Recommendations for a young family (Tampa, Fort Lauderdale: school district, income, live in)

[maybesefl]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens are VERY nice areas. But they are on the fringe of South FL. Personally, IMO Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens are the best areas to raise a family in South FL and possibly the entire state of FL. The traffic up there is not as bad as down here in Broward and there are just as many conveniences.

That said, if you have your heart set on living in a more cosmopolitan area Broward County is the place. One other city I would check out is Plantation. It sounds like the type of place you are looking for. Except that the schools are not rated as highly as Cooper City or Coral Springs.

That's what we're worried about - living on the fringe. I'm assuming Jupiter and PBG are more conservative and less progressive than say Coral Springs?

[JSnFla]

Originally Posted by maybesefl

That's what we're worried about - living on the fringe. I'm assuming Jupiter and PBG are more conservative and less progressive than say Coral Springs?

after being in broward country for a lil while u will prolly wish u were on the "fringe" of south florida. jupiter and pbg are very close to west palm beach which is basically the same kinda place as ft lauderdale in terms of cosmopolitan offerings. broward county is a VERY different kind of place, especially if u are a traditional, caucasian family from elsewhere not expecting what life is like in broward or sofla in general. i would go jupiter, pbg or parkland if u absolutely must live in broward for some reason. visit for awhile and u will understand the situation more clearly, good luck

[ybflady13]

West Boca Raton!!

[maybesefl]

Originally Posted by JSnFla

after being in broward country for a lil while u will prolly wish u were on the "fringe" of south florida. jupiter and pbg are very close to west palm beach which is basically the same kinda place as ft lauderdale in terms of cosmopolitan offerings. broward county is a VERY different kind of place, especially if u are a traditional, caucasian family from elsewhere not expecting what life is like in broward or sofla in general. i would go jupiter, pbg or parkland if u absolutely must live in broward for some reason. visit for awhile and u will understand the situation more clearly, good luck

What exactly do you mean? It sounds as though you're saying if you're white you won't like it in Broward.

[maybesefl]

Originally Posted by ybflady13

West Boca Raton!!

Thanks. I'll add that to my list.

[Nolefan34]

maybesefl-

No suburb here is uniformly safe, except maybe for Weston. Coral Springs has some sketchy areas, but not too many. Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens have almost no bad neighborhoods, but they are located much further north in northern Palm Beach County. But in almost every suburb of Broward County, you can be in a good neighborhood then go one block away and be in ghettoland.

The worst areas of Broward are the central cities like Fort Lauderdale (west of US1, north of Broward Blvd), Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale, Pompano Beach (west of Dixie Highway), Hollywood (west of US1, north of Hollywood Blvd), parts of Margate, Miramar (eastern half), and parts of East Davie.

Basically, the central column of Broward County is bad. A general rule of thumb is anything west of US1 and east of Florida's Turnpike is bad especially along the 441 corridor. There are some exceptions, but in general those are the worst areas.

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by maybesefl

That's what we're worried about - living on the fringe. I'm assuming Jupiter and PBG are more conservative and less progressive than say Coral Springs?

Umm, I wouldn't say that. Jupiter and PBG are similar to Coral Springs. You seem to have your heart set on Coral Springs. IMO it is a good area overall, but probably not the liberal haven you are desperately seeking. Coral Springs is like most nicer suburbs in South FL. Lots of gated communities, lots of yuppies, lots of soccer moms.

You may want to look further east in eastern Fort Lauderdale. Victoria Park and Coral Ridge are two areas you might wanna check out. I'm not sure about the schools there. But those are good areas if you're not looking for a gated community and you want a somewhat liberal environment.

[JSnFla]

Originally Posted by maybesefl

What exactly do you mean? It sounds as though you're saying if you're white you won't like it in Broward.

no i wouldnt go that far but it will most likely be an ethnic and cultural diversity that u have never experienced on a daily basis before. its unlike anywhere else in the US. the trend in broward and soFla has steadily shown white families moving away to areas like tampa, orlando and jacksonville within fl or NC, GA, TX or back to the northeast out of Fl. Many hispanic families have also been moving out of SoFla for economic and other reasons. coral springs would be comparable to carrollwood or brandon in the tampa area, very similar concept. the gated community is your friend in soFla, separation from the crazyness is welcomed

[maybesefl]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

maybesefl-

No suburb here is uniformly safe, except maybe for Weston. Coral Springs has some sketchy areas, but not too many. Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens have almost no bad neighborhoods, but they are located much further north in northern Palm Beach County. But in almost every suburb of Broward County, you can be in a good neighborhood then go one block away and be in ghettoland.

The worst areas of Broward are the central cities like Fort Lauderdale (west of US1, north of Broward Blvd), Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale, Pompano Beach (west of Dixie Highway), Hollywood (west of US1, north of Hollywood Blvd), parts of Margate, Miramar (eastern half), and parts of East Davie.

Basically, the central column of Broward County is bad. A general rule of thumb is anything west of US1 and east of Florida's Turnpike is bad especially along the 441 corridor. There are some exceptions, but in general those are the worst areas.

Where are the sketchy parts of Coral Springs? SE? Is NW the best?

[garyhitchcock]

Originally Posted by maybesefl

Where are the sketchy parts of Coral Springs? SE? Is NW the best?

The NW and parts of the NE area of Coral Springs are the newest. The NW definitely has the best school district as most of those neighborhoods go to the high school in Parkland, tops in the nation. The school district in Coral Springs determines the home price and future investment value.