Relocating with flexibility in exact location (Miami, Fort Lauderdale: sales, apartment complex, rentals)

[cmh6053]

I took a job in Florida and will be relocating there in the coming weeks. I'm being flown out for a weekend to tour the areas and make a decision so that way when my official start date comes up I'm ready to go.

Here is what makes me flexibile:
I only have to report to my office a few days a month. The other days I will be making sales calls from Miami to as far north as Gainesville (pretty much the entire state) but the bulk of the businesses will be right near my office.

The office is in Pompano Beach, FL. It looks like I have Pompano Beach itself, Ft Lauderdale areas, Del Ray Beach areas, Boca Raton areas and maybe more? I dont want to be driving all day to get to the office, however, its only maybe 5 times a month so I can't complain too much about a longer than average commute.

I am a 26 year old male and enjoy typical 26 year old male things. Bars, restaurants, beaches, people my own age, etc. Things that don't terribly matter would be school districts, property taxes, etc.
I can afford to pay roughly 1200 a month for an apartment.

I'm moving from Uptown Dallas if that gives anyone an indication of my current lifestyle.

I want to have at least SOME walkability. A couple restaurants or bars would be great.

I looked at Los Olas, but it looked a tad pricey. 1500 a month seemed to get me everything I wanted, and I just can't swing an extra 3600 a year... Is anyone seeing prices under 1200 in LO?

Please feel free to ask any follow up questions if it would help you help me more.

Thanks in advance to everyone!!

[Tulippsy]

South Florida in general isn't too walkable, so that might be a problem. You've already found Las Olas, and the other areas with some walkability would be Boca Raton near Mizner Park and downtown Delray Beach near Atlantic Avenue, but you're likely to have the same problem you found near Las Olas; it's going to be pricey.

Pompano Beach is one of the more affordable east side areas. If you stay east of Federal Highway, the neighborhoods are fine. Lauderdale By the Sea might be an option as well. It has a nice little area with some bars and restaurants you could walk to if you lived nearby.

Another option would be the Port Royal apartment complex. It's between Pompano and Fort Lauderdale on the intracoastal. Lots of young people and social activities going on there. I'm pretty sure you could get a one bedroom in your price range.

My general advice would be to stay to the east side of Broward or Palm Beach counties. The western suburbs are very, well, suburban. Great for families, but not a place for a single guy in his twenties, IMO.

Welcome to Florida! The weather is just starting to turn. You're going to love this winter!

Ok, here's another idea: you could check Craig's List for roommates wanted. You could potentially score a much nicer place in a better neighborhood by sharing the rent with someone.

[butercup]

I think Tulippsy nailed it. Port Royale is a good option but not very walkable to much besides grocery stores and a couple of casual chain restaurants. Delray Beach and East Boca near Mizner would be perfect, and both have decent access to I95 for you. LBTS is a great little town, it would probably be the most affordable but also the sleepiest - check it out when you come down - there are plenty of young people who go there but I think for the most part it's an over 30 (and often over 50) crowd. As someone who lived in East Pompano for 10 years, I'd avoid Pompano - it's mostly families or skeezy people. They're working on livening it up, but it wouldn't be my first or third choice if I were you.

[cmh6053]

Thanks for the great replies.
Tulippsy, I'm looking up all those places right now. Port Royale does seem very nice. And BTW I can't wait to be in Florida weather! Dallas stinks, 100* in the summer and 40* in the winter. Worst of both worlds. 90* vs 100*+ makes all the difference in the world. And according to monthly averages Ft Lauderdale is 90 in July and August

Walkable to a couple casual chain restaurants and a grocery store would be absolutely perfect for me. It's nice to go out to eat without absolutely having to get in the car, especially in cases of drinking and what not (A predinner drink or two on a weekend night is not terribly uncommon for me . I know I'm not moving to downtown Manhattan, but having two choices of walkable restaurants/pubs is absolutely what I'm hoping for.

[Papillons2]

You've gotten plenty of excellent advice here. As a former resident of Port Royale who currently lives in an adjacent townhome complex and also likes to visit Lauderdale-by-the-Sea occasionally for the ocean view and an adult beverage or two, I'll add my $.02.

I mentioned on another thread that Port Royale is a fine place for young professionals -- there are families and retirees there, but the population is largely 25-to-35-year-old singles who work hard and play hard. It's not walkable in a traditional sense, but it's only a few minutes on foot to Smokey Bones (a casual dining restaurant/sports bar that emphasizes barbecue), Friday's, Bonefish Grill and Outback. My wife (whom I met 20 years ago when we both lived at Port Royale, believe it or not) and I occasionally walk to these places when the weather is good. All do a brisk happy hour business. The area doesn't have the sort of clubs you'd find in downtown Fort Lauderdale; there's only one true bar within walking distance and it's a hole-in-the-wall that's a hangout for chain-smokers because it doesn't serve food and isn't subject to Florida's laws regulating indoor smoking. The Publix supermarket is a 10-minute walk and there's even an all-night Walgreens at the entrance to Port Royale.

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is easily walkable, with nice shops, restaurants and bars and the beach quite literally at your doorstep, but I'd agree that the crowd is older -- although by no means is it overrun by the geriatric set. If you enjoy mingling with tourists, it's the place for you thanks to all the hotels along the beach. Not quite sure what the rents are like there, but the area was overbuilt with condos and townhomes during the housing boom and there might be some rental deals to be had. The area can get very congested, especially during the peak tourist season, and the Commercial Boulevard drawbridge can slow you down when you travel west.

I think eastern Pompano Beach from the downtown strip along Atlantic Boulevard to the beach could be a great area in maybe five years as revitalization efforts indeed are underway. But the city has always had weak leadership and progress occurs at a snail's pace.

Good luck in your search -- and if you do wind up at Port Royale, our paths probably will cross.

[cmh6053]

Everything is turning out far more expensive than I was thinking. I was in Delray today and it looked beautiful in the downtown but starting prices were around 1700 a mo. The moment you head out of town you're straight in a ghetto, really scary looking ghetto. Went on SW 2nd St to look at a place...

I'll check Victoria Park tomorrow as I've heard decent reviews at that.

Boca looked beautiful along the A1A, however I couldn't see up anything at all up the side streets. Is there anywhere in Boca Raton in particular I should be checking? I don't need much action, just one little walkable area would be nice though. Caring less and less about being near anyone my own age. I just want 1. SAFE, 2. under 1300 3. reasonably close to beach and low to mild entertainment.

[butercup]

Don't have a great idea about prices, but still think Lauderdale by the Sea might be your best bet as far as pretty safe, good walkability, right on the beach. There are a lot of little mom and pop rentals and you might luck out - I'd drive around and look for signs. Basically Commercial Blvd east of the Intracoastal and the surrounding streets to the north and south of Commericial all the way to A1A. Also look just west of the Intracoastal along Commerical and Bayview Dr. - there are a lot of complexes there a block or two off of Commercial, east of Federal Highway and still a pretty great area. Should be more affordable as well.

Victoria Park is great, but definitely much closer to crime - be careful about the streets you are on and look closely at the neighbors.

[cmh6053]

I'll scratch Victoria Park, doesn't sound like what I want.

I think closest to the beach is more important than walking anywhere else. I didn't decide to move to florida for shops, I moved for the coast. Lauderdale by the sea east of intracoastal is definitely right on the water. I'll cruise all over that area tomorrow. Thank you for reminding me of that.

Might just end up going with something right off of A1A in boca. some one beds going for about 1,100. safest neighborhood around, very pretty, across the street from the beach.

[bayou91]

Originally Posted by cmh6053

Everything is turning out far more expensive than I was thinking. I was in Delray today and it looked beautiful in the downtown but starting prices were around 1700 a mo. The moment you head out of town you're straight in a ghetto, really scary looking ghetto. Went on SW 2nd St to look at a place...

I'll check Victoria Park tomorrow as I've heard decent reviews at that.

Boca looked beautiful along the A1A, however I couldn't see up anything at all up the side streets. Is there anywhere in Boca Raton in particular I should be checking? I don't need much action, just one little walkable area would be nice though. Caring less and less about being near anyone my own age. I just want 1. SAFE, 2. under 1300 3. reasonably close to beach and low to mild entertainment.

I really laughed out loud at the bolded part above, and then thought "As you should, since you're moving to Palm Beach County where the average age is in the mid-forties!" Anyway, hope you like FL better than Dallas!

[Nolefan34]

cmh6053-

I would narrow your search to 3 main areas-

1. Las Olas- The place to be for younger people. The fancy buildings are too expensive for you obviously. But there are tons of smaller, private rentals in the Las Olas area within walking distance that are more affordable. Get a realtor and they'll help you sort through the 1000's of listings. Realtors are free in South FL. They get paid on commission once you sign a lease.

2. The beach areas- LBTS is pretty. Its mostly elderly tourists and snowbirds mixed in with some younger people, but you're close enough to the hot areas of Fort Lauderdale.

3. Port Royale- Cheaper rents than most of Ft. Lauderdale and all of the amenities. Its also right on the border of Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, so probably the closest to your work. Port Royale's apartments are a bit small, but the location is good. You can rent a 1-BR for around $1000/mo there. Its not very walkable in terms of places to walk outside of the community though. And it takes about 20-25 minutes to drive like 6 miles to get to Las Olas mainly due to the stoplights. Otherwise it is a good area. There is tons of shopping along the US1 corridor.

South Florida has millions more suburbs and rentals to choose from, but you'll be further west and more isolated from nightlife. Pompano is only good east of Dixie Highway. Anything west of Dixie Highway is ghetto and sketchy, except for Palm Aire. Deerfield Beach is the same deal. Delray is only good in downtown (which is too pricey) and along the beach areas.

Another area I would consider is Boca Raton. Boca is almost all safe and nice housing/apartments.