[pug_lover]

I didn't see a major Florida category about my area on the U.S. Forums heading. Pensacola was trashed by Hurrican Ivan, but has been cleaned up and the city is becoming very pro-active on development. Pace is the best because it's close to the city, but quieter, also close to the beach, and full of a great selection of homes, without the higher property tax rate you pay in Pensacola (Escambia County). Pace and Milton are right outside of Pensacola, but the property taxes in Santa Rosa county are cheaper, which is why we ended up buying here.

[txmom]

Thank you for starting this thread! My family is considering Pensacola as a place to live. We are headed down to the area in June to look around for a home. We will be concentrating on southwest Pensacola (near the NAS). My husband is retired, but we still have two kids in elementary school. I have heard that Blue Angel Elementary and Helen Caro are good schools. Does anyone have any feedback on southwest Pensacola?

[pug_lover]

Moderator cut: recommendation

The best places to live in Pensacola are north and east...anything but south and west. the school you heard about may be good, but there were two shootings in that area of Pensacola about a week ago. South and west are bad areas. My girlfriend used to live out near NAS and was raped one night when she was getting into her car at the nearby Winn Dixie along Blue Angel Parkway.

For area news, look at WEAR ABC 3. Judge for yourself.

If you must live in that area of Pensacola, live north of Cervantes. The best would be east of 9th Ave. and north of Bayou Blvd. There is some good housing north of 9-mile as well (commonly called the Cantonment area).

Pace is a great place to live if you work in Pensacola but want a much nicer area overall, and lower property taxes. The drive isn't as long as it looks and the road between Pensacola and Pace (locals call it the Causeway) was just newly paved. The Pace education system is the best in the area, and much better than Pensacola. The community is quiet and much safer, but growing because of lots of development. We have a Super Wal-mart, Super Target. There are a Publix and PetsMart coming soon (the sign is already up), Home Depot, Lowe's, and a nice movie theater with a family-friendly atmosphere.

The reason I say all of this is that we lived in Pensacola for 5 years, and the difference between Pensacola and Pace is like night and day. For instance, even the local employees are friendly in Pace, and much more neighborly, but in Pensacola much less so. Also, you get more for your money in Pace than you would in Pensacola.

Pace is like saying "hello" to small-town mid-America right here outside of Pensacola in Northwest Florida. My best advice is, if you work in Pensacola, don't live there. Other people who have spent most of their life in this region might say differently, but we're from up north, and have a different idea of what things should be like, and we LOOOOVE Pace.

[txmom]

Pug_lover

Thank you so much for your feedback. We will definitely check out Pace.

[pug_lover]

No problem. Good luck.

[katiebell]

Help! I'm thinking about moving to Pensacola as well. I grew up in Mobile but have been in Central Texas for the last 15 years and I have no idea what it's like down there. I appreciate the notes recommending living in Santa Rosa, which is the 6th fastest growing county in Florida, so it looks like a lot of other people think thats a good idea too I read about Pace but my situation is a little different. I don't plan on buying right away in this volitile market and there just aren't many places to rent over in Pace. (I don't need a 3 bedroom house) So I was looking at Gulf Breeze...it seems like a close commute to Pensacola for work and being close to the beach is appealing too. Not a lot of beaches in central Texas! So is this a good idea? What is the cultue in Gulf Breeze like. I'm a single female so is it safe? Is there any society in Pensacola for single (straight) people? What is the ecomomy and job market like?

Any information on Gulf Breeze would be soooo helpful!!

[cmsvmom]

I am looking in Navarre - have my house up north under contract and will be renting first and then buying. My house sale came up suddenly, and I don't feel sure of getting a mortgage within the time frame I have, so I am looking at renting. Can anyone tell me what agents/brokers are good for rentals? I am looking to rent at least 2 br 2 bths, prefer a house, and have a cat. Also, are there month to month rentals in the area of navarre/gulf breeze, or is everything on a 1 year lease?

I hope to be heading down in one to two weeks to look, and then come back up here to get this house closed and moved out of.

[pug_lover]

Sorry, but I'm not familiar with Gulf Breeze. I would call a major real estate company in the area and ask them. The only thing I know about Gulf Breeze is that Highway 98 has many accidents every day, so there is always one problem or the other, and in a hurricane it is very exposed...sometimes takes weeks to get the power back on.
You should be aware that there are many, many houses for rent here in the Pace/Milton area. Call a local realtor Moderator cut: name and ask them about finding a rental. There are some really nice places, and guaranteed renting a house will be quieter than an apartment, and depending on the size, the utility bills would probably be just as good if not better because of the post 2004 home construction standard requirements.
Sorry...forgot to put in my two cents about the local job market..this neck of the woods the job market isn't so great. You need to be near a more metropolitan area for that. Pensacola's job market is downright terrible. Unless you're a nurse or something similar, or capable of getting a job as a contractor with someone who works with the Department of Defense, there isn't much worth looking at out here.
You need to look in areas more like Ft. Walton Beach and Mary Esther, or farther west in places like Mobile. My husband and I just happened to get lucky, but it took six years of waiting and going through several different jobs.

[pug_lover]

Help! I'm thinking about moving to Pensacola as well. I grew up in Mobile but have been in Central Texas for the last 15 years and I have no idea what it's like down there. I appreciate the notes recommending living in Santa Rosa, which is the 6th fastest growing county in Florida, so it looks like a lot of other people think thats a good idea too I read about Pace but my situation is a little different. I don't plan on buying right away in this volitile market and there just aren't many places to rent over in Pace. (I don't need a 3 bedroom house)

There is a pretty new neighborhood of small 2BR cottages in a large subdivision neighborhood called Springfield Meadows. Last time I was over there, there were many of them available for rent, and they have a good little back yard in them, fenced in with a 6-foot privacy fence. I found an example for you on PensacolaMLS.com. The MLS listing number is 310868. The summary says :
SPACIOUS,PATIO HOME REDUCED' in the desireable Springfield Meadows. OVERSIZE SINGLE GARAGE, privacy fenced backyard with large deck, perfect for enjoying cool evenings or entertaining. Home features high ceilings, Open floorplan, breakfast bar. PRESENT OWNER HAVE DONE NOTHING BUT IMPROVE SINCE THEY MOVED IN, added crown moldings, new paint, chair rails,NEW BACK DOOR and landscaping.THEN THE LEASE OPTION CUSTOMER CONTINUED TO IMPROVE. A DREAM HOME FOR THE SMALL FAMILY OR RETIREMENT YEARS, NO MAINTENANCE AND ALL THE ENJOYMENT OF A LARGER SETTING, WITHOUT ALL THE MAINTENANCE. LOTS OF PRIVACY AND CARE FREE VINYL SIDDING AND LANDSCAPE. A MUST SEE. SPLIT PLAN WITH HUGE MASTER SUITE AND WALK IN CLOSET . ALL MEASUREMENTS ESTIMATED , WE ARE SELLING WHAT WE ARE SHOWING...SUIT YOUR SELF.LIVES MUCH LARGER THAN LOOKS FROM CURB. MEASURES LARGER THAN TAX ROLLS SAY...WASHER AND DRYER STAYS. CONSIDER LEASE OPTION WITH OPTION MONEY.OR JUST ...RENTS $995.00 MONTHLY OR BEST OFFER;GREAT FLEXIBLE TERMS.

[katiebell]

Springfield Meadows, got it. Thank you so much for your sugesstion =) I will definitely keep an eye on that area. I hope to find a lower rent though as I am single and that's a pretty high price to flip every month on one's own. And it's nice to know that that's a good neighborhood to shoot for. I did some reseach on Pace/Mitlon and it didn't quite look like my kind of place. There are no apartments so one can only rent a house and the only ones that look like they are modern in the least are over $1000/ month. Also it doesn't seem to be much to do for active single professionals. A great place for a family though.

I'm not too, too afraid of hurricanes. I've literally stood in the eye of a Cat 4 and did 10 days with no water and 3 weeks w/out power so worse things worse that's the price for living close to the coast I suppose. That highway 98 looks scary though! ;-)

And jobs. Not too much of a thriving ecnomy, huh? That's terrible. Maybe that's why the population of Pensacola is shrinking instead of growing. I thought I read something about a rejuvenation project for Pensacola. What's going on with that? I do have several years exp. as a meeting planner for Hotels with conference space. Hmmmm.....and there are a few hotels & resorts nearby. That would be fun! Maybe I should look into that?

Ok, Ok, one more thing! Obvioulsly, you're married, etc... but do you think Pensacola/Gulf Breeze/P Beach is a good place for singles? Do people get out and do things (year round)? Are people social so to speak? Would someone coming from a very social, very sporty, friendly, active town go into sensory depravation shock??

I just want to make sure I cover the bases when I make this decision b/c with the expense involved I can't change my mind once I get there. I grew (partially) up on Dauphin Island and I crave the beach and fishing and everything that goes with it but I want to be sure other that my needs are settled as well.

Thank goodness for the technology age!! I really appreciate your input. I don't know what I would do without all yall's advice!