NJ vibe - Keeping up with the Joneses, the plastic people, the Jersey shore people etc (sorry nj peeps don't mean to stereotype everyone from nj). I love Orange county. The place is much more laid back and people are people just living their life...Anyways, the f-ing winters up here are ridiculous. It was cold from 10/15/10 to 4/15/11. That's enough! I've had enough of living like a refugee trapped in the house for 6 months.

So now, after considerable thought we are ready to make the move. Our budget is pretty flexible 1M +/- and we're not really not commuting anywhere so no need to be near any specific location. What we're basically looking for is good schools, good quality of life, stuff for the kids to do, some diversity, and good people - also a good bagel place and a good pizza joint are important. From what I have read, I should be looking at Parkland, Weston, Coral Springs, Jupiter. I would sincerely appreciate any feedback. My kids and my wife are my life so I am trying to put them in a place where they can thrive. Is florida tolerant of interracial couples and multiracial children? Sorry if this sounds ignorant...but I don't want to put my children in a place where they would have to face that. I understand there are knuckleheads everywhere (surprise, we even have some in orange county ny), but as a dad i want to protect them as long as I can. Any feedback on the towns I mentioned or frankly anywhere else in florida would be greatly appreciated. Northerners please feel free to advise on your experience. I have seen a lot of people move down and then move back up north. Thanks in advance.

I would check out Abacoa in Jupiter ( beautiful ) Parkland , Weston , Northern Coral Springs , Plantation West of University Drive and of course Parkland .