[familytime]

Any opinions on which area is best for a family to live in? We were considering Ft. Walton or Niceville because of the Okaloossa School reputation, but saw that you can get more house for your money in Navarre. Any opinions on the schools there? What about the commute from Navarre to Fort Walton? We did see a couple posts that didn't speak very fondly of the kinds of people hanging around Navarre, and want to know if others feel the same or different. Thanks for your opinion!

[jendea]

Hi!
We just did the move you are talking about (except we moved from Washington State)! What I can tell you is that when we were looking from a distance through on line house searches, we also saw that the houses in Navarre were much more generous for the price. We ended up deciding against the Navarre/Gulf Breeze area primarily because of the proximity to Pensacola (the crime rate and traffic was a concern for us).
One thing we didn't realize before arriving is that homeowners may have to purchase flood insurance, depending on the area on which the house is built. The principal and interest payment of the house might be low, but the extra insurance adds to your total house payment. This is true of Destin and the Island in general though - many properties are close or on possible flood areas. It all depends on the gov. surveys, I understand. However, it means the prices of some of the properties can be misleading.
Given the housing market, we also discovered that a lot the the really good deals were actually short sales and the listed prices were not guaranteed to be accepted by the banks.
We rented in the Bluewater area and drove around a little first before finalizing our decision to move to Niceville. The elementary school that my daughter attends is fantastic and the people here are really er...nice. If you can get over the snickers when you tell people your new address, I would definitely recommend Niceville. Good luck in your move and house hunt!

[daytripper]

We also live in Niceville and prefer it over the other options you mentioned.
Funny the other post about moving down from Wash. state.... We are moving to Wash. State. If your interested in a Niceville home on a lake PM me and I'll give you details.

[aahadley]

Originally Posted by daytripper

We also live in Niceville and prefer it over the other options you mentioned.
Funny the other post about moving down from Wash. state.... We are moving to Wash. State. If your interested in a Niceville home on a lake PM me and I'll give you details.

Which lake are you living on? My big concern is aligators since I have a dog. Is that a big worry in that area?

[beachmouse]

There are gators in the area, but not as many as you get further south and people are generally good about not feeding them. I wouldn't want my dog swimming in a murky lake where you couldn't see bottom, but as long as he/she stays on dry land they'll be fine. (Unless they're a small toy breed in which case the hawks can be an issue on rare occasions)

[HopToIt]

Originally Posted by daytripper

We also live in Niceville and prefer it over the other options you mentioned.
Funny the other post about moving down from Wash. state.... We are moving to Wash. State. If your interested in a Niceville home on a lake PM me and I'll give you details.

Sweetness! Any pictures?

[patticaryl]

I spent some time on Realtor.com today comparing homes in Priceville to Navarre and Pace.......it seems that Priceville is quite a bit more costly than the other two. What would make it more desirable to live there than say, Pace? I have started looking more towards relocating to Pace because of the additional costs of HOI for hurricane coverage, flood, etc. concerning the Navarre area. Wouldn't Priceville have those same issues?

[beachmouse]

Niceville tends to be a little more expensive than surrounding areas for a couple reasons a) easy commute to both Eglin (by far the biggest middle class employer in the area) and the Destin beaches and entertainment area b) schools, which are seen as a little better than the ones in Ft. Walton Beach or Navarre and significantly better than Crestview and c) a couple of large scale developments (Bluewater Bay, Rocky Bayou Golf Course , Swift Creek) that were developed with an eye toward more upscale and luxury buyers who didn't want to live directly on the coast and d) save for a couple of large parcels that the Ruckel family is holding onto until Swift Creek is complete, it's essentially a built out town and vacant lots command a premium. The remaining lots in Bluewater Bay are now going for about what we paid for our house there in 2001, even with the downturn in the market. It's that combination of desirability and scarcity that have seen Niceville prices fall less than surrounding areas.

The commute is a pretty significant issue for the area. US 98 is a horrible commuting road, especially during the morning when traffic around Hurlburt Field backs up and the rest of the Santa Rosa County stretch of it. Accidents are frequent, and since there is no bypass in the area, it's easy to get stuck in an hourlong traffic jam at least once or twice a month on the road. Summer tourist traffic adds to the headache.

And Pace is seen as more of a commuter town for Pensacola than Ft. Walton Beach. I couldn't imagine living there and commuting to Eglin every day. The people who want inland and close to Eglin generally buy in the south of I-10 area of Crestview, which has a number of nice individual neighborhoods in different price ranges. (but which I find to be an urban sprawl mess because of the area's utter lack of urban planning)