[i love ny]

want to move to a family friendly coastal community- avid boaters - would love a place with navigational canal- lots of families and childrens activities, place where people are out and about- jogging, biking, walking etc... looking to spend upto 700,000 willing to go as far north as brevard county good schools a must!

[inftmyers]

I'm biased but I would say look into Lee County. Cape Coral was built as a boaters paradise. The city is build around a system of canals. You can choose a fresh water canal network which includes many lakes, or you could choose a salt water canal with access to the caloosahatchee and Gulf of Mexico. Ft. Myers also would be a good choice as it is directly on the caloosahatchee. There are also TONS of islands in and around Lee County that you could explore by boat. You often could have an entire island to yourself.
Lee County is also a popular place to raise families because it is a very populated area so the kids will have enough to do, yet it doesn't have the high crime that usually comes with it. Any area in Lee is great except for central Ft. Myers(bad neighborhood) or Lehigh(no water access). I would look into Cape Coral, South Ft. Myers, or Bonita Springs.

[pirate girl]

Flagler Beach and Palm Coast in Flagler County- there is an area called Sailboat Country in Palm Coast- all homes are on salt water canals that lead to the intercoastal waterway.

[5FLgirls]

Okay--Ponte Vedra Beach, east of Jacksonville is a little north of where you want to live but it was named one of the top 25 places to live in FL. We moved here nine months ago from another coastal town (I will mention below) and don't have a single regret. We live 1 mile from ocean, east of the intracoastal in an A+ golf course community. There are KIDS, KIDS, KIDS as I have four (St. Johns County has a top rated school district and everyone here sends their kids to public school) and great activities. Lots of boats and great restaurants. Don't regret a single minute of this move I made kicking and screaming.

I moved from Jupiter, northern Palm Beach County and the same could be said for it as PVB. Lots of homes are on canals, too. Only difference is a TON more retired people and they can be not so nice to your kids. We loved Jupiter and would have moved back in a second. My kids and I cried when our house finally sold two weeks ago. That's the other thing--housing prices are cheap right now because of the hurricanes. You could get A LOT for $650K there right now. (Our house went on the market for $669K and finally sold 14 months later for $455k). You might be trading it up for hurricanes but they're really not a big deal if you're a realistic laid back person. Good Luck in your search.

[Donna-50]

Originally Posted by inftmyers

I'm biased but I would say look into Lee County. Cape Coral was built as a boaters paradise. The city is build around a system of canals. You can choose a fresh water canal network which includes many lakes, or you could choose a salt water canal with access to the caloosahatchee and Gulf of Mexico. Ft. Myers also would be a good choice as it is directly on the caloosahatchee. There are also TONS of islands in and around Lee County that you could explore by boat. You often could have an entire island to yourself.
Lee County is also a popular place to raise families because it is a very populated area so the kids will have enough to do, yet it doesn't have the high crime that usually comes with it. Any area in Lee is great except for central Ft. Myers(bad neighborhood) or Lehigh(no water access). I would look into Cape Coral, South Ft. Myers, or Bonita Springs.

I agree with that. Cape Coral also has A or A+ schools. Great family community.

[JimKing]

I would second Jupiter, awesome place. But don't buy, rent instead. There is a ton of inventory, more coming on each day. You can get an amazing place for $2000-2500/month and let someone else take the hit. Housing prices have a long, long way to fall over the next 2-3 years.