Moving from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale-need rental suggestions! (Hollywood, Pembroke Pines: apartment, condos)

[SW10]

My husband and I are moving from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale. He received a job offer in the city of Fort Lauderdale and we are looking to rent an apartment, townhouse, condo, or house. We would like affordability, but safety is our number one concern, not being familiar with the area. If anyone could provide suggestions with reputable companies or individuals to rent from it would be much appreciated!

[Nolefan34]

Originally Posted by SW10

My husband and I are moving from Chicago to Fort Lauderdale. He received a job offer in the city of Fort Lauderdale and we are looking to rent an apartment, townhouse, condo, or house. We would like affordability, but safety is our number one concern, not being familiar with the area. If anyone could provide suggestions with reputable companies or individuals to rent from it would be much appreciated!

There are lots of options. First, you should find a good realtor and stick with them. Let them do the hard work for you. They have real-time access to the MLS listings. Do some research online, but don't get suckered by the numerous spam ads on craigslist. Don't contact adds online. Let your realtor do it. Most of the online stuff is garbage.

The city of Fort Lauderdale may not be an option for you since the nice areas like Las Olas and Rio Vista are expensive. There are also lots of bad areas of Fort Lauderdale to avoid as well. For beach condos, look in Lauderdale-By-The-Seas, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Pompano Beach, and Hollywood/Hallandale Beach. As a general rule of thumb, the areas further east near the coast are going to be pricier than living further west in a suburb. Also, the closer you are to Fort Lauderdale the more expensive it gets.

If your #1 priority is affordability, you can find some good apartment communities in some of the western suburbs. Plantation, Davie, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Weston, Sunrise, Cooper City, and Pembroke Pines are the areas I'm talking about. Plantation and Davie are the most centrally located suburbs as they are right off of I-595 and a short commute to Fort Lauderdale and the beaches. The other suburbs mentioned might seem far west, and may feel boring to you.

Most of the areas mentioned are safe. Broward County is very patchy with nice areas and then seedy areas. In general, stay either east of US1 or west of Florida's Turnpike. The areas in between are seedy and ghetto in most of Broward County. There are a few rare exceptions. The areas you should avoid like the plague are:
-Fort Lauderdale- anything west of US1 and north of Broward Blvd.
-North Lauderdale
-Lauderdale Lakes
-Lauderhill
-Parts of Tamarac and Margate
-Pompano Beach- avoid anything west of Dixie Highway
-East Plantation- (east of Turnpike/441 corridor)
-Hollywood- anything west of 95 and north of Hollywood Blvd

[SW10]

Nolefan34,

Thanks so much for your suggestions! They will be extremely helpful!