Looking for advice on where to live in So. FL
 

I’ve had it with commuting...have been doing it way too long. So I’m very seriously looking to buy a house and move the family to South Florida. Seems like there’s endless options, but what I’m currently contemplating is the Jupiter/Tequesta area. Also looking at Stuart, Port St. Lucie, and Palm City. Probably can’t afford to be on the water, and no immediate plans for a boat. But would love to be able to ride bikes from my house to waterfront parks and restaurants/bars.

I would really appreciate everyone's advice/input on the following issues, or any other suggestions about where to live....

Do home prices generally decrease as you go further north of FLL?

How is the commute on I-95? Is it super-congested?

Google Maps says about 1:15 driving time from Jupiter to FLL airport....is that reasonably accurate?

Are the schools better/worse in any particular area? My two kids are 11 and 13.

Any other issues I should be concerned about?

I looked around in those areas last year. Jupiter and Tequesta would be the nicer areas if you can afford it (and a few minutes closer). I don't know much about Stuart except lots of senior citizens. Looked in PSL last summer and found several single family homes at just under 300k brand new and in nice areas. Most of them were not in any kind of HOA structure though, which is good and bad depending on how you look at it. A couple of the places we looked at had Bahamian neighbors who literally painted their houses gold and purple amongst other really tacky looking things...

Any time you move inland it will be less expensive, but also much hotter.


Traffic on 95 is miserable. The Turnpike is slightly better, but not by much. If you are driving in before sunrise your commute will be ok. But anytime during daylight hours will contain "slit-your-wrist" traffic. Also, half the people down there are from New York, the other half can't read the street signs. It makes driving a very dangerous proposition.

Not all people from NY can read the street signs.....

You are looking at good areas. The traffic is crazy and that stretch of I95 is probably one of the most dangerous roads in the country. In Jupiter you’d have to leave about 2hrs minimum to show time and more the further north you go. The FLL employee lot situation is about the most rediculous, nausea inducing, smelly, time suck you’ll ever encounter. Most of the guys that live close just uber because the lot is so absurd.

South of Jupiter the public schools are pretty much all bad with Boca Raton being the exception with as good or better schools than Jupiter but very comparable. Boca is nice and has a great park system, but congested and lots of New York attitude. Jupiter and north is much more laid back and imo preferable but the drive will kill you. 4 days no problem, but shorter trips or tail end red eye would be rough.

Aside from the areas mentioned south Florida is an absolute cesspool and you’ll have to send your kids to private school.

Imo Dallas is the best bang for your qol buck with also some great public schools in the right area. Flower Mound is always rated one of the best places to live in country. Just a much different lifestyle than Florida. Also a smaller base and kind of stagnant last I checked.

DTW is good too, Plymouth, Canton, Northville, Novi, Ann Arbor are all less than 30 minutes to the airport and excellent schools.

Re:South Florida
 

Do you like heat, traffic, crime and crappy schools. I lived in Florida for twenty-two years and finally moved out. I grew tired of people that can not drive and eight months of summer. Schools are tough because you may find a district with a good grade school but then have a bad high school. I know commuting sucks but ask yourself if you would rather live somewhere that you do not have to worry about your family when you are on a trip. I miss saltwater fishing terribly but not the rest of the garbage I had to deal with. There is no sense of community in Florida because everyone is from somewhere else. Driving in Florida is outright dangerous. Hurricanes seem to be getting worse every year. It is no fun having to get home and trying to board up and evacuate when the weather is going downhill. It was an adjustment getting used to winter again after moving but at least I do not have to do yard work in the winter. There is no income tax in Florida but property taxes, homeowners, and car insurance is expensive. South Florida has the highest rate of car theft in the country. These are facts of life living anywhere in Florida. Good luck with your decision. I try to look at things on the positive side but these are things you will deal with living there.

Greatschools.org has changed some ratings recently. Weston has good schools. Jupiter slid a little. Palm city and Stuart are hit and miss. Boca has a couple slide but still good. I think most everywhere else in SE FL is pretty bad in terms of schools.

Since Weston wasn’t mentioned before, I know we have a bunch of guys that live out there. Traffic I think is tolerable. It’s west so it’s hot and it rains a lot in the summer (more so than the coast). I think it has a decent suburban feel but like Orlando, is there really a point to living in Florida if you don’t live near the water. Better qol value in other bases if the ocean isn’t important to you.

I’d say Weston is the outlier in Broward or Dade county if you are raising a family and want public schools. The norm is private school in those counties.

Also, some good places on both coasts further north with decent schools, less congestion, less attitude, and only eight months of summer instead of 10 or 11 that would be easy drives to an MCO base if we ever open one.

There are a bunch of us in PSL. I'm 1:20 from the lot via 95, which I prefer to the turnpike unless it's rush hour. More lanes and exits on 95 but yeah, the driving can be dicey south of Jupiter. Palm City, Tequesta, Stuart, Hobe Sound, all good areas so check out the housing and you'll find something that works for you.

I disagree, there are some really nice places in Florida that are even affordable. But nowhere in South Florida is nice and affordable. Maybe the west coast is a bit less expensive though.