Just my experience: New yorkers are mostly scattared from Palm Beach south.....here is how I would look at the area....driving south....
I have found the majority of NewYorkers I know split on liking Boca or Miami*(see below), then Ft. lauderdale........then lessor percentages Palm Beach, Sarasota, etc. Palm Beach is older money.....very very nice....mostly quiet......Jupiter, laid back....safe.....monied area......
....the Boca area is a real mix...lots of OLDER folk but young folk too...a large town really....beautiful beach....clean.....a safe town for sure by US standards.....I like the towns around it....Delray Beach to the north....Hillsboro, deerfield beach to the south......"beachie towns" laid back....then comes Ft. Lauderdale.... pretty cool along the beaches and areas East of US1....now you are getting crowded and Urban.....now the crime rate starts rising! Between Ft. Lauderdale and Miami Beach are the towns of Hollywood, Hallandale, Golden Beach, Sunny isles beach and aventura.....MAGNET areas for new yorkers! Then Bal Harbor, Surfside and Miami Beach........all but Miami beach are relatively safe.....upper middle to downright rich folks.....living the good life along the beach. Miami Beach itself is less safe cause that is the hub, the engine, the tourist and foreign draw . also larger pockets of working people .. more hispanic....some parts 60% or more..... Farther south and over the causeways are downtown, Brickell, coral gables coconut grove.....areas mostly populated bythe locals.......not you newbies......oh yes one other town: key biscayne....a very safe....upper class island community......invaded on the weekends by the college kids and Miamians from every walk of life.....a way way cool place to visit!
*notice every town I talked about hugs the ocean and intercoastal waterway.....thats what makes these towns the best......I would never live inland down here!