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Boca Raton/Delray Beach area suggestions

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Rusty Shackleford, Jul 4, 2015.

  1. Rusty Shackleford

    Rusty Shackleford Active Member

    Seems there's a chance I may be relocating (though shouldn't it just be locating, because I've never been located there?) to this region soon.

    Any thoughts, recommendations or warnings about that area from this esteemed group?
     
  2. Desk_dude

    Desk_dude Member

    It is somewhat pricey in South Florida, compared with other parts of the U.S. Boca Raton and Delray Beach include areas outside the cities called West Boca and West Delray. A lot depends on whether you are buying or renting and have kids (for schools). Prices have been going up because of the recovering market. My son is renting a small three-bedroom house in West Boca for about $1,500 per month.
     
  3. Rusty Shackleford

    Rusty Shackleford Active Member

    Buying... No kids, just me.
     
  4. Desk_dude

    Desk_dude Member

    Depends on how close you want to be to the ocean. The closer to it, the more expensive it is.
     
  5. micropolitan guy

    micropolitan guy Well-Known Member

    My brother lives in Delray, he loves it, Some bar called the Blue Anchor or something like that is supposed to be very good.
     
    Rusty Shackleford likes this.
  6. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    Whatever you're paying in property taxes, triple it.

    Whatever you're paying in homeowner insurance, triple it.

    Do NOT purchase a house built before 1993 (before the stronger hurricane codes were mandated).

    Learn Spanish.
     
  7. Desk_dude

    Desk_dude Member

    Property taxes are bad not worse in some places, including California and some parts of Texas. About 1 percent of the value of the house. If the house was built before 1993, you don't get as much in credits. Most houses have had updated roofs, especially built after Wilma in 2005.
     
  8. BTExpress

    BTExpress Well-Known Member

    I'd say it has to be above 2 percent.

    The house I sold in 2011 for $220,000 had a $3,200 property tax, and it was only that low because of the Save Our Homes (aka Florida's Prop 13) provision that capped annual increases at 3 percent.

    The minute my house was sold, the new owners were paying more than $5,000.
     
  9. Bronco77

    Bronco77 Well-Known Member

    This will make it easier for you. South Florida public schools generally are mediocre at best, to the point that some families won't move here and more than a few who live here decide to leave. The areas with the best schools are expensive beyond the already-pricy South Florida standard, and a typical journalist would need a well-paid spouse or some other type of family money to live in those places.

    You've gotten good advice on the housing; it ain't cheap. If you're looking at single-family homes, be sure any older house you consider has hurricane shutters, impact doors and a reinforced garage door at the very least. Those may help you get some insurance discounts.

    Don't know what you've heard about the crime here, but many people I've met from out of town have the idea that all of South Florida is like what used to be shown on "Miami Vice" or COPS-style reality TV. Yes, property crime is present, even in upscale neighborhoods. Locking the doors to your home and car should be second nature. But you won't encounter bands of thugs on every street corner, and you won't need to wear a suit of armor when you leave home, or drive around in a bulletproof Popemobile-type vehicle. Avoid the really bad areas (and you'll find out where these are soon enough) and you'll be fine.

    Despite the "Del Boca Vista" stereotype that depicts a South Florida dominated by pushy, cranky seniors from New York, the Boca Raton/Delray Beach area is a fairly desirable place for a young, single person -- if you can afford it.

    Finally, no review of South Florida is complete without discussing the drivers. You'll see it all -- overly aggressive drivers, intoxicated drivers (the area probably leads the nation in wrong-way, head-on crashes on the interstates), and drivers texting or yakking on their phones. And yes, seniors who drive 15 mph in a 45-mph zone. Traffic volume isn't necessarily worse than in any other big metro area (and in some cases it's better), but mindless driving is off the charts.
     
    Last edited: Jul 6, 2015
    Rusty Shackleford likes this.
  10. Riptide

    Riptide Well-Known Member

    It's hotter than hell.
    But it doesn't suck like Texas.
     
  11. FileNotFound

    FileNotFound Well-Known Member

    Delray is nice. Boca has more of the pushy, cranky New York seniors. Anything between I-95 and the ocean is going to be super-expensive. West of 95, it gets sketchy fast. Winter doesn't suck.
     
  12. Rusty Shackleford

    Rusty Shackleford Active Member

    Thanks all, especially Amy. I'll be there Friday. Excited to interview.
     
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