How similar are Boca Raton and Jupiter? (Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Beach: real estate, crime)

[antoninka]

Hi All,
How similar (or maybe how different) are Boca and Jupiter? Please share your opinions.

The major points of interest are:

Public Schools
Income
Demography (race, ethnicity, age)
Crime
Weather
Family Oriented Things To Do

Thanks for your input!

[cfbs2691]

I noticed you asked a lot of similar questions and were here in 2016 - there hasn't been that much change since then.

[antoninka]

cfbs2691, yes for Boca. I can't recall a lot of similar questions on Jupiter... In fact I don't think I ever had a thread on Jupiter or comparing the two. So I would like to hear some comparison on both cities as they seem to be very similar and I am debating between the two cities right now as we are getting very close to making our move.

[jh1979]

I haven't spent a lot of time in Boca, but we have lived in Jupiter for four years and have small children .Jupiter has great public schools and is VERY family friendly. Great beaches, excellent dining options (many kid friendly), lots of parks and playgrounds and lots of activities for kids like the Loggerhead Center, Busch Wildlife, the River Center, and the new FPL Manatee Lagoon. Lots of family oriented events like story times, Food Trucks, outdoor family movies, Touch a Truck, Easter Egg Hunts, Green Markets, etc. Plus you we are only 20mins from downtown WPB and Palm Beach where there are great restaurants and things to do for a night without kids.

There are tons of young families in the area. If you haven't spent time in Jupiter, you should definitely check it out before making your final decision. It's a very young area and a great place for raising children.

[Abuelo]

I don't think Boca and Jupiter have anything in common, although I can't speak for schools. Boca is easily more urban, and has more commerce, shopping options, cultural options, and of course, is more expensive. It has similar sized cities on 3 sides. Jupiter is, well, a bit more isolated IMO, and definitely has less business, shopping, etc.

[marmsd1]

Public schools are of arguably similar quality...but there isn't much beyond that. When looking at core factors like traffic, density, and green space...the two cities aren't easily mistaken for each other.

Boca is a lot (more) of everything. More people, more traffic, more concrete...but also more events, activities, etc. Boca stretches from the sea far to the west, and flows directly into other near-fully-developed areas to the north and the south.

Jupiter is changing rapidly, but will offer a slightly less congested way of life. It is bound by the state park to the north, and some wildlife management area to the west. It can't sprawl unmitigated in those directions. To the south, Gardens and NPB, etc seem to have been built with slightly less density over time. More green space in Jupiter and simply less people.

In my experience, it would be tough to love both. I moved to Jupiter and commuted to south county for two full years. I simply didn't want to live down there.
I have plenty of friends in Delray and Boca who like to visit Jupiter...but just need "more" and don't want to be this far north. Different strokes...

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by marmsd1

Public schools are of arguably similar quality...but there isn't much beyond that. When looking at core factors like traffic, density, and green space...the two cities aren't easily mistaken for each other.

Boca is a lot (more) of everything. More people, more traffic, more concrete...but also more events, activities, etc. Boca stretches from the sea far to the west, and flows directly into other near-fully-developed areas to the north and the south.

Jupiter is changing rapidly, but will offer a slightly less congested way of life. It is bound by the state park to the north, and some wildlife management area to the west. It can't sprawl unmitigated in those directions. To the south, Gardens and NPB, etc seem to have been built with slightly less density over time. More green space in Jupiter and simply less people.

In my experience, it would be tough to love both. I moved to Jupiter and commuted to south county for two full years. I simply didn't want to live down there.
I have plenty of friends in Delray and Boca who like to visit Jupiter...but just need "more" and don't want to be this far north. Different strokes...

Great post and I agree - if the OP loves Boca.. they probably wouldn't care for Jupiter.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by antoninka

Hi All,
How similar (or maybe how different) are Boca and Jupiter? Please share your opinions.

The major points of interest are:

Public Schools
Income
Demography (race, ethnicity, age)
Crime
Weather
Family Oriented Things To Do

Thanks for your input!

Schools- comparable
Income- comparable but Boca has more jobs/businesses
Demographics- Boca is more jewish, older people for sure. Jupiter has more illegal immigrants
Crime- Boca has more crime due to more population
Weather- identical, they are less than 50 miles apart
Family Oriented- comparable

Boca is a punch line now but it had great beginnings. If you compared Boca circa 1980 and Jupiter 1990 you would find strong similarities. Both tried to conserve a lot of beachfront land for parks (Jupiter won that hands down), both tried to control/organize growth (Boca lost that concept 10-15 years ago).

[antoninka]

Thanks ALL so much! Great points. Last two times we went to FL we stayed in Boca and really liked it and narrowed it down to some neighborhoods, but... the more I researched the more I heard: why not consider Jupiter? And the reason I still was researching and wasn't 100% set on Boca is because of people. I am not saying that all people in Bpca are snobby and rude, but we did encounter rudeness while there, almost very day actually. So we started looking into Jupiter and northwest part of Palm Beach Gardens and are going there in 3 days to make our final decision. We will spend there, Jupiter, 5 days. I like the fact that Jupiter is more young and family oriented. Worried a bit about being too quiet, but then on the other hand WPB is very close and lots of places to go out and things to do. Shopping... I was told that Garden's Mall is amazing and Whole Food is right there. Is Jupiter really cheaper than Boca? I am looking at real estate in both cities and its comparable in good areas. Same prices...

[cfbs2691]

Originally Posted by antoninka

I am not saying that all people in Bpca are snobby and rude, but we did encounter rudeness while there, almost very day actually.

The Boca-Hontuses don't tend to venture up to Jupiter.
(There is a lot of Doctor's Wives Syndrome in Boca.)
IMO the housing prices are similar - but there is less of a snob factor in Jupiter.

Best of luck and keep us posted!