Dog parks in and around Fort Lauderdale

South Florida can be a wonderful place to share with your four legged family members.   Dog parks and beaches can be found in every corner of Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding communities.

Keep in mind that along the main beach in Fort Lauderdale, there are limited areas that dogs are permitted on the beach, and when walking along the beach, dogs are restricted to the west side of the street.

Some of my favorites

Canine Corner in Pompano Beach:  Along Federal Highway at 10th Street (near the large park and small airport) is a well kept park featuring separate areas for large dogs and small dogs.  The park district also has several areas that can be taken offline or put into use letting parts of the park recover from excessive use – a nice feature to keep the pups out of the mud.

Snyder Park in Fort Lauderdale:  On the north side of Fort Lauderdale Airport and I595 (accessible from SR84) is a sprawling park with a large dog play area and a lake that’s accessible to dogs that may enjoy a swim.

Performance Pups in Hollywood:  Located on the south end of Tiger Tail Lake, Performance Pups offers a dock and beach normally used for advanced dog training but is open for play sometimes.  This facility is privately owned and there’s a fee to play on the beach and use the dock.

 

Hurricane Matthew and preparation in Fort Lauderdale

Hello local neighbors and South Florida readers. We have an unfortunately good chance of getting at least some part of a Category 3 or 4 hurricane. South Florida 14590400_10154531829603688_5742988469004222242_nwill see the effects late on Wednesday and all day Thursday.

A few things:

Do not empty your pool. I don’t know where this horrible piece of advice started but if you don’t have water holding your pool down, then the groundwater will pop it up out of the ground. This is a fact. Plus, in an emergency, you can use pool water to flush your toilet.

Do not put tape on your windows. It ultimately doesn’t do enough to help and you have a big mess to scrape off the windows when they don’t get broken.

Yes, shutters or plywood is good for your windows. You do not need to get 3/4″ plywood. 1/2″ is fine, save the extra money. But if you don’t or can’t shutter your windows, stay in a room that is either on the north or west side of the house because the wind will be coming from the southeast corner. Or even better, a room that has cbs (concrete) walls or a room in the middle of the house.

If you have rechargeable batteries, charge them even if you don’t think you need them. If you have a chargeable battery for a boat, charge it. You might be able to use the battery for something. If you take prescription meds, make sure you have at least enough for a few weeks or more.14566366_10154525144188688_1747335674743231674_o

If you have pets, make sure you have their food, treats and meds for at least a couple weeks.

Do your laundry now if you have been letting the dirty clothes pile up. These minor household chores are some of the things that folks forget about.

We all know about food and water, but make sure you are prepared.

Take some cash out of the ATM. When there’s no power or internet, CASH is king. Fill the car up with gas now. Gas stations in South Florida are all required to operate with generators nowadays. However finding gas and waiting in line may not be pleasant on Thursday or Friday.

Use common sense and be as safe as possible. And let’s hope it just brushes by us. I’m rooting for the gulfstream.

For folks who wish to contact me: I will be making hurricane preparations on Tuesday, October 4.

If the storm appears to veer towards South Florida on Wednesday I will be leaving town until utilities are restored – possible remaining out of town through 14500420_10154529015798688_6652187151718179600_oSunday, October 9.

I will have access to email and telephone however I do not expect to be returning emails as frequently as I would during regular business hours.

I’ll post regular updates on my Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bobdarow

 

Florida has 4 of top 10 retirement cities

From the website Wallet Hub: The financial website rated 150 U.S. cities on affordability, health care, activities and quality of life. Of 11 Fla. cities in Retirementthe study, all ranked above average.

According to WalletHub, its analysts compared the affordability, quality of life, health care and availability of recreational activities in the 150 largest U.S. cities. They used a data set of 31 key metrics that ranged from “cost of living” to “public-hospital rankings” and “percentage of the 65 and older population.”

Top 10 retirement cities in the U.S.

1. Orlando
2. Tampa
3. Scottsdale, Ariz.
4. Miami
5. Sioux Falls, S.D.
6. Las Vegas
7. Cape Coral
8. Atlanta, Ga.
9. Minneapolis
10. Los Angeles

Other Florida city rankings

13. Fort Lauderdale
15. Port St. Lucie
21. St. Petersburg
26. Pembroke Pines
40. Hialeah
63. Tallahassee
68. Jacksonville

WalletHub provides an example of its rating system – individual trait rankings that, when combined, provide a total score by city:

Retirement-friendliness of Orlando (1=Best; 75=Avg.)

No. 70 – Adjusted cost of living
No. 42 – Annual cost of in-home services
No. 21 – Number of recreation & senior centers per capita
No. 19 – number of adult volunteer activities per capita
No. 27 – Emotional health
No. 43 – ‘Mild weather’ ranking
No. 1 – Number of home-care facilities per capita

For the full report, visit WalletHub’s website.

Where are folks coming from & leaving to: Interactive map at Forbes.com

 

I love this interactive map at Forbes.com!     You can enter any major metro area, or county, in the search box, and a map will pop up showing where most of the residents are moving from, or moving to, when they move in or out of the area.

http://www.forbes.com/special-report/2011/migration.html

 

My favorite two searches:     Miami/Dade County vs. Collier County (the Naples & Fort Myers area) in Florida.     Why do East Coast residents traditionally choose the Atlantic Coast and why do Midwesterners typically choose the Gulf Coast?

 

Because I-75 runs from the mid-west straight down the gulf side, and I-95 runs from the Northeast straight down the Atlantic Coast.

 

ScreenShot025