Pros and Cons of Living in Hollywood
Hollywood's core trade-off pairs a distinctive, low-rise beach-town identity and a major, highly ranked in-city hospital system against real submarket price variance, documented flood-zone exposure, airport noise, and mixed-signal crime data.
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Learn morePro: a genuinely distinct Broadwalk identity, FLL in city limits, and a top-ranked hospital locally
The 2.5-mile oceanfront Broadwalk offers a lower-rise, more old-Florida character than Fort Lauderdale Beach or Miami Beach, and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport sits within city limits for genuine travel convenience. Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital (ranked #4 in Florida by U.S. News) are also located in Hollywood -- a real healthcare-access advantage.
Con: citywide price figures conceal a wide, real submarket spread
The $485K citywide median blends $480K-$484K beachfront/West Hollywood condos with $636K-$700K Hollywood Hills/Hollywood Lakes single-family homes -- a buyer anchoring on the citywide figure could be off by hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on which submarket and housing type they actually want.
Con: documented flood exposure, airport noise, and mixed crime signals
An estimated 35% of Hollywood properties sit in high-risk FEMA flood zones, with 11,000-plus newly required to carry flood insurance after a July 2024 remap; the same FLL proximity that benefits travelers means real aircraft noise for some neighborhoods; and CrimeGrade and NeighborhoodScout send somewhat different signals on how Hollywood's crime rate compares to peer cities. All three are real, address-specific factors worth confirming directly.
Cost of living runs meaningfully above the national average
Hollywood's cost-of-living index runs roughly 16%-20% above the national average across sources, driven primarily by housing costs about 23% above the national average -- a real budget factor to weigh against the lifestyle and healthcare advantages above.
Key takeaways
- Pro: a distinctive 2.5-mile Broadwalk beach-town identity plus FLL literally within city limits.
- Pro: Memorial Regional Hospital and the #4-in-Florida-ranked Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital give Hollywood a strong, in-city healthcare anchor.
- Con: the $485K citywide median conceals a real submarket spread ($480K beachfront to $700K Hollywood Lakes) -- confirm the specific area, not the citywide figure.
- Con: roughly 35% of properties sit in high-risk flood zones, cost of living runs 16%-20% above the national average, and crime-data sources disagree on Hollywood's relative standing -- verify all three for a specific address before deciding.
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