Advice needed- moving from California to South Florida

[TriCounty]

Originally Posted by DaniellaG

This is the only forum that seems to respond in such a rude way. People can disagree but why respond with the digs like you are humiliating yourself or asking someone if their attention span was used up? It really makes no sense and does not get your point across.

Why do you make up fake information about areas, such as saying that Coral Springs has "so much crime" when it doesn't?

[8to32characters]

Originally Posted by DaniellaG

Anyone who has visited TO or lived there says what a wonderful city it is. I have lived in TO and in Boca Raton. In TO the schools are excellent, safer, much better weather, nicer people, upscale living. There is no city in FL that can compare to it. The only thing FL has would be cheaper.

As someone who has lived in both Southern California and South Florida, I completely agree with you--there is no comparable safe, upscale suburban area like Thousand Oaks in all of Florida.

Also, even if an area of Florida is relatively safe such as Boca Raton, the surrounding/nearby areas (e.g., East Delray, Deerfield Beach, etc.) tend to be unsafe and really leave a lot to be desired.

Overall, there are very few continuous stretches of safe, upscale suburban areas in Florida, especially compared to California (e.g., Conejo Valley, Santa Clara Valley, Orange County, etc.).

Although California is home to lots of transplants, Florida is home to many, many more. IME, most California transplants tend to stay whereas most Florida transplants tend to eventually move back to where they originated or move someplace else entirely, the latter of which I'm guilty. That said, the Conejo Valley especially is home to lots and lots of California natives and barely any retirees/snowbirds compared to South Florida, so residents have more civic pride and more of a vested interest in the welfare of their communities, including public schools.

Lots of older middle-aged folks and retirees move to Florida and fight tax increases that would benefit schools and educational services tooth-and-nail because, according to them, they've already paid their dues to [insert Northern city/county here], hence the reason why suburban Florida public schools tend to receive less funding and be of lower caliber overall than those in California.

Furthermore, suburban Southern Californians tend to be better educated and, in turn, higher income than suburban South Floridians, so naturally, education is more of a priority in suburban SoCal. All of these factors contribute to why public education is better in California than in Florida, despite what uninformed posters on this forum think.

FWIW, most of my friends in suburban South Florida who can afford private school, go that route whereas most of my friends in SoCal, OTOH, send their kids to public schools unless, of course, they want their kids to have a religious education. Same deal in the DFW area, where I lived for a year in the recent past, which also has very good public schools--public unless parents want religious.

Additionally, because Florida is a lower tax state than California, services tend to be fewer and of worse quality. If you have a special needs/developmentally disabled child, I would seriously caution a move to Florida. I haven't lived in Florida since 2007, so I'm not sure if this situation has improved any over the past seven years, although I highly doubt it.

I will concede that the COL is lower in Florida, for sure. However, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and utilities as well as upkeep and HOA fees--although true everywhere--can be exorbitant depending on the size of your home. Most of the time, these expenses offset the lack of a state income tax and lower COL overall, making savings, in many cases, negligible, especially considering the much lower salaries.

[TriMT7]

Ah, I see the time honored City-Data Florida Forum tradition of "pulling facts, observations and speech from one's posterior" is still alive and well. Fantastic!

[ghettoivory]

Hrmm, the closest thing to Thousand Oaks is Weston.

Both cities are similar: upscale, somewhat isolated, smaller town feel, 100% pristine.

The great thing about Weston is you'll be a relatively short drive away from civilization. It's not far away from everything, say like Westlake Village.

That's probably the best fit in S. Florida and closest to a LA vibe.

Wellington is also nice as well, except it's more remote/isolated and up in Palm Beach County. The people are much different up there, more of a Southern feel, very conservative.

The coastal communities like Boca, Ft. Lauderdale, etc. are much more East Coast than LA, can't really compare them to Ventura County, completely different animals.

The best bet is to just come down here and get a feel for things, move around, etc.

[8to32characters]

Originally Posted by ghettoivory

Wellington is also nice as well, except it's more remote/isolated and up in Palm Beach County. The people are much different up there, more of a Southern feel, very conservative.

I'm sorry, but if you think Wellington is even remotely "Southern," then you've lost all of your credibility in my book.

[ghettoivory]

Originally Posted by 8to32characters

I'm sorry, but if you think Wellington is even remotely "Southern," then you've lost all of your credibility in my book.

Not Wellington proper, further up north, especially above RPB.

Start counting the diesel pickup trucks, confederate flags, etc., plenty of people wearing Wranglers and whatnot, that's redneck central. Same types of lunatics that are all over the rural parts of Texas.

I had the misfortune of heading out there a couple times: everyone was staring at me, police started up with the harassment, etc.

Old women were clutching their pearls, husbands were hiding their wives/daughters, it was pure comedy.

Anyway, Palm Beach County is far too uptight in general (aside from Lake Worthless, WPB and Riviera Beach).

[karenzampakatz]

Thousand oaks is seriously in the "Valley" a Los Angeles suburb... For those of you thinking it is in the Bay Area....I don't live in Florida currently, in fact we are considering a partial retirement move there. But we visit there all the time and yes we are some of those New York types some have complained about.

In some ways the areas are similar. Large expanse of suburban living spaces, malls/strip malls etc.... Large long roads etc....lack of what I like to call "there... There" meaning no centers etc....


The looks are some what different..... Parts of this area look like old school Mid Wilshire, LaBrea area ( I spent a number of years living in LA)

The other difference is the massive gated communities and club communities... And I mean massive!

I have been stalking these boards for a while ..... Yes parts of central West palm has an impoverished element... As does certain areas around Ft Lauderdale ....

Not sure what you life situation is .... Kids etc..... Bluntly the schools down here are not as good as where you are. So if that is your situation, I would do my research on that. If you were coming already with a job, then the other information is of no concern to you. It's a service economy area. Medical professions lawyers also do well. Lots of low-end retail, restaurants, you get the picture.

I hope this has been of some use.

[karenzampakatz]

Another thought on the "safe" "safety " threads... Read with code word glasses... Yes there are socioeconomic divides in the area... Read as black/brown/Latino ...White...... There are some lovely mixed areas that are safe.
With the exception of some industrial improvised gang areas I have seen around Miami ... Nothing compares with how you might perceived "unsafe" none of it looks like the areas near downtown LA or serious Compton ....

Just my 2 cents