Suggestions for communities around Fort Lauderdale for snowbirds (Hollywood, Coral Springs: apartment, rentals)

[Conanc]

Hello,

My husband and I are close to retiring and would like to be snowbirds beginning next year. Our daughter and her husband currently live in Fort Lauderdale and we are starting to become more familiar with Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding communities. We would like to start out by renting a two bedroom place and are looking for suggestions from local residents on towns, and areas/apartment/condo complexes within those towns.

Last January we did a little exploring around and drove as far north as Hutchinson Island. We are visiting again in March and would like to drive around and concentrate more within the Fort Lauderdale area up to 20-30 mins or so away. We love the Riverwalk area but feel the condos might be a little pricey for us unless we rented a one bedroom. We are familiar with Wilton Manors and Victoria Park and the Las Olas area. Are there any specific areas or nearby towns we should take a look at while we are there and range of rental prices? We are not stuck into living in Fort Lauderdale and are open to all suggestions but not yet ready to contact a realtor. We have a 10 pound dog, and are looking for a safe, pet friendly, walkable community where we can walk to a Starbucks or local coffee shop, farmer's market, and maybe a few restaurants (which is why we like the Riverwalk area).

Thanks so much for any suggestions you can provide. Have a great day!

[Conanc]

I should also mention that if year one and renting goes well and we are happy with the area, we are considering selling our home up north and relocating to Florida. Thanks!

[wizrap]

If you are willing to forego close proximity to the beach & get more bang for you buck for a rental, you might want to look for something close to The Promenade in Coconut Creek. It is a bustling, upscale business area & since Coconut Creek is about 20 or so minutes from the beach, should not be as expensive as properties on the east side of town.

Downtown Hollywood (Hollywood Blvd. east of I-95) might give you everything you want too, & it would be close to the beach. Fort Lauderdale By The Sea is another beach town north of Las Olas, with a small, quaint downtown. I personally like Hillsboro Mile but it doesn't have much street life. It is so peaceful though & the beach is gorgeous. You didn't really say what your budget was, but hopefully it's high enough to give you some choices on where to rent.

[Mount of Counti Christo]

That part of Coconut Creek is in the shadows of Mt. Trashmore and the incinerator. Maybe everyone is too busy playing with their "smart" phones to notice??

That being said, if you like having a bunch of places located closely where you can spend money on stuff, Coconut Creek had managed to pull that off in a way Coral Springs couldn't seem to figure out how to do.

You could probably get to Deerfield Beach in 15 min. with NO traffic. 20-30 min more likely commute.

You might find something nice in Hollywood, I like the beach there. There used to be a great farmers market there, "Josh's Organic Garden." Not sure if it is still there, but it was quite unique.

Originally Posted by wizrap

If you are willing to forego close proximity to the beach & get more bang for you buck for a rental, you might want to look for something close to The Promenade in Coconut Creek. It is a bustling, upscale business area & since Coconut Creek is about 20 or so minutes from the beach, should not be as expensive as properties on the east side of town.

Downtown Hollywood (Hollywood Blvd. east of I-95) might give you everything you want too, & it would be close to the beach. Fort Lauderdale By The Sea is another beach town north of Las Olas, with a small, quaint downtown. I personally like Hillsboro Mile but it doesn't have much street life. It is so peaceful though & the beach is gorgeous. You didn't really say what your budget was, but hopefully it's high enough to give you some choices on where to rent.

[griffon652]

Originally Posted by wizrap

If you are willing to forego close proximity to the beach & get more bang for you buck for a rental, you might want to look for something close to The Promenade in Coconut Creek. It is a bustling, upscale business area & since Coconut Creek is about 20 or so minutes from the beach, should not be as expensive as properties on the east side of town.

I second this option. Its hands down one of the most optimal locations for you in terms of everything you asked for. It was voted one of the top 100 cites in the US to live in for a reason. Rent will be anywhere from $750-$1300 for a 2 bed depending on if you choose a 55+ or not and how fancy you want your location to be. Carrington in Coconut Creek is probably one of the nicest condo communities in Broward to live in but will run you into the $1300's.

The only disadvantage is that its not as walkable as the areas in Ft. Lauderdale and some of the other hotspots that have bustling nightlife. However, those place will require a high rent if your looking for the quality I mentioned above. In Coconut Creek you need a car but driving to almost anywhere you need to go (minus the beach) will be a 1-5 min drive.

As far as what the previous posted mentioned regarding the dump site is not accurate; its about .75 miles from the closest areas north of Lyons/sample in coconut creek which includes the promenade. However, I have been to the promenade and the surrounding area many times and NEVER even had a hint of any bad smells. The air smells as fresh as any other part of Broward.

This is also the consensus of everyone I have met who live in Coconut Creek. If your worried about this just take a drive in Coconut Creek with your windows down next time you come to FL. Besides when driving right by the dump site I highly doubt you will even know that its there. Now the dump site in Pompano Beach on Copens is another story...... but even at that one you need to be about .25-.4 miles close to smell it.

Everything else Counti Cristo mentioned is spot on. This is my recommendation based on living in the FL tri county area for over 20 years. Feel free to ask if you have any more questions.

[Mount of Counti Christo]

It's true, there is no smell from Coconut creek, but it's visible from various locations in the county, this is what I was referring to.

[Tulippsy]

How many months are you planning to spend in Florida? The fact that you're going to be snowbirds is going to limit your options. You need to look for things that are seasonal rentals. And unfortunately be prepared to pay more. They really jack up the price on short term rentals. My neighbor in Pompano used to pay $3,000/month for her 2 bedroom on the beach for Jan. Feb. and March, which you could rent annually for $1700. Did your daughter have any suggestions?

[Conanc]

Hi, Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. We are very appreciative of any and all information. Keep it coming. It's so overwhelming, so it's very helpful to get feedback from local folks. We will definitely drive to and spend some time checking out Coconut Creek in March. Is it a pet friendly area?

Right now we are trying to figure out places we would like to live in …. at least for our first year. Then we can use that time to explore and test it out before we do something permanently. It's hard because for this first year, everything is still up in the air but we are thinking Jan. Feb and March. Our daughter is new to the area and other than specific condo buildings and areas within Fort Lauderdale, does not know the area enough to suggest other communities.
Thanks again!

[griffon652]

Originally Posted by Conanc

Hi, Thanks so much for all of your suggestions. We are very appreciative of any and all information. Keep it coming. It's so overwhelming, so it's very helpful to get feedback from local folks. We will definitely drive to and spend some time checking out Coconut Creek in March. Is it a pet friendly area?

Absolutely pet friendly. For example, a majority of the restaurants in the Promenade offer outdoor seating for people who bring pets with them. And this is very typical, you will see many people walking around there with their dogs.

Most of the Condo's have certain restrictions of pet types and breeds. However, almost all of them allow a 10 LB dog. I forgot to mention the Evergreen Lakes Condo in Coconut Creek, that particular development is within walking distance of the Promenade so you won't need a car for restaurant's/entertainment shopping if you lived there. Its also an extremely nice neighborhood. But for 2 bedroom's it will probably be into the $1300's or high $1200's if you’re lucky.

I know you said you aren't ready to contact a realtor but I would highly recommend it because:

1. Its completely free of charge and you can contact as many as you want.

2. They can give you advice regarding very specific developments/pictures of the place/close by businesses from all parts of Broward that fit your criteria.

3. They can also show you developments of your choice when you come down to FL which is also free of charge!

Best of luck!

[ConeyIsBabe]

This thread has been very informative so far and I will be following it for any additional information