Walkable, Coastal City - Family (live, restaurants, moving)
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You might want to check out the panhandle of Florida too. Bay, gulf, and franklin counties. Known as the Forgotten Coast. Great beaches with a rural feel. And the public school system is one of the best in the state. With great teachers and smaller classrooms.
There are a few places in Florida that fit the criteria.
Ponte Vedra Beach has the top rated school district in the state (St Johns County), a higher income population, low crime, easy access to the beach and a somewhat walkable area of shops/restaurants. Jacksonville International Airport is within an hour's drive.
Fernandina Beach is a great "old-Florida style" town with a thriving downtown area full of shops/restaurants, low crime, a higher income population, good schools and easy access to Jacksonville International Airport. It is a bit touristy (not overtly), but more as a quiet weekend-escape destination versus the amusement-park destination place you probably have in mind.
Indialantic and Melbourne Beach have excellent public schools (Brevard County is one of the top half dozen school districts in the state), nice non-touristy beaches, low crime rates, walkability to shops and restaurants, a lot of families and easy access to Melbourne International Airport (served by Delta and USAir) or is an hour from Orlando International Airport. This area is the least touristy of the places I've mentioned.
Jensen Beach is the most tropical of the choices I'm recommending, being 45 minutes to an hour north of West Palm Beach. The town is fairly small of scale making it easy to get around from many neighborhoods into the downtown area, which is fairly thriving with restaurants/shops, festivals and a farmers market. The beach is minutes away across the Intracoastal Waterway. The beach area is very narrow through this part of Florida allowing for little development oceanside. The schools are very good (Martin County Schools), the area has very low crime and a large upper middle income demographic. West Palm Beach International Airport is an hour away.
Hope this helps!
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryWho?
Good choices except for the retiree bit and walkability.
None of the these suggestions are retiree heavy and all are walkable if one lives beachside (or downtown) within the community mentioned....hence their mention.
None of the these suggestions are retiree heavy and all are walkable if one lives beachside (or downtown) within the community mentioned....hence their mention.
The OP stated within 15 minutes of the beach which, in my opinion, precluded beachside. As for retiree heavy, depending on some peoples definition, would preclude Florida.
The OP stated within 15 minutes of the beach which, in my opinion, precluded beachside. As for retiree heavy, depending on some peoples definition, would preclude Florida.
This is so true. Florida is a RETIREE draw. Always was, always will be. Almost every nice city in Florida will be loaded with them. I am kind of tired of people asking for these perfect scenario cities and one of the requirements is "no retirees." Folks, retirees don't have COOTIES! At least not most of them, lol. Seriously, Florida probably has a majority of it's nice amenities BECAUSE of the retirees. Besides, what is so bad about them? I don't see them causing anyone any harm. And just because there are plenty here scattered throughout the state does not mean that is ALL there is. Heck, even in my retiree-laden town of Sarasota, we have three major small colleges that are loaded with young students. And plenty of young professionals. And the older ones that ARE here are mostly hip and artistic.
But if bottom line, retirees scare you or put you off, please just don't come here. Florida is overcrowded as it is, and frankly could afford to shed a few of it's malcontents searching for fantasy-land.
But if bottom line, retirees scare you or put you off, please just don't come here. Florida is overcrowded as it is, and frankly could afford to shed a few of it's malcontents searching for fantasy-land.
What florida could afford to shed is about half the old farts who live here.
They get on my nerves all the time.
As per the OP's question. I don't know of any place like your talking about. Either learn to love old people(i know, i know).....or find another state.
St Pete? Look at Snell/Eden Isle N.E. St. Pete; get your kids pre approved for Canterbury Private school b/4 making the move. You are 30+ minutes to the 'beach' but you might enjoy the Gulf Water in Tampa Bay or near NE/downtown St. Pete. You will not be happy if you do public school when you get to the higher grades (my high school was St Pete High and it is just too sad to even think about).
If you like the water, within an hour of the beach Cedar Key/Crystal River/The Nature Coast or two hours from the Atlantic side and like lakes, rivers and springs with Excellent schools and higher income area, WITH a community that has condos you can walk to shops, restaurants, doctors etc....You should check out Haile Plantation in West Gainesville. I just bought a home there and saw a beautiful condo in the "Village Center" area for $91k. The neat part about Haile is there are seniors BUT there are also professionals, med students, young urbanites. I sat at a restaurant called Limerock Cafe a couple of weeks ago just after 5 and thought it was fun seeing everyone coming home from work and walking their dogs in the downtown area and talking with neighbors. The school district is wonderful THROUGH high school (Buchholz which is suppose to have the highest rated IB program; not a fan of IB but it is a good recognition) and your child(ren) could either go to UF (the Ivy league of the South) or attend Santa Fe as a Dual Enrolled student and go on to UF or another university easily.
[quote=stpeteguy;25115589]What florida could afford to shed is about half the old farts who live here.
They get on my nerves all the time.
So move to a place with no old people...... but ....then someday when your hair is turning white some young kid will rudely call you an "old fart"and tell you to get out, too. Geesh... Talk about ....... oh, never mind......
What florida could afford to shed is about half the old farts who live here.
They get on my nerves all the time.
So move to a place with no old people...... but ....then someday when your hair is turning white some young kid will rudely call you an "old fart"and tell you to get out, too. Geesh... Talk about ....... oh, never mind......
Talk about what?
everybody who has lived here for more than 6 months, who is not a retiree, knows what i'm talking about.
Here's a good example of what I mean.
My wife and I are in a restaurant a while back for dinner and the place is crowded. We have our little buzzer and are waiting our turn to be called. In comes this old couple. The wife is in a wheelchair and the husband is pushing her. He tells the hostess that they should go to the front of the line because his wife is in a wheelchair and she can't wait. The hostess politely tells him no, but he continues to argue and complain for another 5 minutes. Then another old couple comes in and when they are told they will have to wait, they start complaining about there being nowhere to sit while they wait and how it hurts them to stand on their feet too long. My wife asked me if we should get up and let them have our seats and I said 'not a chance'.
They can wait their turn just like the rest of us or go back home.
everybody who has lived here for more than 6 months, who is not a retiree, knows what i'm talking about.
Here's a good example of what I mean.
My wife and I are in a restaurant a while back for dinner and the place is crowded. We have our little buzzer and are waiting our turn to be called. In comes this old couple. The wife is in a wheelchair and the husband is pushing her. He tells the hostess that they should go to the front of the line because his wife is in a wheelchair and she can't wait. The hostess politely tells him no, but he continues to argue and complain for another 5 minutes. Then another old couple comes in and when they are told they will have to wait, they start complaining about there being nowhere to sit while they wait and how it hurts them to stand on their feet too long. My wife asked me if we should get up and let them have our seats and I said 'not a chance'.
They can wait their turn just like the rest of us or go back home.
Talk about feeling entitled.
And that's just one story. There are many.
I'm not defending the Seniors attitude. I know I, no matter my age, would leave if I couldn't wait rather than complain. But on the other hand, your complete lack of respect is telling. At least your wife considered a kind gesture. She is truly your "better half".
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