What is Pembroke Pines like? (Hialeah, University: apartment, crime, how much)

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by rickyd

Once again, thanks for the reply. It seems as if when I move to Boca, I had better keep my @ss in Boca. lol. Those were just some places that I was curious about and thought about MAYBE visiting.

There are nicer cities in Broward than Dania and Hallandale.

Parkland
Coral Springs
Plantation
Cooper City
Weston

I don't care for Boca.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I have to disagree with you. The traffice in PP can be HORRIFIC. I frequently alter my route when I have to trave; on Pines Blvd. It can take 5 or 6 light changes to get through the light at Flamingo/Pines.

I usually get off at Sheridan at 75 and a lot of the time it's wide open and because there are few lights I can kind of "make up for lost time" heh then take Flamingo over to Pines. The Flamingo side is a lot better. Pines and Flamingo on the WEST side is a pain, but I still haven't had more than three cycles from there. However, I generally have driving on that road because of the heavy volume and crazy drivers. I usually spend very short amounts of time on that road and then cut over to a less congested route like Sheridan. Thats the thing about driving down here. It's not like theres no traffic, but you have alternates that are almost always available because of the street layout. Some places don't have that blessing.

But yes Plantation is a lot more pleasant to shop in. Sometimes the Peters Rd light sucks but the rest of it is busy, but moving.

[rickyd]

So pretty much, PB Pines is like a combo of West Boca and Miramar or somethin, correct? Appearance wise anyway. I know that it is VERY different in demographics, but what about crime in the city? Also, what type of people are there? young thug, hip types, snobs, old retirees, young professionals or what?

[compelled to reply]

The crime is, like I said, low. Average to below average on property crime and very low violent crime. There are around 150 thousand people and yet had 2 murders in 2007, which was a record breaking year in South Florida. It's the second safest city in Florida and safer than Boca Raton. The people largely middle class younger families although I have seen almost any type of person there. There are a few retirement communities as well. It's a very diverse area by all stretches of the word. Not really many hip types though, being how bland and uninspiring such a city is LOL! Also not a snobby area either, pretty down to earth. West of Dykes Rd it's a tiny bit snobby. The standard of living is fairly high, but it's just that it's quite crowded, way more congested than surrounding communities, and also very high on the blando scale. And like I also said, I wouldn't live there if you have a problem with minorities, especially if they are mostly middle class decent people. As a place to live I rate it 7 out of 10.

Cross between West Boca and the better parts of Miramar is about right. Except more crowded.

[rickyd]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Not really many hip types though, being how bland and uninspiring such a city is LOL!

I'm surprised there aren't too many hipsters in PB Pines, considering that it's the most diverse city in Broward as far as demographics go.

As far as the city being bland, now that you mention it, I was looking at some real estate photos of some homes in the city, and I admit, it was so plain looking. The homes were big but just ...........bland. I dunno how to describe it. I didn't see all of the city though, just a few homes, so I couldn't really judge upon that.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by rickyd

I'm surprised there aren't too many hipsters in PB Pines, considering that it's the most diverse city in Broward as far as demographics go.

The hipsters hang out around downtown Hollywood to the east, or in Ft. Lauderdale/Wilton Manors or in Surfside in Dade County. Downtown Delray Beach has that too. Unless you want there to be, there is really no such thing as race in Broward County since there is no ethnic majority and it's not very segregated, so that explains the demographics. But there is definitely such thing as social class...

[rickyd]

That is cool, as I really don't care for any ghettos or young thug types AT ALL.


So as far as the downtown area and stuff goes, what is it like? I have never seen any pics of it.

Overall, does the city have any type of charm that will draw you there? for instance, like Delray and Boca have certain charms to them.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by rickyd

That is cool, as I really don't care for any ghettos or young thug types AT ALL.


So as far as the downtown area and stuff goes, what is it like? I have never seen any pics of it.

Overall, does the city have any type of charm that will draw you there? for instance, like Delray and Boca have certain charms to them.

Which city, Pembroke Pines? Hell NO, LMAO!

Hollywood, sort of. A lot of it is run down and even downtown is still pretty rough around the edges. But there is a feeling in the air there. I can't explain it. To some people that feeling is absolutely repulsive, to others, it's exactly what they are looking for. In some of the more blue collar parts of town, the people in local stores can be particularly rude and brash. They don't really mean to be, but it's just rough. Unlike most of the communities around here it has a
little bit of a history to it and you can really sense that. It has a little bit of everything really. It has established tree lined upper middle class neighborhoods, it has motels, divey bars and restaurants, and condos along it's non-pretentious beach "broadwalk", it has the Young's Circle area which if you go into that Publix or Walgreens there it feels like the crossroads of the world. But it's still basically a freak show. Downtown has everything from pawn shops to redneck dive bars to upscale Brazilian or Latino clubs, and there is a lot of authentic ethnic dining from a pretty wide span of countries. There are also a lot of really strange shops and a few college town-ish book stores. It has upscale bits and pieces, but it definitely isn't pretentious. It has a little bit of an old Florida charm to it, but it can still be dead on weekdays. On the weekends it livens up and at night there are practically people pouring out of the streets. They are trying to attract the arts there as well, and they did a nice job redoing the Youngs Circle Park. They have an arts center with glass blowing exhibits and local artists featured, and you can sometimes meet the artists. They have a lot of nice festivals in that area as well that are free or cheap and they are increasingly well done. But as far as whether it can sustain a serious arts scene remains to be seen. It's definitely a work in progress and maybe a little bit of a risk. Five years ago you didn't even go to downtown Hollywood unless you worked there or you really liked crime, and the homeless problem was excessive. The police finally wised up and decided to take crime seriously and now the downtown and EAST of the circle could be considered very safe because of the heavy police presence. I couldn't say that a few years back.

If you like divey and gritty, you would love Downtown or the beach areas. It's not Coral Gables, it's not Aventura and that's what distinguishes it. There is a charm there, but it's a gritty one that's very love it or hate it, although there are some upscale, almost Coral Gables like neighborhoods like Hollywood Lakes.

Oh, and there are a small amount of young ghetto wannabes in Pembroke Pines. Typical suburban gangsters, lol.

[rickyd]

Damn that was one hell of a city review. lol. "Compelled" you know your stuff about SoFl.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by rickyd

So pretty much, PB Pines is like a combo of West Boca and Miramar or somethin, correct? Appearance wise anyway. I know that it is VERY different in demographics, but what about crime in the city? Also, what type of people are there? young thug, hip types, snobs, old retirees, young professionals or what?

I always feel safe when I shop in West Pines. I don't have hard crime data, but my gut tells me there is little violent crime in PP and that some property crime.

It pretty much looks like everywhere else in SW Broward. PP is basically a bedroom community for Ft Lauderdale and Miami. There are families and seniors, with a very hispanic influence. Housing costs tend to be average to slightly higher than average with a fairly large selection of different types of housing.