Maybe this will help. ( I wouldn't go just by this, i would do alot of research. )Below you will see the increases in Crime in Florida. According to the FDLE. Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement. Go to FDLE. It gives you all the County by County Crime Stats. There are also websites that will compare your town to others anywhere, crime, costs of living. Put in Relocation in Google.
Retirement and Relocation (Destination Florida) - Florida Department of Elder Affairs Moderator cut: link removedState: Do stats show Florida's allure dimming?Experts suggest that a potential retiree should travel throughout the state, renting rather than buying for the firstyear, before making a decision about a permanent residence. Putnam County is minus 65% crime, not sure where that is but might want to check out that town. I live in Hollywood, 33021, it is a quiet peaceful safe neighborhood but the City itself has risen in Crime as i figured by the amount of Sirens i have heard lately. The Police Dept. said it has risen 7%. They said that was the first 6 months and has gotten better since then. They are putting more Patrols on the Streets. They are working on it to try to stop it before it gets worse. They are not sure why. I think it is the Economy, we have alot of well off Residents, we also have alot of Tourists, Snowbirds. I believe Criminals are attracted by the Money. We also have Casinos now, not sure if anything to do with it but that is a fact that may be attracting that element. We have had 3 officers shot and killed lately in Broward County. I have always felt safe here, i have my windows open now in the middle of the nite. I have walked my neighborhood as late as 10-11 pm. Never any problems. But i can tell the crime is moving our way. I have heard more reports of Crime in my town. Hopefully they can keep it away. Mostly the Crime is in Black areas, or in bigger towns, Ft. Lauderdale, South Miami, etc.* leaving us to be safe but it is changing as i believe our World is. Orlando you definitely want to stay away from. Also, Jacksonville. Pompano, Hialeah, Miramar. West Palm Beach. Daytona. These all have alot of Crime. I would do lots of research on the PC, talk to the Police Depts. I am sure each of these towns has some crime free areas but the problem is the Crime tends to move around to different areas of that town, eventually taking over that town. I have been here 3 yrs, our town has declined some since the Hurricanes, i can see a difference in Maintenance, upkeep of their homes and this year i have heard more crime in our Downtown area. It has slowly changed, still safer than alot of towns but most in Florida carry guns because of the Increase in Crime. You are allowed to protect yourself in Florida. I also believe there are alot of Drugs in Florida but i imagine if you do research you will find that there are alot of drugs everywhere, big and small towns. Sometimes worse in small towns. I wish i could help you more but if you find a nice safe town in Florida that has restaurants, shopping, things to do, let me know. My niece lives in Northern Florida near Crystal River, Beverly Hills, on the Gulfside. Lovely town, open, not congested but no Target, have to go to Ocala to find that. Every thing is at least 30 mins away. You have to go to Orlando or Tampa for any major Shopping she said, for the Beach they go to Clearwater. So that is not my cup of tea. I am 3 miles from the Beach, have everything i need, restaurants, dentist, hospital, police, fire, doctors, shopping, home depot, Hair Salon, etc. I do not want to drive across town or to next town to shop or eat dinner. Good Luck!!STATEWIDE COUNTYREPORTJanuary - June 2007% Rate Crime Change 2006/2007Semi-Annual ReportBaker County +22.2** Bay County +9.6** Bradford County +79.3Brevard County + 9.0** Broward County + 4.1Miami Dade County 4.7* Dixie County + 8.5* Duval County + 4.9Flagler County + 5.3* Franklin County + 12.9Gadsden County + 7.3* Glades County + 3.6* Gulf County + 28.5Hardee County + 37.2** Hendry County + 27.5* Hernando County + 5.8Highlands County + 15.1** Holmes County + 13.5* Jackson County + 26.6Jefferson County + 30.6** Lafayette County + 20.0* Lake County + 11.0 Lee County + 16.8* Liberty County + 75.0* Madison County + 15.2Manatee County + 3.3* Marion County + 8.1* Martin County + 11.0Monroe County + 2.8* Nassau County + 3.3* Okaloosa County + 22.6Okeechobee County + 4.8* Orange County + 6.8* Osceola County + 21.3Palm Beach County + 6.9* Pasco County + 6.3* Polk County + 11.8Putnam County -65.1 *MINUS 65.1%** St. Johns County + 11.2Sarasota County + 14.2* Sumter County + 13.0* Suwannee County + 26.7Taylor County + 42.6* Wakulla County + 33.6