Work in Plantation, Live where with kids? (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: to rent, loft)

[lifecoachmom]

Our family is relocating to Fort Lauderdale area. My husband will be working in Plantation. We need suggestions on where to live. What we are looking for:

Great school for 2 daughters ages 9 and 11 - kids are used to walking to school
Easy commute to Plantation for work
Safe, laid back, upscale, down to earth, friendly neighborhood
Close to nature/park/beach if possible
Close to good yoga studio, bike paths and natural, organic grocery stores
Desire to rent a 3 - 4 bedroom home with mature shade trees and pool (really tired of cookie-cutter homes that all look the same) - any unique neighborhoods with character or funky loft living/not tacky just trendy?
Close to good restaurants and shopping

Thanks!

[fauve]

Two neighborhoods to check out would be downtown Hollywood and downtown Delray Beach - both these areas have western suburban areas which you would want to avoid. For Realtor.com, Delray's zip is 33483 and Hollywood is 33019. Both areas however will give you about a 30-40 minute commute.

[compelled to reply]

And have horrible schools, also not known for low crime rate. Try Davie, you won't find a loft but you will find a few less "cookie cutter" areas, especially in west Davie, away from any subdivisions. You will find the types of businesses you are looking for scattered all over west Broward, as well as plenty of bike paths. It's also directly across from Plantation, meaning your commute shouldn't last beyond 10 minutes. You could also look into sections of Plantation proper, which is acutally known for it's charm and abundant shade trees in some areas. The schools could be better though (especially at middle and high school level, elementary should be fine). Avoid Weston, Sunrise and especially Pembroke Pines if you are tired of cookie-cutter look.

[fauve]

any unique neighborhoods with character or funky loft living/not tacky just trendy? Close to good yoga studio, bike paths and natural, organic grocery stores Close to good restaurants and shopping

Compelled, That ain't Davie my friend.

OP, are you open to private schools? Davie is such a suburban neighborhood. The stores are big box or mall-types. The restaurants are chains. It's a rural-type area that's nowhere near rural (subdivisions named "Imagination Farms," I kid you not - you actually do have to use your imagination!), it's far from the beach. If you like being a "pedestrian," forget it...you need your car to get anywhere. Yes, the schools are decent, but most of us who care about schools send our kids to private school anyway if we can. It really sounds like you're looking for a hip, village-y area close to the beach. Crime is no worse than you'd find in Venice Beach or Santa Monica. The people in these areas actually talk and meet up in outdoor cafes. It's cool.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by fauve

Compelled, That ain't Davie my friend.

That isn't really anywhere in South FL, even Delray is a stretch. IMO, East Ft. Lauderdale around Victoria Park or Las Olas makes more sense if the commute is to Plantation, but I am not an advocate of any longer of a commute than necessary.

[fauve]

I'm not an advocate of long commutes either, and the Las Olas/Vic Park area may be a good compromise, but it can be a bit anonymous. Not sure it really caters to the yoga/organic food/loft crowd either. It tends to be a bit more upscale than Delray and a whole lot more than Hollywood, but I think character loses out due to this. Not like you can walk down the street and hear live music! I think the pottery making place is cool though Pinecrest is just north of there and American Heritage in Plantation would both be easy school runs also. Although there is a another American Heritage in Delray now.

[Shoegal1075]

Fauve - u would know better than me but I do remember liking Davie because some Of the houses looked different - I even remember one with a porch - I imagine yours looks different since it isn't the typical stucco - is this not true?

To the OP if private school is not your plan then I think schools will outweigh the desire to not live I. A cookie cutter home - you will see in many many threads throughout this forum with similar concerns, I'm afraid the schools usually win out over everything especially since there are so few A rated public schools from elementary on up to high school - there are only 5 citites that offer this - Weston, Davie, Cooper City, Coral Springs and Parkland. Parkland and Weston would be considered more upscale but all would be nice. Fauve can tell you more about the magnet schools in other cities - I don't have that much info on that. Some of the charter schools are also very good. Check all your options.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by fauve

Two neighborhoods to check out would be downtown Hollywood and downtown Delray Beach - both these areas have western suburban areas which you would want to avoid. For Realtor.com, Delray's zip is 33483 and Hollywood is 33019. Both areas however will give you about a 30-40 minute commute.

Downtown Delray to Plantation will take longer than 40 minutes!

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by lifecoachmom

Our family is relocating to Fort Lauderdale area. My husband will be working in Plantation. We need suggestions on where to live. What we are looking for:

Great school for 2 daughters ages 9 and 11 - kids are used to walking to school
Easy commute to Plantation for work
Safe, laid back, upscale, down to earth, friendly neighborhood
Close to nature/park/beach if possible
Close to good yoga studio, bike paths and natural, organic grocery stores
Desire to rent a 3 - 4 bedroom home with mature shade trees and pool (really tired of cookie-cutter homes that all look the same) - any unique neighborhoods with character or funky loft living/not tacky just trendy?
Close to good restaurants and shopping

Thanks!

You will need to prioritize the list a little bit. You won't get great schools here unless you go private. But schools in Weston, Davie, Cooper City and Parkland are the best of the lot. Elementary schools in Plantation are ok but middle/high schools are scary.

Upscale neighborhoods around here tend not to be down to earth. There may be some Fort Lauderdale or Hollywood neighborhoods that work for you, but schools are a problem there.

There is a really nice Whole Foods in Plantation and there is also one in Fort Lauderdale. There is a Fresh Market in Pembroke Pines. You can get a reasonable selection of organic and natural foods in Publix and there is a Publix on every street corner in this area.

There are not a whole lot of "character" neighborhoods here. Delray is like that, but it's far from Plantation.

Plantation itself has some nice neighborhoods. I like the neighborhood around Fig Tree Lane. If private schools are a possibility I would look there and Fort Lauderdale. If you need public schools Weston (suburban), Davie (more rural), Cooper City (suburban), Pembroke Pines (not that close to Plantation), Parkland (upscale suburban-also not that close to Plantation).

[westondailyphoto]

look in to Weston...