Retirement in Dania Beach? (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood: oceanfront, condo, home)

[scsigurl3000]

We're still researching where to retire, with or without doing some graduate work. Dania Beach looks interesting (we love ice cream and a film on Jaxon's was shown on tv).

I'm thinking that living in Florida, isn't is lovely most of the time, and then terrifying at other times? I would think you would need a very reliable vehicle to evacuate the area on occasion if a bad hurricane is headed your way?

What is it like, living under those conditions?

[harttogo]

IMO around Jaxsons is rough. Dania has a mix of people struggling to get by. I go to that area for ice cream and shop around the antique stores on Federal Hwy. only. Melaleuca gardens was a nice residential area but the adjacent Ft Laud/Hlwd airport has changed Melaleuca gardens for the worse with 600 flights a day with associated noise and air quality issues. Much of Dania seems like an industrial park to me. Perhaps if you lived east of federal hwy. it might be nice. I`m not very familiar with the neighborhoods inside Dania. I`m sure some folks here know Dania very well and can give you some good feedback.
Hurricanes- If you are east of federal hwy., I think it is an evacuation area although many people ignore the evacuation request. Also preparation for a hurricane can get you through most storms without to much difficulty. I personally would not evacuate if my home was ready for the storm i.e shutters , reinforced garage door, doors shuttered too. Small generator and 15 gals of gas. Food,water and supplies. I don`t stock pile anything. Just enough for 2 to 5 days. Of course if I lived in a trailer park you can bet I would evacuate. An evacuation is a decision one has to make as the storm approaches.

[Schwinncoll]

Retire in Dania? Why? Just because of Jaxson's Ice Cream? I love it there but Dania? I live 2 blocks from Jaxson's. Lines on the weekends but we are hippies and use the sidedoor like the sign says. Oh wait, there isnt a sidedoor. Dania is run down on US-1 and needs rebuilding badly. Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Pompano all did it but Dania missed the boat. Its hit or miss when looking for a house. Does it flood? Ask the owner, they will probably lie to you. We had 14 inches of rain in December 2010. Flooded badly in my neighborhood but it was due to a crushed drainage pipe on private property that the city uses to drain water into 2 lakes. They were fighting over who would pay to have the pipe replaced. Instead it flooded the area. Between US-1 and SE 5 Ave and Sheridan and Dania Beach Blvd is a huge bowl that is lower than the surrounding roads so it always fills with water in this area.

[vr2]

Dania Beach doesn't really have anything ON the beach. If you want to be in that area, look at Hollywood Beach. As harttogo mentioned, the area around Jaxsons is actually a bit rough. And even the antique stores are all going out of business. Dania Beach downtown is just depressing and on a huge decline.

As for hurricanes and "terrifying" - I've been here for 16 years and even during the worst hurricane (forget the name) - my neighbors and I were standing outside watching it, as long as the building is blocking the wind, it's kind of fun to do. We lost power for damn near a week and a half too. But I wouldn't call it terrifying, at all. More of a slight inconvenience every 5 years. I'd say dealing with snow up north every year is far worst than the average 24 hours you are inconvenienced by a hurricane.

[Nolefan34]

Dania is the LAST place I'd look to retire. I cannot think of a worse area that's not an all-out ghetto around here. There are a few nice neighborhoods on the beach, but once you go on the mainland especially west of US1 its a warzone. Do yourself a favor and look somewhere else. Palm Beach County has way more good areas that would be considered "retirement" areas. Pompano Beach on the beach and Lauderdale By The Seas are good areas if you want an oceanfront condo. Hollywood Beach and Hallandale Beach are good too, but the traffic there is terrible.