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Grew up there. PBI is the best option but Boca is not a great location for a consultant over all. Also, get used to being around drunk 70 year olds in white pants and Hawaiian shirts.
Lol, I’ve heard it’s nice but those were my biggest two concerns, flights and culture. I looked up some flights and everything seems to require a layover.
I grew up/lived/worked in the tri-county area for 20+ years. I preferred living in Fort Lauderdale for reasons I’ll explain below, but keep in mind you can traverse WPB to Miami in 1-2 hours given traffic, so everything is reasonably close and you won’t be missing out on one area entirely by choosing to live in another.
I would avoid Boca if you’re in your late 20s. Demographic skews older folks/retirees and lots of NY transplants (think Jerry’s parents from Seinfeld). That said it’s a very nice area to visit with lots of higher-end restaurant and entertainment and probably the nicest shopping mall in the area. Lots of companies also have small/satellite offices here.
A bit further north is Delray Beach and Boynton Beach. Both skew young professionals in 20s/30s and have lots of restaurants/bars/places of interest catering to that demo. Both are small beach towns rather than true cities, so you’ll probably start venturing outside of the area once you get bored of visiting Atlantic Ave every weekend.
Fort Lauderdale is a true city with lots of varied restaurant and entertainment options from cheap eats and thrills to high-end stuff. The downtown area and FAT Village have been growing a ton in the last 5-7 years and you’ll find a lot of young professionals there. Numerous mid-rise condos/apts are in the downtown/FAT area, and there are traditional neighborhoods with older renovated houses surrounding downtown like Victoria Park and Rio Vista. FLL is a very convenient airport with lots of direct flights to major hubs - NYC/CHI/LA - and the city is also centrally located in the tri-county area such that you can get to Miami/MIA in 30-60 mins and WPB/PBI in 45-60 mins.
As for Miami, I’d avoid living there unless you absolutely need a major city vibe, you are okay with a majority Latin demographic (including speaking Spanish), and your work/office is in the southern half of the tri-county area.
As for WPB, it’s a nice area that fits in between Lauderdale and Boca in terms of size, demographics, and level of activity, but I found it too slow-paced for my lifestyle. It’s also much less convenient to get to FLL and MIA and sometimes you’ll need to fly out of those because PBI doesn’t have a flight you need. On the plus side you’ll already be 1-2 hours closer to Orlando/Disney 🐭
For Fort Lauderdale proper, I’d recommend focusing on areas north of I-595/FLL, and east of I-95. The further east you go (towards the beach) the nicer (and more expensive) the neighborhoods and housing are, but generally anything around Federal Hwy/US1 is a good n’ safe bet. Most neighborhoods are spread out with houses having front/back yards and lots of public (dog) parks around everywhere, so you’ll have lots of options.
Keep in mind there are many nice suburbs in Broward County that are only 15-30 mins commute to the downtown area. A few that come to mind are Lighthouse Point, Parkland, and Davie/Plantation.
If you start seriously considering Lauderdale and would like professional referrals (realtors, contractors, agents, etc) let me know!
If either of you are going to be traveling weekly consider living closer to pbi (Wellington/downtown west palm). Avoid lake worth and most of west palm like the plague. Alternatively you could go further south to be closer to FLL but I’m less familiar with the area down there
PBI is nice and small but there’s less flights and it can be expensive while FLL has way more options. Avoid MIA at all costs. Delray Beach is nice and has some chill spots to go out w more of a “younger” crowd compared to only cougars prowling 10 years ago. It’s also 45 to Miami/south beach if you’re looking to go out out.
Delray Beach is an option
Fort Lauderale is your choice. Stuff to do, airports are close, and it’s young but not all old 65+ retired people. Boca is boring.
I liked the vibe of Boynton Beach. Look at Ft. Lauderdale too.
Parents live on the border of Delray and Boynton. Decent places but lots of retirement communities. Downtown Delray is about the only place with a younger small town,walkable feel that I enjoy hanging out. else is strip centers full of CVS, Publix and Podiatrist and chiropractor offices but not much else. Boca is similar but more upscale, and still a mix of elderly and younger.
FLL definitely a better option if you're younger
I second Delray Beach. Moved here years ago and love it. DM if needed
Pbi...
Or are there any cities within a 45 min commute that would be better?
Context, we are late twenties and trying to start a family.
Go with Fort Lauderdale or miami
NY transplant to Delray Beach. PM me