Parkland, Plantation, Davie, or Cooper City? (Coral Springs, Weston: homes, to buy, new construction)

[edroberts]

Update...so we went up to broward this weekend and explored:

1) Plantation Acres -- Found it to be very nice, but very horse country-like. Probably more land than I care to own, and notices some house were either never finished or hadn't been updated in 40 years. Definitely a nice place overall, just not my taste

2) Victoria Park-- Great location, but WAY TOO MANY hit and misses. 1 neighborhood is very nice, updated, well-kept, then the next is full of multi-home complexes or wood shacks. I know know, it's up and coming, but overall too small and found it a little too tight. One house in particular had the garage in the back of the house that could only be accessed via a dirt road alley.

3) Coral Ridge/Bay View -- We loved this area. Reminded us of the area we live in now. We kept, great location. However, you obviously sacrifice the size of home you can have. We saw a beautiful 2500 sq ft house completely updated, w/ a pool, but had no garage. No garage is a deal breaker. We will keep an eye on this location as several Realtors have told us this area is hot right now.

4) The Landings (north of Commercial Blvd.) Probably outside of our price range but obviously very nice. Realtor we met told us to consider Lighthouse point strongly. We need to learn more about LHP. Wondering it it's too far north or an overall good area.

Right now it looks like we're leaning towards the suburbs even though we'd like to stay on the east side of town. We still haven't' check out Cooper City.

[wizrap]

Lighthouse Point is a beautiful area but you are looking at a tremendous commute -- fortunately, if you can make your own hours, you can avoid the rush hour traffic but you really can't plan on accidents, road work, or outside the norm heavy traffic patterns. You might have to budget around 90 minutes or so, maybe 60, but I would say no less than that. How are the schools in that area? I think a lot of people send their kids to private -- even at the elementary school level. If so, you might have to take that into consideration with your budget. Is your range $750/$800K tops, taking into account public schools? If so, then carve out private school tuition -- with two kids, beginning in elementary school, you might want to lower your budget to the $500k range. Although it doesn't seem as if you and your wife are big fans of the western suburbs in Broward County, one of the allures is not only the relative safety, by South Florida standards, but also the top performing public schools. Good luck in your search!

[edroberts]

Originally Posted by wizrap

Lighthouse Point is a beautiful area but you are looking at a tremendous commute -- fortunately, if you can make your own hours, you can avoid the rush hour traffic but you really can't plan on accidents, road work, or outside the norm heavy traffic patterns. You might have to budget around 90 minutes or so, maybe 60, but I would say no less than that. How are the schools in that area? I think a lot of people send their kids to private -- even at the elementary school level. If so, you might have to take that into consideration with your budget. Is your range $750/$800K tops, taking into account public schools? If so, then carve out private school tuition -- with two kids, beginning in elementary school, you might want to lower your budget to the $500k range. Although it doesn't seem as if you and your wife are big fans of the western suburbs in Broward County, one of the allures is not only the relative safety, by South Florida standards, but also the top performing public schools. Good luck in your search!

Thanks Wizrap. It's looking more and more like the suburbs of Broward County will be the way we go. Now the question is to whether we choose SW Ranches, Parkland, or Plantation. You just get more house for your money and at the very least can send our kids to public elementary school for the first 7-8 years.

[ruski]

Southwest Ranches is very nice... But only a part of Southwest Ranches is zoned for Weston's Manatee Bay Elementary and Falcon Cove Middle schools. None of Southwest Ranches is zoned for Weston's Cypress Bay High.

[edroberts]

What's the deal with the Superfund site west of Imagination Farms in Davie? Is this really still a toxic site? I see that it's now a park, but some threads say to be weary of it. Thoughts?

I've also noticed quite a few Dolphin, Heat, & Marlin players live in Davie...yet I keep hearing how "rednecky" it is. What gives?

[Papillons2]

Originally Posted by edroberts

I've also noticed quite a few Dolphin, Heat, & Marlin players live in Davie...yet I keep hearing how "rednecky" it is. What gives?

Davie used to be the center of Broward's agricultural and ranching operations (as evidenced by the Davie Rodeo) and it still retains that heritage. Not having lived there, I'm not sure if much of a "redneck" element exists in Davie now. When I moved here in '87, people talked about Davie almost like it was Dodge City.

The area has appeal to pro athletes because of the large plots of land in the western part of town on which big, expensive homes have been built. It's especially convenient for Dolphins players and coaches because the team's training facility is based at Nova Southeastern U. in Davie.

[ruski]

Many parts of Davie are very country. Southwest Ranches too.

[momneedstoknow]

This is a secret. Embassy Lakes. Gated, great schools, families. Easy to I75. Homes built in 1992 so you may need to update but the community is as solid as they come and the gates don't let you in, unless the resident says so. Period. No exceptions.
Btw the nice homes go under contract in a day now.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by edroberts

What's the deal with the Superfund site west of Imagination Farms in Davie? Is this really still a toxic site? I see that it's now a park, but some threads say to be weary of it. Thoughts?

I've also noticed quite a few Dolphin, Heat, & Marlin players live in Davie...yet I keep hearing how "rednecky" it is. What gives?

I would not live in Imagination Farms but that's just me. Supposedly the site was cleaned up. The homes in the neighborhood that was built there (Imagination Farms) are really nice.

Davie is a place where you can buy your land and do whatever you like with it with few restrictions. It attracts people who want to keep a pickup truck, RV or a boat on their property without the HOA Nazis going nuts on them. So there is more of an element of people who like to do outdoorsy things which might seem redneck to some. However, Davie is quite nice overall. I would live in Davie, just not in Imagination Farms.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by ruski

Southwest Ranches is very nice... But only a part of Southwest Ranches is zoned for Weston's Manatee Bay Elementary and Falcon Cove Middle schools. None of Southwest Ranches is zoned for Weston's Cypress Bay High.

Most of SW Ranches is zoned for good schools. There is nothing magic about Cypress Bay.