Boca Raton versus Palm City (Miami, Palm Beach: crime rate, house, transfer)

[allthingsconsidered]

Hi there,
My husband and I are planning on moving down this month from Montana. We have 4 children, and my job is transferring me to one of two places which I am to choose from. The first being Boca Raton, FL, and the other is Port Saint Lucie, in which we were looking at Palm City.

I have been researching information on both and it appears that Palm City would be a safer place, however, my husband will probably be working in Miami, so it appears that Palm City would be way too far to drive.

He did say though that if it is too unsafe for our family that he would look for work elsewhere so that brings me here to these forums in hopes to find out more.

First, what areas of Boca Raton would you consider safe from the gangs?
Are the schools large and overcrowded?
Any other information regarding just the general area and if people that live there feel it is a safe place for kids.

Next, is Palm City, basically the same questions arise.

I would really appreciate any feedback regarding these cities. Thank you!

[skylinet]

Boca and Palm City are kind of night and day..

Palm City would be way too far for a daily commute for most people.
I'm sure SM will add some helpful info on the schools etc, but I can't think of any reason why you would feel unsafe in Boca.

[Swimmom32]

Yes Sky I can..lol I can offer input in Boca..How old are your children? There aren't any Gangs here in boca you need to worry about...We are very happy with our schools and both my kids have some awesome friends they have made!!

[DaniellaG]

Boca and gangs I would never use in the same sentence. The biggest fight I have seen is 2 seniors over a parking space or having to wait for a table and 2 Js. Though no gangs I still was cautious because I did not feel as safe as some places I have lived just from connecting areas. In FL it can go fro mile to mile being safe to not so it is important to drive around to get a feel. I think there is a part called Pearl City that is not desirable but overall Boca is a wealthy area where all the seniors come for the winter up north. It has increased with families and some communities or more aimed towards that vs up north vacationers. The schools are supposed to be good compared to many in FL which Swim knows about more. The drive to Miami though I think again Swims husband does sounds miserable to me. I did it a few times and it took so long I can't imagine every day.

[TriMT7]

Boca is not known for either crime, or gangs. Palm City is waaaay too North for a commute to Miami.

The crime rate in Boca is below national average. It also really doesn't have the "mile to mile" safety factor that Daniella is talking about that other cities might have. (Which in reality I've never had a problem with since that how it goes in a lot of places in this country, including larger cities like Chicago and New York).

[Swimmom32]

My DH commutes to Miami and its an hour on a good day via the turnpike...

[THX 1138]

Don't let anyone fool you, Boca has plenty of crime, unsolved murders at the Town Center Mall and it also get's it's fair share of regular good old crime. Even last week there was an attempted mugging at the Town Center Mall.

Sad reality is no place in Palm Beach County or even Martin County is devoid of crime, but I would give Palm City the thumbs up over Boca any day when it comes to crime and being safer overall, yet many would say it's boring compared to Boca and it's amenities. Boca has a lot of shops, restaurants and cultural events and more people.

See the stats and info for yourself on Boca:

VIPER View Incident Map

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Boca Raton, FL Crime Map - Showing Crimes in Boca Raton - Crime Statistics, Alerts and Reports - Crime Stops Here

Palm City is slower paced, less hectic, more affordable, laid back and seasonal.

Boca is big money, expensive, high Jewish and New York/Jersey population many seasonal, bad traffic and etc.

Coming from Montana, you would prefer Palm City over Boca. I would not drive from Boca to Miami for $150K/year little alone drive from Palm City to Miami. Coming from Montana you will also experience a population density that will be a culture shock.

Thing is if you know your husband is going to be working in Miami, you will probably have little choice but to live in South PBC or Broward. I just hope your husband is aware of Miami driving conditions, again culture shock.

Hope you both visited here and got a taste for it as well prior, I would suggest anyone moving here prior to visiting a few times throughout the year.

[allthingsconsidered]

Thank you very much for the help everyone! I believe that it looks like we will be moving to Boca Raton, which anyone that can offer information on this city would be very helpful. Our children are ages 13, 11, 9, 5. I am also glad that you all clarified the gang population. I had heard that there were multiple gangs there and I was really nervous. I know that it will be a culture shock, I am a little nervous, but I think that it should be okay as long as I feel that it is safer than what I had been previously told....!

Swimmom, how long have you been there? Any other information is greatly appreciated!

[Swimmom32]

Hey all..We are living in Boca almost 3 years now..We 1st moved to West Boca and have experience with both areas..and Yes its an adjustment but change in general is a big adjustment my kids did very well ..The only real advice I can give especially is with schools is please visit them and talk to the Administration to see for yourself...I can recommend a few elem schools since my daughter had started in one and went to another and what a difference for her..you have Calusa and Del Prado that I can recommend, Del Prado being the most popular and I only hear really good things about that school...We liked Calusa didn't love it but the teachers did wonders with my Daughter who came in middle of 4th grade from another Boca School and well she blended right in where she didn't at that other school....Middle Schools I visited them all here boca and found that OMNI was the best fit for her and she is so happy and loves it...She has a lot of friends and is popular, Doing very well in school which is amazing for her and is pulling all B's this semester she is 13
Our son is a Junior at Spanish River and is turning 17 next month he is happy with River as well as my DH and I.. Boca High School would have been our other choice and knew that we could not go wrong with either one but since we only wanted OMNI Middle they do not feed into Boca High so he didn't have very many choices anyhow..lol His friends attend Boca High and they love it.. Boca High right now has 3100 kids.. The teachers that I know down here who teach in Palm Beach County and in Broward County as well recommended this school. I Just wished I listened to them when we 1st were moving here, but I relied on a very old family friend who I know since I was 8 years old and well she thought we would be very happy there, as she lives in West Boca and although its nice you will get more house for the money it just wasnt our thing as the schools were very important to us. In our opinion jdh and I just felt that these schools suited our children better acedemically, so when we have the opportunity to move to Central Boca just so we can be zoned for those schools we moved..We found this place where we live now very happy here has what we need and said I will never pay 3 months up front again lol ...Our daughter is in 6th Grade now and will either attend Boca High or Spanish River we will see what she is interested in...River has a great Dance Team and Boca High has a Great cheerleading Team she does both

As far as it being safe yes it is generally safe but like everywhere you should just always know who and what is around you..It is very different than Montana and I would think Montana is safer than Here we are from NYC so we feel pretty safe here too..lol

If there is anything I can answer or assist you with please don't hesitate to DM me

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by allthingsconsidered

Thank you very much for the help everyone! I believe that it looks like we will be moving to Boca Raton, which anyone that can offer information on this city would be very helpful. Our children are ages 13, 11, 9, 5. I am also glad that you all clarified the gang population. I had heard that there were multiple gangs there and I was really nervous. I know that it will be a culture shock, I am a little nervous, but I think that it should be okay as long as I feel that it is safer than what I had been previously told....!

Swimmom, how long have you been there? Any other information is greatly appreciated!

***MOD CUT***

Anyways, I tell you this. I really think you need to think about your move here, be sure to do your research on the area and make sure you visit first.

I really think as I stated previously, if your kids are use to smaller schools, teacher to student ratios, that they may find it overwhelming here. I know of plenty of people who moved here from rural areas that had experienced the same issue, some could afford private schools, others couldn't.

I also think if you never been here before, that you surely visit first a few times and get the taste of it.

Good luck!