[lesserevil27]

Thank you to all. I will look into all the suggested areas this weekend!

[lesserevil27]

Thank you all, still looking!

[HarryWho?]

Trenton, Fl Quiet,friendly, inexpensive, small town.

[jambo101]

Originally Posted by lesserevil27

Thanks to all of you for the information. I am still looking into neighborhoods. Every time I find a rural town recommended online, and look up the crime rates are off the wall! We have children and since we have 5 dogs I would like to find something with more than just a small yard and not looking into my neighbors bathroom. I will definitely look into Labelle and Alva.

A lot of those crime stats maps will include the traffic violations and end up making an area look a lot worse than it actually is.

[smarino]

"Wow, that was racist and ignorant for no reason".

Oh, there's a reason all right. I have met more racist people in my 3 1/2 years in this state than I have ever met in my life, and the scary part is, just like the person here said, they have no idea that they ARE racist. They think that everyone thinks like them. They look OK, they sound perfectly normal on most other subjects, but they are NOT normal people. Their ideas are on the fringes, unless you live in Arizona, Kansas, Florida, etc, in which case they are probably in the majority. I just try to stay away from them once I figure out who they are. There is no reasoning w/ them, as they think there is no problem. Just stay the heck away from my family and my pet. I don't trust them further than I can throw them. They actually frighten me, and I am someone that does not frighten easily.

[Miss Hepburn]

Originally Posted by StarfishKey

Wow, that was racist and ignorant for no reason... Plenty of towns don't have an MLK Blvd, but they still have crime and still end up on COPS... in FL especially...

We have an MLK Blvd...and it is a bypass right over an area that is constantly
in the news for it's crime...never thought about it....the poster simply noticed a trend, imo...
had nothing to do with race that I could see...could be by a bunch of white residents...*shrug*

[Icemodeled]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

We have an MLK Blvd...and it is a bypass right over an area that is constantly
in the news for it's crime...never thought about it....the poster simply noticed a trend, imo...
had nothing to do what I could see...could be by a bunch of white residents...*shrug*

Agree. The only reason they stated it was racist was because its a road named after a black man. That is hardly racist.. its just a noticeable trend and i agree is similar in many cities. Just because they said that road name is common with crime doesnt mean its only blacks commiting the crimes, i surely never seen anything reffering to that if that is what your trying to imply, which is ridiculous.

Anyways, we really liked the small town of arcadia. Great downtown with lots of antique shops. Seemed like a quiet town. Also, have family in sebring/lake placid. I know its more central, but they love it there. Also small town living and nice lakes.

[ognend]

Originally Posted by lesserevil27

Thanks to all of you for the information. I am still looking into neighborhoods. Every time I find a rural town recommended online, and look up the crime rates are off the wall! We have children and since we have 5 dogs I would like to find something with more than just a small yard and not looking into my neighbors bathroom. I will definitely look into Labelle and Alva.

Look at the type of crime committed - most of it is property crime, not violent crime. Also, the stats on small towns are always debatable - there could be a pocket of a small town with disproportionately high crime that is skewing the stats (esp. in smaller places).

My recommendation is to pick 5 locations that may be of interest to you and simply drive/visit them. Many small towns across the country have high crime rates (check into New Mexico if you really want to get scared!) - however, living rural means that you may be a few miles from town and not close to any crime at all.

One thing to pay attention it is that living rural and away from town, sheriffs may not be able to get to you very quickly if you call them. Hence, you have to have a bit of a different mindset about safety/security but also about basic health emergencies etc.

Finally, make sure you understand that rural Florida can be rough and inhabited by people whom you may not like. You may have an idea of moving into the serene country with clean air but you may end up living in a place where people are buzzing around on ATVs all day burning gasoline, building bonfires, shooting/hunting non-stop, their dogs in your land frequently etc. etc.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by ognend

Look at the type of crime committed - most of it is property crime, not violent crime. Also, the stats on small towns are always debatable - there could be a pocket of a small town with disproportionately high crime that is skewing the stats (esp. in smaller places).

My recommendation is to pick 5 locations that may be of interest to you and simply drive/visit them. Many small towns across the country have high crime rates (check into New Mexico if you really want to get scared!) - however, living rural means that you may be a few miles from town and not close to any crime at all.

One thing to pay attention it is that living rural and away from town, sheriffs may not be able to get to you very quickly if you call them. Hence, you have to have a bit of a different mindset about safety/security but also about basic health emergencies etc.

Finally, make sure you understand that rural Florida can be rough and inhabited by people whom you may not like. You may have an idea of moving into the serene country with clean air but you may end up living in a place where people are buzzing around on ATVs all day burning gasoline, building bonfires, shooting/hunting non-stop, their dogs in your land frequently etc. etc.

Exactly... Or DUI, disorderly conduct, that type of nonsense.

[kiggy]

And why is there no Martin Luther King Blvd in Key West? To me, that is quite racist.