Physician moving to work at Joe DiMaggio, Miramar Memorial and Memorial West (Miami: 2014, power lines)

[BuffaloMD]

Hello everyone! I would like to thank in advance to everyone contributing to this forum. I have found great information about Broward County here. I am moving to South Florida this summer with my wife and 2 kids (5 year old and 2 year old). I will be working mainly at Joe DiMaggio in Hollywood; however, every 3 months, I will be spending a week at Miramar Memorial and another week at Memorial West. Considering the bulk of my work load will be at Joe DiMaggio, I am tempted to stray way from Weston or Cooper City which apparently have great schools and try city living closer to the ocean. I've looked into areas like Victoria Park and Rio Vista in Fort Lauderdale (close to Las Olas). I am also considering Hollywood lakes and Aventura. I suppose I would be willing to look at Cooper City homes as well. I am going to rent first, but I would prefer to rent in an area where I will eventually buy a house/condo/townhouse. I really like some independent newer town homes I've see in the Victoria Park area. I've read about the great charter schools in those areas, but they seem though to get in. How tough is it to get to Virginia Young? Or Beachside Montessori? I can stretch my budget up to 800-900k and all we need is 3 beds/2 baths. I can't wrap my head around paying over $500 for HOA, so most high rises are out of the question. Besides, I would like to keep my longest commute (Miramar Memorial Hospital to about 40 min tops). Can we find a pocket of a city neighborhood that is safe and yet with decent schools? Any good private schools in those areas that don't charge an arm or a leg? Any thoughts? Ideas? No haters, please!
Best regards,
BuffaloMD

[BNBR]

The challenge with living east is that the elementary schools are fine, it's when you get to middle/high school it becomes an issue. Private schools seem to run in the $12k/year to $20k/year range. That's a lot of money for 2 kids.

My opinion, look in Cooper City. Monterra. You are a little further east in Cooper City so your commute into Hollywood won't be that bad, and certainly no worse than near the beach. You can get a nice house for under $800k in a safe community, totally brand new, with very good public schools. Remember that Cooper City also has a ton of family friendly activities, parades, events, loads of parks, etc. It really caters to young families.

Here's an example of what I would recommend in your budget and location: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/30...d/?view=public

Note that they have smaller models in the $550k - $650k range that might be more than you want, too, and why not save $300k?

Beyond that, I think some others with more knowledge of the beach areas might chime in.

[ralanprod]

Welcome!

Memorial is a great system. My middle son suffered from Hunter's Syndrome, and we spent years going to Joe D for weekly infusions.

In the price range you are looking at, you have a few choices. As was mentioned, the east side of the county is nice, but once you get outside of elementary ages - the public school system is really dicey. I'd be more willing to go further south to Aventura (Miami-Dade County) - but decent places in that area are expensive. Not to mention that the traffic in the winter really sucks.

If you take a look at Cooper City, previously mentioned Monterra is a nice development. The Embassy Lakes neighborhood is very nice as well.

Downside of anything north of 595 is that the traffic sucks going south if you have to travel in anything close to rush hour. If you are up in Victoria Park, it's a pretty long drive out to either West or Miramar.

For me personally, I want to be in a spot where if the highway is gridlocked for whatever reason - there is a surface path I can take that isn't too unbearable. Our glorious leaders down here are known for finding random reasons to start "improving" highways. (read as: 2-3 years of traffic inducing construction that rarely improves anything for long)

[BNBR]

To be fair, the 595 and I95 projects greatly improved traffic flow. They were home runs and very well engineered. And I HATE giving credit to the morons running things down here.

[BuffaloMD]

Thank you for your responses, BNBR and ralanprod. I am glad to know there are nice parks and family events in Cooper City. It sounds like if I want to live an urban life in Fort Lauderdale my quality of life would be compromised by bad traffic/long commutes and flaky schools. So, I am going to change my question a bit. Can you guys help me create a list of pros and cons between communities? Considering you have a generous house budget and you like running/jogging, which community would you pick between Hollywood Lakes, Cooper City or Weston? Do Weston and Hollywood lakes have similar family events and parks as Cooper City? I was impressed with a gated community in Hollywood Lakes called Harbor Islands. Again, I am a physician with 2 kids ( 2 and 5) who will be working at Joe DiMaggio, and occasionally at Miramar Memorial and West Memorial - a week on each every 3 months. As always, thank you for your help! I like to run about 4 times a week. Parks and the Hollywood broadwalk are on my radar.

[BNBR]

It's fair to note that the commute from Weston vs. Cooper City to Joe. DiMaggio is only about 10 - 20 minutes longer as you would take 595 to 95, though the distance is about 3X longer.

I just don't know the beach areas that well to give you a great comparison. None of the western areas are going to be as interesting jogging as the broadwalk. I even think of Rock Creek in Cooper City, which has a phenomenal path around the community, but it gets boring.

Generally speaking, there is a trade off for a more urban lifestyle near the beaches. You'll get a lot less house for your money and bad public schools or expensive private schools. This is why Cooper City/Davie/Weston are such hot places for families. However, if that is your calling, as it is for many, you may have a better quality of life there because you love it so much. Jogging at the beach may be super important to you.

The doctors I know all live out west. Plantation (Hawks Landing), Davie, and Weston. Houses in the $1M - $2M range. It's the same type of neighborhood I live in. My budget was over $1 million, so I could live anywhere and I'm in west Davie, just next to Weston. So I may be a tad biased. I lived in Cooper City before moving about 5 months ago and kept that house. I have grown up in Cooper City, I have many friends with children in Cooper City. It's very family oriented if you actually get out and enjoy the events. Now, I don't mean weekly events, more like every month or two, but it's nice. Like Founders Day with the parade and the July 4th celebration, even the "Touch A Truck" is fun. But they also have great sports programs and all that fun stuff, too.

I have an 18 month old and 3 1/2 year old. Living near the beach didn't make sense for me with young children.

If you end up in the Weston area, you may want to look at Markham Park as a place to go jogging. It's even free during the week and $1.50 on the weekend. Huge park, tons of trails, and if you want to take up mountain biking, they have really outstanding riding trails also. If that sounds interesting to you, then consider Weston or west Davie. There are outstanding houses in your price range in nice gated communities with quality schools. I love all the parks and places to go with my children when we want to get outside. Markham, Vista View, and numerous other parks. Plus Young At Art is amazing for little kids.

I'm guessing you mean Memorial West when you say West Memorial. All 3 hospitals would be reasonably reachable from Cooper City or Weston.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by BNBR

The challenge with living east is that the elementary schools are fine, it's when you get to middle/high school it becomes an issue. Private schools seem to run in the $12k/year to $20k/year range. That's a lot of money for 2 kids.

My opinion, look in Cooper City. Monterra. You are a little further east in Cooper City so your commute into Hollywood won't be that bad, and certainly no worse than near the beach. You can get a nice house for under $800k in a safe community, totally brand new, with very good public schools. Remember that Cooper City also has a ton of family friendly activities, parades, events, loads of parks, etc. It really caters to young families.

Here's an example of what I would recommend in your budget and location: 3001 NW 82nd Way, Pembroke Pines, FL 33024 | MLS #A10031790 | Zillow

Note that they have smaller models in the $550k - $650k range that might be more than you want, too, and why not save $300k?

Beyond that, I think some others with more knowledge of the beach areas might chime in.

+1 on Monterra in Cooper City

Townhomes there were built by Minto and are very good quality.

Single Family Homes are very nice too and are still practically new (some have effective build date in 2013-2014).

[gonoles12]

I grew up in Cooper City as well. Rock Creek, Monterra, and Embassy Lakes are beautiful neighborhoods.

Welcome to South Florida. My SO is a nurse at Memorial West and she loves it there. Best of luck in your search.

[ruski]

If I had to choose, my first choice would still be Weston. I rollerblade plenty around Weston, and there are plenty of joggers here too. My usual loop around Weston is 10 miles long.

The thing about Weston is that there are a lot of intangibles that you don't immediately notice, but over the years grow accustomed to. You start noticing the lack of these intangibles when you visit other towns. It looks nice all around, is impeccably maintained, safe everywhere, and all the schools are good.

Having said that, Monterra Cooper City is super nice, and may be better located for your commuting needs. Although it has those high voltage power lines that could be seen from some homes... not very aesthetically pleasing.

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by ruski

The thing about Weston is that there are a lot of intangibles that you don't immediately notice, but over the years grow accustomed to. You start noticing the lack of these intangibles when you visit other towns. It looks nice all around, is impeccably maintained, safe everywhere, and all the schools are good.

Most areas are like that, though. I felt that way when I lived in Tamarac

It's all part of learning what's around you, then you realize these western suburbs in Broward offer just so much. In Cooper City I had so many great things around, thought I'd miss them in west Davie, but now in west Davie I almost like it better than Cooper City. You won't go wrong with any of these areas. Though I think Monterra has the least amount of stuff near it, actually. But it's closer to work, newer, and seemingly about right for the budget.

But I do think I agree that either west Davie or Weston might be a good fit based on his wanting to get out and exercise. I don't see Monterra or the immediate area all that great for it. Unless he is in Embassy or Rock Creek and stays within those communities.