Help? Where Should We Live In Fl!?!? (Jacksonville, Miami: relocation, real estate)

[Mio214]

Hats off for you Silversurfer! Thank you for saying those words so well. I want you to know that I register to the site just to thank you. My family is from Spain and I was born in New York City "Central Park West" Manhattan. My father had a job offer back in the 70's and decided to leave beautiful Barcelona to move to New York. I have lived around wonderful people with cultural diversity backgrounds all my life, I could not have it any other way. I have 3 wonderful children and my "white" husband from ALABAMA and I want our kids to grow up with an open mind and be exposed to diversity. I will be happy knowing my children will make a little difference in this world. I currently live in Mt Juliet, Tennessee due to my husband's job in Nashville. If anyone wants to live in a mostly caucasian area, I am currently selling my house. I seek advice about moving to central Florida with good school systems. Truly appreciated, again HATS OFF!

[demogirl50]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

The average age in North Port is 38, 25 minutes from the beach, Pine View school was rated the number 6 school in the US. Homes are reasonably price, some of the least expensive property from Naples to Tampa. That crime rate you can find on City-Data and compare it to other cities. There's not a lot to do in NP, you'd have to go to Sarasota or Ft Myers for more activities.

We love North Port,moved here 4 years ago and won't be going anywhere soon.

[2bohemians]

Originally Posted by 2bohemians

Check out Niceville, Destin Moderator cut: edit

Looks like our message was edited --- just wanted whoever edited it to know that the link that was provided is not a link to our business .... we are not affiliated with the website we had listed .... we were sharing it because it is a good resource of information about our beaches ....

[Want2LiVEinFLasap]

Originally Posted by silversurfer

You don't say where you're from. If you are like SuperKevin and want to come to FL and be with mostly middle class white folks you "can relate to" you will not be happy. Stay home. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but FL is a diverse state ethnically, racially and culturally. Always has been, always will be. I grew up in Miami with Cubans, both white and black, Irish, Greeks, Poles, French, Spanish... they were all there in the early 50's! It was great. I'm glad I had the opportunity to be exposed to all that. Originally my family is from Ybor City a small mixed cultural enclave in Tampa. If you grow up with diverse people you tend not to look at them as criminals and low lives. Someone mentioned the panhandle... ok, it is pretty white, pretty redneck, and they're still fighting the civil war, so Yankee folk not welcome... But if you want white that's your best bet. Pardon me for being appalled... and your being a cop with this attitude is scary. It's not about PC at all it's about being open to people and possibilities. Shed your preconceived notions and join in the mix. It will make you a better person and a better cop... IMHO

Silversurfer...I think you interpreted my question wrong. I'm from Michigan, raised in a diverse area, and have no problems with minorities. The reason I asked is because of the Orlando area, where we originally wanted to go, has had some of the worst reviews I've read on here talking of "gangs, crimes, and disregard for human life". We are trying to get out of such a violent area (Detroit) and was surprised to see Orlando (I think of Disney) to have comparable numbers of violent and felony crimes. Anyway, thanks for the advice and the comment, all are welcome.

[SANDYHAIR]

I can tell you orlando is a great place to live .Check out Winter Garden AND WINDERMERE areas. LOTS OF THINGS TO DO HERE .You may also like Saint Augustine area try World Golf Village area good luck

[songgirl]

Originally Posted by Want2LiVEinFLasap

Silversurfer...I think you interpreted my question wrong. I'm from Michigan, raised in a diverse area, and have no problems with minorities. The reason I asked is because of the Orlando area, where we originally wanted to go, has had some of the worst reviews I've read on here talking of "gangs, crimes, and disregard for human life". We are trying to get out of such a violent area (Detroit) and was surprised to see Orlando (I think of Disney) to have comparable numbers of violent and felony crimes. Anyway, thanks for the advice and the comment, all are welcome.

I think you responded very tactfully. It's hard to post questions about demographics without ruffling feathers! I would suggest you look at St. Johns county in NE Florida. I live in St. Augustine and one of the aspects I enjoy about it is there isn't much racial tension, no gang activity worth mentioning and not much violent crime. I do wish there was a little more diversity, it's actually a little bland here, but it doesn't have the same set of problems you see in other parts of Florida. I'd think you might get bored at times as a cop

If you ended up with a job in Jacksonville, which is just North of here, you'd be A LOT busier. But even still, Jax has high crime areas and low crime areas. Overall, it's not as bad as people think. Just South, is Palm Coast. It's another sleepy area, but supposedly has developed a pretty significant gang problem (?)

Anyway, the schools are good, especially in NW St. Johns County and the beaches are beautiful. Hope you find your place

[silversurfer]

A thousand apologies Want2 for my error.
As a 4th generation native Floridian I guess I am a little jaded. People want to live in FL almost solely to bask in the sunshine BUT then... a)hate the people b)can't find a decent NY pizza c)rant about the traffic and crowds (duh!) d)think they're improving the natives lives by destroying the natural beauty building condos and ticky tacky subdivisions - coming soon... OJ from China- orange groves are going extinct e) think city/county employees leaning on a shovel in 90 degree heat and humidity are lazy good for nothings (try working in it day after day before you judge) f)think those who talk slow are slow... fill in your favorite anti-FL rant ... this site if full of them.
I even had a rude NYer tell me if not for him we Floridians would still be barefoot and living in mud huts. Seriously. I love my home state, but it is no longer the place I grew up, but then again, whose is?

[Strel]

Originally Posted by Want2LiVEinFLasap

Just took a "Where to live quiz"...what about:

Deland, Crystal River, Gainesville, Tallahasse, or Ocala

???

Deland - might be smaller than you like.
Crystal River - even smaller than Deland, but LOTS of outdoor stuff to do
Gainesville - 100% college town and all that implies
Tallahassee - Medium city with small town feel. Crime higher than the above as a result, but still not bad. Students do not run the town (like Gainesville).

[nkodream]

Hi there....I have lived in FL for 18 years but am originally from WI. I have lived on the east and west coasts. In response to some of your questions here are some areas and some thoughts I have to offer (mostly focused in south florida).

First, where are you from?

I have read the other posts and many of the comments about Florida being diverse are very correct. If you are a yankee, then you will probably enjoy the east coast better. Many of my neighbors and people that live here are from Boston, NY, NJ, PA, etc....

Here are some GREAT options for what you are looking for:

Great Schools: Use greatschools.com to compare contrast schools as well. I would probably encourage you to stay Palm Beach county and north for price and lower cost of living as well as great schools. Check out the following cities: Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Wellington, Palm City (Stay far away from St. Lucie County) Vero Beach. There are very nice homes in all of these areas, they are all less than 30-45 minutes from the beach, all have a police force and are smaller cities so crime is minimal. Awesome schools in all of these cities, just search out the right one for you....
If you stay closer to Jupiter or Palm Beach Gardens you are just miles from lots of fun. If you go to Palm City where it's a bit quieter, you are 15-25 minutes from Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens and only 30 minutes to Palm Beach, one hour to Boca, 2 hours to Miami and 2 hours to Orlando. Here are some comments about each city:

Jupiter- small, quaint but growing, nice homes, upscale suburban, close to beach, shopping, restaurants, awesome schools, great family community with plenty of sports and activities for kids, Low to no crime, mostly caucasian.

Palm Beach Gardens- lots of growth lately especially with shopping, restaurants, larger than Jupiter and closer to the "fun". Great upscale town...I love it here. It's super pretty, close to beach (15 min) Schools are superb, again very family, low crime, mostly caucasian....

Palm City- I live here and love it, but it is a little more quiet. Nice gated communities, A rated schools, low crime, 95% caucasian, lots of yankees, there's just not a ton of fun around, however, we have the usual stuff, 20 min to beach and 20 minutes to Palm Beach Gardens which is where we hang with friend or for dinner. Very family oriented community...people move here just for schools, however cost of living is a little high; same with Jupiter and PB Gardens.

Vero Beach: lots of people have moved here because of lower cost of housing, but that has somewhat changed...a little smaller than Palm City, close to beaches. Schools are really good, but some are crowded because of influx. Low crime, slightly country/redneck (just a little, not as much as gainesville or Tallahassee; they can be backwoods up there) biggest con is there is not much to do here....boring!!! but some appreciate the quietness and the beaches here are beautiful.

Let me know if you have any other questions....Hope this helps!

[deesturn]

Originally Posted by Want2LiVEinFLasap

This is making my wife and I crazy. We are wanting to move to Florida but everywhere we think sounds good to live we find out something that we HATE about it. I am going to working for a police department in that area so we don't want a completely crime ridden area, but good pay for cops...

We originally were looking at the Orlando area until we found out about the crime issues. We have 2 kids that will be starting elem school soon too so thats a big issue.

I hate the PC-ness of everything but I have to say, with the amount of illegal aliens and gangs in some areas of Florida, we want to live in a more Caucasian area.

Where is a good place for a young family?
Within a hour or two of a beach?
With good schools?
Good homes?
Low crime?
and FUN?

Thanks a million!

If you can afford it, I would consider the Panhandle. Not all of it is the best, but there is the Destin area. Actually, it's quite unaffordable there and very resort-like. But, you can look into the inland areas like Crestview and Niceville. Niceville is awesome. It's only about 25 to thirty minutes from the beaches in Destin. There is Fort Walton Beach, but there are a few not so great areas there. Compared to the rest of the country though, I would consider that too. Don't know too much about the schools. My kids are home-schooled since I work from my home. The crime is quite low and there is lots to do.