[ammo]

hello all
im looking for a small town in florida to move to with a few thousand people in it,not more than 5000. looking to spend about 300000 or less for a house,i dont have to be close to the beaches,just a nice small little town.

[bamboosmom]

Hi ammo,
check your private messages!
There are alot of small towns throughout Florida. It depends on what you want also. The area is growing like crazy, so I don't know how much longer the small towns will stay small!

[t.roz]

Weston Fl is great, a little bigger than you mentioned, but it is a planned community 25 minutes west of Ft. Lauderdale. We have been very lucky with little damage from hurricanes, b/c everything was built after Andrew, so the town is up to code. Great town center, coffee shops, restaurants, new library, great schools, fabulous parks.

Good Luck!

[pslOldTimer]

The current popilation of Weston is well over 60,000, so I don't think it quite quaifies for "small town" according to ammo's mention of smaller than 5,000. Also, I never quite thought about a planned community that's part of the Miami-Dade metropolis as being "small town".

I'm moving from Port St. Lucie (which just passed 151,000 population) to Okeechobee, about 40 miles inland. The City of Okeechobee is around 5,000 to 6,000. Technically, I'm actually moving to the unincorporated area about 4 miles West of the city, in Okeechobee County. The County's population is shown on their web site as 30,500; there may be a few more, because things like web sites are not updated very frequently in a rural community.

The area is very much a small town. Parades for every occasion, which always include a few members of the "Yatchit" club towing their pontoon boats. There is a Walmart, but no Home Depot or Lowes. The closest mall is 50 miles away. It's home to the largest rodeo in the East. There is no performing arts center, but there is an Agri-Civic Center which is geared towards equestrian events. There are several elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school (my daughter is the high school band director). Okeechobee County is the largest cattle growing county in Florida.

You can get a decent house for $300,000. The house next door to my property recently sold for $245,000. It's a small 3 br, 2 bath house with no garage, but it's on 2.5 acres. The land is at least $50K per acre, or $125,000 of that cost. There are also some nice double-wide trailers on waterfront canals in the $200,000 range. The canals open to the lake, which is connected to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, although it's not exactly a short run to salt water .

Small towns like Okeechobee are not for everyone. There is a definite rural atmosphere. Some folks, like professionals and business owners, are fairly up to date but there is a big contingent of folks who are, to put it kindly, a little behind the times. That's exactly why I like it; for the most part, it's very much what life was like back in 1955. Everyone knows everyone. That's both good and bad, because there is a lot of clique-ish-ness and good-ol-boy politics. At the same time, you can trust a hand-shake contract.

There are lots of towns like Okeechobee in Florida. LaBelle, Immokalee, Moore Haven, Arcadia, Wauchula, Frostproof, there are dozens of them, more of them in the Panhandle -- but the Panhandle is not really part of Florida, in my opinion.

[MrTudo]

Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda are quaint little Fla towns on the SW coast.

[daedalo]

Fernandina Beach, population about 10k; low crime rate as compared to nearly all Florida cities and lower than many small Florida towns, education level of all persons over 25: 30% are 4 years college or higher, which is much higher than most Florida cities without a university. Plus it is a very cool, interesting place to be in. One of those little restored port towns where people sail in from all over the planet. Like Edgartown, MA on Marthas Vineyard.

[wheretomove]

well....since you asked
first of all ammo you dont want any part of s fla. Insurance prices are going up another 63 percent. You wont be able to live here in 10 years. And if you dont speak spanish FORGET IT. Weston??? get real.Small town???the south americans
almost have total control of it already. Very nice people but you will not hear english spoken in public more than 10 percent of the time.
Lived in plantation all my life started working in weston when they built it.
SORRY.....didnt mean to rant
check out the outskirts of ocala. citrus springs area comes to mind looks beautiful. One of the nicest small towns ive see is called orange city, just inland
from daytona area (an hour maybe) Think NORTH. good luck

[Lory-DavieFL]

Originally Posted by ammo

hello all
im looking for a small town in florida to move to with a few thousand people in it,not more than 5000. looking to spend about 300000 or less for a house,i dont have to be close to the beaches,just a nice small little town.

I would definately not look into Weston...I work there and believe me, it's no small town at ALL. I don't speak spanish so I have a hard time helping clients and they get mad at ME for not speaking their language...and it's way too crowded and getting worse.

Small towns are getting extinct, but look towards the North-West above West Palm. You can find websites for each county and cities by doing a search that provide all the basic info and you can most definately find a very nice home for under 300k.

[jdaryl2002]

Most small towns will be in the panhandle. Chipley, Milton and Crestview to name a few. Here are the simple facts about Florida. Forget a small town close to a metro city. I live 10 miles west of Orlando and traffic is a problem even 25 miles out through Lake County. This is the same from Jacksonville to Miami. From central state on south past Miami is like another world. Trying to find a real communitity in central to south Florida is like searching for snowflakes on South Beach. Everyone is always moving. Our little subdivision has 64 homes. In the last 8 years ( When it was completed) only 6 Residents are original home owners. Also, get use to having vacant homes around you. Lots of Europeans are Purchasing vacation homes to use only a few months a year. When others post here about having to speak spanish they are not saying that in jest. It is the honest truth. And dont think you'll going to find a home at a good value. Even if you did find a decent priced home the utilities and maintaince will kill you. I live in a 8 year old 1800 sq home in a gated communitity. My assocation dues are $100.00 per month. Electric $ 220.00 in summer. water and garbage $75.00 Insurance $115.00 and it gos on and on. Get use to cutting your grass every four days in the summer and once a week in the winter. I gave up trying and now pay $90 per month for lawn service. Florida is best when seen through the eyes of a visitor.

[bamboosmom]

I still think Punta Gorda is one of the best small towns in SW Florida.
It was in the magazines back in 99 for one of the best kept secrets for small towns in Florida. JMHO