[Fyrecat]

Hi,
This might be putting the cart before the horse, but my husband is being considered for a possible job in Niceville. We currently live in NY, and this would be a change for us, big time, but one we welcome.
We are a couple with no human children, just 2 cats. We're in our 40s, and so school districts aren't too much a worry for us. Up here, I work as a Substance Abuse Counselor, have my BS degree and Certification from NY.
We plan on renting til we decide if we want to buy and in which area. Our interests are in wildlife, nature, painting, anything animal related, and we like to do yoga.
I will have to learn to drive when down there-here in NY I'm afraid to, just too many impatient and angry people on the roads.
Could anyone give me an idea on what areas we might enjoy? What's Niceville like? I have to admit I have my heart set on being near the beach, we just love the water.

Thanks,
Fyre

[beachmouse]

If you're coming from the NYC area, you'll cost of living to be pretty reasonable. If you're coming from upstate New York, you'll be disappointed in how much you pay to live on a relatively small piece of land. The federal government owns 95% of the land where people would actually want to live, and the land in civilian hands is slowly but consistently getting built out, especially close to Ft. Walton Beach) We've got a 1/3 acre lot, and that's huge by local standards.

Niceville, is well, a nice small town that's largely a bedroom community for Eglin AFB. If you're on the east side of town or in the Bluewater Bay area (unincorporated area to the east of the city limits that's got a Niceville zip code) it's between a 10 and 20 minute drive to the beach. I'd probably look at the east side of town in general- the housing stock tends to be newer and nicer in general than the Boggy Bayou side, and you'll have less aircraft noise to worry about. (Though with three major military bases in the area, you'll always get 'the sound of freedom' to some degree wherever you are)


I'm not overly fond of Navarre- lots of new construction, safe, good schools, but it lacks any sort of urban planning, and you have to spend too much time on frequently gridlocked US 98 to go anywhere outside Navarre. Still, a lot of people like it there because it's convenient to the beach and your housing dollar goes further than in Ft. Walton Beach proper.

I do like Gulf Breeze because it's managed to become an actual small town instead of a row of endless subdivisions, but you so don't want to do the commute from there to Niceville every day.

Mary Esther has some nice neighborhoods. I'd definitely think east of Hurlburt Field instead of those areas west of Hurlburt with a ME zip code. It's better than it used to be, but the traffic around the Hurlburt gate in the morning is still annoying enough to be an issue.

As for jobs, there are those kinds of social service jobs available in these parts if your timing is good, but the pay is probably going to be less than what you're used to, unless you can manage to wrangle a position at one of the bases.

The amount of nature in the area is ample by both land and by sea. Lots of public beaches and general parkland, and for less than $10, you can get an Eglin Recreation pass and hike/explore/kayak through some huge tracts of federal land.

Hurricanes happen. Which is why I wouldn't buy right at the beach even though we rented there for a couple years when we moved down here. Even though most of them are the Gulf Coast version of a snow day, Ivan was pretty bad, and made me glad that when we bought, it was a bit inland and at 40+ feet above sea level.

[RVlover]

If you want a quiet layed-back small town atmosphere, youll like Niceville. Youll love Turkey Creek which is a spring-fed Creek that you can tube , swim, or walk down (its shallow) . Its also nice for nature lovers. Youd be about 30 minutes or less to great beaches in Destin/Fort Walton Beach and there is an incredible Chinese Restaurant in Destin at Palms Plaza that was voted 1 of the best 100 Chinese places in the nation ! Its just a small place, but super quality food. I go to church in Niceville but live 30 minutes north. Niceville is noted for the annual Mullet Festival held at a big Park which includes live entertainment , food, festival, etc...in October. People come from miles around to that and they had Kenny Rogers play one year. Its an area that is high in values, morals, and friendliness. Renting for a while is a good idea then you can check out the other places you listed...which are all good in my opinion.

[Memphis1979]

I would recommend Niceville. Its where all of the locals from Destin move when they get tired of the tourist traffic.

Small town, with all of the things you need to buy on our side of the bay.

I would suggest Bluewater Bay, thats where I live. It seems to be a nicer part town, with a little less traffic. However, the Mid-Bay bridge road (whitepoint) gets a little hectic on the weekends with people making their way to Destin to the beach.

I live off of whitepoint, so I'm 10 minutes from the beach, even on a bad day.

Lots to do around here nature wise. Turkey creek, and lots of parks around the area.

Oh, just so you don't freak, the Mullet festival is about a fish, the mullet.

Also, driving down here can be just as hectic as it is around NYC. You get a lot of snow birds during the winter that can't drive, and a lot of young kids in the summer that can't drive. Traffic on 98, is awful, even on a good day.