Moving to South FL (Miami, Fort Lauderdale: apartment complexes, rental, mortgage)

[Akasha Mc]

Hi, My family and I are having to move to the Ft.Lauderdale/Miami area because of our jobs. My husband and I have two sons 10yrs and 17yrs. I am wondering if anyone can give me some ideas of a safe areas with good schools. We live in Wakulla County now which is very slow paced and has good schools so I am really nervous about the move. We also have two large dogs so need a yard. Any input would be appriciated.

[fauve]

Weston & Parkland come to mind. What's your budget like?

[Akasha Mc]

Rent $900.00 to $1200.00 per month

[fauve]

That will be very difficult to find. : (

[granitelady]

if you need a house with a yard for the dogs you need to start thinking that your rent will be at least $1800 a month. Around here most of the apartment complexes and townhouses do not allow dogs over 25 lbs, if they allow them at all. I live in Coral Springs and have a 13 y/o boy...great schools, clean neighborhoods, but a little pricey. Weston, Parkland and Coral Springs are your best areas in terms of schools so it's worth the high rent, mainly if you're moving from a quiet area, this way the kids won't have too much of a hard time adapting.
I would contact a local realtor and have him/her help you select some homes that fit your needs, rental is scarse right now because of so many people losing their homes and having to rent instead, that's why it's so high.
If you could buy something through FHA, your mortgage would probably be lower than your rent.
Good luck!!!!
By the way... I love Florida! I hope you do too

[janeto]

Weston is very nice quite and excellent schools area. About the budget Im not sure what can you find something here, even south Fl in general, others area could be Coral springs is beautiful, and good areas too, other could be west Pembroke Pines and Parkland.

[StilltheSame]

Maybe Cooper City? Perhaps a townhouse?

[Nolefan34]

Akasha, I used to live in Tallahassee and am very familiar with Wakulla County. I used to take weekend trips down that way to the gulf. It is very nice there, just a little too slow-paced for me, lol. Moving to South FL will be very different, but you should adjust fine.

The upside to South FL is that you can do everything you could do in Wakulla County, despite how built up it is here. You're never more than 20-25 minutes from the beach, and you're close to the Everglades, FL Keys, etc. Plenty of things to do here for anyone. The big downside will be that rents/housing prices will be substantially more than Wakulla County, or even Tallahassee. The good part is that the real-estate market is severely depressed right now and you should be able to find places that are affordable by South FL standards.

If you are renting, DO NOT rely on craigslist, rent.com, or other websites. Find a good realtor and stick with them. I learned this a few years ago when I called all of these ads I found online for nice-looking apartments. Most of them are not very nice compared to the pics. Many ads are for places that are not available; they are just realtor-bait to get you to call and get involved with their company.

First, where is your job located? Fort Lauderdale? Or Miami? Or somewhere in between? Because that is a large geographical area you are talking about. Where you want to live might depend on where the job is located. Coral Springs and Parkland are nice areas, but if your job is in Kendall for instance, the commute might be too much. And if your job is in downtown Miami, the traffic is really bad getting there. You will want to pick in area that is a reasonable commute to avoid having a miserable life.

Job locations aside, the areas you might want to check out are Parkland, Coral Springs, Weston, Cooper City, Davie, Sunrise, and Southwest Ranches. Keep in mind I am assuming that someone coming from Wakulla would want to live further west, away from most of the traffic and development. If I am wrong about that, then there is nothing wrong with looking further east in Plantation, Coconut Creek, Deerfield Beach, or an ocean community such as Lauderdale-By-The Seas. I will say that the schools are better in Parkland, Coral Springs, Weston, Cooper City, etc. than the eastern communities.

[esteamor]

Fort Lauderdale over by federal hwy is a good area, a bit expensive. Schools are typically always gonna have pros and cons. Pompano Beach High is a good school, academically and students can attend out of radius because it is a magnet school. Coral Springs has an reptuation has being good and such. But I dont know much, just a young adult