Boston Meets Ft. Lauderdale (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: rentals, low crime, safe area) - Florida (FL) -Broward County - City-Data Forum

Mark_Paty · 06-30-2011, 04:18 PM

Hello All, I'm planning on moving from Boston to the Fort Lauderdale area. My girlfriend currently lives in Hollywood, Florida with her two kids, who are 13 and 10. I'm not very familiar with the area and my girlfriend hasn't been there for very long. We're concerned about the quality of the Hollywood school system. The reason for my post is to seek the forum's advice on places to live, which include the following: Within 30-45 minutes of Hollywood; Excellent schools; 3 bedroom rentals for $2300 or less; Relatively low crime rate; "stuff" in town - not just a bedroom community. I'm told that Aventura is very nice and it seems so, but that the schools in Sunny Isles are better? How about Plantation? I'm used to the Boston area schools which are generally very good and I'm concerned about crime as well. Apparently, living in a gated community is preferable since they're less prone to breaking and enterings? Thanks an advance for your opinions! Mark

ruski · 06-30-2011, 07:54 PM

Cooper City
Weston

Mark_Paty · 07-04-2011, 05:02 PM

Thanks ruski. Coming from the suburbs of Boston, the crime rates in the Fort Lauderdale area are shocking. My guess is that it's concentrated in certain sections of towns? No matter which town I look at, the crime seems extremely high.

Nolefan34 · 07-05-2011, 10:16 AM

Mark_Paty-

You are correct that the crime is concentrated in certain sections of each suburb. There are no "towns" in South FL. Think of South FL as one large mass of sprawl with no distinction between one suburb and the next. Each suburb has good pockets, mixed pockets, and bad pockets. No one suburb is uniformly good or bad (except maybe Weston). They all have some great areas and some areas to avoid. Typically, the good and bad areas are separated only by a street or a highway. On one side of the street you're in a country club and the opposite side you're in ghetto land.

The crime stats are misleading and not a great indicator of where to live or where to avoid. I always tell people to take a trip down here for a few days, rent a car, and check out areas they're interested in to get a feel. Also, the safe areas are generally the areas with the best school districts.

ruski · 07-05-2011, 11:07 AM

Right, Weston has no bad parts.

Mark_Paty · 07-05-2011, 01:34 PM

Very helpful - the distinction between your typical "town" and "sprawl" puts things in perspective. Thanks!

ruski · 07-06-2011, 09:41 AM

Once you get used to the sprawl, you will start being able to tell the difference between towns around here

For example Weston, Davie, and Southwest Ranches are right next to each other, but you can tell the difference between the three pretty well.

Nolefan34 · 07-06-2011, 08:10 PM

I guess when I think of a town, I think of it as a small city that is separate from other towns or cities nearby. In South FL, it is one big mass with no separation. A "town" or suburb is a large square-shaped area defined only by lines on a map. There is no difference between Fort Lauderdale and Davie or Sunrise or Pompano or Coral Springs. No dividing features except a highway. The roads are all in a grid pattern. On one side of a road you're in Coral Springs and the other side you're in Tamarac.