Originally Posted by
ropestart
Any suggestions on the Atlantic side? I can see alligator alley being a pain in the arse!
The school systems will be your biggest issue. In a word, Florida's public school system flat out suuuuuucks. There are good ones out there, but they're hard to find. By and large private schools are the way most of the Captains I fly with go.
Miami Lakes has a surprisingly good one, and is very family friendly. Parks EVERYwhere. Good schools and living in Boca. Coral Springs has an extremely family-friendly atmosphere, as does Weston, but you'll definitely need two cars to make it work.
Lots of guys live further north, up in Port St. Lucie and Jupiter; haven't heard any complaints from them. But it's a hike. And a half.
DelRay Beach was rated one of the best communities to live in as well by one of the major magazines. It has a great downtown "Main Street" that I'd like to check out again.
Expect to spend north of $300k to find a reasonable house or townhome in a good area. $400k opens up a lot of options that frankly would cost a lot less just about anywhere else, but you wear flip flops in February, so that helps take the sting out of it.