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I use to live in Hollywood, and I liked it. I too am a multi-racial female. I lived 3 blocks from downtown Hollywood, by the way. I'm not sure I really like Hollywood going any more west past 95. It's quirky and has a lot of character. Yes on US-1/Federal Hwy you do have a bunch of seedy motels that of course, bring about a certain kind of people, but I never felt unsafe. Plus, Hollywood Beach, is a really great beach, IMO.
Okay Okay we are talking about Hollywood now.. where some get it confused with Hollywood California, and some even say Hollyweird..yes I said it "weird". The truth is Hollywood Florida.. is really cool, and has grown in the past few years. It can be beautiful, with great sites to see, with charming restaurants and nice big beautiful homes in pretty decent neighborhoods, and then there are some areas where you will feel that some of the people that are walking around somehow came from the set of the Michael Jackson video Thriller. Really odd bummy kinda folks..that come from all
over the US, and have settled in Hollywood because of the great weather, and the amazing beaches where a lot of them probably even call their home at night with their blanket, and a make shift cooler for beers to stay cold. Not that i have anything against people who have hit really rough times, Its just that i do not like to be hounded for change by a wino while I am out grocery shopping. There is a Publix near my house that I do not even like to walk into anymore because one day I ran in to buy something in the afternoon time, and was very turned off when I walked in and there was a strong stench of old stale alcohol in the air, and I even saw a man walk in with out a shirt on. He was asked to leave by a security guard that happened to be in the front at the time.
I have lived in Hollywood for about 10 years now. I left Miami looking for cheaper homes, and something different then what I was used to. Even though I was only 30 minutes North of Miami I always felt like it was a whole other world. I will just keep it real, and get to the point. I love Hollywood for its beaches, as I live only 10 minutes away from the boardwalk. I love the fact that the Ft. lauderdale airport is only like 10 minutes away also...and when I need to get my South Beach fix for a special event its only 30 minutes away. But in the past year my priorities have changed drastically. I had my first child who is about to celebrate his first Birthday.
It has opened my eyes more and more to how much Hollywood has become an area where I would not dream of raising my son. I have seen Hollywood become more and more of an area that attracts the kind of people that you want to protect your family from. I live on the east side of federal highway, near downtown. They say its the nicer side. In some aspects it is, but even so within just a few blocks away it all changes, and the freaks come out roaming the streets making Hollywood look seedy and rough, and giving it a bad reputation. Its a shame because you can see in some areas how the City of Hollywood is trying to clean it up a bit, by removing the bus greyhound stations, and putting a Starbucks in its place. In my opinion as long as they have all those motels all long federal highway there will always be issues with the transients.
I have been seeing more and more prostitutes walking the streets, and more cop lights pulling cars over, and raiding people at bus stop benches, and at the motels. The bottom line is this...I just don't recommend Hollywood for anyone who is starting a family, and wants to feel that their family is safe from bad elements. One day my husband and i did a search on the computer for pedophiles in the area, and it was like playing connect the dots. It was sickening to know just how close we had sex offenders living nearby our home, and local schools.
Hollywood is a great place for vacationers, and retired folks, and young adults who are still in party mode, and want to live the club lifestyle in both South Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale. I do not recommend it for folks trying to raise a family. The schools are run down looking, and do not have a high graduation rate. Most of the schools in the state of Florida suffer from that very problem.
If you are someone that has to move to Hollywood because of a job, and really have no choice in the matter, and have young kids, your best bet is to look into west Hollywood...that being west of 1-95 the major highway. Some of the nicer areas of Hollywood are Hollywood Hills, West Pembroke Pines, Cooper City. These are better areas in Hollywood where they have gated communities, and nicer schools. As of now I will be leaving Hollywood, and moving somewhere up North to raise my family. I will always come back to Hollywood to visit, but not to live permanently.
I hope this helped anyone wanting to know more about Hollywood living. Best of luck!
Okay Okay we are talking about Hollywood now.. where some get it confused with Hollywood California, and some even say Hollyweird..yes I said it "weird". The truth is Hollywood Florida.. is really cool, and has grown in the past few years. It can be beautiful, with great sites to see, with charming restaurants and nice big beautiful homes in pretty decent neighborhoods, and then there are some areas where you will feel that some of the people that are walking around somehow came from the set of the Michael Jackson video Thriller. Really odd bummy kinda folks..that come from all
over the US, and have settled in Hollywood because of the great weather, and the amazing beaches where a lot of them probably even call their home at night with their blanket, and a make shift cooler for beers to stay cold. Not that i have anything against people who have hit really rough times, Its just that i do not like to be hounded for change by a wino while I am out grocery shopping. There is a Publix near my house that I do not even like to walk into anymore because one day I ran in to buy something in the afternoon time, and was very turned off when I walked in and there was a strong stench of old stale alcohol in the air, and I even saw a man walk in with out a shirt on. He was asked to leave by a security guard that happened to be in the front at the time.
I have lived in Hollywood for about 10 years now. I left Miami looking for cheaper homes, and something different then what I was used to. Even though I was only 30 minutes North of Miami I always felt like it was a whole other world. I will just keep it real, and get to the point. I love Hollywood for its beaches, as I live only 10 minutes away from the boardwalk. I love the fact that the Ft. lauderdale airport is only like 10 minutes away also...and when I need to get my South Beach fix for a special event its only 30 minutes away. But in the past year my priorities have changed drastically. I had my first child who is about to celebrate his first Birthday.
It has opened my eyes more and more to how much Hollywood has become an area where I would not dream of raising my son. I have seen Hollywood become more and more of an area that attracts the kind of people that you want to protect your family from. I live on the east side of federal highway, near downtown. They say its the nicer side. In some aspects it is, but even so within just a few blocks away it all changes, and the freaks come out roaming the streets making Hollywood look seedy and rough, and giving it a bad reputation. Its a shame because you can see in some areas how the City of Hollywood is trying to clean it up a bit, by removing the bus greyhound stations, and putting a Starbucks in its place. In my opinion as long as they have all those motels all long federal highway there will always be issues with the transients.
I have been seeing more and more prostitutes walking the streets, and more cop lights pulling cars over, and raiding people at bus stop benches, and at the motels. The bottom line is this...I just don't recommend Hollywood for anyone who is starting a family, and wants to feel that their family is safe from bad elements. One day my husband and i did a search on the computer for pedophiles in the area, and it was like playing connect the dots. It was sickening to know just how close we had sex offenders living nearby our home, and local schools.
Hollywood is a great place for vacationers, and retired folks, and young adults who are still in party mode, and want to live the club lifestyle in both South Beach, and Ft. Lauderdale. I do not recommend it for folks trying to raise a family. The schools are run down looking, and do not have a high graduation rate. Most of the schools in the state of Florida suffer from that very problem.
If you are someone that has to move to Hollywood because of a job, and really have no choice in the matter, and have young kids, your best bet is to look into west Hollywood...that being west of 1-95 the major highway. Some of the nicer areas of Hollywood are Hollywood Hills, West Pembroke Pines, Cooper City. These are better areas in Hollywood where they have gated communities, and nicer schools. As of now I will be leaving Hollywood, and moving somewhere up North to raise my family. I will always come back to Hollywood to visit, but not to live permanently.
I hope this helped anyone wanting to know more about Hollywood living. Best of luck!
^ Just got back from spending 11 days there - and I observed a lot of what you said. And I'll be back next year....first time I came to Hollywood was in the late sixties as a child. The Young Circe/Harrison strip is quite interesting.
Spent two days in Hollywood Beach. It was my first time. The folk at the small hotel were extremely nice as was the hotel. The Ocean Side Inn? However, we ate in two different restaurants and the servers were nasty and rude as was the people in the stores. The beaches were lovely but I encountered a lot of nasty New Yorkers. We left NY years to ago to away from that. I would not want to re-visit it down south.
Spent two days in Hollywood Beach. It was my first time. The folk at the small hotel were extremely nice as was the hotel. The Ocean Side Inn? However, we ate in two different restaurants and the servers were nasty and rude as was the people in the stores. The beaches were lovely but I encountered a lot of nasty New Yorkers. We left NY years to ago to away from that. I would not want to re-visit it down south.
I will never understand the hatred of NYers on the South Florida forums.
I'm a Midwestener who lived in NYC for a few years, and loved NYers.
If y'all go west from what most people here call the "barrier islands", a.k.a. the beach, out to the nether regions of Hollywood, there are 'burbs like Cooper City and Davie that are about as "country" as it gets. No joke, you will see people riding horses down the street out there. I am not making this up. So, yeh, if anyone happens to run across areas like that, you may well run into someone that sneers something like, "Y'all ain't from round here, air ya?" We got it all down here, ain't nothin nor no type a area or peeple you won't see -- and some you won't want to see (that's why I stay on my so-called "barrier islands" and don't go inland to the so-called "mainland")...
Cooper City and Davie are two different cities. Neither are Hollywood.
Hi Sabrina, Hollywood is not only Federal Highway ( US1 road ) and Young Circle area with homelesses, druggs, vacancies and crime ( you can see all type of what I call "tipical american characters up and down US1 all the time) . Most of the cities alongside US1 in South Florida have the same situation From Miami to West Palm Beach. As somebody said above, the east section of Hollywood between US1 and the intercoastal is very nice as well as some areas west of I-95.
The beach side is still pricy even the economy downturn. Most of the buildings in the beach are old ( built in the 60's and 70's ) but if you want to start a new life as a resident in Hollywood I recommend you Sheridan Boulevard between US1 and Intracoastal. There are some condo developments pretty nice and affordable as rentals. If you pick up that area finally then you will be a pretty short driving distance from the beach, Hollywood downtown night life and shopping as well as Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International airport. That is the best area I recommend you if you elect to be a Hollywood eastsider.
Cooper City and Davie are two different cities. Neither are Hollywood.
In Cooper City, you are probably more likely to run into soccer moms driving Volvo SUVs. If anything, you might run into the "y'all ain't from around here" types in the blue collar parts of west Hollywood.
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The Young Circe/Harrison strip is quite interesting.
two days in Hollywood Beach
