[wehave5sons]

We live in Kansas City, and my husband is getting a job at Eglin AFB. Where are good areas to live for a family with 5 sons, that is pretty close to base? (like 15-20 min drive max)
Also our oldest boys go to our Church school..looking for a good Christian School, that maybe also has a home church. Also considering K-12 FLVS, but not quite understanding how that works...do we have to be a resident of the county or just in the state of FL?
Lookin gto rent a house with a decent sized yard, near parks, library, etc..
Thanks to all who are taking the time to read...so much to figure out from so far away.
thanks again

[beachmouse]

In terms of best places to live within a reasonable commute to Eglin, it's probably either the north side of Ft. Walton Beach (Kenwood, Shalimar, Longwood/Poquito Bayou areas) or the east side of Niceville (Rocky Bayou GC, Bluewater Bay, and surrounding smaller subdivisions). We live in Bluewater Bay since we feel like it's got the best set-up for active people- good walking/running and biking options, and ala carte community pools, tennis, golf, and marina. There are some nicer neighborhoods in parts of west Niceville and Valparaiso, but you're going to have more jet noise issues over thataway.

Also, if you want an actual yard and not what's left over after shoehorning a ranch house on a 50x90 foot lot, you're probably going to end up with an older home. (ie. built before about 1990) The area south of I-10 that isn't controlled by Eglin is largely built out, and land prices have led to small lots for newer construction for a while now.

On the bright side, there tend to be fair number of single family rentals in good areas because a lot of military families will buy and hold with the intent of renting the house out until they come back here to retire.

Crestview is more affordable, but I feel like it lacks a lot of what makes the area interesting and the lack of planning has led to a lot of urban sprawl issues.

There aren't a ton of private schools in the area since the publics are generally pretty well-regarded. The ones I can think of that do well academically are Rocky Bayou Christian (K-12) in Niceville and St. Mary's Catholic (K-8) in Ft. Walton Beach.