Best parts of Coral Springs (2020) (Miami, Boca Raton: section 8, apartments, house)

[haledon]

Hello, Im from the cold North and plan on moving down south in the near future. We are seriously looking into Coral Springs. Searching the internet, there are mixed reviews from 2006 to as late as 2018 all over the internet about the town. I see some parts of Coral Springs are really good and some parts are really bad.



I know Southgate is the border with Tamarac (which doesnt seem to have a good reputation), but is the area just north of Southgate really that bad?
Is it true anything west of 817 (university drive) not so good at all?



Can someone who lives in and/or is familiar with the area please go into detail about with exact parts/streets of Coral Springs we should avoid? Which parts/streets we should look into?


We know that no neighborhood is perfect. But we dont want to have to walk outside at night and have to worry about getting robbed.



Thanks!

[haledon]

Originally Posted by haledon

Hello, Im from the cold North and plan on moving down south in the near future. We are seriously looking into Coral Springs. Searching the internet, there are mixed reviews from 2006 to as late as 2018 all over the internet about the town. I see some parts of Coral Springs are really good and some parts are really bad.



I know Southgate is the border with Tamarac (which doesnt seem to have a good reputation), but is the area just north of Southgate really that bad?
Is it true anything west of 817 (university drive) not so good at all?



Can someone who lives in and/or is familiar with the area please go into detail about with exact parts/streets of Coral Springs we should avoid? Which parts/streets we should look into?


We know that no neighborhood is perfect. But we dont want to have to walk outside at night and have to worry about getting robbed.



Thanks!

EDIT: i meant “is it true that anything *EAST* of 817 is not so good at all”?

[haledon]

The areas we’re looking as is a house a few blocks north of Southgate and east of 817, just south of the mall.

The other is a street between Forest Hills blvd and Royal palm blvd. East of 817

Any info on these areas would be appreciated

[Dragonmam]

I have lived in Coral Springs for 25 years now. There are no "really bad areas." There is no street that I would not walk down as a 54 year old female in this city during the day or early evening. However, we are a city of 130,000 people, and have the occasional robbery and auto and home burglaries. The usual common sense precautions like not leaving valuables on the seat of your car and making sure your doors are locked are all that is needed.

Forest Hills Blvd runs in a circle around the neighborhood. After work, you will see tons of people walking their dogs, riding bikes, walking with strollers, jogging etc. After dark, I would be more concerned about getting hit by a car but still a bit guarded (as a female, walking alone). That South end of Forest Hills, where you are looking, tends to be a little hit or miss. Some of the homes are nicely kept and some need work.

A few years ago there were complaints about the neighborhoods off of Southgate. I have not heard anything lately. The Coral Square Mall seems to be having a few more issues with groups of teens roaming around causing trouble. The mall, like so many others, is losing a lot of traffic, so I no longer feel that safe in the parking lot at night. I don't think any issues that area has are related to it's proximity to Tamarac. Tamarac is a decent city. If you see a house there you are interested in, I would not rule it out.

East of 817 (University Drive) being bad is not universally true. I would actually say that most areas East of University Dr. are decent until you get passed the turnpike.

What are you looking for as far as location? Do you have to commute to work? Are schools an issue?

[haledon]

Originally Posted by Dragonmam

I have lived in Coral Springs for 25 years now. There are no "really bad areas." There is no street that I would not walk down as a 54 year old female in this city during the day or early evening. However, we are a city of 130,000 people, and have the occasional robbery and auto and home burglaries. The usual common sense precautions like not leaving valuables on the seat of your car and making sure your doors are locked are all that is needed.

Forest Hills Blvd runs in a circle around the neighborhood. After work, you will see tons of people walking their dogs, riding bikes, walking with strollers, jogging etc. After dark, I would be more concerned about getting hit by a car but still a bit guarded (as a female, walking alone). That South end of Forest Hills, where you are looking, tends to be a little hit or miss. Some of the homes are nicely kept and some need work.

A few years ago there were complaints about the neighborhoods off of Southgate. I have not heard anything lately. The Coral Square Mall seems to be having a few more issues with groups of teens roaming around causing trouble. The mall, like so many others, is losing a lot of traffic, so I no longer feel that safe in the parking lot at night. I don't think any issues that area has are related to it's proximity to Tamarac. Tamarac is a decent city. If you see a house there you are interested in, I would not rule it out.

East of 817 (University Drive) being bad is not universally true. I would actually say that most areas East of University Dr. are decent until you get passed the turnpike.

What are you looking for as far as location? Do you have to commute to work? Are schools an issue?

Thank you so much for that info. That is gold. Especially to hear it from a long time resident. We will be moving there in the coming months. No kids. So no issues about schools. And we will have a decent amount of money to sit on while we search and find new jobs there. We do have a budget, thats why we avoid Parkland, Weston, etc. Coral Springs seems to be a perfect fit. We visited a few months back and saw how close everything is there, from supermarkets, fast food, restaurants, etc all within a 3 mile radius. People seemed to be very nice from quick interactions. All we care about is safety. We are coming from a very safe community up north and would want the same down there. We despise the ghetto and trashy low lives. I have also read that there are section 8 apartments in parts of coral springs. That scared me, cause as stats prove, where there is section 8 is where there is crime.

[ajnucch]

Just fyi, locals don’t refer to University Dr as 817 ... just saying.... it runs thru entire Broward county, Turtle Creek in Northern Coral Springs is east of University and that’s a good area. It depends on the area. All of Broward county changed a lot from when we moved to Broward in the late 70’s.... good luck !

[wizrap]

Originally Posted by haledon

The areas we’re looking as is a house a few blocks north of Southgate and east of 817, just south of the mall.

The other is a street between Forest Hills blvd and Royal palm blvd. East of 817

Any info on these areas would be appreciated

My SIL lives east of University just south of the mall, and north of Southgate. She’s in the Shadow Wood section of Coral Springs. Beautiful, safe neighborhood. Nice homes that aren’t your typical SFLA cookie cutter residences. Lovely tree lined streets. Good value for your money, IMHO.

My only quibble is the mall. Like most, it has seen happier, more fashionable days. But a nice Dick’s Sporting Goods and a newer BJ’s wholesaler opened and they are great places to shop. So the mall is attempting to remain relevant but it’s going to take time.

You’re correct about Coral Springs—shopping and dining places are close; also good health care, lovely parks, huge aquatics center—there is so much to do and it’s all nearby.

[Memphiz]

Originally Posted by haledon

Thank you so much for that info. That is gold. Especially to hear it from a long time resident. We will be moving there in the coming months. No kids. So no issues about schools. And we will have a decent amount of money to sit on while we search and find new jobs there. We do have a budget, thats why we avoid Parkland, Weston, etc. Coral Springs seems to be a perfect fit. We visited a few months back and saw how close everything is there, from supermarkets, fast food, restaurants, etc all within a 3 mile radius. People seemed to be very nice from quick interactions. All we care about is safety. We are coming from a very safe community up north and would want the same down there. We despise the ghetto and trashy low lives. I have also read that there are section 8 apartments in parts of coral springs. That scared me, cause as stats prove, where there is section 8 is where there is crime.

we are also looking at the area moving more south from the palm beach county to be closer to work , but you have to be careful what words and phrases you use to label people you deem undesirables the term Ghetto is often used to describe people of color and section 8 that is also seen to label those happen to be all over south Florida EVERYWHERE and you will be surprised what nice neighborhoods have section 8 housing. south Florida is very very rich with people of color and not all have the money for expensive neighborhoods and you will be surprised how nice neighborhoods even share the area stores with poor areas. you might need to seriously reconsider south florida if you have issues with social economic diversity you will not be happy here, not happy at all ..or make more money to move where people might look more to your ideas of expectable

[NickSilva9]

I totally agree with the post above mine. South Florida is— arguably— one of the most unique populations in the South. Many places you go to in South Florida, you can’t find a single person working there or otherwise who speak English... Especially in Miami which is only about 20 minutes South of Coral Springs. I know quite a few people from Alabama, Michigan and the Midwest (particularly Wisconsin) who moved to Boca Raton and the surrounding areas (including Coral Springs) and hated it for the diversity. They often assumed people were very “stuck up” and I tried explaining to them that many people who look like they speak English, often, don’t. So they’re not being rude to you and ignoring you— they don’t understand you or their English is very poor because they are learning and it makes them nervous so they avoid conversation. I can tell you right now— Coral Springs has a huge Brazilian, Haitian and Hispanic population that grows daily. Mixed race couples are commonplace. The area is progressive. If “ghetto” is just the nice way of you trying to say you do not want to live around people of color— as the post above mine stated— South Florida will definitely not be the place for you.

[justagirl71]

Originally Posted by NickSilva9

I totally agree with the post above mine. South Florida is— arguably— one of the most unique populations in the South. Many places you go to in South Florida, you can’t find a single person working there or otherwise who speak English... Especially in Miami which is only about 20 minutes South of Coral Springs. I know quite a few people from Alabama, Michigan and the Midwest (particularly Wisconsin) who moved to Boca Raton and the surrounding areas (including Coral Springs) and hated it for the diversity. They often assumed people were very “stuck up” and I tried explaining to them that many people who look like they speak English, often, don’t. So they’re not being rude to you and ignoring you— they don’t understand you or their English is very poor because they are learning and it makes them nervous so they avoid conversation. I can tell you right now— Coral Springs has a huge Brazilian, Haitian and Hispanic population that grows daily. Mixed race couples are commonplace. The area is progressive. If “ghetto” is just the nice way of you trying to say you do not want to live around people of color— as the post above mine stated— South Florida will definitely not be the place for you.

What exactly do you mean that the area of Coral Springs is "progressive"? As in politics (more left-wing) or just because of the diverse population?