What can you tell me about Weston, Florida (Miami, Orlando: house, school)

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I can't really help with babysitting. My oldest kids are 15 and 13 and they are able to look after their younger brother if we are out for a few hours. If we are out longer my parents can usually take them. I haven't used a babysitter in a few years. Ditto for preschool.

People are fairly health concious here. Publix (the largest supermarket chain in the area) carries a fairly large selection of natural and organic foods. Anything I cannot get at Publix I get at Whole Foods, which is in Plantation, around 20 minutes away. I buy natural poultry at a butcher in Hollywood which is around half an hour away. There is another natural supermarket called Fresh Market in Pembroke Pines. I have never been there as I usually go to Whole Foods.

Honestly, I can get most of what I need at Publix. We eat mostly natural and organic foods, although we do allow some junky stuff now and then. THere is no Trader Joe's here which would be great.

Every time I post I'm going to tell you-Don't come without work. Even if the work is of the temporary sort, get work first. Then come. We would be happy to have you.

^^^
Fresh Market is great. Hehe, you will encounter some snobby people there.

Not exactly like Grace's or Agatha&Valentina or Balducci's in NYC or Scarsdale, but quite good still.

[newmommy78901]

Hi!

I sent you a DM.

[ruski]

If you choose to live near the coast however, you will need to be prepared for occasional mandatory evacuation during hurricanes. Plus coastal areas have older infrastructure and you may live without electric power/phone/cable/running water for a while once the hurricane passes.

Most of Weston has electric and phone lines buried and handles hurricanes better.

During Wilma, we only lost power for 30-40 minutes and didn't lose phone/DSL at all.

The rest of Broward was a sad picture, many people lived without power/water for 3-4 weeks.

Something to consider.


Oh yeah, from Weston, it is only about 1 hour to Naples. If you can drive 100 that is (unimaginable speeds in NYC, eh) P.S. about speed - don't go hog wild right away, learn the area, figure out where you can and where you can't, when you can and when you can't

[newmommy78901]

Originally Posted by max's mama

Thank you Momma Bear, Ruski and Desilei for replying. Definitely all things will be considered.

Further questions:
What is the average price that babysitters charge around there?
How much will the pre-K cost (on the average)?

As I mentioned before, we are not buying anything yet, we will just be renting and see what happens. We'll give it 6 months to a year. Catering is not joel's main thing anymore, he graduated from School of Integrative Nutrition and counsels people through chiropractor's offices and health food stores. Which brings me to more questions:

Are people health consious there? Are there health food stores...organic stores, farmer's markets??

I sent you a DM but to answer some of your questions above:

Babysitting: I currently live in Sebastian, Florida. (2.5 hours north of Weston.) We pay anywhere between $10 - $12 an hour for babysitting (one child). I think it would be comparable in Weston. I found my babysitter on sittercity.com.

Preschool: I've researched several preschools in and around Weston and the prices really depend on how many days per week you plan to enroll your child. My DD will go to preschool 3X a week (half days) and I will be paying $345 per month if that helps.

Health: I have never seen so many active people as I have in Weston. It would be very rare to be driving around Weston without seeing a bunch of cyclists, moms walking their babies in strollers or joggers, etc. They have two gyms in Weston which I've heard are quiet popular. The YMCA of Weston is very new. They have tons of activities, classes, etc.

Hope this helps.

[max's mama]

Originally Posted by newmommy78901

I sent you a DM but to answer some of your questions above:

Babysitting: I currently live in Sebastian, Florida. (2.5 hours north of Weston.) We pay anywhere between $10 - $12 an hour for babysitting (one child). I think it would be comparable in Weston. I found my babysitter on sittercity.com.

Preschool: I've researched several preschools in and around Weston and the prices really depend on how many days per week you plan to enroll your child. My DD will go to preschool 3X a week (half days) and I will be paying $345 per month if that helps.

Health: I have never seen so many active people as I have in Weston. It would be very rare to be driving around Weston without seeing a bunch of cyclists, moms walking their babies in strollers or joggers, etc. They have two gyms in Weston which I've heard are quiet popular. The YMCA of Weston is very new. They have tons of activities, classes, etc.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your input! I will respond to your DM too.
Seems like babysitting prices are comparible to Brooklyn, and so as the school. Right now, I'm paying $600 months for 5 full days in school, I think it's a cheaper side too.

One thing I love so far about Weston is how close it is to everything. I mean an hour to Miami? Can't beat that! We now commute one hour on the train to the new york city daily. 45 minutes to Fort Lauderdale or Naples? I mean 1 hour commute is nothing for us. We are soooo used to it.

[max's mama]

Originally Posted by ruski

If you choose to live near the coast however, you will need to be prepared for occasional mandatory evacuation during hurricanes. Plus coastal areas have older infrastructure and you may live without electric power/phone/cable/running water for a while once the hurricane passes.

Most of Weston has electric and phone lines buried and handles hurricanes better.

During Wilma, we only lost power for 30-40 minutes and didn't lose phone/DSL at all.

The rest of Broward was a sad picture, many people lived without power/water for 3-4 weeks.

Something to consider.


Oh yeah, from Weston, it is only about 1 hour to Naples. If you can drive 100 that is (unimaginable speeds in NYC, eh) P.S. about speed - don't go hog wild right away, learn the area, figure out where you can and where you can't, when you can and when you can't

You are bringing up great points about the hurricanes. Definitely something to consider. So far, I'm still leaning towards Weston from what I hear (not actually seeing it). If I need more excitement, I can just drive to Fort Lauderdale on weekends.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by max's mama

Thank you for your input! I will respond to your DM too.
Seems like babysitting prices are comparible to Brooklyn, and so as the school. Right now, I'm paying $600 months for 5 full days in school, I think it's a cheaper side too.

One thing I love so far about Weston is how close it is to everything. I mean an hour to Miami? Can't beat that! We now commute one hour on the train to the new york city daily. 45 minutes to Fort Lauderdale or Naples? I mean 1 hour commute is nothing for us. We are soooo used to it.

Downtown Fort Lauderdale is 20-30 minutes from Weston, without traffic. FTL airport is even closer. Someone on the Weston forum posted how he goes to pick someone up at the airport - when the plane [that his visitors are arriving on] makes a turn over Weston, he gets in the car and goes to the airport. 15 minutes later he picks them up.

Naples - 1 hour. Many alligators.

[max's mama]

Originally Posted by ruski

Downtown Fort Lauderdale is 20-30 minutes from Weston, without traffic. FTL airport is even closer. Someone on the Weston forum posted how he goes to pick someone up at the airport - when the plane [that his visitors are arriving on] makes a turn over Weston, he gets in the car and goes to the airport. 15 minutes later he picks them up.

Naples - 1 hour. Many alligators.

LOL...great!

You mean literal "alligators" though?

[ruski]

Originally Posted by max's mama

You are bringing up great points about the hurricanes. Definitely something to consider. So far, I'm still leaning towards Weston from what I hear (not actually seeing it). If I need more excitement, I can just drive to Fort Lauderdale on weekends.

We moved to FL 9 years ago. We looked at a bunch of places from West Palm Beach/Lake Worth to Pembroke Pines. Some places had better home designs, some had better prices. Then one realtor said she HAD to show us Weston. As soon as we saw this manicured enclave, we HAD to move here.

Many other places were like this - you get off a highway, then go for miles on some dusty road until you reach the nice development.

Weston is instant on - get off the highway at one of the Weston exits, and you are surrounded by nice everything.

[ruski]

Originally Posted by max's mama

LOL...great!

You mean literal "alligators" though?

Hey, they don't call it Alligator Alley for nothing.

If you drive from Weston to Naples on a cold, but sunny winter day, you will see them out on the banks of the canal that runs along the highway, one next to the other, closer than railroad ties. They get out of the cold water and lie in the warm sun.