Kiley

I am in physical therapy school in Oklahoma and will be doing a one month residency during July in Fort Lauderdale. I have several questions...
1) Because I am on a tight budget, but want to be near the beach, I made a reservation at the Bermudian Motel and Apartments on Birch Road. Does anyone know anything about this place? I'm a little concerned because it is so much cheaper than every other place I found.
2) Does anyone know of a better place to stay...I'm looking for a two bedroom, 2 bath furnished, fully equipped apartment for the whole month (there are 2 of us traveling from the University of Oklahoma)?
3) Does anyone have any other good advice that will help me prepare for my month in Fort Lauderdale?

Thanks for your help!!!

Stephanie P.

Kiley:

Just because places to stay are sometimes much cheaper to stay does not necessarily make it a dump. If you would rent an apt. in Ft. Lauderdale of course it would be cheaper. I did some research on the area and Birch Road, as I remember is near a very nice park someone recommended to me but I did not go to it.

michelle

Birch Rd is right on the Beach. You can walk to the Galleria, Beach Place, the strip. The area is not bad. The buildings are older so you probably will have jaulosy windows and a portable A/C unit. Where are you doing residency? There are NO hospitals on the beach. The last one closed last year. You may want to be closer to your hospital as traffic can be very hectic for an Oklahoman.

Stephanie P.

Michele:

There are major cities in Oklahoma, that are just as big or bigger than Ft. Lauderdale, so I am sure she can handle the traffic. Miami is the nightmare when it comes to rush hour.

Michelle

To Stephanie: US Census 101--- Fort Lauderdale is part of a metro area of 6 million people. Where in Oklahoma is there a metro that large? Broward County is the 14th largest population-wise in the country. Only 15 minutes away Miami-Dade County is the 8th, and only 20 minutes away Palm Beach County is the 31st. There is nothing in Oklahoma in the top 50. Check www.census.gov. Also Broward County Florida (Ft Lauderdale) is the 9th most growing county in the US. This causes traffic to much heavier as well. The popuation of the metro area increases by 115,000 each year. Traffic here is very, very congested as there is no viable public transit and this is why I would recommend the poster to be close to his workplace. We do not need more people making unwise decisions to live far from their work and clog the roads more than they already are. Have you ever sat on I-95 for your afternoon not moving for 2 or 3 hours while a medivac copter lands and you have no where to go? I have spent several hours many times just this year.

Stephanie P.

Michele:

I live in a big NE city where there is construction everywhere and the outbound bridge & tunnel are closed. I have a 12 hr. day. Yes, I know what traffic is, I spend 60 hrs. a month in it. A metropolitan area can be spread out to the point where there isn't much traffic. Ft. Lauderdale is also very flat, as compared to where I live. I have been in traffic in Ft. Lauderdale, it isn't that bad and people also have a right to live wherever they want to the problem is that everyone drives alone, leading to an overpopulation of cars.

Kiley

Thanks for the advice on the traffic. My residency is at Novacare on 48th St., about 5 miles from Birch Road. I'm actually from Dallas, TX (I just go to school in Oklahoma), so believe me I'm very familiar with traffic! I know that Dallas is much more heavily populated than Fort Lauderdale, and when you consider the entire DFW metroplex, you're looking at a trafffic headache that never goes away.