Any SE FL cities a good fit for us? (Miami: sales, apartment)

[FrugalMother]

Hello ... we want to purchase a home in FL as soon as our youngest graduates from college. A little about us ... we are both in our 50’s, Caucasian, European decent, raised Catholic, don’t speak any foreign languages. Hubby born & raised in suburbs of New York City; after college moved to Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. Wife born & raised in Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. We reside in Loudoun County, VA (a DC suburb) where the 2012 median household income was about $119K. Our home is currently worth about $600K/equity about $300K.

Our must haves /wants ...
Hubby in sales & will continue as a consultant & willl travel often -- would like to be within 30 miles of an International Airport.
Wife lost job of 12 years; won't look for employment in FL
Would like to live in a gated community -- a 55+ community would be okay.
No condominium/apartment style living.
Willing to pay HOA dues -- don’t want to pay CDD dues.
Politically -- county that leans to left/center/OR slightly to right (based on 2012 Presidential election, rules out St John’s/Indian River/Martin/Escambia/Collier Counties).
Don’t want to live in a county ranked in the top 5 for sinkholes (rules out Pasco/Hernando/Hillsborough/Pinellas Counties).
Don’t want to live in a city ranked high for hurricanes (sorry Boca Raton #10 & Miami #11).
Would prefer public water & sewer -- never had a home with well water or septic.
Want to be close to beaches -- what’s close in FL -- within 10 miles, 15 miles, 20 miles??
Wife loves to lounge/walk on beach & hubby is a water person.
We don’t boat or play tennis (but could learn) & hubby plays golfs.
Low crime is always a plus & we won't need schools/colleges.

Obviously living in vs visiting a city is different, but sometimes you get a "feel" for the area. We've vacationed in Ft. Myers Beach & visited Cape Coral/not sure, Port Charlotte & Punta Gorda/too far from either airport/beach. Visited Naples/might be too "right" leaning for us. Attended wedding in Daytona Beach/Flagler/Palm Coast -- didn't like the "feel" of those cities. Vacationed in ... Sunny Isles/torn about the area, Orlando/not near beach & Key West/too far to Int'l Airport.

Looking into Palm Beach County/but ranked high for hurricanes & probably too expensive, Coral Springs/low crime but seems too far to Ocean. Is our must-have list too detailed? Any cities / neighborhoods a good fit? THANKS for reading my LONG post!!

[ruski]

You are not safe from hurricanes anywhere in Florida.

I think Fort Lauderdale would be good for you. Nice FLL airport right there. And if you need to fly international, MIA is not far either.

[Nolefan34]

I agree that Fort Lauderdale area would be a good fit for the following reasons-

-You are within 30 miles of 3 international airports- Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Palm Beach.
-Broward County is a blue county
-You can only live within 20 miles of the beach here. You could live right on the beach if you wanted, but most likely you'll want something more modest and affordable further inland. A western suburb like Coral Springs or Weston perhaps.
-schools are not a concern, so you have way more options of where to live.
-There are millions of ex-New Yorkers down here so you'll fit right in

The only concerns are that the entire region is hurricane prone. Boca and Miami are only a matter of a few miles from Fort Lauderdale, so if a major storm hits Boca, it will affect the entire 100 miles around it too. A western suburb of Fort Lauderdale may be a good pick because the further inland you are the less of a wind impact you would get.

I would also add that Fort Lauderdale is VERY different than Fort Myers, Punta Gorda, and Port Charlotte. Fort Lauderdale is much more densely populated and has a more upbeat pace of life. Those other cities are the definition of laid back retirement areas. Now you can find retirement areas in Broward County as there are many of them, but the minute you leave your retirement community you're back to the real world.

[FrugalMother]

Thanks -- yeah, I know hurricanes are common in FL -- some cities do receive more "direct" hits than others & obviously the closer you are to water, the more prone to flooding. We have 2 relatives with homes in Ocean City, MD -- 1 gets a flooded back yard & the other looses shinges after every Nor'Easter (2 so far this winter season).

We have a wedding in the So FL area this Fall, so I'll have to research Coral Springs & Weston thoroughly before we arrive. Elsewhere I've read to look into Oakland Park & Parkland. What would be a quick description / pros-cons / comparison of these towns based on what I've detailed in my OP?

[ruski]

12 years ago, I moved from NYC to Weston, and been here ever since. Coral Springs is also very nice, and Parkland is very nice. But I am perfectly happy in Weston.

[wizrap]

IMHO, no city in Broward county is safe from a hurricane. That's why many of us have hurricane shutters and/or panels. So unless you're willing to join the rest of us during the annual hurricane watch (from mid-June through November) then you will not be happy here. Hurricanes are a fact of life for us-- just because the center of a storm hits Boca, for example, doesn't mean that Parkland and Coral Springs wouldn't get clobbered (it depends on the size of storm, location of the intensity of winds, angle of impact, etc. etc.). We are all getting killed by the hurricane insurance rates -- no one city in Broward County is being given an insurance break more than another, and if anything, the further east you are, the greater the likelihood you will pay more for home owner's insurance due to wind.

[Nolefan34]

South FL building standards are the strictest in the country and many neighborhoods in the newer suburbs such as Weston, Coral Springs, Parkland were built in recent decades. So while we are more hurricane prone than anywhere else, your home has less of a chance of collapsing here than most places.

[FrugalMother]

Nolefan34 -- thanks for the South FL building standards information. Somewhere I had read to purchase a home in coastal FL built after 2004 for this same reason.