[Tinavelas02]

Hello Everyone, I am new here but have been reading posts for a long time. My name is Christina, and I am a single mom of one girl who's four. I live in South Florida, around Sunrise and Plantation, and I have lived in this area for most of my life. South Florida is going downhill FAST and I am looking to relocate. Being that I've lived here my whole life I experience so much DRAMA and the schools are terrible. I really want my daughter to have a safe, good education and I'm not getting that here.

I need advice on the Panhandle area. I am a registered nurse, and have found a position with a hospital in Pensacola (Baptist Hospital). I visited there for the interview and really liked it...completely different than here.

Another question I have is where to live. Many people on here seem to think that living in Alabama and working in Florida can be good. I am looking into that, and I found a 2/2 house in Orange Beach for around $175,000. That's MUCH more affordable for us.

I need to know what to do. Is the commute okay for work? How is the Orange Beach school systems? I just want a safe place for my daughter and I...I'm not getting it here in South Florida.

Thank you!
Christina

(I posted this in Florida, too)

[Bravo35223]

Hi Christina:

I worked for a high-tech firm that served the healthcare industry for ten years. During that time, I managed all of our operations in Florida from Pensacola down through Dade County.

You are making a smart move to get out of South Florida. And both Escambia County Florida and Baldwin County Alabama are nice places to live and work

Both Baptist Hospital as well as Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola are good facilities. Sacred Heart was a client of mine and very well managed. Baptist has a good reputation too. The economy in Pensacola is stable.

The main advantage of living in Alabama while working in Florida is that Alabama has substantially lower property taxes. On the other hand, Alabama has a 2% income tax and Florida has none. So you would have the best of both worlds from a taxation standpoint by working in Florida and living in Alabama.

There are many realtors in this area who are licensed in both states and could answer questions about the specfics of where to live etc and the quality of the schools. As a generality, both counties have good school systems with low crime. Baldwin County Alabama is growing at a good pace, as many retirees from the Northern US are finding it to be a good place to live. Similarly, the Pensacola area has a lot of Navy retirees as well....

Good luck with your move. You are making a good move for your family.

[bullittman]

unlike most of mobile county public schools, baldwin county has great schools. she would go to school in gulf shores.

[earnhardt3]

Don't know if you have moved here yet or not, just beware of other areas in AL. Orange Beach area is great, others are not. I live in P-cola, and also own in Escambia County, AL. Both states are great, but the public school system in P-cola is going down hill. Try your luck in AL, I think you'll enjoy it here. Find a sitter and visit the Flora-bama!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck.