hubby got new job in Ft Laud, whats best place to live without a long commute? (Miami: rental, houses) - Fort Lauderdale area - Florida (FL) -Broward County - City-Data Forum

tracerall · 03-18-2009, 07:00 PM

we have been researching the posts, and most everyone has mentioned West Boca as a great place to live with great schools for our kids. is that a huge commute to Ft Lauderdale everyday? what about Pembroke Pines, or Weston? I am a city girl so I need to be close to malls, shopping, stuff to do with the kids but want a nice gated community , rental house for around $2000max, anyone got any input for me? i would appreciate it so much!

Nolefan34 · 03-18-2009, 07:29 PM

All 3 of those places are nice, and all are very commutable. West Boca is a little further away than Weston or Pembroke Pines but not much further. Traffic isn't terrible, but 95 and 595 (East of Pine Island) can get pretty bunched up during morning and afternoon rush hours. Its nothing like NYC, DC, or even Miami traffic though. You still will need about 45-50 minutes from West Boca though, and about 35-45 minutes from Pembroke Pines or Weston.

In terms of being a city girl, there is nothing "city-like" about the 3 suburbs you mentioned. I would venture to say that the people living in West Boca have more of a city-mentality since lots of them are from NYC originally. But if you are looking for city-like living you'd have to live in Fort Lauderdale, FLL Beach, Miami, or maybe Hollywood/Avenutura. The rest of Broward County is very spread out and is nothing but a giant suburbia. Still, many of the people who live in those places moved from big cities like NYC, Boston, DC, and Miami.

tracerall · 03-18-2009, 07:45 PM

well, I guess I should rephrase it and say, I do love the suburbs but I guess I am afraid to be in the country with absolutely nothing to do and a 30 minute drive to walmart! lol but I can commute a bit to the mall, I do not mind that at all! I am in Tampa now and the mall is about 5 miles away, walmart is about a mile away so I am spoiled I guess. we still live in a nice quiet gated community. the schools are bad here though. so , i need to find a place thats similar to what we have now. Ive seen alot of old houses down there, I like the newer two story ones around $2000 a month. we are not snobby or rich, by any means, we just want to live in a nice place with community pool, gym, jogging trails, etc. any suggestions?

Shoegal1075 · 03-18-2009, 07:53 PM

You aren't going to really have that issue in South Florida, especially Broward. Coming from Tampa, I don't think that you will consider any of the cities country. I don't even really consider them country and I'm from NYC. I did think Orlando was kind of country though, but this was 7 or so years ago.

I would say no to Pembroke Pines, because of the kids.

tankev · 03-19-2009, 04:16 AM

I was pretty much born and raised in Tpa. with the exception of a 12 year stint up north. You won't have a problem moving to South FL. Prices are higher on everything in SFL. More spanish spoken but country, no. You have more country up there with the north end of Lutz, Land O' Lakes and those outlying areas (I grew up in LO'L and moved to the "big city" of Tampa after High school!) I even think that traffic is worse in Tampa. Trying to get through the USF area or Dale Mabry is a nightmare. It isn't fun here either but we do have more interstate routes.
I can't tell you anything about Boca except I've heard it is nice. Weston would remind me of a more contained, smaller and much better laid out New Tpa. As for Shopping, Tampa Shopping has gotten really good over the years but I am sure you will find everything you need within a 5 mile radius. I live in Weston and have the Sawgrass Mills mall north of me 5 miles up the road and Pembroke Lakes Mall 5 or so miles south of me. And there is everything you need in between except Pottery Barn and the others like it. They are in and around Fort Lauderdale!? High end shopping is everywhere.PM me if you want. Let me know what section of Tampa you are coming from and I will try and compare the areas for you. Coming from FL, you can't go wrong with the areas mentioned in the above post. I can only speak for Weston and the schools here. My kids are doing very well in school. I am heading for Tampa this morning. It is a 3 1/2 hour ride for me up 75. Hope is stops raining soon! Good luck. Let me know if you need anything else.

Yoyoflorida · 03-21-2009, 09:22 PM

Since your hubby got a job in Ft.Lauderdale my advice would be to move to Plantation, Pembroke Pines, West Miramar or certain parts of Davie. Those locations are relatively close to Ft.Laudedale, especially Plantation. Jump on 595 or the turnpike and he would get to work in 25 mins or so. All those locations have great schools and lots of things to do, malls and every kind of restaurant you can think of, everything is right around the corner. You can find homes in the price range you want. The schools are better in these areas too. If you need specific names of schools, let me know. I've been living in South Florida for 15 plus years and I'm also a teacher.

Rock Newman · 03-22-2009, 07:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tracerall

we have been researching the posts, and most everyone has mentioned West Boca as a great place to live with great schools for our kids. is that a huge commute to Ft Lauderdale everyday? what about Pembroke Pines, or Weston? I am a city girl so I need to be close to malls, shopping, stuff to do with the kids but want a nice gated community , rental house for around $2000max, anyone got any input for me? i would appreciate it so much!

West Boca , Parkland , Northern Coral Springs , Weston ..... look in those areas .. I am just not too hot on Pembroke Pines .

Nolefan34 · 03-22-2009, 03:26 PM

Tracerall>

1. There is NOTHING country about West Boca, East Boca, or most of Broward County. Have you even visited here yet? You have the wrong idea if you think it is country, and you will not have to drive 30 minutes to Wal-Mart, lol. The Boca area can be described as a suburban, ritzy area that is relatively spread out but filled with middle-upper income residential communities and medium to high-end shopping.

2. You will have PLENTY of shopping near you, including Wal-Mart, Target, Publix, Walgreens, CVS, Home Depot, etc. The Boca Town Center Mall is about 5 miles east in the center of Boca Raton near I-95 on Glades Rd. It is a major shopping mall with several large department stores, and a bunch of restaurants, bars, and other entertainment. If that is not enough, you are about 15 miles from Sawgrass Mills, the largest mall in FL. To get there you can easily jump on the Sawgrass Expressway from Boca/Parkland and take it south to Sunrise in about 15 minutes. The last thing you should worry about is running out of shopping choices.

3. You should be able to find "newer" places, especially in West Boca. West Boca is mostly newer development, same goes for Parkland and other western suburbs. Generally speaking, the further west you go the newer the development. Lots of those western communities aren't much older than the 90's or 2000's real-estate bull-market.

Shoegal1075 · 03-23-2009, 11:28 AM

YoYo - I would like to pick your brain. I opted for none of these cities except Davie, because they didn't have A rated schools from Elementary - High School. Would you say even thoses schools not picked as A rated schools are good? And please give specific examples. Thank you!

ruski · 03-26-2009, 08:37 PM

Aventura and Sunny Isles always strike me as urban, with all those high rises along the beach. Commute to Fort Lauderdale from there could be a chore though. However I hear the traffic lights are nicely synchronized along A1A. I have a friend who lives in Aventura and used to commute to Deerfield on US1 for a number of years, he prefered that to I95.

For me though, Weston is the right place, but I am biased since I live here.

The thing about Weston is that it is manicured, nicely maintained, quiet, but you can get to just about anywhere easily and withing a reasonable time.