Flamingo Park, possible cross country move,good family and community feel??? (Sunrise: renting, houses)

[Landscapr]

After dozens of hours researching the Ft Lauderdale forum and now this one I think I may have found the neighborhood that is right for what we are looking for....hopefully! Its historic, yet affordable and from its FB page looks like a nice little community of folks....Flamingo Park.....here we come????

We are a family of 4 (2 school age kids, 7 & 11) that are 90% sure we are moving to FL. My husband is currently there on his 3rd interview with the company that might take us from Southern California to the 'other' coast.

His office would be in Sunrise so I spent hours researching the Ft Lauderdale area and became totally discouraged!! I truly dislike subdivision living (we call them tract homes out here) and that seems to be what is prevalent all over much of South Florida. I researched all the highly recommended towns with decent public schools, much of it the Western side of the county.....and really, while its great for some folks it was just depressing to me.

We purposely avoided the burgeoning planned communities in South Orange County15 years ago when we bought out here in favor of a neighborhood with a bunch of 1950 ranch houses that have been updated and remodeled over the years. Sure, you have the picture perfect home next to grandmas 50 year old, never updated house sometimes....but the streets have character! People really were able to make their own decisions and paint and landscape or add an addition rather tastefully.....all without the HOA. Sorry for the sarcasm, but the more i have thought about it the more I realize I'd really dislike being so restricted with what I can and cannot do. Not to mention the way all the streets seem to look alike. I woudl so like to find something at least similar to what we have here.

Having said that I realize there are restrictions in a historic district, but I do get that and since those are the styles etc I already love I figure we'd be in sync. (I grew up in a 1905 house in the Bay Area) I am a lanscape designer and one of the best things about a new property is a new place to design!

Anyway, having gone throught the FB page of Flamingo Park I was hoping to get some input from residents. I saw young families, older people, kids....just like home, and a community that seems to like to do things together and get to know its neighbors. I would really love that.

My husband said to look up to an hour away from Sunrise as he is used to a commute and we are looking to probably send them to private school anyway (so I gave up looking for the areas that have A public schools). I did not research this area for schools yet, public or private but can anyone tell me if there is a good Christian school in the area or their feedback on the public. I have fallen in love and seen homes within our budget (preferably no more than 600)

Thanks for any help. He is there through the 14th and I am hoping to send him up there to scope out the neighborhood if his schedule permits.

[skylinet]

There's a couple regulars on this forum that live in that area so you should get some good information.
My team has a real nice 2900 sqft home with a pool for 500k very close to the intra-coastal. You should be able to find a nice property under 600.

[Landscapr]

Thanks, I hope I can connect with some locals!

Yes, I saw several homes that looked really great, however IF he gets this job we get to jump on that big wheel of selling our current home, probably renting first and THEN purchasing.......unless that is we fall into the right neighborhood for us easily (like we did here)

[TriMT7]

Sent you a direct message. There are several great historic neighborhoods in southern West Palm Beach. I'd be happy to answer your questions as a resident of the area.

Though I do not have kids (yet) there are very good private schools in the immediate area, including Palm Beach Day School. The publics can also be good for elementary level, depending on the particular neighborhood. Flamingo Park and El Cid, for example, go to Palm Beach Public, which is good. The "south of southern" neighborhoods go to South Olive Elementary, also a very good school.

[Landscapr]

Just replied to your dm before I read this about schools, THANKS. I'll do a bit of research on these

[Zayetz]

We live in Flamingo Park, and have two kids (7 and 5) and have been very happy here. There is a mix of family compositions here, and it does seem like the neighborhood association is active in promoting community events throughout the year. The El Cid area is also historic and interesting, and there are some neat houses in the South of Southern (aka 'So-So') area, too. I have heard positive things about Palm Beach Public (K-5) from friends whose children attend, and they have a strong orchestral strings program there. Our kids currently go to a private school but we are considering sending them to Palm Beach Public next year since we are now in the district. Rosarian Academy is a private Christian school in the area which has a good reputation.

[Landscapr]

Thanks for the feedback. Its good to hear from a person who also has kids. I looked into Kings Academy as well, kind of inland but the school looked really nice, although $$$. My husband took a tour through WPB the other day (he's back in CA now) but i have yet to see it in person.

We are just waiting to hear if this job is going to come through or not! He is also having second thoughts on commuting to Sunrise, so we may be back to looking in historic Ft Lauderdale areas...which are more expensive. But I am not ruling this area out yet!!!

Thanks so much for your thoughts.

[skylinet]

East Boca should have some options for you as well. Cut 20-30 minutes off the commute.