[Jim280]

St. Augustine is a very nice town, lots of history there. I lived there in the 70's before St.Augustine Beach changed so much, when I lived there you could drive on the beach...a lot of building has happened along hwy A1A and changed the beach area over the years. But the old city its self is as beautiful as ever. If I ever decided on moving back to Florida, my wife and I both agree it would be St.Augustine for sure. And for the campers, just south of town on hwy 207 is a nice campground with nice sites for tents and RV's.

[RedWingsFan]

I did have the option to chose anywhere when we moved here and I did. I first chose the Tampa area. We moved there and I didn't like it. So we drove around seeing places and researching areas and then we chose where we wanted to move.

We picked the Daytona Beach area. Right now we are in Ormond Beach (just north of Daytona) but we are buying a house that we close on next week in Port Orange (just south of Daytona). Why this area, why Port Orange?

Port Orange is really nice! Very clean, well taken care of, nicely planned out city, excellent schools, great demographics, family oriented, etc. I love the city of Port Orange and the community we are buying in.

I like that when you look at the hurricane probability map this area is one of the least likely to get hit. Take a look at this map and you will see the probability areas: http://www.floridahurricane.net/

I love the beaches here! I didn't like the gulf side. To me the gulf side was a like a fishing marina. I much more into the surf and sandals type of feel over on the ocean side. Plus we are going to have a home 9 miles from the beautiful ocean (a brand new home) in our price range.

The Daytona area has a lot of activities throughout the year for families and adults to enjoy. Plus Daytona has shopping, dining, entertainment, etc. Plus it's only 45 minutes from Orlando, so that's close to do lots of things. We've already went there three times in the last 4 months to go shopping, eat, and just take a drive there. As the kids get older there is all the theme parks. Plus we are a close drive to St. Augustine, where they have things to do, and not too far from Jacksonville where there are more things to do.

So we did choose where we wanted to go. There are other places that may be more beautiful but some have things like higher hurricane risks (higher insurance, it's not expensive here), and outrageous costs of living. Here it's a good balance of all we are looking for.

[kel3420]

Hmmm, I have vacationed often at Vero Beach and loved it. I have also vacationed at St. Pete Beach and loved it there too, enough that we are bringing our kids there for Spring Break vacation next week. After talking with friends and realtors, I was told Sarasota has the best schools. With that said, for some reason I keep coming back to Jacksonville. I have relatives there, and while that would be nice to have relatives in close proximity, I don't want that to be my only reason. St. Augustine is also high on my list. After reading a zillion posts yesterday, I researched a couple of other areas, and was amazed at some of the school ratings. Some schools/districts had as many as 70% low income/ reduced lunch students. That surprises me. I love diversity and want to expose my children to many different cultures, income levels, etc, but I don't want to be one of 30% of homeowners that pay for the schools. Low income areas do not get good teachers wanting to be employed there.

My husband also wants does not want to be on the Atlantic side, so that leaves me researching different areas today. I did find the house of my dreams in Jacksonville yesterday, it has everything I want and desire in a home, down to the paint colors, cabinet and countertops, etc. We literally would not have to change a single thing and how often can you say that?

We are still very iffy if we want to move, since 99% ofl my family is here in Chicago, but I have been talking for ten years that when my oldest daughter graduates HS, I want to move. My youngest will be in 5th grade, which is still an okay time to make a major move. We have the opportunity to do so now, so a decision will have to be made soon and then start getting our home in order so we can list it.

I am just on the fence about leaving everything and everyone we know behind. Are we being selfish or do I look at it like we are doing what is best for our family right now? I know many of you on this board have been in the same boat, so I would love to hear how you made the decision.

[Margel]

kel3420,
Wow, I know exactly what you are going through. I live in Philadelphia and have 4 children ages 23, 17, 14, and 11. I hate the winters and wanted to move to Florida for a long time...no time ever seemed good enough. Next year one daughter will graduate from high school and one from 8th grade so that is when we will make our move. At first everyone was on board. Now that it is becoming a reality since we are having a house built in Odessa, the children are all complaining, except for my youngest. My oldest will still be away at college since he left school and returned so he will be old enough to make his own decision, although I really want him to move to at least Florida, even if he wants to live on his own. My other two girls are upset. However, we are continuing as planned and I am hoping that once all is said and done, they will make new friends and be happy. At what point is the right time...I am getting older too. If I wait for all of my kids to be grown and on their own, I will be too old to enjoy the move. So we made the decision and will have a beautiful home in a nice area with good schools. From talking to others, I think my kids will come to accept it and be happy. If life ends up being miserable, at least I had given it a try and will will then move back....but since this has been stressful enough and we're not even there yet, I am hoping all turns out for the best. Good luck.

[ellie]

I'd like to spend my winters maybe in Chokoloskee (they have internet there don't they?) and my summers in Quebec City. For no better reason than I haven't been to Chile and Argentina yet. My goal is to have continuous summer.

[SkyeAnjel]

Margel, Your kids will be fine. They are just pushing their power of persuasion(otherwise know as guilt) to get their own way. My kids have decided they don' want to go either because they will "miss their friends" but they will make new friends. I dion't want to wait until they are grown because selfishly I want them to settle near me. I must say that my husbands mother moved down to North Port from Ohio with all mostly grown kids 30 years ago and one by one they all followed and settled there. What is not to love about FLorida for a teenager? I would love to be 17 with beaches everywhere and amusement parks and Universal Studios and St.Augustine and shops and on and on. Once you get there they won't want to go back!

[NO1LKME]

Since our move to Windermere. We have never been happier in our lives. My teenage daughter has made new friends and is having the time of her life. My son has never wanted to be involved in anything but now is always doing something, he is 8. We have the life we have always dreamed of. Amazingly, no one in our family fought the move, we were all ready for more.

[JimKing]

We like the area from Tequesta-Jupiter-Palm Beach Gardens the best. Good schools, low crime, close enough to the cities if you want to go to sporting events, etc.

[Margel]

Thanks Skyeangel and No1likeme, your posts made me feel a lot better. I am hoping for the same outcome!

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by Jim280

St. Augustine is a very nice town, lots of history there. I lived there in the 70's before St.Augustine Beach changed so much, when I lived there you could drive on the beach...a lot of building has happened along hwy A1A and changed the beach area over the years. But the old city its self is as beautiful as ever. If I ever decided on moving back to Florida, my wife and I both agree it would be St.Augustine for sure. And for the campers, just south of town on hwy 207 is a nice campground with nice sites for tents and RV's.

I understand that St. Augustine is very expensive though. Guess I'd have to live in a tent at the campgrounds if we moved there.