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Hi I am from up north and live in Boca but rented short term in Palm Beach Polo Club in Wellington. I felt safe and am single lady. This community is guard gated but even when I would go to the store at night I felt safe. I liked how it was nearby to the mall,restaurants,etc. I don't have kids so can't give feedback on that. I will add I am one of the pickiest people with what I like in terms of surroundings. What surprised me in Fl when I first came down is within a mile or 2 it can go from safe to not. This is not how it is up north where I am from.I encourage you to drive around the area in each direction to see what it is like before you move into a place. From the many places I have lived it takes time for most people to adjust. A positive for you is you have family here. Then once you find activities,meet others, and get into a routine it becomes easier. I am not an overall FL fan but here I am for now. I see where people could really love it and where some may not. So much depends on the circumstance you are in.
Wellington is an exceptionally clean, competently run and smooth small city.
You can get pretty much everything you could possibly want, from Macs to Music, within five minutes of your home. The commercial and business infrastructure is spectacular.
The roads are smooth, the mall is gorgeous, and surprisingly homes are available at a fairly minimal premium compared to nearby West Palm. The best of West Palm and the middle of Wellington cost about the same.
However, despite my upcoming move to South Florida, I have tentatively ruled out Wellington as a place to live. The primary reason is that Wellington is an extremely highly regulated community.
As the poster who had no clue how to spell said, if you want to paint your house, you have to submit an application to the city, including which of the "Village Approved" colors you will use. If you want to paint your house a different color, you will have to do the following:
- Take pictures of all sides of your house, and all your neighbors' houses.
- Fill out a complex form, including the exact color chips you plan to use, and containing the aforementioned photos.
- Pay a $100 fee.
- Attend a town meeting, which will also be attended by your neighbors and other stakeholders.
- At that meeting, attempt to hammer out an agreement describing how your house will be painted.
THIS IS NOT SATIRE! I have seen the form. I have printed it out. It was, of course, a very tastefully designed four pages. I have contemplated what it would be like to live in a place where you can literally only paint your house in one of the Village-Approved colors.
On the other hand, let us be fair. In West Palm Beach, some houses are beautiful, some houses are ugly, some are immaculate, others scruffy, some are tastefully painted, others are not, some are freshly painted and gleaming, others are worn and pathetic looking.
In Wellington, all homes are immaculate, all homes are tastefully painted, and all homes are gleaming.
There is no choice. The Village of Wellington will paint your house if the paint is judged less than immaculate, or if it is of an unapproved color, and they will send you the bill as a lien on your hose.
Likewise about lawns, trees, outdoor sculptures, etc, etc, etc. Essentially in Wellington you give up a lot of freedom in exchange for (tragically theoretical) security of property values, and the reassurance that your neighbors' homes will always be in perfect, if slightly bland, taste.
If you like this, living in Wellington would probably suit you very well. If you hate it, you would always find Wellington a bit uncomfortable for you.
If you hate this but love Wellington for other reasons, Little Ranches and a few other Equestrian communities are less regulated, to preserve the rustic character of the area. Surprisingly enough, I have found some Little Ranches homes sell for about the same price as real estate in a conventional development. This wasn't at all true during the boom, but now there are bargains, and if you like horses and are comfortable with 2+ acre parcels, that might be the ideal compromise.
I am single and so I know nothing about school systems - I am sure Wellington's are far superior to your other in-area choices. And you do have near-ideal amenitites, so I would count Wellington as an excellent choice if you, unlike me, don't chafe at pretty much every kind of regulation known to man.
Oh, and if that is what you like, also consider Palm Beach. If, that is, you have $2,000,000 to spare for the median home. A lot more than that if you want an ocean view! But you would get the best of everything, including that spectacular auto show on Worth Avenue, every day, at no extra charge .
Thanks you David H Dennis for your very informative information. You did a great job putting things into perspective. I will keep your information in mind during my visit and decision making process.
Quote:
Originally Posted by David H Dennis
Wellington is an exceptionally clean, competently run and smooth small city.
You can get pretty much everything you could possibly want, from Macs to Music, within five minutes of your home. The commercial and business infrastructure is spectacular.
The roads are smooth, the mall is gorgeous, and surprisingly homes are available at a fairly minimal premium compared to nearby West Palm. The best of West Palm and the middle of Wellington cost about the same.
However, despite my upcoming move to South Florida, I have tentatively ruled out Wellington as a place to live. The primary reason is that Wellington is an extremely highly regulated community.
As the poster who had no clue how to spell said, if you want to paint your house, you have to submit an application to the city, including which of the "Village Approved" colors you will use. If you want to paint your house a different color, you will have to do the following:
- Take pictures of all sides of your house, and all your neighbors' houses.
- Fill out a complex form, including the exact color chips you plan to use, and containing the aforementioned photos.
- Pay a $100 fee.
- Attend a town meeting, which will also be attended by your neighbors and other stakeholders.
- At that meeting, attempt to hammer out an agreement describing how your house will be painted.
THIS IS NOT SATIRE! I have seen the form. I have printed it out. It was, of course, a very tastefully designed four pages. I have contemplated what it would be like to live in a place where you can literally only paint your house in one of the Village-Approved colors.
On the other hand, let us be fair. In West Palm Beach, some houses are beautiful, some houses are ugly, some are immaculate, others scruffy, some are tastefully painted, others are not, some are freshly painted and gleaming, others are worn and pathetic looking.
In Wellington, all homes are immaculate, all homes are tastefully painted, and all homes are gleaming.
There is no choice. The Village of Wellington will paint your house if the paint is judged less than immaculate, or if it is of an unapproved color, and they will send you the bill as a lien on your hose.
Likewise about lawns, trees, outdoor sculptures, etc, etc, etc. Essentially in Wellington you give up a lot of freedom in exchange for (tragically theoretical) security of property values, and the reassurance that your neighbors' homes will always be in perfect, if slightly bland, taste.
If you like this, living in Wellington would probably suit you very well. If you hate it, you would always find Wellington a bit uncomfortable for you.
If you hate this but love Wellington for other reasons, Little Ranches and a few other Equestrian communities are less regulated, to preserve the rustic character of the area. Surprisingly enough, I have found some Little Ranches homes sell for about the same price as real estate in a conventional development. This wasn't at all true during the boom, but now there are bargains, and if you like horses and are comfortable with 2+ acre parcels, that might be the ideal compromise.
I am single and so I know nothing about school systems - I am sure Wellington's are far superior to your other in-area choices. And you do have near-ideal amenitites, so I would count Wellington as an excellent choice if you, unlike me, don't chafe at pretty much every kind of regulation known to man.
Oh, and if that is what you like, also consider Palm Beach. If, that is, you have $2,000,000 to spare for the median home. A lot more than that if you want an ocean view! But you would get the best of everything, including that spectacular auto show on Worth Avenue, every day, at no extra charge .
My wife and I are working empty nesters who relocated to Wellington, Florida in October 2008. We moved from Fort Lee, New Jersey. Wellington is a wonderful family oriented community, with great A -rated schools, lots of parks and recreational activities for adults and children. We are near to the 441 corridor which provides great access to surrounding cites of West Palm Beach to the east, Royal Palm Beach to the north, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton to the south. I am confident your family will enjoy living in Wellington. Feel free to contact me if you have additional inquires.
My parents are 30 YEAR residents in Wellington and me personally a 24 year resident. I have seen the village have its ups and downs. But frankly, all the ordinances and regulations are to keep the village from looking like........ a ghetto. People have this extraordinary idea to paint their houses god awful colors (lime green, orange).
Please remember, there is no parking on the grass (overnight), no company work vehicles nor campers/RV's parked in the driveway.
If residents are not willing to follow ordinances and regulations I implore you to move to cheaper more loosely regulated towns such as Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Greenacres City, or Lake Worth.
Again, as the last posts that I have posted about the school system. You are planning to buy a home in one of the best school districts in the COUNTRY with 2 high schools ranked in the top 50 (Suncoast High, and Dryfuss School of the Arts). Contrast to the state which is ranked in the bottom 2 in the country. Wellington has 5 A rated Elementary Schools (Panther Run, Binks Forest, Elbridge Gale, Wellington Elementary, and New Horizons).
The major downside to Wellington is the commute times. It can range anywhere from 10-20 minutes to get out of the village.
My husband and I are also considering a move from LI to Wellington. We have chosen Wellington b/c of the schools and it is newer and more affordable then Boca. From what we've learned in Southeast FL the best schools are in Jupiter and Palm City then Boca and Wellington. I did most of our school research on schooldigger.com. I find it very accurate and it was referred to me by a teacher. May I ask what positive things you heard about Wellington? Like you I am also nervous about the schools. We are actually leaving in a few days to go to FL to do more research. I need to look into work as well. That also makes me nervous. I'm an event planner (willing to try a new career path) and haven't seen much on Monster etc...
Pay no attention to the above posts. I moved from NY to Wellington almost three yrs ago and been very happy. Where ever you end up, you should rent first. Wellington is great. Good schools (for Florida), great shopping and recreational activities. Spend time in the area. Go to Village Park, visit the mall, Publix, Whole Foods, see who is around and shopping. Eat in the (mostly chain) restaurants, and check out the activities that the Village offers. Have a local realtor show you rentals and/or developments. Good luck.
Bobstar,
Thank you for replying. That other post scared me. My husband and I are considering a move from LI to Wellington. Do you know if there are other developments than Olympia and Oakmont Estates? can you give me any tips about Olympia? I heard from a bunch of Floridians during our last visit that Oakamont Estates had a bad cancer problem. Do you know anything about that? Sorry for all the questions.
Thank you LarrisaLou, do you mind if I send you a personal message? Thanks for the positive, I understand that everywhere has it's negatives but the other poster makes Wellington sound like a gang ridden, rigid town where everyone is sitting in traffic and cranky from the heat. I want to hear positives and be educated on the negatives not scared away.
I completely agree.
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