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Getting Around Broward County Before you begin to look for property in Broward County it helps if you know how to get around. At least, knowing the grid system will help you mentally locate a property.
While Broward County is home to 27 cities and 1.5 million people, navigating roadways isn't such a daunting task, if you remember the following things.
The sun rises in the east, out of the ocean, and sets in the west, over the Everglades. Remember that, and you are on your way to getting oriented.
The County is divided into quadrants, with Andrews Avenue dividing East from West, and Broward Boulevard dividing North from South. Andrews Avenue and Broward Boulevard intersect each other in downtown Fort Lauderdale, near where the earliest settlement occured over 100 years ago. These quadrants create addresses that are N.E., S.E., N.W. and S.W.
Avenues, Terraces,and Lanes run North and South, parallel to the beach.
Streets, Courts, Places, and Causeways, Boulevards run East and West, like the sun.
As an example, if an address is 217 N.E. 2 Street (my office address) that can be decifered as two blocks North of Broward Boulevard ( 217 - the 200 block) and two blocks east of Broward (2nd. Street).
Now, if the address is 2170 N.W. 22 Street, that address is 21 blocks West of Andrews Avenue and 22 blocks North of Broward Boulevard.
If you forget which direction a street runs, just look at one near you, locate East/West (sunrise/sunset) and remember they all run the same.
It helps to remember the the main Boulevards begin with Broward, then north of that is Sunrise Boulevard (ten blocks) Oakland Park Boulevard (30 blocks) Commercial Boulevard (50 blocks). South of Broward is 17 Street Causeway (17 Blocks).
In N.E. and S.E. Fort Lauderdale, waterways create obstacles to driving. In Western Broward where developers got more creative with names, the numbering system is harder to follow. 20168 Magnolia Court, for instance must be 201 blocks West, ( since N.E. and S.E. addresses don't exceed 3400) but you can't tell if it is North or South of Broward unless it said " 20168 N.W. Magnolia Court, at least you would know it was north of Broward Boulevard. Chances are a named street with a 5 digit house number is in a new subdivision, possibly gated, where the streets wind around. Even I have trouble with that at times. Ask for directions to where you are going, or print them out using yahoomaps.com or mapquest.com.
This all will be much clearer once we have sat down with a map, and have driven around looking at property. You will be a navigator in no time!
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