Bay Area Cali to South Florida (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: foreclosure, for rent, crime)

[flaorbust]

Enough is enough in Northern California, too cold, too expensive and too pretentious.
We love southern Florida, but have thus far only vacationed. We like the water, warm enough to swim in, love our pet dogs and like to feel safe around our home. We are in our early 40's. We want to open up a breakfast/lunch cafe near where we live.
If you were moving to Southern Florida where would you go? We like Plantation for the quiet and safety, but i think closer to the coast is more interesting to us. What's Hollywood like? Ft Lauderdale near the beach?

any pointers or places to look at or AVOID!
many thanks.

[HowGoesIt]

The general rule of thumb is to stay east of Route 1 OR west of the Florida Turnpike. If you're looking for the true Florida feel such as walking to the beach, bars, restaurants, and a more tropical feel, stay as far east as possible. If you are looking for a more of a gated community, 'real housewives of south Florida' type of feel, stay far west.

Though there are a few number of exceptions, I would recommend avoiding the area between the Turnpike and Route 1.

[fauve]

Wow, wanna trade houses?! lol

On a more serious note, check out downtown Hollywood near the Broadwalk (not pretentious at all) and downtown Delray Beach (perhaps a bit too pretentious but in a completely different way than SF).

[flaorbust]

Fauve - Ha, We have a beauty in the Oakland Hills! Where's yours? :-)

Not looking for gates, just a normal neighborhood, more to the quiet side, without thumping cars and crack dealers too near by.
I've heard good things about Delray, sounds like we need to be looking there.
How likely or common is it to find a landlord willing to rent for 6 months while we house shop? Given the two large dogs in the family I'm guessing this could be difficult, though there are about as lazy as dogs come.

what is it about the land in between 95 and highway 1? Too crowded? or too sketchy?

[forestgump72]

This will be the worst mistake you ever made in your life .
I lived in California for most of my life and then I moved to Fort Lauderdale
stupid stupid stupid I was .

1.The Crime is terrible in (South Florida ) shootings ,drugs , crack heads, cocaine everywhere ,gangs , rapes , robberies , scam artist you name it .
out of 50 of the most dangerous cities in U.S. 10 of them are located in Florida. (look it up)

South Florida is like living in a third world country Poverty poor and rich retirees that's it.
most people just have a winter home down there no one wants to stay all year long .

2.no good jobs/ bad economy

3.rude people
The worst drivers in U.S. (Look it up)
way to many New Yorkers
Heat and humidity that will kill you for 7-8mo.
rains every day 7-8 months of the year (wet season)
Also Topical storms and Hurricanes

you better do your research on South Florida before moving
I recommend going in the summer see if you can Handle the heat and humidity before moving

The people in California are much friendlier people and the quality of life is a higher standard.

I just moved back to California and my life is back to normal
if you need to get out of the Bay Area check out Oregon or Sacramento
or San Diego or other places in California first. you will find prices have dropped in California . California is a big state I'am sure you can find something. But if you have to Move to Florida then stay north of Palm Beach in the Treasure Coast but work will be hard to find.

Florida sucks trust me great place to visit not to live .

thx.

[fauve]

wow forest, how do you really feel?! lol

OP, I think your plan of coming here and renting temporarily is probably the way to go. You may decide it's not for you.

Couple of thoughts - you mentioned that you want to open up a small breakfast/lunch cafe. There is a real need for a good one on the Beach Broadwalk and rents there are very affordable right now - there are literally storefronts on the broadwalk with For Rent signs in them and this is not for lack of people - the area is getting more popular by the day, not less. A lot more tourist traffic than DB, too. DB will be pricier, and there is an excellent breakfast place there already that has lines out the door (hmmm, maybe they could share some of the love?)

As for the temp rental, when are you planning on taking the leap (assuming after forestgump's rant you still are!)? We just bought a foreclosure in Plantation that we're fixing up and we're thinking of renting it out until about April/May of next year. DM me if you want more info...I would love to trade your Oakland house till then, but we cant cause daughter is a senior this year, and she'd kill us verrry slowly if we went anywhere right now. If you can wait till next May, the trade is on!

[harttogo]

I don`t have this fear of crime. There are many large safe areas. Driving is a hassle since we have no effective mass transit. We are pretty much car dependent here. I see and talk to many groups and ethnicities. New Yorkers hardly dominate the area. The rain is a blessing. It cools everything down. It usually comes every afternoon, goes away in less than a hour and the sun is shining again. Heat and humidity is why we use air conditioning. Hurricanes are predictable. You know they are going to come. The season is June 1st to Nov. 1st I think. That gives the rest of the year to prepare for them. Even modest preparations will get you through most hurricanes. People are often rude but we are all in such a hurry to make a buck so it is understandable. Employment is difficult everywhere, but IMHO I think there is more opportunity here than in many other places.

[flaorbust]

thanks for the info forest.., btw, i have been in Cali 15 years, before that NY, you and i are different folk! i don't mind my people, we like tropical humidity. we're been in the summer, pretty nice with the afternoon, cool off, showers. crime, we live in Oakland, look it up! Rude people, i think at times i can be, we all are to at some point, like harttogo said, it seems to be a sign of the times.

fauve - Hollywood was intriguing. We went through there last summer but didn't look into the boardwalk. thanks for the heads up. Plantation is a place we really liked. Jacaranda was nice as well as non development hoods, further west.

[fauve]

Jacaranda country club is where our house is....this may be getting creepy, lol.

[flaorbust]

Ha! Step out back and wave to me!! jk

Too funny, similar tastes I'm guessing. I really liked that community. How is the market in there these days? i haven't found too many listings.