[beachgirl27]

hello...my family and i recently had inquired about moving to st pete...however, with all our research and others input have decided against it. My mother is retiring to fl and we want to be close to her and she will go to whatever area is best for us and long as we make the move too. We have been to Fort Walton several times a yr for the past 8 yrs. We are late twenties w/ 2 daughters ages 9 and 10. I work in a medical office in billing and I am currently taking classes slowly towards lpn/rn degree. My husband works in a plant/factory as a team leader. Would this area be safe for our family. Are there any jobs in these fields available. What would be the price range for a descent area home 3 bedrooms 1 or more baths within 15-20 minutes to beach? Our current house payment is approx. $750/month w/ estimate $60,000 total household income currently. thanks for any help offered

[deckardc]

Originally Posted by beachgirl27

hello...my family and i recently had inquired about moving to st pete...however, with all our research and others input have decided against it. My mother is retiring to fl and we want to be close to her and she will go to whatever area is best for us and long as we make the move too. We have been to Fort Walton several times a yr for the past 8 yrs. We are late twenties w/ 2 daughters ages 9 and 10. I work in a medical office in billing and I am currently taking classes slowly towards lpn/rn degree. My husband works in a plant/factory as a team leader. Would this area be safe for our family. Are there any jobs in these fields available. What would be the price range for a descent area home 3 bedrooms 1 or more baths within 15-20 minutes to beach? Our current house payment is approx. $750/month w/ estimate $60,000 total household income currently. thanks for any help offered

Fort Walton is a fairly safe area. Crime on the panhandle is pretty low. Since you have school age children, I assume they will be attending the local public schools. FWB is in Okaloosa County which is the #1 ranked school district in FL. Okaloosa County School District > Home ( DNN 4.0.2 )

The local junior college is Okaloosa-Walton College (Okaloosa-Walton College) and they have both 2 year and 4 year RN degrees. The Okaloosa Applied Technology Center has an LPN program.

You would probably be able to find a job in a medical office, however there aren't too many factory jobs around here. There are some aerospace manufacturing companies in the area but I think they are mostly in Crestview which is about 30 minutes north of FWB. I don't know where you are coming from, but incomes tend to be a bit lower here than many states so you may be looking at less than $60k a year. This is one of the most affordable areas of Florida. I would take a look at the big job sites like Find jobs. Network. Build a better career. Monster works for me. | Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com Jobs - The Largest Job Search, Employment & Careers Site, or a local site that the local papers use: EmeraldCoastJobs.com

You can buy a fairly decent house in a decent neighborhood for under $200,000. There are quite a few 3 beds in decent areas between $150,000 - $200,000. I would hold off on buying a house around here for at least a year. Prices here seem to be dropping by the month and what is $200,000 today, may be $180,000 seven months from now. The issue with houses and condos around here is the price of insurance. Taxes are lower than some other parts of the state but insurance is as high as the Miami area. The panhandle is very vulnerable to hurricanes. Your homeowners insurance alone can be $200 a month on top of your mortgage for a house that is around $150k-$180k purchase price. How close the house is to the water will make a difference.
Take a look at REALTOR.com - Real Estate Listings & Homes For Sale or Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate Inc. presents FloridaMoves.com, the real estate site serving all of Florida for an idea of housing prices.


The entire city is within 20 minutes of the beach and there are some nice parks for the kids. You are also about an hour to Pensacola and an hour to Panama City Beach.

[Muhnay]

Also consider NAVARRE FL, its not far from Fort Walton and rents seem lower there. As for Jobs, Florida is not a right to work state, so keep that it mind, you can be let go at anytime and no reason has to be given. But one thing I have learned while out that way, is everyone commutes ong distances but its not really that bad, since the same commute in a major city would be even more hectic.

[doni]

Also consider Crestview---lots of real estate in your range. Many work in Ft Walton bch
and live in Crestview. Medical jobs also available there.

[sunrico90]

If your occupation can relate to the aerospace or military industry jobs are available and pay superb. This area get over $80 million in DOD support, not including gov contractors, so you can find most jobs if you are qualified and/or certified. Lots of individuals, but we look for the ones with the highest certifications, competition...

[kaykay07]

Figure out where you'll be driving before you commit to Navarre--I LOVE Navarre and lived 3 of the best years of my life there and can't wait to move back, but if my hubby had worked on the far side of FWB or towards Destin we would have not enjoyed all the commuting. There's really only one way to Navarre--HWY 98, and if there is traffic...well, that's it. you're stuck.

but if you work close to Mary Esther, it's perfectly doable and you can buy more house for less out there.

School is another thing, I can't remember the closest school but I'm thinking OWCC?? because that would definitely be a bit of a haul from Navarre. You might even look into Pensacola Junior College? because it might be about the same distance, depending on where you live.

Good luck. it's very safe there, obviously there are a few areas to avoid, but we lived there 4 years and went there every month or so for about 2 years prior to that...and I never saw anything major happen anywhere near us. My brother in law lived in a crappy neighborhood right behind Miracle Strip Parkway (which is the same as 98) and even it was pretty quiet.
Good luck!