[adner]

Hi!!!! My family & I are wanting to relocate somewhere warmer and by the ocean. Have 2 children ages 10 & 6. Have been to Destin and loved it, but did the tourist thing & did not go into the city of Destin, just stayed at the beach and did some shopping. Several ice storms later, my thoughts are going back to the beach!!!!!!! I have heard the Florida schools are bad, but so are the one's where we live. Have heard that Destin schools are the best in Florida???? I'm really wanting to hear from people FROM Destin and living there or close by now.
My husband and I have been realtors for years. Pretty bad where we live, that's why now seems like a good time to go. We can do our job almost anywhere. Is property selling in the Destin area????? I want to know if there seems to be a sense of community in the city or if it's all about the tourists. I also would love to hear from moms w/kids in school now. Also has Destin ever decided to build a high school there and if not, where should I go to have them in the safest/best high school. Also, have no intentions of buying right now. Would like to just rent a condo w/good ammenities, does not have to be waterfront. Do you know of any good complexes that I should look into. Thanks a bunch for any replies I get.

[beachmouse]

School districts in Florida are county by county, and yes, Okaloosa County schools are generally very good by Southeastern terms. Destin Elementary and Destin Middle are both well-regarded; on a yearly basis, it's a flip of the coin whether them or the east Niceville schools come out on top for grades K-8 in the area. No high school in Destin, and while people in the city would like one, the numbers don't work for the district- none of the south county high schools are at at capacity, Destin Middle School is under capacity and has to offer some special programs to make it worth the drive for kids outside Destin to get waivers in, and realistically Destin is a largely built out small town and would never generate the 1500-1600 high school kids the district feels like it needs to make a third south county high logistically and financially work.

So the Destin kids are zoned for Ft. Walton Beach HS, but currently have the option to waiver in for Niceville HS (which has a lot of the spawn of the Eglin AFB rocket scientist crowd and is regarded as one of the two best general enrollment high schools west of Tallahassee) or to try for the charter Collegiate High School starting in 10th grade.

Jobs- the real estate crash hit here hard in 2006, and a lot of realtors ended up going on to other jobs. Things are starting to pick up again, but I don't know how many people are jumping back into real estate as a career. The bread and butter of the Destin/Ft. Walton Beach area for the next five years is going to be military moves- the DoD is hitting the peak reshuffling generated by the last round of BRAC and moving around multiple fighter wings as well as relocating the Green Berets down here. The resort market is slowly improving, though the crystal ball in that area is still very cloudy.

Community- seems to be pretty strong if you hook in through the schools. There are more families with kids than you'd expect living north of US 98.

Condos- in Destin proper, there doesn't seem to be a ton of middle ground between expensive and on the bay and scruffy and summer home to a dozen foreign college here to make some hard currency. If you aren't looking at one of the bayfront places, or maybe that townhouse community out behind Walmart, I'd probably try to find a single family home instead. There are a good number of small to mid-sized ranch homes that probably wouldn't be overly expensive, and if you want condo-style amenities, the new Destin YMCA looks like a nice place to have a membership.

[RVlover]

Consider looking further inland and the houses are more affordable as well as property taxes ; nice communities are Niceville/Milton/Pace/Crestview...and all within 40 min. from the beach. BeachMouse can tell you about the schools for each if you ask.

[linc]

I am moving to that area in 3 weeks from Kansas City. I have been planning this move for over 2 years. We are buying a house in Santa Rosa Beach which is just east of Destin. We liked it because it seemed better for a family and we are out of the tourist area of Destin, but really close if we want to be in it (about 10 min.). We have a 7 year old daughter and wanted the same things you are wanting. We wanted a neigborhood that had mostly families, not tourist, and I think we have found it. I am by no means an expert on the Destin area but I have read a lot on this forum, talked to many locals and have a couple friends in the area. I highly recommend visiting the area and spend as much time as you can driving through neigborhoods and talking to locals. They love to talk about the area. I can also ride a bike to the beach or walk to the bay at the end of my street from the house we bought. We wanted to be that close to the water. That was a HUGE factor for us. Good Luck!

[adner]

Thanks guys! I am not looking for beach front. Oh, I would love it, but I'm afraid I could not afford it. Want under $1600 a month. BUT, I do really want the amentities at my fingertips. That's a big deal to me. Want the pool, want the tennis court, want the exercise room. Sounds like Santa Rosa Beach would be nice. Wondered if the tourists stayed at the beach or if they ventured into the city.

Linc- can I be nosey and ask what u guys do for a living down there. All I know if r/e. I do have my insurance license, but I just got them and dont have much experience yet.

One other thing. Is it as nice to live there as it is to visit?????
Thanks again guys, I appreciate the time u took to reply. Good luck on the move linc, let me know how u like it once your there.

[beachmouse]

My husband's a college professor. I've bounced around in a bunch of different things, almost always underemployed to some degree. Most of the good white collar jobs in the area tie back into the military or the good ole boy network, and cracking into that can take some time.

We're in a big master-planned community called Bluewater Bay. It's the area on the north side of the Mid Bay Bridge, and less than 10 minutes to the beach or Destin Commons. Mostly single family, but also some condos and townhomes, and a pretty decent amenities list- 4 pools, two tennis areas, a couple gyms, 36 holes of golf and a marina. The amenities are ala carte, so you're only paying tennis, pool, etc. fees if you're going to use them.

Tourists tend to stay more toward the beachy areas.

The thing with Santa Rosa Beach is that Walton County schools aren't as good at the high school level as Okaloosa Schools are. They aren't horrible, but their best students go to FSU, while the best from Niceville or Choctawhatchee HS skew towards Ivies, service academies, and U of Florida honors program.

[adner]

beachmouse, thanks for the replies. You are so helpful on here. I have been reading this for a long time, just never registered. Okay, I have heard lots of good things about Bluewater Bay, but really not alot of good info on the net about it. I've never heard of ala carte ammenities. Hmmmm, that's a new one. Do you know the names of the townhomes off the top of your head so I can look them up. Will do another search on Bluewatear Bay. I can go anywhere. I dont have to be in Destin. Just thinking the market would be better there because of all the condo's. Have you lived there a long time????

[beachmouse]

I want to say the townhomes behind Destin Walmart are Diamond Lakes. They're also in the middle of building a nice-looking apartment complex in the same area. Going to be called Alexia or something like that.

We moved down here in 1998 when the spousal unit got a faculty job in these parts and spent a couple years renting on Okaloosa Island because it was relatively cheap ($600/month for a two bedroom) and we were a block from the beach, even though it wasn't the prettiest neighborhood. After going through the non-fun of Hurricane George, we'd decided we never wanted to buy on a barrier island, and ended up in Bluewater when we were ready to buy in 2001 because it seemed like the best place in these parts for active people- pools and pedestrian-friendly were big selling points for us.

[Memphis1979]

I moved to the Bluewater bay area east of Niceville in Jan. My son is 5, and he started school at Bluewater bay elementary. From the folks I've talked to around here, it is generally considered as the best elementary school on this side of the bay. Cost of living is cheaper over here, and it has more of a "town" appeal. Destin is all about tourisim, and I bet you would get tired of all of those pesky tourists after a year or so.

Niceville High is supposed to be the best school in the area, although I saw that Crestview HS is getting much better as well.

I'm not sure about the real estate market, I work for a cellular company.

[adner]

I live right by a tourist town now and we stay away as much as we can on the weekends. So, I know what you mean by that. Were people pretty friendly with you when you moved? If anyone has any pics of bluewater bay i would love to see them. The landscape, the streets, the schools etc. Does Niceville have a paper I could look at online??? Thanks guys.