Moving to Fort Lauderdale area ~ please fellow Floridians answer our questions! (Hollywood: extended stay, rentals)

[Victorious1018]

Originally Posted by Papillons2

If driving time is an important factor, I'd put Coral Springs atop the list. It's family-oriented with plentiful housing options, and maybe 20 minutes from Pompano Beach.

If money is no object, check out Parkland.

Cooper City and Weston are fine choices, too, but again it depends on the importance of driving time as those are farther away.

Coconut Creek is not a bad place and certainly convenient to Pompano, but I always thought it was a little less family-friendly because the housing seems heavily geared toward young singles and seniors (many apartments and condos), although there are some nice single-family developments in town. Depending on location and the direction of the wind, you also might be within sniffing distance of the stench from the nearby county landfill.

Martin County would be a great choice for anyone working in northern Palm Beach County. It's quiet and uncongested. The schools are well above-average and the lifestyle is much calmer than it is to the south. But the drive, even when traffic is light, would be at least an hour from the southernmost part of Martin County to Pompano Beach. I worked in Stuart for two years because it was the only place I could find suitable employment in my profession during the worst of the recession and had to rent a tiny apartment during the week (driving home on weekends) because the daily commute from my home in northern Fort Lauderdale would have been too much.

Regarding cost of living: Obviously, there's no state income tax here and my guess is you can get more house for the money here than in metro New York when you decide to buy. But watch out for insurance -- auto coverage rates are among the highest in the nation here, and homeowners insurance rates continue to soar because of the cost of windstorm coverage.

I forgot to consider auto rates there As well as homeowners insurance. However, we will be renting for a couple of years. Is it required to purchase this insurance if we are not owning yet?

[Victorious1018]

Originally Posted by rusty78

Traveling from Martin County will take at least an hour each way and at times will resemble the LIE......

I would check out vehicle insurance rates before you move......for mine doubled and I have no accidents and excellent credit......I mentioned credit, because the insurance companies are now using your credit score to set rates......

Try these sites www.myflorida.com www.stateofflorida.com www.listingbook.com they will give you some of the information you will want/need...

Can't help you with the Fort Lauderdale area...for my wife and I move further north basically because we could not afford anything in Fort Lauderdale that we liked......

Yea, I guess Martin County is out. I really liked the affordability in Port St. Lucie as well, but it is still a long commute to Pompano Beach, right?

As it turns out, there is another opportunity opening up in Buford, GA. I told my husband he should apply there too. In my searching, it seems you can get a lot more in a rental property.. hmmmm

[Victorious1018]

Originally Posted by rusty78

Traveling from Martin County will take at least an hour each way and at times will resemble the LIE......

I would check out vehicle insurance rates before you move......for mine doubled and I have no accidents and excellent credit......I mentioned credit, because the insurance companies are now using your credit score to set rates......

Try these sites www.myflorida.com www.stateofflorida.com www.listingbook.com they will give you some of the information you will want/need...

Can't help you with the Fort Lauderdale area...for my wife and I move further north basically because we could not afford anything in Fort Lauderdale that we liked......

Re: car ins. Can Florida car insurance rates really be higher than NY? That is odd. It is a good point and I definitely will put in a call to check!

[ruski]

I am pretty sure your current auto insurance company will try to increase your rates after you move. That's what they did to me when we moved from NY to FL. I dropped them like a bad habit and went with a different company.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Victorious1018

That is not too bad. His office is off of NW 40th Court, Pompano Beach 33064

Easy commute from Parkland and not too bad from Weston on the Sawgrass Expressway.

Also looks like a straight shot from Cooper City on the FL Turnpike (have you looked at the Monterra development in Cooper City?)

Naturally, Coconut Creek is right there, but I am not too familiar with it. Some people like it, some are not too crazy about it.

You can also consider Boca Raton.

Wellington would be the Northmost area to consider - decent commute on the Turnpike.

Port St Lucie... only if I were desperate... It is a good area, got hit hard by the crisis, that's why you can find inexpensive real estate there. It kind of has been off the radar recently. Used to be a hot item back in 2005-2006.

[Victorious1018]

Originally Posted by ruski

Easy commute from Parkland and not too bad from Weston on the Sawgrass Expressway.

Also looks like a straight shot from Cooper City on the FL Turnpike (have you looked at the Monterra development in Cooper City?)

Naturally, Coconut Creek is right there, but I am not too familiar with it. Some people like it, some are not too crazy about it.

You can also consider Boca Raton.

Wellington would be the Northmost area to consider - decent commute on the Turnpike.

Port St Lucie... only if I were desperate... It is a good area, got hit hard by the crisis, that's why you can find inexpensive real estate there. It kind of has been off the radar recently. Used to be a hot item back in 2005-2006.

Thank you so much for your helpful information.
That makes sense that the area port at lucie would be so much cheaper.

I thought boca was really pricey, no?
Is it family oriented?

I going to check out the development you mentioned in Cooper city.

[Papillons2]

Originally Posted by Victorious1018

I forgot to consider auto rates there As well as homeowners insurance. However, we will be renting for a couple of years. Is it required to purchase this insurance if we are not owning yet?

No, it's only required for those who own homes and have mortgages. You also don't have to have it if you paid for your home in cash and/or the home is paid off. If you have a mortgage, most lenders require property insurance, including coverage for windstorm damage.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Victorious1018

Thank you so much for your helpful information.
That makes sense that the area port at lucie would be so much cheaper.

I thought boca was really pricey, no?
Is it family oriented?

I going to check out the development you mentioned in Cooper city.

Boca has very pricey parts and other parts. Some parts are very nice. Some other parts are not. I am actually not very familiar with Boca. I am most familiar with the Weston-Fort Lauderdale corridor. And Sunny Isles, 'cause I am Russian.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by Victorious1018

Re: car ins. Can Florida car insurance rates really be higher than NY? That is odd. It is a good point and I definitely will put in a call to check!

We moved from Westchester to Broward County in 2000. I grew up on LI. It is slightly less to live in Broward, but not as much as people think.

Our car insurance rates were roughly the same as they were in NY. Our property taxes are lower in FL, but not that much lower. There is no state income tax in FL and that was a big savings but much of it was eaten up by the MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH higher property insurance rates here in FL.

Regarding where to live, I think that you should rent a townhome close to your husband's office (maybe in Coconut Creek or Coral Springs) and start your search for a home when you get here. Forget Martin County. It's a rough commute.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

We moved from Westchester to Broward County in 2000.

So did we