They Want Our Money But Don't Want Us-Buyer Beware - 8/30/2008

I have lived in West Palm Beach for a year and moved here from NY state. All you New Yorkers: DO NOT MOVE HERE!! Call this fair warning. They hate us here and make that known everywhere you go. The workplace is a joke with pays that are obscene. I was making 45.00 an hour on Long Island but was offered 12.00 for the same job. This is an "At Will" work state. They fire and hire workers in a seemingly indiscriminate way higgledeepiggledee without fair warning or within reason. Permanent jobs are almost nonexistent. This is a hustler's state. In addition make no mistake about it this is a racist, homophobic, sexist part of the world. Blacks still live a segregated life here and are treated more than badly. The treatment is both subtle and blatant. Crime is very high here although I have not run into any of it personally. People in houses have had problems with home invasion and theft in my neighborhood. Security companies are made up of mostly foreign nationals and immigrants. Not a secure place to live. The water here has had several boil water notices and fecal material has been found in it. The place is run like one of the islands. It really should be kicked out of the US and made a territory instead of a state.

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WPB Devoid of Culture - 8/24/2008

For anyone thinking of moving to WPB it is NOT an exciting place to live. I have been in FL all of my life (30 yrs) and in West Palm Beach for the last six years. Summers are horrible: it is as hot and humid as a sauna, everything slows down because it is not the "season", and it rains every day. Throw in the possibility of hurricanes too. As far as nightlife and culture, you can find some but there is lack of class, sophistication and there is level of "cheese" accepted that would not fly for a second in a more urbane setting like San Francisco or Manhattan. Learn to speak Spanish too and be ready for the slow pace that comes with some of the cultures that permeate this area. All in all, WPB is banal, homogenized and completely devoid of interesting culture. PS-I've been trying to sell my home and move out of FL forever! WPB is okay if you're into the suburbs and having to drive 20 minutes to get anywhere half way decent.

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west palm beach - 7/30/2008

to expensive and hot

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Housing - 7/25/2008

Some residential properties are substandard and all are over-priced for sale. City services to this neighborhood are delivered poorly as compared with other neighborhoods in West Palm Beach.

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Looking to get out - 7/12/2008

My family and I are looking to get out of Florida it is too crowded and congested. People don't know how to drive, and unless you have money there is no nice places to live. Yes, the beaches (Jupiter Beach) are nice and the SUN is HOTTT. My husband is born here in West Palm and has watched it get way over grow. Well that is just our opinon.

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West Palm Beach - 6/9/2008

I've lived here a year and a half. I moved from Chicago, a world-class city, to be closer to my family. It's pretty here and most of the year the weather is nice. However, it's also a lot of boring suburban sprawl with little culture and a lot of closed minded people. I'm looking to get out.

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Fun Things To Do In West Palm Beach - 5/17/2008

The list is endless. We have an incredibly diverse cultural, recreational, and arts community. Our convention center is relatively new and very modern. We are soon getting a hotel connected to the convention center as well. Our downtown is undergoing a "renovation". The new City Center with the ultimate library will be finished next year. The new waterfront project, which will open up the intercoastal for recreational use, has been started. We have several "neighborhood" theatres, an enormous shopping district which combines the 1950s style of downtown shopping on Clematis Street with the modern concept of a pedestrian shopping mall at City Place. We have weekly street festivals and concerts and the several huge venues throughout the year including the Palm Beach Boat Show, Sunfest, Mardi Gras Festival and First Night. This is truly an exceptional place to live.

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gorgeous - 12/12/2007

For anyone who loves warm (hot) weather, this is the place to be.

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Pretty but unaffordable - 8/31/2007

West Palm Beach has beautiful views:lakes, fountains, nice parks, places to bring your kids to(zoos, museums, theaters).NO SNOW! Love the weather, I'd rather be a little hot than be cold. We don't have 100 degrees like in other states. Pretty decent driving distance to work, not a lot of traffic compared to other major US cities. Fresh air. Lots of golfviews. Wildlife.I love this place but I got to move out. The housing prices are ridiculously overpriced--fueled by greed in the real estate, but income has stagnated. I'm also concerned about the increase in crime and and all these gangs spreading around like cancer. Not enough good schools.

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Contrary to belief. . . - 7/26/2007

I grew up in West Palm Beach my whole life, Crime has actually gone down. You generally know where to not travel if you want to stay away from the crime. Obviously, you don't want to be caught on a street like Tamarind Ave. downtown, but I've got lost when I was younger there, driving around in a Range Rover, and no harm came to me at all. The people are very nice, even though they may look a bit scary. You can't judge the people with where they live. Downtown for example, you have low income housing and 2 miles east you have multi-million dollar houses on the Island of Palm Beach.

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Run, don't walk to get out of Florida - 5/24/2007

"It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there". Ever heard that saying? Well, don't say you haven't been warned. This place is the most rediculous of places I've ever lived. South Florida in general, really. The cost of living is beyond anything even resembling normal. The average person cannot afford it. The schools are a disgrace, they bring in portables (1 room trailors) because they don't want to spend the money to build schools big enough in the first place. The bugs and heat are unbearable. The summer heat/humidity is far worse than Atlanta in the summer time. And The people are rude, obnoxious yankees who are trying to turn it into a rude Nothern state!! (you know who you are) The traffic is barely tolerable, most jobs require 45-60 commute times. The unending road construction adds to it. The thousands of immigrants that wont speak English are taking over, there are many, many businesses who's street front signage aren't even in English anymore. There is no style or etiquette here, everyone walks around a carbon copy of the next. The food isn't that good and every single street corner has the same businesses no matter what part of the county you are in. It's all about commercialization, urbanization, cloning (meaning if you don't look, act, dress, speak, and think like the next person, you're the oddball). It's hurry up and wait, and when you do finally get service, it's rude and second rate. So, no, I wouldn't live here or visit here. The crime with all the gangs surfacing is really bad. And they say, "the last {english-speaking) person to leave Miami, please bring the flag. i think it can now apply to ALL of South Florida.

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Perception vs reality - 5/10/2007

Like every City and County in the US, there are certain places in Palm Beach County that you probably would not go unless you are looking for trouble - outside of those areas, I feel completely safe in WPB - have lived here for 16 years - back then there were quite a few more unsafe areas! I am more concerned about the crazy violent crimes in random 'safe' places throughout the nation rather than violent crimes that happen in areas that I am sure most people in the City do not go for sightseeing!

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I am trying to get out. - 5/6/2007

The crime has gotten pretty bad. Not a place to raise children, unless you want them to become a drug dealer...

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Sunny South Florida at a high price - 3/29/2007

You pay a price living in South Florida. Even though the cost of house is declining now, prices are still high. Home, wind, and flood insurance price are through the roof (hope there isn't another hurricane). Not much public transportation. The city is constantly under construction. Traffic is getting worse. It's a good idea to speak multiple languages. Spanish is very prevalent here. The good news is this place is beautiful. Great beaches and fishing.

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Only the Wealthy can Survive Here - 3/14/2007

Palm Beach County, in general has become a place for only the very wealthy to live. The average cost of a home in West Palm Beach is 430K. I never imagined this area getting so expensive, but it has. I'm one of those people who remember when Palm Beach County WAS affordable. People are leaving because of the high taxes and insurance, crime, poor schools and housing costs. Broward & Dade Counties continue to move Northward, invading Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie Counties. It's like a cancer. There are an estimate 1,000 Gangs in West Palm Beach. So much negativity here. The biggest problem in Palm Beach County is that there are NO jobs and NO major corporations. And employers do not want to pay good salaries. Our local Government and Governor ARE a JOKE. High cost of living here, but the jobs do not pay. Unless you are extremely wealthy, I don't recommend living here. It's not worth it. People are leaving this area and moving to either North Florida, or out of the State.

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west palm beach is heaven - 1/17/2007

just moved recently from Michigan, and i think west palm beach area is the nicest place on god's earth to live. people keep saying that housing is getting expensive...the reason why its getting expensive here is because companies are moving to the area fast, not only to west palm beach but to the state of florida in general. you can still find housing in the 200's if you look especially with the real estate market going down now, but you can depend on one thing : " eventually, if you buy a house here IT WILL KEEP GOING UP IN VALUE" so you might pay a little more than other places but you are having the best life ever and making a good investment. about the weather being hot! it is true it gets really hot in the summer but i still think its better than snow ( my own oppinion ) plus you still have air condition and THE BEACHES to cool you down. this area is also getting top job growth ratings in the COUNTRY along with orlando, coral springs and many other cities. there is a reason why people like to retire in this state.

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Look both ways and never make eye contact! - 12/29/2006

No, I am not kidding. The violent crime in this county (Palm Beach) is worse than when I lived in NY. Pick any day of the week, any time of year, and read any local article in the Post at www.palmbeachpost.com. Shootings, murders, drugs, carjackings, robberies, etc. We have it all here, every day of the week. Need some cash? Don't even think about using an ATM, especially at night! Other than that, I guess the palm tress are nice to look at..................

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Beautiful West Palm Beach - 12/29/2006

Yes, the palm trees blowing in the wind make West Palm a lovely place to visit. BUT for those of us living here, it's another story entirely. West Palm Beach is the place to live if you want to be robbed walking out of the mall or even picking up your children from day care. The crime here is pervasive! On Christmas Eve a few days ago, a man was repeatedly shot and killed in the middle of the mall several times by gang members carrying out a vendetta. Break-ins to homes and cars are a daily occurrence and part of life here. You NEVER leave home or walk out of a store without worrying that you may become a victim of crime. Drugs are everywhere and drug addicted zombies walk the streets at night - no one does anything about it. And if you can afford to own a home, you are paying OUTRAGEOUS homeowners insurance rates because of the past few hurricane seasons. I personally pay more than $4500.00 per year to insure my home and nearly $8000.00 in property taxes (per year!). So, before you move here, give it some sincere consideration. I plan to move to North Florida next year so my kids can get a decent education and not worry every day about crime or becoming a victim of crime. I hope this is helpful. God Bless.

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Moved here from Miami, Same poor quality of life. - 12/13/2006

I moved here after having all of Miami I could stand. Same place, differnet zip codes. I have now decided that south Florida is just a terrible place to live. I do not recomend living here(south Florida) unless there is absolutly no alternitive but living in the street. I am not being rude just honest about the quality of life in so. FL. Something that native Floridians seem unable to do. They have seemed to convince themselves that this is "Paradise" Well I can life the rest of my life without ever seeing "Paradise" again.

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I don't recommend living here - 10/26/2006

I've lived in West Palm Beach for 9 years and it's only because my fiance didn't want to move until now. The crime is horrible, everyone I know has had either their house broken into or their car broken into. The traffic is horrendous, there are so many drivers that don't have a license and have no clue what to do with a vehicle. There's neverending road construction and traffic jams. My homeowner's insurance went from $2500 up to $4000 in one year. The schools are a joke. My son's kindergarten class has 22 children and 1 teacher, and 4 kids don't speak any English at all. The schools are so overcrowded that they have to bring in "portables" for classrooms, which are little one room trailers. It's so hot and humid it's like torture stepping out your front door from May until October. If you can find one kind and friendly person in your day you think you've won the lottery. The only people that like it here are the ones that move from a third world country because they don't know any better. Stay away is my only advice.

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