I sent a potential buyer a message the other day on Trulia.  This person asked the question – is Royal Palm Beach a good place to raise kids?  How are the schools and is it safe?  This came from a single mother with 3 kids so I can understand her desire and need for a nice family neighborhood and great schools for her kids.  This is what we all want, right?

A couple others had responded to this question and one person went on to say that Royal Palm is basically rural and dirt roads.  He was obviously trying to push her to Wellington which is the neighboring Village and another beautiful place to live and raise a family.  I also serve this area as well.  But I found it funny since I have been living in the Wellington / Royal Palm Beach area for 8 years now and have only driven down a couple dirt roads which are all in the horse country area of The Acreage.  The Acreage is a beautiful place – more rural.  Homes from older to brand new.  Everyone has around 1.25 acres or larger.  There are also small farms, orange groves and nurseries but this is mainly a residential family area.  These people just want a bit more land and no HOA.  Trust me, this is not some po-dunk area.  Some of these homes are high dollar, beautiful places with garages large enough to house your 40 ft. RV, and 4 cars and horse stables for your 4 or 5 horses.   Hey, my in-laws live there and they are from Chicago!!!  No horses on their property but my father in-law – an avid golfer – did make a small par 3 course between his property and his neighbors so we will often hang out back and play some up and down (you golfers know what I am talking about!)

So back to my letter.  Here it is:

I am a Realtor living and working in Royal Palm Beach.  I am a 3rd generation FL native and have lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton, New Smyrna Beach, Tampa and St. Petersburg and I love Royal Palm.

 

I have to disagree with the first answer but will say that Wellington is a beautiful place and it is our neighboring city / Village and it is known as one of the centers of the Equine world.  I work in this area and help people buy and sell homes in Wellington often.  Wellington plays home to the Winter Equestrian Festival and top level Polo so it has its share of acreage too. 

 

As far as Royal Palm Beach goes, yes, there is the Acreage and Loxahatchee which are mainly 1.25 acre parcels and larger – some with ponds. There are also dirt roads in this area as well but the people living in these areas want it that way as they ride horses and like the country living.   But there are also many great family style neighborhoods.  Some newer and some a little older.  Some with HOA’s and some without.  And prices are very affordable now.  For newer with HOA there are neighborhoods such as the ones listed by the above agent as well as Madison Green, Porto Sol which is under construction, Crestwood which is a great area and the is around $20 a month there, Bella Terra and Olympia are some others that are newer and have the HOA’s.  There are many more.  Unfortunately in some of these neighborhoods you will find that many living there are renters due to speculative buyers and some people don’t like to buy a home and have renters living all around them.  Could happen in any neighborhood but seems to be a lot of this in Olympia and some others.  That being said I know people who are buying there and this means more owners will be taking residence there which could be a great thing.

 

Then there are great neighborhoods without HOA’s such as La Mancha, The Willows, areas of Crestwood, etc… and within walking distance to schools and parks.  Willows and La Mancha actually have their own parks within the neighborhoods for the residents to enjoy – and we do! Many great sports leagues and other things for kids and parents to do and meet new friends here in Royal Palm.  Top level youth baseball, softball, football and soccer. 

 

There are so many parks (over 15 in this 11 sq/mile area of Royal Palm) The Village planners reserve 7.5 acres of park space per 1,000 residents so there is no lack of parks and fun things to do.  They also have many celebrations, Green markets, Halloween parties, Veterans Day celebrations, 4th of July parties, etc… in these parks for families to enjoy.  Then there are times when they will have musicians playing in different parks jsut for pure entertainment.  I have a friend who lives here wiht his family and is a musician.  He and a few others will bring their equipment and guitars to the new Veterans Park and play songs and sing some Saturday mornings.  We all bring the kids out and they enjoy the spray ground at the park while our friends entertain.  It really is an enjoyable way to spend a Saturday morning.

 

The schools are excellent.  A rated and full of great staff.  I am currently helping a couple teachers from 2 different elementary schools find homes and my own child has been in H.L Johnson Elementary School since Kindergarten.  We love the school and the staff and my child enjoys going to school and is excelling there.  Great staff, activities, family nights, etc…  Plus A rated for years and years.  My neighbor’s kids went there.  They are both now in their mid 20’s and it was A rated when they attended so they have a high standard and maintain it well.

 

So yes, Royal Palm has many great options for you and many terrific schools for you kids to learn at and parks to play in.  It has the small town feel but close proximity to West Palm Beach (Downtown and City Place) and Wellington (Wellington Green Mall).  Feel free to contact me is you would like help in finding the right home in the area.

Hope this was helpful and somewhat enjoyable!!! Thanks for stopping by…