Moving to Boca? Need advice please!!! (Miami: sales, real estate, HOA fees)

[NYtoFL2012]

Hi. We are considering a move to Boca. No income tax, lower costs for real estate are the two main reasons to lower our cost of living. My business will come with me so no loss of income. We currently live in Scarsdale, NY which has simply amazing schools. Latest stats show average SAT score of 1935 which is better then many private schools. We have three school age children so schools are very important to us. Our concerns about moving to Boca (FL for that matter) are whether the heat in the summer is so unbearable and whether the public schools are really that good. I don't want to sound snobby (although I'm sure I will so forgive me please) but Boca schools seem to have average SAT scores in the mid 1600's. Good by any national standard for sure but way below our current district. Hate to sound snobby but we are talking about my kids so they are more important than anything. We like the summer but not 100 degree summer. Does the summer heat/humidity last from April to October? Do you really have to plan your errands before 11am during those months as I've read in other posts? We are considering a move but really want to try to make the right decision all around.

Thanks very much for your honest responses.

[Swimmom32]

Good Evening,
Maybe you should consider putting them in Private School if the difference of 300 pts on an SAT is an issue..I really feel it is really up to the student and how well they perform on the SAT..Our Friends Son was just accepted to yale coming from a Boca High School and his friend was accepted to NYU..I'm sorry but what does the SAT scores of the school have to do with your child's success? There are kids that just test extremely well and are very average students...The High Schools here in Boca have Dual Enrollment and excellent AP classes...Does our schools measure up to Scarsdale I doubt it, I will say though after speaking to quite a few people who are coming from very good school districts up north My daughter in Middle School is learning the same thing as the people I know, and the HS well we are par with some of the other Up north HS as well now Will your children receive a good education well in MY opinion the answer would be yes...The Middle School has a Gifted Program that is excellent most of my daughters friends are in the program, there is also another very good school but there is a lottery to get in...My recommendation to you would be to visit because these schools might not be what you are looking for...The weather we love, being from NYC all my life the summers here are no different you go from inside A/c to outside back into A/C we eat outside quite often which you cant do up in NY....Last Summer there was more humidity in NY than here...Our daughter spends the summers in NY with my sister and she says its no different than here and it's not a big deal...It has never been 100 degrees in the 3 years we have been here...today it was 88 it was hot but it wasn't humid....I run around all day in the summer has never been an issue for me....One really gets used to it...My DH was afraid the heat was going to be really bad as he cant take it and gets migraines however he was surprised he got used to it and it wasnt quite as bad as he thought it would be...

The cost of living is not that much lower than where you are...Car Insurance is not much cheaper here than there, Property Taxes that depends on what price range you are in, plus there are HOA fees etc...the only difference that I can tell you would be the State Tax...you still pay sales tax, Home owner insurance is probably more with the Hurricane insurance than what you pay now....People have the Notion that its "cheaper" to live here but really it isnt by very much....We love living here even though our expenses are not much less than they were in NJ but we knew this moving here...

For us it was the best decision for our family....

Good Luck to you

[CJD1812]

My husband and I were actually thinking of doing the opposite. My husband is from NY and I'm from Miami. We can easily transfer to NY, but all it took was one winter for me. There is no way I can wake up even 10 minutes earlier to deal with snow. Yes, down here is unbearably hot, but there is A/C everywhere you go, and if you are outside you are most likely in water.

As far as schools go yes the schools up there are better, but when you are paying $30k a year in taxes as compare to $8k a year here I would expect the schools up there to be better. I have a little one and we started researching schools and have heard nothing but amazing things about Boca High and Spanish River.

Good luck with your decision.

[Swimmom32]

CJ I agree with you about Boca High and Spanish River Our son attends Spanish River and we are extremely happy with the schools...I will say that just because the property taxes are higher does not mean that the schools are better....DH has friends that he used to work with in 2 very good school districts up in NJ or at least they say they are excellent in their opinion they are good funny thing is our kids are doing the same thing as theirs and again there are always Honor and AP classes and Gifted which happen to have some great classes...My Dad is a retired NYC High school teacher and compared to his friends grandkids mhy son is right on Par with them...I have friends here from NY who are teachers and as they say it really does depend on where you live....Schools are very Subjective, and is really a matter of personal opinion....

[tjarado]

Schools do not have higher SAT scores - students do.
The superiority that people desire resides in the quality of students, not so much the school.
Most people won't face this unpleasant reality as it is not politically acceptable.
Sorry, but if the student body "rolls over", it won't matter how good the school is - er, was.

[Swimmom32]

Originally Posted by tjarado

Schools do not have higher SAT scores - students do.
The superiority that people desire resides in the quality of students, not so much the school.
Most people won't face this unpleasant reality as it is not politically acceptable.
Sorry, but if the student body "rolls over", it won't matter how good the school is - er, was.

exactly....good post