We'd be moving from Virginia and I'm looking for some local knowledge...

Places to live
Places to avoid
Weird gun laws to look out for
Surf spots
Etc.

Remember to vote Democratic party and learn to speak Spanish.

Hi,
I have a friend that just retired and he is leaving Fl to move to Virginia. I do wonder about him a lot though.
You will like Fl. Maybe not much in the Summer months but you will get used to it. Gun laws are great if you get a CC you walk in buy and leave after the background check is ATF approved within minutes. No waiting.
No yearly taxing on your vehicle pay once and that is it.
Places to live well anything North of Palm Beach is similar to any other state minus the snow. Further South (and I live down here) Is different there is night life, places are open 24 hours. A lot of things to do year round. Water Sports all year round but I will warn you with time you will get spoiled. Us Floridians like our ocean water like bath water. HOT! Its an acquired taste trust me.
Ft. Lauderdale is nice with a lot of things to do. Stay away from around I 95 area to live. The West and the Beach areas are gtg.
Broward is close enough to Miami-Dade a lot of fun places to go to with good food. Stay away from Miami Gardens. Go to Miami Beach and spend time in Lincoln Road. Ocean Drive is for tourist.
Broward has River Walk.
Important you won't need your winter coats unless you visit Virginia again in the winter. You will pick up Spanish along the way. Its a multi cultured area.

My advise is to stay where you are.  SE FL is NOT the same as 10-15 years ago.  MUCH worse in just about everything.  Unless you have lots of disposable income & then you can live the life.

I'd love to stay in VA but my wife's job offer may be too good to pass up. It would be short term move (2-4) years and then back to VA.  

I figured gun laws aren't much different from VA and we have CC reciprocity so I should be good until I get residency established.

What good beach communities in Broward county should I be looking at?

About sums it up....

Dont have many communities. You want to be East of US1 or just West...

South of 595 and west of university or in parkland NW springs


Central broward


None really


None really, closest is Juno or cocoa beach

Jupiter, Tequesta, palm beach gardens for PBC

Not any real nice beach communities in broward unless you wanna spend a minimum of 750+ on a house and send your kids if you have any to private school

Just FYI...

790.015 Nonresidents who are United States citizens and hold a concealed weapons license in another state; reciprocity.—
(1) Notwithstanding s. 790.01, a nonresident of Florida may carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm while in this state if the nonresident:
(a) Is 21 years of age or older.
(b) Has in his or her immediate possession a valid license to carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm issued to the nonresident in his or her state of residence.
(c) Is a resident of the United States.
(2) A nonresident is subject to the same laws and restrictions with respect to carrying a concealed weapon or concealed firearm as a resident of Florida who is so licensed.
(3) If the resident of another state who is the holder of a valid license to carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm issued in another state establishes legal residence in this state by:
(a) Registering to vote;
(b) Making a statement of domicile pursuant to s. 222.17; or
(c) Filing for homestead tax exemption on property in this state,
the license shall remain in effect for 90 days following the date on which the holder of the license establishes legal state residence.(4) This section applies only to nonresident concealed weapon or concealed firearm licenseholders from states that honor Florida concealed weapon or concealed firearm licenses.
(5) The requirement of paragraph (1)(a) does not apply to a person who:
(a) Is a servicemember, as defined in s. 250.01; or
(b) Is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces who was discharged under honorable conditions.

There are condos along A1A with views of the water & beach areas. Some have "private" access to the beach. However they cost a ton of $ to rent.

From PB County, to Broward, to Dade.....it's quite literally one HUGE, indistinguishable neon blinking, strip mall filled, aesthetic heap of shit. I've seen few places where LESS of a premium was placed on actually making cities look nice. 

It's all about your budget. There are pockets of "nice" all through out the area. Pockets. And they are all surrounded by low rent garbage. Get off I95 in any of the three counties mentioned and go east. You'll drive through 10-30 blocks of ghetto before you get to any place worth stopping your car or unlocking your doors. 

Yup, there are places and activities for a wide variety of things to do. One dynamic, however is that these 3 counties are sandwiched between an ocean and the Everglades.....which means sprawl has finite space north and south. Congestion and traffic is unbelievable.....which makes the "nice" aspects annoyingly crowded with crap of one flavor or another. If you don't own a boat, the allure of beaches, for me anyway, vanishes when you come to realize that they are surprisingly unavailable due to the ENTIRE coastline being walled off by a stretch of private condos that runs the entire length of the area. There are some public access areas (surprisingly few given the amount of coastline) , and as you'd imagine, they're PACKED with people. Going to the beach in most areas is a race to get there as early as possible in the hope of finding one of the cherished parking spaces. In the winter months, the population doubles.

I supposed it's a matter of tolerance. I was born here, but I've lived in several other states and have been back for over a decade. If it weren't for my elderly folks being in PBC, Id sell my place tomorrow and move to a very different part of the state that has none of what I mentioned above, yet all the benefits this great state has to offer. 

I've lived in 6 different states up and down both coasts of this country and IMO, the tri-county area in SE FL is among the most undesirable places Ive ever lived. Thank God the Keys are close. If youre an urban sort, maybe some of what I've said doesn't matter, and if youre dead set on moving to Broward, I sure hope that's the case. If you have to move here, the order of quality of life is as follows: 

North Palm Beach County > Palm Beach County > North Broward County (Deerfield Beach area) > Broward County > Dade County. Out west, often meaning quite a bit west, tends to reduce the shit but not always. East had better be miles east from I95 or you'll be a resident of the jungle. 


I was born there (Broward County)and there is absolutely nothing, I mean NOTHING that would EVER get me to move back there.