[hotlittlehillbilly]

I know everyone is thinking the same thing, not another question about moving to FL

I am looking for an area where I can relocate with my family ( my 8 year old daughter, my husband, and my mother)

Since we are moving from WV, we are looking for a place that has more of a "small" time feel to it. Low crime rate and not in Hurricane Alley

We recently visited the Boynton Beach area. We loved the area, but it was a little bit to much for us "country" folk. We would like a place that is less congested with people and traffic.

All you Floridians out there with families, where do you live or where do you recommend??

Thank-You

[deckardc]

I thought all of Florida was Hurricane Alley.
What are you looking for other than country and how country are you looking for? Are good schools important, do you want to live near the beach, what kind of jobs will you need, are you planning to buy a house and is affordability important, etc?

Without knowing the other info, you might want to look at areas around Tampa like Tarpon Springs, Holiday, Port Richey, Hudson, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills, Lakeland, Plant City. The central panhandle like Marianna, Chipley, DeFuniak Springs, Crestview, Milton, Pace, Freeport. Some of the areas around Gainesville, some of the areas around Ocala, areas between Sarasota and Ft. Myers like North Port, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte.

I live on the panhandle. The area is more Alabama than Florida. It's pretty conservative and somewhat country, especially the areas further inland from the coast like Crestview, DeFuniak Springs, and Milton. The area has decent schools, fairly affordable housing, and great beaches. In general, crime is pretty low here. Dognapping is big news around here. This area is a big pickup truck, hunting, fishing, and boating area.

[ournewlife]

We moved from Michigan to Citrus County Florida and I think it might be just what your looking for. It's not conjested at all. I've never seen any kind of traffic here, and it's a small town feeling. We live about 1.5 hours to Clearwater, and about 45 minutes north of Tarpon Springs. The price of homes where we live ranges from about 68,ooo - 160,ooo. There are also rentals for about 650 - 850. Check it out.

[doggiebus]

try looking at Tallahassee, maybe.

[5FLgirls]

What about the suburbs of Jacksonville? Orange Park, Greencove Springs area...it's developed but not too much for you. You could also look into southern Georgia, right over the border or west of Jacksonville--which is pretty country from what I understand.

Although people badmouth the traffic in Jax, it doesn't compare to Palm Beach County! Jax and PBC is like night and day. Jax is a slower pace of life but close to the beach. You might also like St. Augustine too.

Unlike Palm Beach County, Jax hasn't had a hurricane in many, many years so you wouldn't constantly have to look over your shoulder there.

[riveree]

You might want to take a look at Gainesville and the surrounding area.

Jax is probably going to be too big for you to have a 'country feel' and if you do go west of Jax to the rural areas, having to commute into Jax via I10 is a nightmare (and it's likely you'd have to commute into Jax for work). Also, the rural areas here in NEFL are not so nice, IMO. I like rural areas as a whole, but not in this region.

North of Jax, into Nassau county used to be quiet and rural, but the developers have gotten a hold of it and it's changing the whole flavor of the area.

As far as crime, crime can actually be quite high in rural North East Florida, but since the populations are low, it doesn't look so bad. Also, the solve rate is high for the same reason - small population that is well-known by the police force. As the populations grow in those areas, the crime is likely to follow.

[Roadrunner69]

Hi, without knowing what you will do for employment there are a couple of small towns I know of that have that small town feel. First one is Labelle about 25 miles east of Fort Myers well inland and a very nice town. Second is Arcadia about 30 miles north east of Fort Myers. Both are very quiet but I don't know what you would find as far as employment options. Good luck with your search, and do your homework times are tough all over.

[ChrisA70]

There is the Inverness, Hommasassa, Crystal River areas too. All really nice, and small towns.

[Lilybeans]

Please, please, make sure you have a job before you move here. If you don't have a job, then you need to make sure you have enough money saved for at least 6 months of living expenses. Don't be fooled into thinking it is cheap to live here.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Please, please, make sure you have a job before you move here. If you don't have a job, then you need to make sure you have enough money saved for at least 6 months of living expenses. Don't be fooled into thinking it is cheap to live here.

Agreed! Tell us your work situation, then we can better advise you where you might look to live. Remember unless you are self-sufficient or self-employed, living in a rural or small town means few to no jobs!